6. "THE BOOK OF THE GENERATION OF JESUS CHRIST"
The first verse of the Gospel is evidently based upon the formula, occurring for the first time at Gen. 5:1, which marks off the divisions of the book of Genesis. It is most naturally regarded as a heading for the genealogy that follows in Matt. 1:2-17. There is only one objection to that view. In Genesis "the book of the generations of Adam," or "the generations of Shem" or the like, introduces an account, not of ancestors of the persons in question, but of their descendants. In Matt. 1:2-17, on the contrary, we have an account not of descendants of Jesus, but of ancestors. This objection has led some scholars to regard Matt. 1:1 as the title not of the genealogy but of the whole Gospel. The title would then represent Jesus as the beginning of a new race, or of a new period in the history of humanity.
This interpretation is unnecessarily subtle. It should rather be admitted that there is a difference between the phrase in Genesis and that in Matthew. The difference is very natural. In the case of Abraham the descendants were in view; in the case of the Messiah, the ancestors. Adam and Noah and Abraham were bearers of a promise; Christ was the culmination. Genesis looks forward; Matthew looks back. The difference in the use of the phrase is natural and significant.
The title, with the whole genealogy, is significant of what is to follow. At the very start, the ruling thought of Matthew's Gospel finds expression. Jesus is son of David, and son of Abraham; he is the culmination of the divine promise.
In the Library.—Purves, "Christianity in the Apostolic Age," pp. 270-272, 290-293. Davis, "Dictionary of the Bible": Purves (supplemented), articles on "Gospel" and "Matthew." M'Clymont, "The New Testament and Its Writers," pp. 1-20. Stevens and Burton, "A Harmony of the Gospels." Ellicott, "A New Testament Commentary for English Readers," vol. i: Plumptre, "The Gospel According to St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke," pp. xli-xliii, 1-186. Zahn, "Introduction to the New Testament," vol. ii, pp. 367-427, 506-601. The last-named work is intended primarily for those who have some knowledge of Greek, but can also be used by others.