“Matthew 1; Luke 1,” Scripture Helps: New Testament (2024)
Scripture Helps
Matthew 1; Luke 1
Matthew gave a genealogy of Jesus Christ, telling His lineage from Abraham and from David. The angel Gabriel appeared to Zacharias to announce the coming birth and mission of John the Baptist. Mary learned from Gabriel that she would be the mother of the Son of God. Mary visited Elisabeth. They both praised the Lord. John was born. Zacharias prophesied of Israel’s redemption.
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Background and Context
What can we learn about Jesus from Matthew’s genealogy?
Matthew wanted readers to know that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah. Prophecies declared that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham and would bring salvation to the entire world. The Messiah would also be an offspring of King David. The genealogy Matthew provided shows that Jesus was a descendant of both Abraham and King David.
When Matthew recorded that Jesus was also “called Christ,” he made clear that Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s promise to King David that the Christ would come through his lineage. God had promised to establish David’s throne forever. Christ is the Greek form of the Aramaic word Messiah, which means “anointed” or “chosen.”
Israelite kings and high priests were anointed in ancient times. Chosen to serve in these roles, they acted as “messiahs.” By Jesus’s day, the promised Son of David, who would become the ultimate future king, came to be seen as the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the messianic king who will rule and reign forever and fulfill God’s promise to David. As the Christ and Messiah, Jesus is the one chosen and anointed by Heavenly Father to represent Him and to bring salvation to His children.
Why do Matthew and Luke provide different genealogies of Jesus?
(Compare to Luke 3:23–38.)
There are a few possible explanations for the different genealogies. Some scholars have suggested that Matthew provides Joseph’s pedigree, while Luke provides Mary’s. This assumes that Heli mentioned in Luke 3:23 was Joseph’s father-in-law.
Another possible explanation is that Matthew gave the royal line of succession to King David’s throne. Luke gave a more personal and exact pedigree extending back to Adam. Both genealogies establish Jesus as the Son of David and legal heir to the throne.
The most important aspect of Jesus Christ’s genealogy was declared by Heavenly Father: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Who were the women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ?
There are five women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus Christ. As expected, Mary the mother of Jesus is included. Perhaps unexpectedly, the genealogy also includes four women who either were non-Israelites, associated with non-Israelites, or had questionable reputations.
Tamar, or Thamar, had an unusual experience. She had been married to Judah’s oldest son, who died. Judah then gave her his next oldest son to marry. He also died. Both men were wicked, and they had left her without children. When Judah failed to keep a promise to give his youngest son to Tamar to marry, he left her without a husband or the chance to have children. Desiring children, she played the part of a harlot, deceived Judah, and became pregnant with twins—Phares and Zara. Phares was an ancestor of Jesus.
Rahab, or Rachab, lived in Jericho before it was conquered by the Israelites. She showed compassion toward Israelite spies and helped hide them. Despite her past as a Canaanite harlot, she was praised by early Christians for her faith.
Ruth was a Moabite woman. After her husband died, she chose to leave her land and people to care for her mother-in-law.
Bathsheba was married to Uriah, a foreign soldier in King David’s army. She and David had an adulterous affair. She later became a wife to King David and was the mother of King Solomon.
One thing we can learn from Matthew’s including these women in the Savior’s genealogy is that God can work with all people and through unexpected ways. It is also an example of the fact that who we become is not determined by the actions of our ancestors. The inclusion of women in the Savior’s family history also reflects the important role women play in accomplishing the work of God.
What did it mean to be espoused?
In New Testament times, marriage was often arranged by the heads of families—usually the fathers. After the families agreed on the marriage, the couple was betrothed, or “espoused.” This means they were engaged to be married. The couple was legally bound to each other but did not live together yet as husband and wife. A strict code of chastity was required between the time of betrothal and the wedding ceremony.
What options did Joseph have when he learned Mary was pregnant?
When Joseph learned of Mary’s pregnancy, he knew he was not the father of her baby. Under Jewish law, he had the following options:
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He could have publicly divorced Mary and had her punished. People would have assumed Mary was guilty of adultery—a crime punishable by death under the law of Moses.
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He could have called off his betrothal to Mary privately before two witnesses.
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He could continue with the marriage.
Joseph was inclined to show mercy to Mary. He planned to cancel the engagement privately. This would spare Mary public humiliation and the possibility of punishment. However, when assured by an angel that Mary had remained virtuous and that her child was the Son of God, Joseph chose to follow through with the marriage. One scholar noted, “As a result of Jesus’s extraordinary conception, the idea of illegitimacy was perpetuated by uninformed sources and caused both Mary’s and Jesus’s reputations to suffer (and probably Joseph’s) throughout their lives.”
What do we know about the conception of Jesus Christ?
See “Luke 1:34–35. ‘How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?’”
What does the name Jesus mean?
The name Jesus comes from Iēsous, a Greek form of the Hebrew name Yeshua. Yeshua means “Jehovah saves.” The long form of the name, Yehoshua, means “Jehovah is salvation.” Both forms of the name testify of the identity and mission of Jesus Christ. Jesus was Jehovah in the premortal life. Matthew described the Savior’s mission of salvation by declaring, “He shall save his people from their sins.”
What is the meaning of the name Emmanuel?
Emmanuel comes from Hebrew words that mean “God with us.” In the last verse of Matthew, the Savior promises His disciples, “I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” These parallel declarations at the beginning and end of Matthew’s Gospel convey the message that God will not forget us. He is always with us.
What year was the Savior born?
The Church has made no official statement about what year the Savior was born. The calendar currently used throughout most of the world was created many centuries after Jesus Christ lived. Scholars disagree about how to use existing historical information to calculate the year of Jesus’s birth. Though we do not have exact dates, we do have a record of many of the events of Jesus Christ’s life and ministry.
What was “the course of Abia”?
In the Old Testament, King David divided the priests of Israel into 24 families (called “courses”). Each family, or course, was called to serve in the temple twice a year for one week each time. Luke 1:5 says that Zacharias belonged to “the course,” or the priestly family, of Abia. The Joseph Smith Translation for Luke 1:8 replaces the word course with priesthood.
The priests drew lots to decide who among them would receive the honor of burning incense in the temple. Because of the large number of priests, the opportunity to burn incense was a rare privilege. This would have been a high point in Zacharias’s life of service as a priest.
How did people view infertility in New Testament times?
In ancient Israel, infertility among married couples was regarded as a serious misfortune. Some even falsely believed it was punishment for sin. Zacharias had prayed that he and Elisabeth would have children. Zacharias did not have posterity to carry on his priesthood line. When Elisabeth learned she was pregnant, she remarked that having a child would take away her “reproach among men.”
Despite their trial, Zacharias and Elisabeth had remained faithful to the Lord. This is the first of many instances in Luke’s Gospel that shows the Lord’s mercy toward those who are afflicted or discouraged.
What is meant by “the spirit and power of Elias”?
The scriptures use the name or title of Elias in several ways. In this instance, the reference to Elias appears to indicate the idea of a forerunner. Anciently, forerunners “would run before the chariot of the king and clear the path of rocks or other obstacles, and loudly proclaim the coming of the ruler. … John was both a forerunner and a proclaimer of Jesus. He was the divinely appointed herald.”
The angel Gabriel told Zacharias that John would go before the Savior “in the spirit and power of Elias.”
Who was Gabriel?
The Prophet Joseph Smith taught the identity of the angel Gabriel: “Noah … is Gabriel; he stands next in authority to Adam in the Priesthood; he was called of God to this office, and was the father of all living in his day.”
In what way was Mary “highly favoured” of the Lord?
Long before Mary was born, prophets knew of her sacred role as the mother of Jesus Christ. Some prophets identified her by name. The Book of Mormon reveals that she was the “precious and chosen vessel” who would “bring forth a son, yea, even the Son of God.”
Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained: “As there is only one Christ, so there is only one Mary. And as the Father chose the most noble and righteous of all his spirit sons to come into mortality as his Only Begotten in the flesh, so we may confidently conclude that he selected the most worthy and spiritually talented of all his spirit daughters to be the mortal mother of his Eternal Son.”
Why did Jesus need to have a mortal mother and an immortal Father?
President Russell M. Nelson taught: “Jesus was born of an immortal Father and a mortal mother. From His immortal Father, Jesus inherited the power to live forever. From His mortal mother He inherited the fate of physical death.
“Those unique attributes were essential for His mission to atone for the sins of all mankind. Thus Jesus the Christ was born to die (see 3 Nephi 27:13–15). He died that we might live. He was born that all humankind could live beyond the grave.”
“How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?”
Mary asked the angel Gabriel how she could become the mother of Jesus “seeing I know not a man,” or in other words, since she was a virgin. Gabriel told her that “the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee” and that her child would be the Son of God. Other scriptures that refer to the conception of Jesus Christ also illustrate that He is the Son of God. These scriptures, however, do not reveal how this miracle happened. Church leaders have cautioned us against speculating about how the Savior was conceived.
What does the phrase “raised up an horn of salvation” mean?
After John’s birth, Zacharias praised God and prophesied of John’s mission. As recorded in Luke 1:69, Zacharias mentioned that God had “raised up an horn of salvation” (emphasis added), which is a messianic title that refers to Jesus Christ. The horn was a symbol of power—an allusion to the strength of horned animals native to the Holy Land.
Learn More
The Birth of Jesus Christ
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Dallin H. Oaks, “Prophetic Announcements of Christ’s Birth” (First Presidency Christmas devotional, Dec. 4, 2016), Gospel Library
Mary, the Mother of the Son of God
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Becky Craven, “Following Mary’s Example,” New Era, Dec. 2018, 24–27
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Gaye Strathearn, “Mary, the Mother of Jesus,” Ensign, Jan. 2019, 12–17
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Margot Hovley, “Mary, Mother of the Savior,” Ensign, Dec. 2019, 22–23
Media
Videos
“Mary and Elisabeth Rejoice Together” (5:14)
“Mary, the Mother of Jesus” (2:11)
Images
The Angel Gabriel Appears to Zacharias, by Michael Malm
The Annunciation, by John Scott
Elisabeth and Mary, by James L. Johnson