Introduction to the Sermon on the Mount - Part 2

Matthew opened his gospel account by tracing Jesus' line of descent from Abraham and David. This genealogy - though necessary - didn't of itself prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Christ. He needed to be a son of David's royal line to fulfill the Davidic Covenant, but in such a way that the everlasting curse on Jehoiachin's line would not be overthrown. Moreover, to be the promised Messiah Jesus needed to be Yahweh's "immanuel" Servant, Isaiah's predicted true Israel, and the Seed of Eve promised in the Garden. In his subsequent narrative Matthew meticulously demonstrated Jesus' fulfillment of each of these messianic credentials. In order to give credibility and authority to Jesus' gospel of the kingdom as presented in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew understood that it was first necessary to fully establish Jesus' credentials as the promised King of that kingdom.