Good morning and welcome to a snow covered Panhandle. It sure is pretty, but then again praise the Lord I don't have to work out in it all day. The front porch shows 20º which is up from yesterday, we hovered around 10º.
Genealogy is a pretty cool thing at least most of the time. In the case of my family, I know that three brothers of Scotch-Irish decent on my Mom’s side came to the United States in the 1700s to make their fortunes. The youngest brother got into a knife fight not to long after they got here and killed a man. He then fled to the wilderness of Tennessee. I know that some way or another one of my early ancestor moved to Alabama and married into the Choctaw tribe and when the Indians were forced to move, my family hid out so they were not among those on the Trail of Tears.
I know that the my family fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War and that one of my great, great, greats died in a Union prison camp of pneumonia and the other rode with the 5th Calvary Unit from Alabama and fought in all of the major engagements in the western campaigns. I know that either during the war or just after Jessie James and his gang got in a shootout with some of the Scotts who raised horses. They got away with some including my great’s prize horse, but the story goes that while crossing a river the horse through Jessie James off and made it back home.
I know my great, great, great grandpa R.A Scott signed his repatriation papers in Decatur Alabama. I also know the officer presiding was a union Officer with the 7th Regiment, Illinois Cavalry and his last name was Hartley. So both of my ancestors could have met just after the Civil War.
In Jewish history the most natural and essential way to begin the story of a man’s life was to give his genealogy. This passage might appear uninteresting, so yes it would be easy to skip over all the genealogy of Christ Jesus, after all who wants to read or listen to a long list of hard to pronounce names? But it is of great importance in Jewish history. Josephus, the great Jewish historian, writing his own autobiography, began with his personal pedigree. King Herod the Great was despised by the pure-blooded Jews because he was half Edomite. As a consequence, Herod destroyed official registers so that others could not prove a more authentic pedigree than his own!
Christ Jesus' genealogy perfectly fulfilled prophecy, yet He was not conceived of carnal relations, but instead by the power of an endless life. The Prophets, declared His coming, they declared His genealogy, and more. I believe that by starting with the genealogy of Christ Jesus, Matthew shows the wonderful relationship between Christ Jesus and His people.
Matt 1:1
1:1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
1. Christ Jesus, Son of David, Son of Abraham (vs. 1)
How fitting that the first verse of the first book of the New Testament, Matthew 1:1, identifies Jesus as Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. These few words sum up the culmination of the entire Old Testament. In these words are the seeds from which the New Testament plan will grow. The expectation of the remnant, or the faithful in Israel, was the coming of the Messiah. He would be the Deliverer-King, a Savior to release Israel from its oppression, reconstituting the people as the kingdom of God. Now the long awaited, promised Messiah, the restorer of God's kingdom and the redeemer of His people had finally come. This redeemer, the Messiah is Christ Jesus.
Behind the human face of Christ Jesus is the incarnation of the eternal Word – (Lógos), according to John 1:1 ~ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Christ Jesus came to reveal the Father to His people, the Word that was God entered a predetermined time and space and became flesh. He was not conceived the way others are. In Galatians 4:4, Paul writes, But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born {gínomai (ghin'-om-ahee), to become} of a woman, born under the Law, gínomai is the same verb is used in John 1:14 ~ “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, ...” So, Matthew 1:1 does not speak simply of the birth of Jesus Christ but of the incarnation of the eternal Word.
While "Jesus" is a proper name, the title "Christ" (from Christós, the anointed one), which is the equivalent to the Hebrew "Messiah" (māšiyaḥ) [maw-shee'-akh] refers to the special anointing of the Holy Spirit on Christ Jesus' humanity. When He entered history, Christ Jesus was both God and man, capable of suffering death yet equally capable of raising Himself out of death to prove His deity and redeem His people. This is Matthew's central message, this is his purpose for writing his book.
Fully God, fully man, I know that can be hard to wrap your mind around. But here is something that is not so hard – Christ Jesus came to redeem you. Ladies you know what it means to redeem a coupon at the store, right? When I worked in retail if we were out of stock of a sales item we would issue a raincheck. When the merchandise would come in we would call the customer and then they could come in and redeem that raincheck for that item. They were claiming their merchandise. That is kind of what God did, Christ Jesus was the raincheck of sorts and when He died and rose again He made it possible for God to claim us. But in order to make that claim valid you must invite Christ Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour. Won't you do that this today.
You have to realize that Matthew in his opening sentence has made an amazing claim. At the time he was writing, many Jewish readers would have been skeptical about the idea that the man Jesus was also the promised king or Messiah. I mean let's face it, Jesus was merely a carpenter from a backwoods province, and the Jews wanted a king just like other worldly kings. You know politically connected, militarily powerful, and charismatic. His arrival should be accompanied with pomp, circumstance, with lots of fanfare and with great credentials.
Matt 1:2-17
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
2. Christ Jesus' Credentials (vs. 2-17)
Christ Jesus had the right credentials all right. Overwhelmingly so. But Christ Jesus is God, He didn't need nor was He interested in pomp. Although I gotta say a host of heavenly angles was pretty impressive.
To substantiate Christ Jesus' claim to the throne Matthew thrusts us right into his purpose. Matthew's purpose – to convey to the Jews "the generations of Christ Jesus" starting with Abraham, convincing them, and us that Christ Jesus is the Son that God promised to Abraham long before Moses and the Mosaic Law. Matthew also linked Christ Jesus to the line of the Israel's greatest King, King David, whose offspring would sit on the throne forever.
Here in verses 2 to 15, the verb egénnēsen (ek-ghen-nah'-o) is used, it means to give birth or beget. It is used when conception includes the physical father listed in the genealogy. However, in verse 16, there is an obvious shift that occurs, begat is changed to was born. The birth (not the conception) is highlighted, since the Lord, Christ Jesus was conceived by a virgin. For this reason, verse 16 says, egennḗthe (ek-ghen-nathee) "out of”, or “from within” Mary was born Jesus, the One called Christ. Joseph became Mary's husband, but Christ Jesus was conceived prior to any relations between the Joseph and Mary.
Christ Jesus is the only one who has the credentials to forgive you of your sins ~ And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." (Mark 2:5). And just like the paralytic He will forgive your sins if you ask. Why not ask right now?
3. Christ Jesus and Genealogical Prophecy (vs. 1-16)
The genealogy of Christ Jesus is linked by blood to both Abraham and David in these verses. Because the promised Christ must be descended from both of those key historical figures, the documentation of Christ Jesus' lineage was critically important. When it comes to kings, people want to know just where they come from. These first seventeen verses may seem boring to you, but they where not to Matthew's audience – first century Jews.
To understand the importance of this list you have to put yourself in the place of the first readers of Matthew's book. Lineage was important, so look at that list of names (some of which you will readily recognize), get to know these people, and recall their stories. And as you do worship God, who is the author of the creative grace that you see. Worship God, who before time knew He would come to earth as God/man to restore your relationship with Him. Worship Him, praise Him, invite Him to be the most important part of your life now and forever.
4. Christ Jesus' Genealogy in 3 Parts (vs. 17)
In the days before there was a Bible on every shelf or coffee table, people relied on memory and oral history. So Matthew traced the genealogy of Christ Jesus into three divisions from Abraham to Solomon (vs. 2-6), from Solomon to the Babylonian captivity (vs. 7-11), and from the return of the Babylonian captives to the appearance of Christ Jesus (vs. 12-16). Matthew did not mention every single ancestor, but traced the generations in systematic, memorable terms. This was to ensure they would be memorized.
In tracing the generations Matthew throws in a few surprises to help his readers begin to see the mercy and grace of God. Matthew included no less than four women in the lineage, a highly unusual approach for a Male dominated Jewish society. Also you will find some Gentiles in the list, another unusual move on Matthew's part. Stuart K. Weber, (author of Holman New Testament Commentary – Matthew) writes: From the out set, Matthew used indisputable documentation to show the first-century Jewish mind that even Gentiles are included prominently in this kingdom of the new covenant.
From before the beginning of time Christ Jesus knew He would take on a human form, a form which God the Father prepared Him; and by the overshadowing power of God the Holy Spirit, He was conceived in the womb of the virgin. May we never, never, lose sight of Christ Jesus’ infinite sacrifice, who, though God, equal with God: He brought Himself low, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, in the fashion of a man, humbling Himself even to death on the cross! And why did He do this? Because He loves you, and wants to have a personal relationship with you. But it is up to you. Christ Jesus has stretched out His nail scared hand to you, will you take it or will you brush it away.
I want a thank you for dropping by, and ask that our Lord, Christ Jesus bless you and your family greatly.
Biblesurfer
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