This week’s reading: Matthew 1:1-17
Hi Friends,
I do hope you will join me in reading through this awesome Gospel of Matthew this year. To save time and space in these articles, I will only give you one or two verses from the reading for the week, but again, I hope you will read through the whole section during the week. Today we start with Matthew chapter 1 verses 1 through 17… and oh, please, do NOT get caught up or lost in all the names. We will discuss below why they are so important. Here’s the first verse:
“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:” Mt 1:1 NIV
Some background information. First, the Gospel of Matthew is written by one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus whose Hebrew name was Levi, but who was known more by Matthew, the name Jesus gave him once he became His disciple. Note in many places in the Bible, once someone had a huge conversion of heart towards God, their name was changed, for example Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter or Saul to Paul. Matthew was a tax collector at that time, which means he was hated by his people, the Jews. He was considered an enemy since he, not only worked for their enemy, the Romans, but usually tax collectors would charge extra to keep for themselves, so he was potentially stealing from his own people too. It is so incredibly reassuring that Jesus would choose him because we can see that no one is beyond redemption by God’s Grace. When Jesus saw Matthew, I am sure He looked into his heart and knew God would work through him in amazing ways. So Jesus calls Matthew to leave his world behind and to follow Jesus instead, which Matthew immediately does. And because of the love of Jesus, and the obedience of Matthew, we are blessed with this Gospel.
Four viewpoints. We all know that there are four Gospels in the Bible and the reason is that each Book gives us a different point of view about the immaculate character of Jesus. (see Rev 4:7) With Matthew, since he was involved in the governing of the people, his perspective of Jesus was as our King, symbolized as the Lion. Mark, being a servant in the spreading of the Good News in the early church partnering with both Paul and Peter, sees Jesus as a Servant, symbolized as an Ox. Luke, being a doctor, views Jesus as a Human, symbolized by a man. Lastly, John being the devoted Apostle of Jesus who witnessed so many miraculous events as he followed Jesus, points to Jesus as God, symbolized by the Eagle. Together, all four Gospels give us a clearer picture of who this amazing King of kings, Suffering Servant, Son of man and Son of God really is. Will we fully know Jesus here in this fallen world? I am sure we cannot, but we certainly can come to know Him more and more, and as we do, we become more and more like Him. So with this background above, let me make three points about our first reading.
Point 1: Proof of Jesus as the Christ. We can see that one of Matthew’s main objectives as to why he begins with this genealogy is to help his people, and now us, see that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah that came to free His people from slavery and oppression. Thus he starts with this genealogy. The Jews kept a detailed record of who was born from who, since the days of Adam. Their past was vitally important to them, especially when these chosen people became the 12 Tribes of Israel, since their heritage defined the land they would possess in the Promised Land. Here, we follow the lineage of Jesus starting with Abraham, through King David, then after the exile to Joseph, Mary’s husband. Note also the story of the birth of Jesus in this Gospel is given through the eyes of Joseph, who was considered his legal father. Once again, Matthew is following the “king lineage” of Jesus, as opposed to Luke who follow’s the “human lineage” through Mary. As a result, in the Gospel of Luke, he shares the birth of Jesus through the eye of Mary. (see Lk 4:23-38) But back to Matthew. He makes it a point to say Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of Abraham because the Jews should have known this was the line from where the Messiah would come. God had promised Abraham that his “Seed” (singular) would bless the whole world. (see Gen 22:18) God also promised King David that a King, with an Eternal Kingdom, would come from his offspring. (see 2Sa 7:11-13) Again, Matthew is laying down the ground work so that we can all see the big picture: from the beginning of Time, God had already predestined Jesus to come and save us all from selfishness, sin and death. Throughout this Gospel, you will see Matthew tying the Old Testament with the New, as he refers to the Jewish Scriptures, as well as sharing many prophecies that Jesus alone fulfills. Note also in verse 17 that Matthew says there were 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the exile, then 14 from the exile to Jesus. On purpose, Matthew excludes some names as either a way to help us memorize this genealogy or simply as a literary structure (click here for a good article if you want more information on this: https://www.gotquestions.org/14-generations.html) The point is, Matthew wants to show three important times in the Jewish history: the beginning of God’s chosen people with Abraham, the formation of the nation of Israel through King David and his descendants, then the return of this nation from exile in Babylon back to their Promised Land. This should have tied Jesus to His past and displayed who He is now and forevermore: our one and only Savior, the Messiah.
Point 2: Jesus is both God and Man. Another reason for this genealogy is that we can clearly see Jesus came from a human descent, with flawed people all the way down the line. In addition to all the men noted, please see that Matthew includes women who were a part of the lineage of Jesus. In v3 Tamar, v5 Rahab and Ruth, v6 Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, and of course, v16 Mary, His mother. The first four women are even foreigners, and some of them had shady pasts, but became an important part of the arrival of the Messiah anyway. This gives dignity to women, as well as Gentiles, who were often dismissed as a lower class of humans throughout history. One of the things Jesus came to do was to make all people equal. (see Gal 3:28) All humans are fallen, sinful and broken and in desperate need of a Savior. Thus Jesus the God Man came to save each of us from our shady pasts and grants us a holy future. What He has done for these wavering men and these devoted ladies, He can still do for you and me. So no matter what you have been through, no matter what decisions you have made in the past, please know that Jesus can redeem everything and everyone, if we simply continue to hold on to His Love and Grace.
Point 3: Names are important. From Adam to the days of Jesus at least, names signified so much more than just what to call another person. Your name was tied to your character, and often, to your mission in this life. I know we do not think this way now, but a name still brings to mind a lot about the other person. For instance, when someone says my name, Diane, you can think of the color of my hair and eyes. You can think about where I went to school or where I currently live. Or my name can bring to mind the things I speak about, the things that are important to me. In other words, it’s not just my name, but it captures as much as you know about my life, including all my personality and characteristics, both good or bad. A name speaks about who that person is, and when your name is tied to Jesus, it causes our name to have eternal importance. You see, by taking the time to write out the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew is showing us how God treasures all His children, never forgets their names, and gives us a glimpse of how each person is noticed and will live forever. Immortalized in the Bible, these forefathers, and mothers, of Jesus still hold significance. Now, I understand that our names might not be written in the Bible, but once you surrender your life to Jesus, they are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! (see Rev 3:5) Imagine this for a moment: God knows your name! That means He knows every single detail about who you were, who you are and who you will be forever.. yes the good, the bad, and even, the ugly… and He loves us, anyway! He has given us everlasting meaning, just like these people on this list, simply because He loves us. By God’s Grace, through our Faith, we are saved and our name will live on, well beyond this fading world. (Eph 2:8) This is a cause to rejoice, my Friends!
God knows your name! The Bible also says we are the apple of God’s eye. (Dt 32:10) That God has written our names on the palms of His hands. (Isa 49:16) That God even keeps all our tears in a bottle, knowing our heartaches and joys. (Ps 56:8) That He has called us by name and we are His! (Isa 43:1) Again, God knows every detail about us, from the moment we were conceived in our mother’s womb…no wait, even before that! When we were conceived in the mind and heart of God, before time began, God knew us, loved us, planned to draw us to His side, and desires for us to have Eternal Life in Jesus. We can learn all this and so much more, simply because God moved Mathew’s heart to honor the men and women that brought the Son of Man into this world, so we can be brought into His Presence. I am left speechless by the value God places in each and every one of us. How about you? Then won’t you join me?
Until we meet again, keep lifting your eyes to God, He’s closer than you think.
<>< Peace, Diane
