Loquere Domine #1:
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
Lectio
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac. And Isaac begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Judas and his brethren. And Judas begot Phares and Zara of Thamar. And Phares begot Esron. And Esron begot Aram. And Aram begot Aminadab. And Aminadab begot Naasson. And Naasson begot Salmon. And Salmon begot Booz of Rahab. And Booz begot Obed of Ruth. And Obed begot Jesse.
And Jesse begot David the king. And David the king begot Solomon, of her that had been the wife of Urias. And Solomon begot Roboam. And Roboam begot Abia. And Abia begot Asa. And Asa begot Josaphat. And Josaphat begot Joram. And Joram begot Ozias. And Ozias begot Joatham. And Joatham begot Achaz. And Achaz begot Ezechias. And Ezechias begot Manasses. And Manasses begot Amon. And Amon begot Josias.
And Josias begot Jechonias and his brethren in the transmigration of Babylon. And after the transmigration of Babylon, Jechonias begot Salathiel. And Salathiel begot Zorobabel. And Zorobabel begot Abiud. And Abiud begot Eliacim. And Eliacim begot Azor. And Azor begot Sadoc. And Sadoc begot Achim. And Achim begot Eliud. And Eliud begot Eleazar. And Eleazar begot Mathan. And Mathan begot Jacob.
And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations, from Abraham to David, are fourteen generations. And from David to the transmigration of Babylon, are fourteen generations: and from the transmigration of Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations. [1:1-17; DRV]
On Matthew 1:1
It is most fitting that St. Matthew should open his Gospel with the same phrase that Moses uses in both Genesis 2:4 to refer to the generations of heaven and earth, and also in Genesis 5:1 to refer to the generations of Adam. This phrase, in the Greek Septuagint is biblos geneseos, or book of the genealogy. We can be of no doubt that the Holy Spirit, the true Author of all Revelation, wants us to understand that: 1stly, the Gospel narrates a new creative act of Almighty God, namely, the redemption of men; 2ndly, the generations of Jesus Christ are not those of flesh and blood, but of spirit, and that all the baptised of the Catholic Church are the new race of Christ, made pure through Baptism, and perfected by grace through faith and good works. We must also understand that the old order and the Old Covenant is ended, and the new order and the New Covenant is come.
St. Matthew's Gospel, because it mirrors Genesis and because he is believed to have written first, is placed first in the New Testament.
Principally writing to a Jewish audience, St. Matthew begins his genealogy with the Patriarch Abraham, through King David. The Apostle does this to establish Christ's identity as the royal Messiah of Israel. From Abraham, God promised that kings would stem from his line (Gen. 17:6). God later promised an heir to King David, who would rule the House of David forever, and whose Kingdom shall stand forever (2 Kings (2 Sam) 7:12-16; Ps 88 (89): 4-5). All this comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle records Jesus as Christ, coming from the Greek christos, meaning anointed, or messiah. In the Old Testament, such a designation was given to three offices: priests (Lev. 4:3,5), prophets (3 Kings (1 Kings) 19:16) and kings (3 Kings (1 Kings) 19:16; Ps 88:21 (89:20)). All three were actually anointed with holy oil, the same used today in the Church for various ceremonies, and which is called Sacred Chrism. Our Lord exercised all three offices in His Person; as Priest He administered to the people, offered the Sacrifice of the Cross and sanctified His people; as Prophet, by announcing the Gospel and by foretelling His own Passion; as King, by ruling His Church, and, through Her, all the nations. Christ never ceases to exercise these functions, but rather is a constant model for Christians, who must be priests, prophets and kings in their own ways.
The Apostle wishes to show that Christ is the new David prophesied to restore the Kingdom (Is. 9:6-7; 11:1-5; 55:3-5; Jer 23:5-6; Ezech 34:23-24; Osee (Hosea) 3:4-5; Amos 9:11-12). He does this by referring to Our Lord as Son of David (1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30,31; 21:9,15; 22:42-45). By this, St. Matthew shows Christ's royal status; and not as King of Israel only, but as King of all nations, for the old kingdom is fulfilled in the Kingdom of Heaven, which on earth is the Catholic Church.
Although, as mentioned above, the offices of priests, prophets and kings were usually accompanied by a physical anointing with hallowed oil, yet Christ is never said to be anointed thus; His anointing is the Holy Spirit, as it was written of Him (Is 11:2; 61;1; Zech 6:13) (Cf. CCC 436). In this, we bear witness to the Holy Trinity: the Father sends the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, as the Trinity worked to bring about the old creation, so They work together to bring about the new creation.
Alas! all this comes from only one verse of Scripture! I have only thus far commented on the first verse! What Divine Wisdom! What mystery! Can the Truth of God ever be exhausted?
It is most fitting that St. Matthew should open his Gospel with the same phrase that Moses uses in both Genesis 2:4 to refer to the generations of heaven and earth, and also in Genesis 5:1 to refer to the generations of Adam. This phrase, in the Greek Septuagint is biblos geneseos, or book of the genealogy. We can be of no doubt that the Holy Spirit, the true Author of all Revelation, wants us to understand that: 1stly, the Gospel narrates a new creative act of Almighty God, namely, the redemption of men; 2ndly, the generations of Jesus Christ are not those of flesh and blood, but of spirit, and that all the baptised of the Catholic Church are the new race of Christ, made pure through Baptism, and perfected by grace through faith and good works. We must also understand that the old order and the Old Covenant is ended, and the new order and the New Covenant is come.
St. Matthew's Gospel, because it mirrors Genesis and because he is believed to have written first, is placed first in the New Testament.
Principally writing to a Jewish audience, St. Matthew begins his genealogy with the Patriarch Abraham, through King David. The Apostle does this to establish Christ's identity as the royal Messiah of Israel. From Abraham, God promised that kings would stem from his line (Gen. 17:6). God later promised an heir to King David, who would rule the House of David forever, and whose Kingdom shall stand forever (2 Kings (2 Sam) 7:12-16; Ps 88 (89): 4-5). All this comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
The Apostle records Jesus as Christ, coming from the Greek christos, meaning anointed, or messiah. In the Old Testament, such a designation was given to three offices: priests (Lev. 4:3,5), prophets (3 Kings (1 Kings) 19:16) and kings (3 Kings (1 Kings) 19:16; Ps 88:21 (89:20)). All three were actually anointed with holy oil, the same used today in the Church for various ceremonies, and which is called Sacred Chrism. Our Lord exercised all three offices in His Person; as Priest He administered to the people, offered the Sacrifice of the Cross and sanctified His people; as Prophet, by announcing the Gospel and by foretelling His own Passion; as King, by ruling His Church, and, through Her, all the nations. Christ never ceases to exercise these functions, but rather is a constant model for Christians, who must be priests, prophets and kings in their own ways.
The Apostle wishes to show that Christ is the new David prophesied to restore the Kingdom (Is. 9:6-7; 11:1-5; 55:3-5; Jer 23:5-6; Ezech 34:23-24; Osee (Hosea) 3:4-5; Amos 9:11-12). He does this by referring to Our Lord as Son of David (1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30,31; 21:9,15; 22:42-45). By this, St. Matthew shows Christ's royal status; and not as King of Israel only, but as King of all nations, for the old kingdom is fulfilled in the Kingdom of Heaven, which on earth is the Catholic Church.
Although, as mentioned above, the offices of priests, prophets and kings were usually accompanied by a physical anointing with hallowed oil, yet Christ is never said to be anointed thus; His anointing is the Holy Spirit, as it was written of Him (Is 11:2; 61;1; Zech 6:13) (Cf. CCC 436). In this, we bear witness to the Holy Trinity: the Father sends the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, as the Trinity worked to bring about the old creation, so They work together to bring about the new creation.
Alas! all this comes from only one verse of Scripture! I have only thus far commented on the first verse! What Divine Wisdom! What mystery! Can the Truth of God ever be exhausted?