Thursday November 18, 2010

Read Matthew 1:1-17

Genealogies (the long lists of names about who begat who and on and on they go) are often said by believers to be the most boring parts of the Bible. While I agree that they may be the hardest parts to read (try 1 Chronicles 1-9 for size) I don’t agree that they are boring. They are filled with intriguing facts and interesting bits that God has put there to titillate us.  They really are amazing. Today, I hope to show you how amazing some of these genealogies can really be.

Let’s start with tradition. Traditionally, only men were put into begetting part of the genealogies. Daughters were regularly mentioned but mothers were not. This ensured that a record of the lineage was kept ‘pure’. But read the genealogy again in vv1-17 and note the women that are put into the genealogy. What do you know about these women? What did they do in the Scriptures? What role did they play? It’s becoming a bit of a detective story! And now ask yourself, why did God put these women into the genealogy of Christ Jesus? He could have left them out. He could have caused the writer to forget all about them. Why were these women included in a record of the birth of our Saviour? You can think through that one.

Secondly notice how the genealogy is summed up in vs 1. Two key Old Testament players are named.

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Why are they named? What role do they have? Why are they significant? The answer for Abraham is obvious. He is the patriarchal father of the nation. He is the one who started it all. He is the one through whom all blessings shall flow to the families of the earth. The very deliberate link from Abraham to Jesus  shows us that Jesus is the one through whom families will be blessed. It’s no accident. It’s no genetic accident or natural selection wonder. It’s God bringing His Saviour into the world to bless family units - not just individuals as we are always tempted to think.

But what about King David? Why is he mentioned? Why is he listed in the summary verse with Abraham. If you read from 2 Samuel 7 onwards you’ll see that God promised David some pretty amazing things as well. God promised that a descendant of David would rule on the throne for all eternity. That’s right! One of King David’s descendants would have a never ending rule! And here in Matthew 1 we have a direct link to David. If the writer is telling us that all the promises to Abraham will be fulfilled in Christ, then he’s telling us that all the promises to David will be fulfilled in this Christ as well. Jesus is the one who rules for all eternity on God’s throne! He is the one that will bless the families of the earth.

It’s all summed up in one neat little sentence that starts off a genealogy. Who said they were boring?

Prayer:-

> Pray for Shiloh Church ministries as they serve in India. Pray that God would provide all their needs in Christ. Pray for funds, food and shelter to be made available. Pray that God would use this team to grow the kingdom tremendously.

> Pray that as we approach Christmas people will be asking you about the meaning of Christmas and that doors of gospel sharing will open up. Pray for growth in your local church.