January
1st
Matthew 1
A. The Person of the King
The Genealogy of Christ
1:
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son
of Abraham. 2: Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob
begat Judas and his brethren; 3: And Judas begat Phares and Zara of
Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4: And Aram
begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5: And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and
Obed begat Jesse; 6: And Jesse begat David the king; and David the
king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7: And
Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8:
And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat
Ozias; 9: And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz
begat Ezekias; 10: And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat
Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11: And Josias begat Jechonias and his
brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12: And
after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and
Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13: And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud
begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14: And Azor begat Sadoc; and
Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15: And Eliud begat
Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16: And
Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who
is called Christ. 17: So all the generations from Abraham to David
are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into
Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into
Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
The
Birth of Christ
18:
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother
Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost. 19: Then Joseph her husband, being a
just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to
put her away privately. 20: But while he thought on these things,
behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,
Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife:
for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21: And she
shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he
shall save his people from their sins. 22: Now all this was done,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying, 23: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us. 24: Then Joseph being raised from sleep
did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his
wife: 25: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn
son: and he called his name JESUS.
In
this first chapter Matthew presents the credentials of the Messiah of
Israel. He is ‘Son of David’ (The most common title) and ‘Son
of Abraham’. In the first part of Matthews Gospel and the first
part of Christ’s ministry Jesus is presented as ‘Son of David’.
He has the right to sit on David’s throne. The ‘son of David’
was Solomon - the greatest king of Israel. Solomon was the richest
and wisest King to live on earth. Jesus simply says of himself ‘a
Greater than Solomon is here’. Christ was greater in wisdom in that
he answers without any difficulty all of the most baffling questions
of the Rabbis. Even his enemies said of Him ‘has any man spoken
like this man’? When he has answered every question he asks one of
his own and everyone is silenced. His question was how can David’s
son - be his Lord? There was no answer from the teachers of Israel.
And the answer of course is ! David’s Son – Jesus Christ, is
David’s LORD. Christ as David’s son has All authority In heaven
and on earth. The second part of Christ’s ministry displays the
fact that Christ is ‘Son of Abraham’. The ‘son of Abraham’
was Isaac. The Lord Jesus learned obedience by the things that he
suffered. He was willing to be led up Moriah’s hill. And he was
willing to do something against his own will. He was willing to be
laid upon the wood. The only difference was that for Isaac there was
a substitute. Matthew is very clear that Mary was a virgin. He says
that she was betrothed but ‘before they came together - she was
found to be with child’. Joseph’s reaction as a righteous man was
to divorce her on the grounds of impurity, but while he hesitated an
angel of the Lord appears to him, to tell him that she is not impure
and that this pregnancy is the work of God the Holy Spirit and that
his sole responsibility is to go ahead and marry her and to name the
child - Jesus. Joseph took Mary as his wife but did not have sexual
union with her until after the birth of her son and he named the
child – Jesus, which means ‘Jehovah is the Saviour’.
- Make a list of the ancestors of Joseph
- What are your thoughts about Josephs position in the story of the birth of Christ?
- In this passage what do we learn about the mission that Christ was to fulfill?
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