What does Matthew 1:11 mean?

Matthew's telling of the line of Jesus, which began with Abraham and continued through David, now comes to a dramatic moment in Israel's history. God had promised King David that his descendants would rule Israel forever (2 Samuel 7:16). They did exactly that, from Solomon all the way through Jechoniah, also known as Jehoiachin. Jechoniah's reign on Israel's throne ended abruptly after only three months when Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon and many of its people carried off into captivity (2 Kings 24:8–17). His brother Zedekiah became a caretaker king over Jerusalem, but he is not in the line of Jesus. Zedekiah's reign ended in 587 BC when Jerusalem was fully and finally destroyed by Babylon after one last rebellion (2 Kings 25).

The era of the Babylonian captivity had begun and the era of the reign of David's descendants seemingly ended. It did not end for good, however. Matthew's point in making this genealogy is to show that Jesus, of David's line, will rule and reign over Israel forever, just as God promised.