Matthew continues on by a writing about the Magi (wise men) who came to Jerusalem in search of the Messiah. They had seen His star in the sky and set out to worship Him. King Herod did not like this and questioned the validity of their claims. He was reminded of what the prophet Micah said:

“But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” (Micah 5:2,4)

Herod sent them to find out where this baby was so they could report back to him…but the wise men never did because they had been warned in a dream not to go back.

I wanted to focus on the Magi’s reaction when they saw the star stop over Bethlehem. It says:

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” (Matthew 2:10)

They understood the magnitude of the moment. They knew what the prophecy said, and were overjoyed at the proof of its validity. I want to ask…when is the last time you have been overjoyed by Jesus? Maybe the better question is why doesn’t He bring us more joy? Could it be that we have spent so much time seeking joy in other things that Jesus just falls into the group with everything else? I have been struggling with joy lately in my own life…but I came to the realization that I’m not experiencing joy because I’m seeking it in something other than Jesus. Maybe it’s time we allow the name of Jesus to overjoy us again…that way others will see we have something worth sharing.

Jesus can fill you with joy like nothing else will…will you let Him?

So Matthew only gives a short account of the birth of Jesus. What’s interesting is that Matthew focuses on the perspective of Joseph. Joseph was engaged to Mary…he was going to take her home as his wife. Matthew writes that Joseph was faithful to the law, which meant he could not accept Mary being pregnant so he was going to quietly divorce her to save face.

It took an angel of the Lord coming to Joseph in a dream to change his mind. The angel explains it and then gives Joseph the command to name the baby “Jesus.” In the Greek, the name Jesus is actually “Joshua” and it means God saves. Joseph would’ve known of the Joshua who was the great military leader of the Old Testament, assuming JESUS would be the great leader now.

Matthew points out that this had been prophesied about by the prophet Isaiah:

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14

Joseph was obedient to the angel…but think about what he almost missed out on because of his obedience to the law. Could it be possible, that sometimes even in our own lives we become so devoted to the customs of the church that we may actually be missing out on what God’s doing elsewhere? Could it be possible that we spend so much time inside our walls that we are missing God outside of them?

If we truly want to experience God and how awesome He is, I truly believe we must step out of routine, comfort, and knowledge. It was uncomfortable, against the law, and unusual for Joseph to follow the angel and not the law…but look at the result! What movements of God could you be holding back from that God wants you to pursue? Get uncomfortable…be a little strange. It might just be the beginning of something incredible.

Questions: 1.) How comfortable are you with the “church” atmosphere? Is that really all that God wants from you? 2.) What routines have you maybe declared law in your life? 3.) What has God been pushing you to do that you’ve been holding back on?

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