Matthew includes the genealogy of Jesus in his birth story for a couple different reasons. The first of these being that Matthew wanted to prove to people that Jesus was born of a noble bloodline. If he could trace every generation before Jesus back to David, back to Abraham, then there would be more credibility to the name of this newborn child. The second reason is the fulfillment of prophesy; Matthew wants to prove that the savior the profits spoke of has come. This is the most prominent of the themes used to by Matthew to write this story in an ancient biography format. In addition to this he also wants to prove that Jesus is of the same bloodline as legends. Just like Moses and David, Jesus will be a prophet of God raised up to be the new messiah of the people. I think this is also where Matthew inserts that the baby needed to be moved to Egypt, it not only fulfills the prophecy, but it acts as if Jesus is the second coming of Moses. As Moses delivered the people from Egypt, so shall Jesus be the new savior of the people.

Overall, Matthew wants to set the stage for what would come next in his gospel. He wants to start out the life of Jesus as extraordinary. By letting the audience know that Jesus was predicted, chosen, and conceived by none other then God it makes it easier to believe the miraculous life Jesus would live throughout the rest of his story.