The Book of the Generation of Jesus Christ
1. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2. Abraham begot Isaac; and Isaac begot Jacob; and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers;
3. And Judah begot Perez and Zara of Tamar; and Perez begot Hesrom; and Hesrom begot Aram;
4. And Aram begot Aminadab; and Aminadab begot Naasson; and Naasson begot Salmon;
5. And Salmon begot Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begot Obed of Ruth; and Obed begot Jesse;
6. And Jesse begot David the king; and David the king begot Solomon of her [who had been the wife] of Uriah;
7. And Solomon begot Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begot Abijah; and Abijah begot Asa;
8. And Asa begot Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begot Joram; and Joram begot Uzziah;
9. And Uzziah begot Jotham; and Jotham begot Ahaz; and Ahaz begot Hezekiah;
10. And Hezekiah begot Manasseh; and Manasseh begot Amon; and Amon begot Josiah;
11. And Josiah begot Jechoniah and his brothers, at [the time] of the carrying away into Babylon;
12. And after the carrying away into Babylon, Jechoniah begot Salathiel; and Salathiel begot Zerubbabel;
13. And Zerubbabel begot Abiud; and Abiud begot Eliakim; and Eliakim begot Azor;
14. And Azor begot Zadok; and Zadok begot Achim; and Achim begot Eliud;
15. And Eliud begot Eleazar; and Eleazar begot Matthan; and Matthan begot Jacob;
16. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17. Therefore all the generations from Abraham until David [are] fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon [are] fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon until the Christ [are] fourteen generations.
The son of David, the son of Abraham
The first words said in the Gospel According to Matthew are “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” In the original Greek, the first word of this sentence is Biblos [Βίβλος] which means, “book.” In the literal sense, a book is a collection of written or printed pages that tell a story or provide information. So, we are about to read a book—not just any book—but a book about Jesus Christ.
At first, Jesus Christ is not seen as God Incarnate. He is seen as any other person born on earth—a man among men, descended from human beings, and having a specific ancestry. As it is written in the opening words of the Gospel According to Matthew: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1). From that point onwards, a descending genealogy is described, beginning with Abraham, then going downward to Isaac, then down to Jacob, whose name was changed to “Israel,” and then down to Jacob’s sons who thereafter became known as “the children of Israel.”
This downward descent continues through fourteen generations all the way down to David who is described as “the king who begot Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah” (1:6). This reference to David’s adultery suggests the moral decline that had been taking place in humanity. As things grew worse and worse, another fourteen generations of decline are described culminating in what is called “captivity in Babylon,” followed by fourteen more generations until the birth of Christ. As it is written, “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 until the birth of Christ are fourteen generations” (1:17).
At first glance, the division into three sets of fourteen generations seems to be nothing more than a mere time-marker in the genealogical record, helpful for historical purposes, but without spiritual significance. It should be kept in mind, however, that every detail of sacred scripture, even a list of names, has spiritual meaning. On one level, this list of names represents the downward descent of humanity from Abraham, to David, to the captivity in Babylon, and finally, to Joseph, the husband of Mary.
From another point of view, however, the genealogical table in Matthew also represents the descent of infinite divine love and divine wisdom as it passed through the heavens and was finally born on earth. At first, the infinite divine took on the celestial love of the highest heaven, signified by the name, “Abraham.” It then took on the divine truth associated with the next highest heaven, signified by the name “David.” Finally, as infinite love and wisdom came into the realm of nature, it took on human form as a child about to be born in the womb of a virgin. As it is written in the Hebrew scriptures, “He bowed the heavens and came down. And thick darkness was under His feet” (Psalm 18:9). 1
The statement, “thick darkness was under His feet,” signified the state of the world that Jesus was born into. It was a time when people had lost their way, and were without the light of divine truth to lead them. Nor did they understand that God who loved them with an infinite love desired that they be saved from their sins so that they might enjoy the happiness of heaven even while on earth. All this, and so much more is why God “bowed the heavens” and came down to free His people from spiritual bondage. 2
Captivity in Babylon
This spiritual bondage is represented by the descent of the human race into what is called “captivity in Babylon.” In terms of the history of the children of Israel, the captivity in Babylon describes a period of time when many of the Jewish people were forcibly taken from their homeland in Judah and carried away to Babylon as captives.
This event, which occurred around six hundred years before the birth of Christ, involved both the capture of Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple, the center of Jewish worship at that time. The destruction of the temple, along with the sixty-to-seventy-year exile in Babylon, is recorded as one of the lowest times in Jewish history. As it is written in the psalms of David, “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion” (Psalm 137:1).
This low time in the history of Israel pictures a low time in our own lives. Whenever our primary concern is for ourselves alone, with little consideration for our neighbor or thought about God, we are, spiritually speaking, “captives in Babylon.” When Babylon rules over us, making us do its bidding, we become slaves to our lower nature. Even worse, we begin to exercise dominion over others, manipulating and controlling them so that they might do our bidding. Rather than humbly obeying God and doing His will, we arrogantly expect others to do our will. This is “Babylon” in us. 3
Our descent into this kind of spiritual captivity does not happen overnight. Rather, it comes about gradually as we rely more on ourselves and less on God. Finally, there are recorded fourteen more generations, during which time we fall into utter spiritual darkness. Lacking a true idea of God, we invent our own idea, or follow false teachers, or abandon faith entirely, trusting in ourselves alone.
All would be lost if it were not for one thing. At first, we may hardly notice it at all, and yet it is the most significant moment in our lives. It begins as only a dim awareness that there is something holy, pure, and righteous in life, something that is both within us and beyond us—something higher and nobler than anything the world can offer. This realization comes to us like a single star in an otherwise dark night. It’s as if God is saying, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3).
Why God came to earth
The first seventeen verses of the Gospel According to Matthew describe humanity’s gradual descent into darkness. But they also reveal the descent of the Divine through the heavens—God’s coming down to our level, to meet us where we are. Described as a succession of “births,” these opening verses describe how, at a certain point in human history, the infinite God of the universe “bowed the heavens,” and came down to earth where He took on a finite human form.
This process by which God made His infinite glory accessible, was absolutely necessary. If He had come to earth in all His glory, no one could have survived His presence. Humanity would have been overwhelmed by the blazing heat of His love, and blinded by the brilliance of His truth. It would have been as though the sun itself, unfiltered and untempered by clouds and atmospheres, had touched the earth. Therefore, it was necessary that the glory of the infinite, invisible God be clothed in a finite, visible form. The tender warmth of celestial love and the gentle glow of spiritual truth were born on earth, accommodated to our ability to receive. 4
Something similar can be said about the literal stories of scripture. Although they are accommodated to finite, human understanding, they contain infinite levels of celestial love and divine truth. In this way, the Word of God serves as a repository for the deeper love and brighter truth that it contains. Just as the body functions as an external container for the soul, the literal sense of scripture serves as a sacred storehouse for its inner spirit. 5
Inherited tendencies to evil
The opening verses of this gospel describe a succession of births moving downward through the generations from Abraham, and then to David, and finally to Joseph. From the perspective of humanity’s gradual decline, these downward progressions describe a gradual accumulation of inherited tendencies to evil, increasing through the generations. Eventually, people lost the ability to escape this hereditary bondage.
Nevertheless, God continued to speak to His people through His prophets. As it is written in the Hebrew scriptures, “Listen to Me, My people; hear Me, My nation. Instruction will go out from Me; and My justice will become a light to the nations” (Isaiah 51:4). But the people turned away, refusing to listen. As it is written, “You refused to listen when I called, and you paid no attention when I stretched out My hand” (Proverbs 1:24). Also, “I spoke to you again and again, but you would not listen; I called to you, but you would not answer” (Jeremiah 7:13).
This was the state of things at the time of the Lord’s first coming into the world. Hereditary inclinations to evil, passed on from generation to generation, had accumulated to the point where people could no longer discern the voice of the Lord, or distinguish between good and evil, or determine right from wrong. In the language of sacred scripture, they had been “carried away captive.” Because they could no longer be reached through the prophets, or through visions, or through dreams, God had no other choice. He had to come in person. 6
A practical application
The opening verses of Matthew describe humanity’s gradual descent into darkness. This is not only true historically, but can also be true in each of our lives. As a practical example, consider how God shows up in your life, especially during dark times. Is it through a passage of scripture? Is it through a comment made by someone? Is it through a tender memory that comes to mind? Remain open to the many ways the Lord might be coming to you today. As it is written in the Hebrew scriptures, “Our God shall come, and will not be silent” (Psalm 50:3).
Joseph Awakens
18. And the birth of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother Mary, being betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, was found with child from the Holy Spirit.
19. And Joseph her husband, being just, and not willing to expose her to public infamy, intended to send her away privately.
20. And while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary thy wife, for that which is begotten in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21. And she shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.”
22. And all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was declared by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
23. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is, being translated, God with us.”
24. And Joseph, being awakened from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had directed him, and took to him his wife,
25. And knew her not, until she brought forth her firstborn Son; and he called His name Jesus.
As we have seen, the first seventeen verses of Matthew record humanity at its lowest point. This is when God finds it necessary to come to us in the only way He can, clothing His infinity in a finite human body. Therefore, we read that “the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (1:18)
In those days, a betrothal was a legal contract. While a formal ceremony would follow at a later date, the betrothal agreement was considered a covenant which could only be ended by the husband’s issuing a certificate of divorce (see Deuteronomy 24:3).
Understandably concerned that this was not his child, Joseph had decided to put Mary away secretly. In this way, he would not expose her to public humiliation and punishment. Because of this, Joseph is described as being a just man, willing to obey the law, but unwilling to expose Mary to public shame. Therefore, it is written that “he intended to send her away privately” Matthew:19).
While Joseph is considering his course of action, an angel comes to him in a dream. Reminding Joseph of his royal lineage, the angel says to him, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to yourself Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins” (1:20-21).
Joseph, as we have mentioned, is described as a just man, a man who knew the law well and practiced it faithfully. Because he knew the law, Joseph must have also known that the law included many prophesies about the coming of a Messiah, the anointed one who would lead the children of Israel out of captivity. As it is written in the next verse, “All this was done that it might be fulfilled what the Lord declared through the prophet, saying, ‘Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us” (1:23).
It might be said that as long as Joseph was immersed in the letter of the law and saw nothing higher, he was asleep spiritually. But his awakening came when an angel reminded him of a prophecy given seven hundred years earlier in the Hebrew scriptures. As it is written, “Behold a virgin shall conceive and give birth to a Son; and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
It was perhaps the remembrance of this ancient prophecy that stirred something in Joseph. For we read that Joseph, “being awakened from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord directed him, and took to him his wife. And he knew her not, until she brough forth her firstborn son; and he called His name Jesus” (1:24-25).
A practical application
The revelation of the angel—that the child born of Mary is of the Holy Spirit—pictures how the Lord awakens us to higher reality. We gradually come to see that our highest thoughts and most tender feelings have a spiritual origin. They are not our natural offspring. Rather, they are gifts and blessings that come to us from God, having their origin in God’s love and wisdom. As a practical application, then, be aware of the tendency to take credit for the wise insights that come to you and the good things that you do. Although you can adopt them as our own, as Joseph did, it’s important to remember that you are not the origin of these heavenly qualities. Instead, give God the credit for every noble thought you think, every loving emotion you feel, and every charitable action you perform. These things are born, not of you, but of the Holy Spirit with you. 7
V:
1. AC 1025:2: “When the seed of Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob is referred to, love or charity is meant. Actually, Abraham represents celestial love, and Isaac spiritual love, both of which belong to the internal person, while Jacob represents the same as they exist with the external person…. While people are reading about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for example, the angels do not have Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob in mind at all but those real things which are represented and so meant by them.” See also AC 4763:3: “In the Word by a king, especially by David, is represented divine truth.”
2. AC 4391:2: “The phrase ‘thick darkness under His feet’ denotes that the things which appear to people are relatively in darkness as is the literal sense of the Word.” See also AC 1783:2: “When heavenly light appears, then the light of the world is as thick darkness…. But when anyone is in the light of the world, then heavenly light, if it appeared, would be as thick darkness; the same as with human minds: to those who place everything in human wisdom, or in memory-knowledges, heavenly wisdom appears as an obscure nothing; but to those who are in heavenly wisdom, human wisdom is as a kind of obscure general affair, which, if there were not heavenly rays in it, would be as thick darkness.”
3. AE 811:8: “In an abstract sense, ‘the king of Babylon’ signifies the evils that destroy.” See also SD 1130: “They who are meant by Babylon are in the loves of self and of the world above all in the whole world, and the worst ones are in the love of exercising command over others.” See also AE 622:6: “The king of Babylon signifies the profanation of divine truth. Those who profane it drink it in more than others and apply it to filthy loves. They especially apply it to the love of rule, even to the transference to themselves of all divine power.”
4. AC 8760:2: “The divine good itself is an infinite flame of ardor, that is, of love, and this flame no angel in heaven can bear, for the angel would be consumed like a person if the flame of the sun were to touch him without intermediate tempering. Moreover, if the light from the flame of the divine love, which light is divine truth, were to flow in without abatement from its own fiery splendor, it would blind all who are in heaven.”
5. DeVerbo 20: “All the holiness of the Word is in its literal sense, and there is no holiness in the spiritual sense without the literal sense…. The spiritual sense without the literal sense would be like contents with no container, so like wine with no vessel to hold it…. The Lord therefore came into the world and put on the Human, so that He might also become the Word in the literal sense, or divine truth at its ultimate level. This is why the Word is said to have become flesh.”
6. AC 4180:5: “When the human race departed from the good of love and charity, it was no longer possible for [spiritual light] to be provided by way of heaven, nor consequently for wisdom and intelligence to come through to the human race. For this reason, so that the human race might be saved, the Lord out of necessity came into the world.” See also DP 328:7-8: “The case with the church is that it decreases and degenerates, and loses its pristine integrity, chiefly by reason of the increase of hereditary evil, for succeeding parents add new evil to that which they have inherited…. Nevertheless, the Lord still provides that everyone can be saved. The Lord provides that there will be some religion everywhere, and that in every religion there will be the two elements essential to salvation: belief in God, and not doing evil because it is against God.”
7. DP 321:4: “To believe and think, as is the truth, that all good and truth originate from the Lord and all evil and falsity from hell, appears as if it were impossible, when yet it is truly human and consequently angelic.” See also AC 2883: “People need to do good from themselves and to think truth from themselves. But still they need to know, and when they have been reformed, to think and believe, that everything good and everything true comes from the Lord, even the least trace of all, and to think and believe this because it is so.” See also HH 302: “If we believed the way things really are, that everything good comes from God and everything evil from hell, then we would not take the credit for the good within us or take the blame for the evil. Whenever we thought or did anything good, we would focus on the Lord, and any evil that flowed in we would throw back into the hell it came from. But since we do not believe in any inflow from heaven or from hell and therefore believe that everything we think and intend is in us and from us, we make the evil our own and defile the good with our feeling that we deserve it.”
