Matthew 1:1

"The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."

The New Testament and the gospel begin with the most seemingly unremarkable of ways.  However, it could not have begun more appropriately.  It says three things:  Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is the son of David, and Jesus is the son of Abraham.

Jesus is the Christ, the coming Messiah promised to the people of God.  The LORD has once again heard the sufferings of his people and their groans of agony under the oppressive reign of the Roman empire and of Herod.  The Gospel begins with a declaration which no one has spoken before, that the Christ has come and his name is Jesus, "God saves".

Jesus is the Son of David, the promised and everlasting king in his line.  He is the hope of God's everlasting kingdom and the fulfillment of God's covenant with David.

Jesus is also the Son of Abraham, his Seed through which God will bless every nation.  In the Old Testament, Abraham and David are the greatest hopes for the Jewish people and are symbols of God's promise.  Jesus is the embodied faithfulness of God.  Matthew starts his Gospel with a threefold statement of promise and fulfillment.  After years of anticipation, the messiah has finally come!  God has not forsaken his promises and he has not forgotten us.  This sentence points back to the entire Old Testament and you will never fully understand the New Testament until you understand what comes first.