A Journey is defined as the act of traveling from one place to another. In this blog, my hope is that we will all be able to do just that as we take this journey throughout the Word of God together. Thanks for joining me! My prayer is that we will all grow in our relationship with God as we allow His Word to speak into our lives.
The Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy list that starts with Abraham and ends with Jesus. Why is it important to include this? Matthew saw it important to prove that Jesus came from the bloodline of Abraham and David, whom God had promised generations earlier the Messiah would come from. Proving Jesus was a direct descendant from the line of Abraham only enhanced the validity that Jesus was actually the promised Messiah.
This genealogy is broken up into three sections. The first section is Abraham through David. 14 generations in all. (Matthew 1:2-6) In this section we see the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We see a woman, Tamar, who deceived to bear children. We see another woman, Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho. We see Ruth and Boaz, the story of God’s love. We see King David, who slayed giants and ruled Israel.
The second section is David through the exile. (Matthew 1:6-11) 14 generations is all. In this section we see Solomon, who gained wisdom and built the temple. We see kings that possessed success and failure. We see Josiah who reintroduced God’s people to the Mosaic law and to God. Also, we see Israel being exiled to Babylon.
The third section is the exile to Jesus. (Matthew 1:12-16.) In this section we see the remnant of Israel coming back to Jerusalem. We see Joseph, the husband of Mary. And we see God’s story of redemption fulfilled in the Son of God, Jesus.
What is so great about this family tree is we see stories of redemption, overcoming struggles, reconciliation, failure, grace, and promises kept. To see flawed people, struggling with their own issues, used to bring the Son of God into the world gives us hope that God can use us in a powerful way as well. No matter how you see yourself, God sees you as His and wants to do great things through your life.
Questions to consider: 1.) In the 42 people mentioned, who do you relate to the most and why? 2.) How does God want to use you to bring the Gospel into the darkness? 3.) Do you see yourself as His…or just flawed? Why?
-Jordan
A Journey With Jesus 