The four Gospels can each be considered a biography of the man Jesus. Each gospel emphasises a particular aspect of His person - Matthew presents Him as the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, who brings the heavens to earth; Mark presents Him as a slave, the Servant of God, labouring faithfully for Him; Luke presents Him as a genuine man, the only proper and normal man who has ever lived - as such a man, He is the Saviour of mankind; and John presents Him as the Son of God, the very God Himself becoming flesh, coming to be life to His people.
The opening of each of the gospels differs according to the aspect that the writer was portraying. A king needs to have his genealogy established, to prove that he is the rightful heir of the throne; so Matthew lists the genealogy of Jesus, starting with Abraham, through David, and ending with Mary. Mark, on the other hand, offers no genealogy - no-one has any interest in the background of a slave. To establish that Jesus was a genuine man, Luke also needed to establish His genealogy, this time starting with Adam and down to Joseph, the husband of Mary. Since John is showing us that Jesus is the eternal God manifested in the flesh, he too has no need to establish a genealogy.
So many believers are uninterested in the genealogies, skipping over chapters full of "so-and-so begat so-and-so, who begat so-and-so", yet even these simple verses are full of significance. For instance, in Matthew's record, of all the antecedents listed, only five are women. Mary, of course was a chaste virgin, but the other four were not so pure - Tamar committed incest, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth's tribe was the product of incest, and Bathsheba committed adultery - yet each one is specifically mentioned in the genealogy of the King. This shows us that no matter what our original condition, God can still work something marvellous through us, and we can participate in the enjoyment of the birthright of Christ.
Consider the example of Bathsheba. Matthew 1:6 says, "...And David begat Solomon of her who had been the wife of Uriah". Matthew specifically mentions Bathsheba as being another man's wife to emphasise the greatness of David's sin. 2 Samuel 11:2-27 records how King David committed adultery with her, causing her to become pregnant, and then arranged for Uriah to be in the front line of battle. Uriah was killed in action, and David took Bathsheba as his wife. This greatly displeased God, who sent the prophet Nathan to rebuke David. Psalm 51 records David's repentance in reaction to this rebuke:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from Your presence,
And do not take the Spirit of Your holiness away from me.
Restore to me the gladness of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
David's repentance issued in God's forgiveness, and as a result, Solomon was born, the one who would build the temple of God in Jerusalem. So this passing reference in Matthew's genealogy to Bathsheba shows us how how our transgressions, followed by our repentance and turning back to God, issue in forgiveness, through which God can continue to bless us.
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