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1:1 [This book marks the beginning of the New Testament, which alludes to the new covenant (contract) of God to man, ushered in by Jesus Christ. This long promised new covenant was not only to Israel, but was extended to all the nations of the earth. Jesus came and strengthened the law: He changed "an eye for an eye," to "turn the other cheek;" and "love your enemies," to "bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you." He made adultery, not just the act, but the thought in the heart. He made murder, not just the act, but the anger and hate in your heart. He told us not to repay injury or insult. He told us that restraint of sin was not enough, but that we were defiled by what was in our hearts; so our hearts must be cleansed of the desire or inclination to sin.
After the Law and before Christ, the only people who received the favor of God were those who walked to the best of their ability, closely conforming to the Law's requirements; those who ignored his Law were disregarded by Him, Heb 8:9. Because of Jesus' tasting death for all men on the cross, with only a belief in His name and humble sorrow for the past, we can approach God by faith in the name of Christ to be able to receive the operations of his changing grace to purify our hearts, whatever our burden of past sins may be. He can now make you perfect in every good work to do what pleases him; a forever cleansing and perfection with resulting union that is now available to all who go to him for change. The power of God to change you is released by: 1) belief in the name of Jesus Christ, 2) belief in the good news promise of release from sin with entrance into the kingdom of God, and 3) the inward cross of self-denial. These wonderful, but forgotten, promises were made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whose ignored warnings - teachings, and promises, were treated with contempt by Israel then, and by Christendom today. Without any fear of God, Christendom ignores his teachings, his commands, and his warnings; thus they deny him as Lord and Master. As you read this Bible, with commentary, you may attain the way to salvation and disprove others, while discovering the hidden depths of the gospel that Jesus came to deliver.
"The Father is in you all, Christ is in you, and the Kingdom of Heaven is in you; there, in your hearts, is where you will find them all. Know him there searching your hearts, and find him there trying your minds and hearts; incline your ears, and give ear to him there, who will render to everyone of you according to your words and works whether they are good or evil, (George Fox)." BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. Psalm 46:10. From the Voice of the Lord: "He awaits you."]
1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
1:2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers;
1:3 And Judah begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
1:4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
1:5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
1:6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
1:7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
1:8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
1:9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
1:10 And Ezekias begat Manasseh; and Manasseh begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
1:11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brothers, about the time they were carried away to Babylon;
1:12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
1:13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
1:14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
1:15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
1:16 And Jacob begat Joseph1 the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called the Christ.
1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations.
1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, before they were married, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
1:19 Then Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was considering to put her away privately.
1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins."
1:22 Now all this took place that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet [Isaiah] who said,
1:23 "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted means, God with us."
1:24 Then Joseph awoke and did as the angel of the Lord had told him, and took Mary as his wife;
1:25 But he had no union with her until she had given birth to her firstborn son; and he called his name JESUS.
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1 This genealogy is of Jesus' natural father, Joseph. Since Joseph was not the actual father of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit was, you might be wondering how Jesus could claim to be the son of David? In Luke 3:23 we find the genealogy of Mary, saying: Joseph was the son of Heli, but Joseph was clearly the son of Jacob, Matthew 1:16. So Luke 3:23's, recording of son of Heli should be understood to mean son-in-law of Heli. Therefore this genealogy of Christ is of Joseph, while the genealogy in Luke is actually the genealogy of Mary. Actually, the word son is not in the original, so it is correct to supply either son or son-in-law in the translation. The two genealogies show that both parents were descendants of David — Joseph through Solomon (Matthew 1:7-15), thus inheriting the legal right to the throne of David, and Mary through Nathan (Luke 3:23-31), her line thus carrying the seed of David, since Solomon's line had been refused the throne because of Jechoniah's sin.
Further, By Jewish law, the name of a woman cannot be mentioned in a genealogy. For a woman's genealogy to be traced, you must use the name of her husband, but in such a way as to indicate it is really the wife's. Hebrew and Greek allow such a subtle distinction. With English we never put the article "the" in front of a name, such as the Matthew, or the Joseph. Hebrew and Greek do not have such restrictions. So, on close examination of the Greek text of Luke, every name has "the" in front of it, except the name of Joseph. This missing article of "the" indicates it is the genealogy of Joseph's wife, Mary instead. The absence of Mary's name is quite in keeping with Jewish practices on genealogies, and it was not unusual for a son-in-law to be listed in his wife's genealogy.