13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

The genealogy of Christ contains highly revered individuals, shady characters and also many non-descript sorts. In fact, there are some in His background that are only mentioned in this list. While Zerubbabel was in the line of David and a significant governor of Israel after the Babylonian captivity, his immediate descendants, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar and Matthan were somewhat obscure in Jewish history, except for their mention in the heritage of Jesus. Indeed, the line of David fell into relative obscurity after the Babylonian captivity.

Is this just an unimportant, extraneous and unnecessary detail in a boring section of Scripture? There is great importance in the inclusion of these names. First, they establish the direct tie between Jesus and the dynasty of David – for the Lord was to be a rightful heir to the throne of David. Second, this demonstrates the faithfulness of God to His promise to David that his throne would last forever. Now, in Jesus, this would be the case. Third, and on a more personal note, the mere mention of a man’s name in Scripture was a high honor for that man. It reminds us that it is extremely significant that the name of every single believer is written down in the “Lamb’s Book of Life” (Rev 13:8, 21:26)!

The blood line in Matthew’s list ends with Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus, the husband of Mary who was the earthly mother of Jesus. It is clear from the original Greek that Jesus was biologically related to Mary, but not to Joseph. He was the adoptive father, having been married to the one through whom deity infiltrated humanity. Jesus had no biological father, the Holy Spirit having impregnated Mary (Luke 1:35). Mary, the fourth woman mentioned, was herself not without controversy, being considered the mother of an illegitimate child (as was supposed by some Jews of that day). Yet this provided the fulfillment of God’s promise to provide a Messiah for Israel in the line of David. God always keeps His promises!

Lord, thank you that in Your grand plan for saving the world through the Davidic descendant, Jesus, You have written me in the Lamb’s Book of Life.