Matthew was a meticulous recorder of information. Like all of the 1st followers of Jesus, he was Jewish.
In the 1st chapter of the gospel account he wrote (with a Jewish audience in mind), he wanted to show that his readers will "see" the messianic lineage of Jesus -- that He was the Promised Messiah according to their traditions and the religious prophesies.
[Messiah in Hebrew means the Anointed One, Christ (in the Greek)]
Matthew structured the genealogy of Jesus in three sets (of generations), demonstrating that the Ancient Jews kept careful records and that it will show that Jesus is a descendant of Abraham and a legal heir of King David, which would have been requirements for the Messiah.
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
4 Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9 Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
15 Elihud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph,
the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
The Hebrew word Messiah is from the Aramaic, Messias (same meaning).
Christianity identifies Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, (Christ in the Greek). He fulfills the Old Testament Jewish prophecies and is the Savior of the world, the Redeemer who brought spiritual salvation through his death and resurrection, the final sacrifice, the ransom for sinners.
Jesus is The Way (the way back to the Father, The Creator of heaven and earth). His followers were 1st called followers of The Way. They were essentially a sect of the Jewish faith. After Jesus resurrected from the dead, his followers spread Jesus' teachings to Gentiles (non-Jews) and eventually they were called Christians.
Today, Christians are sub-divided into 3 main branches, Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. They all call Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord, and Savior of the world.
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