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Matthew 1:11-17
From this point, the genealogy of Jesus becomes hard to trace with the documentation that is available for us today. It is believed by many that the historical records of the kingship succession was destroyed during the time of takeover involving Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt and then into captivity by king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (2 Kings 23:28-2 Kings 24:7).
The biblical facts that we can learn from are found in 1 Chronicles 3 along with the records of 1 & 2 Kings and 1 & 2 Chronicles. From Josiah is Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:30b) who was overthrown by Pharaoh Necho and then appointed Eliakim who he renamed Jehoiakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, to be king (2 Kings 23:32-34). Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim then became king and was taken captive by the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:12). 2 Kings 24:13-14 (NKJV) in speaking of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon states, “And he carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. Also he carried into captivity all Jerusalem: all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.”
After the reign of King Jehoiachin, his uncle, Mattaniah who was renamed Zedekiah became king as he was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:17). After this is recorded the events of the captivity and exile to Babylon (2 Kings 25; 2 Chronicles 36:15-23).
The only line of kingly succession that we have to verify the genealogy of Jesus as per the account of Matthew 1:1-17 is that of 1 Chronicles 3, which is believed to be that which Matthew followed in his kingly succession that leads to Jesus. I must note that it is also believed that Matthew may have had access to a genealogical record of the kings that today is no longer available. It is also believed by many that Matthew’s main point in writing to primarily the Jewish community was to establish a kingship in the Messiah in proving that Jesus is the Messiah that they have been long awaiting for to take up the throne as everlasting King.
From here and to the remaining names in the genealogy of Jesus our Savior as written in the Gospel of Matthew, I believe in the word of God as being true and infallible and to the requirement of having faith in God and His word as Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:23-24 (NKJV), “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
This is the genealogy from Josiah to Jesus.
It is said, and I believe that no one will know all things of the Bible, as if one had all the answers he or she would no longer need to have faith, for faith is believing without seeing. The author of Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And in Hebrews 11:6 states, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
It is troubling to me that I cannot prove the genealogy of Jesus through the biblical text. But that is just the point that I think God is trying to point out to us; some things we are not going to know the answer to, but He gives us enough evidence to lead our hearts to open to the gift that He has offered to us in the salvation that only comes through believing. The Apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 10:10-11, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame” [Isaiah 28:16].
Dear LORD,
As we have traveled through the hard to understand genealogy of our Savior Jesus, You have made it obvious to us that holiness is only found in Jesus as You indwelled humanity to come to us and feel our pain and suffering so that You could take it all to the cross and save us all for eternity. We are nor cannot be perfect, nor can we understand fully all of Your word, but You give us the connection to know that we need Your help to become righteous; that we cannot accomplish holy things without opening our hearts to Jesus and to be filled with Your Holy Spirit to change us into the people that You would have us to be as Your created children – in Christ. Thank You LORD for Your mercy and grace, and the gift of life in Christ Jesus. In Jesus name I pray, amen.