Grasp the GospelMatthew 1 Study Notes
General
According to Matthew 1:1, Jesus is identified as the descendant of two key figures in Israel's history. Who are they?
Answer: David and Abraham
Matthew opens his Gospel by identifying Jesus as the son of David and the son of Abraham (1:1). This isn't just a genealogical detail — it ties Jesus to two of God's biggest promises in the Old Testament. God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his family, and God promised David that someone from his line would sit on an eternal throne. By opening this way, Matthew is telling his readers up front: this is the person both promises were pointing to.
- Matthew 1:1 (BSB)“This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:”Matthew's opening line, naming both promises this genealogy invokes.
- Genesis 12:3 (BSB)“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”God's promise to Abraham that Matthew 1:1 identifies Jesus as fulfilling.
- 2 Samuel 7:13 (BSB)“He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”God's promise to David of an eternal throne, the other promise Matthew ties Jesus to.
- Galatians 3:16 (BSB)“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, "and to seeds," meaning many, but "and to your seed," meaning One, who is Christ.”Paul later clarifies that the Abrahamic promise was always headed toward one specific descendant: Christ.
Theological
Matthew's opening genealogy (1:1) identifies Jesus as "son of David, son of Abraham." What covenantal significance does this framing carry?
Answer: It presents Jesus as the promised heir of both the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants
Matthew's superscription deliberately invokes two covenants: the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:3), in which God promised worldwide blessing through Abraham's offspring, and the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7:12-13), in which God promised an eternal throne to David's line. Galatians 3:16 later makes explicit what Matthew implies here — the Abrahamic "seed" is not a collective but a single individual, Christ. Matthew 1:1 thus functions as a covenantal thesis statement for the whole Gospel: Jesus is the convergence point of God's redemptive promises to Abraham and David.
- Matthew 1:1 (BSB)“This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:”Matthew's opening line, naming both promises this genealogy invokes.
- Genesis 12:3 (BSB)“I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”The Abrahamic covenant Matthew 1:1 frames Jesus as fulfilling.
- 2 Samuel 7:13 (BSB)“He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”The Davidic covenant's promise of an eternal throne, the other covenant in view.
- Galatians 3:16 (BSB)“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, "and to seeds," meaning many, but "and to your seed," meaning One, who is Christ.”Paul's exegesis confirms the Abrahamic promise resolves to a single individual: Christ.
General
Matthew 1:22-23 says Jesus's birth fulfilled a prophecy that He would be called Immanuel. What does the name Immanuel mean?
Answer: God with us
Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah to show that Jesus's birth wasn't a surprise — God had promised it centuries in advance (Isaiah 7:14). "Immanuel" plainly means "God with us," and Matthew wants his readers to see that in Jesus, God Himself has come to be present with His people, not just to send another prophet or messenger. Isaiah 9:6 and John 1:14 point in the same direction, describing this child in language that applies to God Himself taking on human life.
- Isaiah 7:14 (BSB)“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.”The original prophecy Matthew 1:22-23 says Jesus's birth fulfilled.
- Isaiah 9:6 (BSB)“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”A related prophecy giving this coming child divine titles, reinforcing that "God with us" is meant literally.
- John 1:14 (BSB)“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”States directly what Immanuel implies: God himself took on human flesh and lived among His people.
Theological
The Immanuel prophecy (Matthew 1:23, citing Isaiah 7:14) is foundational to which doctrine, further corroborated by Isaiah 9:6 and John 1:14?
Answer: The incarnation — the eternal Son of God taking on human nature
Matthew's citation of Isaiah 7:14 asserts continuity between Old Testament prophetic expectation and its fulfillment in the person of Christ. Isaiah 9:6 ascribes explicitly divine titles to this coming child, and John 1:14 states plainly that the eternal Word took on human flesh. Together these texts ground the doctrine of the incarnation: the eternal Son did not merely inspire or empower a human messenger but took on human nature Himself, so that "God with us" is meant with full literalness rather than as a figure of speech for divine favor or presence in a general sense.
- Isaiah 7:14 (BSB)“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.”The prophecy Matthew presents as fulfilled in Christ's virgin birth.
- Isaiah 9:6 (BSB)“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”Ascribes divine titles to the coming child, supporting a literal reading of "God with us."
- John 1:14 (BSB)“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”States the incarnation directly: the eternal Word took on flesh.
General
In Matthew 1:21, the angel tells Joseph to name Mary's son Jesus. What reason does the angel give for this name?
Answer: Because He will save His people from their sins
The name "Jesus" means "the LORD saves," and the angel spells out exactly what kind of salvation is meant: not political rescue from Rome, but rescue from sin itself (1:21). Notice the specific object of that salvation: a defined people who are His, not an undifferentiated "whoever." Jesus wasn't sent on a vague mission to make salvation merely possible for whoever might happen to choose it; He came with a mission to actually save a particular people who are His. The rest of Scripture consistently describes His saving work this way — definite and effective, not just potential.
- Matthew 1:21 (BSB)“She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”The angel's instruction to Joseph, naming both the child's name and its reason.
- Acts 4:12 (BSB)“Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”Confirms salvation is found specifically and exclusively in the name given in Matthew 1:21.
- John 10:11 (BSB)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”Jesus describes His saving death as being for a specific group — "the sheep" — matching the "His people" language in Matthew 1:21.
- Titus 2:14 (BSB)“He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”Describes Christ's self-giving as purposed toward forming a particular people for Himself.
Theological
Matthew 1:21 states Jesus "will save His people from their sins." How does this phrase's particularity ("His people") bear on the design of the atonement?
Answer: It reflects the definite, particular scope of Christ's saving work toward those given to Him
The angel's wording names a defined people as the object of Jesus's saving work (1:21), not merely an undefined mass of humanity — this coheres with how the rest of the New Testament describes the atonement's design. John 10:11 depicts Christ laying down His life specifically for a particular flock, and Titus 2:14 describes His self-giving as purposed to form a people who are distinctly His own possession. Read together, these texts present Christ's saving work as definite in scope and certain in effect for those it is for, rather than a merely potential salvation extended equally and indefinitely to all without distinction. Acts 4:12 underscores that this salvation is found nowhere else and in no one else.
- Matthew 1:21 (BSB)“She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”The angel's instruction to Joseph, naming both the child's name and its reason.
- Acts 4:12 (BSB)“Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”Establishes salvation as exclusively located in Christ, grounding the exclusivity implied by "His people."
- John 10:11 (BSB)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”Christ's own description of His death as particular in object — "for the sheep" — not undirected.
- Titus 2:14 (BSB)“He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”States the purpose of Christ's self-giving as the formation of a particular possessed people.
General
According to Matthew 1:24, how did Joseph respond after waking from his dream?
Answer: He did as the angel commanded and took Mary as his wife
Joseph obeyed right away, even though his situation was socially difficult and hard to explain to others. His prompt, simple obedience to God's word — without demanding to understand everything first — echoes a pattern seen elsewhere in Scripture: genuine faith responds to what God says, even before every question is answered.
- Matthew 1:24 (BSB)“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife.”Joseph's immediate response to the angel's instruction.
- Genesis 6:22 (BSB)“So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.”An earlier example of immediate, complete obedience to a difficult, hard-to-explain instruction from God.
- Hebrews 11:8 (BSB)“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.”Names this pattern explicitly as faith: obeying God's word without needing to understand the outcome first.
Theological
Joseph's response in Matthew 1:24 ("he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him") exemplifies what category of obedience seen elsewhere in redemptive history?
Answer: Obedient faith that acts on God's revealed word without full understanding
Joseph's immediate action on waking situates him within a recurring biblical pattern of faith expressed as obedience: Noah's response to a difficult command was total and complete (Genesis 6:22), and Abraham set out for an unknown destination on nothing more than God's word (Hebrews 11:8). In each case, obedience precedes full comprehension — the response is trust in the word of the One who commands, not merely intellectual agreement. Joseph stands in this line, illustrating that genuine faith is inherently active rather than passive.
- Matthew 1:24 (BSB)“When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife.”Joseph's immediate response to the angel's instruction.
- Genesis 6:22 (BSB)“So Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.”Establishes the pattern: complete obedience to a command that was difficult to fully understand in advance.
- Hebrews 11:8 (BSB)“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going.”Explicitly names this kind of response "faith," the same category Joseph's obedience belongs to.