Hey Element Church! I hope many of you will be joining me on our 28 day One Prayer journey. Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being. That He expresses God’s very character. The theme for One Prayer? God is… Well, if Jesus expresses the very character of God we’re going to see what He reflected in the Gospel of Matthew. There are 28 chapters, and we’ll be spending 28 days reading and discussing the book. I’ll make a few comments each day here on the blog. Pray along with us too. We’ve made a 28 day calendar that you can download HERE.
The prayer today? God is…Loving. Pray that God’s love would be revealed to the people of Cheyenne. That we would reflect the love of God.
When you’re reading Matthew, it is helpful to remember that he was writing to the Jewish people to convince them that Jesus was the Messiah. You’ll notice that Matthew, really more than any Gospel, uses tons of Old Testament quotes, prophets, and Jewish teachings to show that Jesus IS the fulfillment of their Scripture. That Jesus IS the promised Messiah. Matthew begins right off the bat, listing the genealogy of Christ, showing that he in fact is a decedent of King David.
The two Gospels that list genealogies are Matthew and Luke. If you read them, they seem to contradict one another. Matthews starts with Abraham and goes to Jesus. Luke goes all the way to Adam. One genealogy is through Mary’s side and the other through Joseph. BOTH showing that Jesus is in the line of David. Matthew’s is through the line of Joseph. So why show Mary’s in Luke? (You might be saying “Seriously? We’re talking genealogy?”) Let’s look at why it is so important that the Bible include BOTH genealogy’s?
The believers in Jesus are claiming that He was born of a virgin. At the same time they are claiming that he is in the line of David. Matthew, right here in v. 24 says that “Joseph did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born”. Imagine the nay-sayers. “You say Joseph didn’t contribute to the conceiving of Jesus yet you claim he is a descendant of King David? How can this be?” See why it was so important to include BOTH genealogies? For the staunch and strict law keepers who said the lineage can only be traced through the Father, you have Matthew giving the line of Joseph. For the nit-pickers who claim that Jesus isn’t the Son of David if He truly was born of a virgin you have Luke offering the line of Mary. Jesus TRULY was the Son of God (born of the Holy Spirit) AND Son of David (born in the line of the King).
Even in the His birth, Jesus is reflecting something about God. His sovereignty. One man and one woman, BOTH willing to do exactly what God told them and BOTH with direct lineage to King David and BOTH in love with the other. Only God can pull that one off.
Matthew establishes right off the bat…THIS IS THE ONE WE’VE BEEN WAITING FOR. He shows the line of David AND the conceiving of Christ through the Holy Spirit in the beginning chapter. This Jesus IS the representation of GOD to MAN! Pretty good stuff for just being genealogies huh?
Following Christ,
Jeff
