Why does Matthew's opening verse reach back to the beginning of the kingship idea?
Matthew presents Christ as King, so its opening verse traces the kingship idea back to Abraham, where that idea began. Scripture then drives readers to the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 12, the foundational, unbreakable agreement that ultimately moves into Israel.
Les teaches that although the Kingdom goes all the way through the Gospels, Matthew uniquely refers to it as the Kingdom of Heaven. Because Matthew presents Christ as the King, the very opening verse of the book reaches back to where the whole kingship idea began—Abraham. Verse 1 drives readers back to the beginning of all this, specifically the Abrahamic covenant, so Les turns to Genesis chapter 12, verses 1, 2, and 3. He explains that a covenant is an agreement that originates and ends in God; though it is made with Abraham and will fall into the nation of Israel, it never becomes invalid, is never broken, and is never rescinded.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
More Questions
Why does the New Testament start with Abraham in Matthew 1:1?
Matthew 1:1 deliberately starts with Abraham because that is where the biblical kingship idea and the Abrahamic covenant began.