LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Son of David and the Son of Abraham
The first verse of Matthew's Gospel presents the Lord Jesus Christ as ‘Son of David and son of Abraham.’ It is very interesting why the Holy Spirit chooses these two men from the Old Testament to be associated with Christ from the outset.
As we know, the son of David, according to the promises regarding descendants, was Solomon, and the son of Abraham was Isaac. But Solomon and Isaac were only shadows, types, foreshadowing the real descendant. It is true that Solomon was a king of the greatest glory, wisdom, and wealth, and Isaac was his father's only heir. But behold, Christ is the true Solomon and the true Isaac.
In a very precise manner, the Gospel of Matthew shows us, between chapters 1 and 25, Jesus being of royal blood, the son of David, that is, the true Solomon, displaying his marvellous wisdom. That is why this Gospel emphasises the teachings of Jesus. Meanwhile, chapters 26 to 28 show us Jesus as the son of Abraham, that is, the true Isaac, who, like a lamb, is offered on the altar of sacrifice, the cross.
But there is another aspect in which Jesus is also the Son of David and the son of Abraham. David and Abraham represent two covenants, because God made covenants with each of them. God promised David that he would raise up a descendant after him, one of his sons, and that he would establish his kingdom forever: “He shall build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever... and his throne shall be established forever” (1 Chr. 17:12, 14). However, this prophecy was not fulfilled in Solomon (because he died), but in Christ, because he is King forever.
On the other hand, when God promised Abraham that ‘in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed’ (Gen. 22:18), He was not referring to Isaac, but to Christ (‘And to your seed, which is Christ,’ Paul would later say in Galatians 3:16). In the Lamb of God, all nations are blessed.
In God's wisdom, Christ had to be presented in this way, associated with these two men, and moreover, in this precise order, which, as we know, is not the chronological order.