Matthew 1

Matthew is the first gospel and book of the New Testament. Matthew was on of the twelve disciples, like John. He writes extensively about the sermon on the mountain. He also presents some of the Christmas story. Heres Chapter One: http://www.esvbible.org/Matthew+1/

Matthew begins his book with the genealogy of Jesus. He starts with Abraham because Abraham is considered the first Jew. God also promised Abraham that the one who would save the world would come from Abraham's line. From there, we see stories from Genesis that most people would recognize. Abraham fathered Isaac, who fathered Jacob, who fathered Judah and his brothers. Maybe you don't recognize Judah, but his brother was Joseph, who had the coat of many colors. He seems like an unusual choice to carry the Christ line, and if you continue, you see why. He and Tamar had a child together named Perez. These two were not married, Tamar was Judah's daughter-in-law. Then, a few more generations go by and we reach Rahab, another woman mentioned. She had a nickname, Rahab the Prostitute. To add to that, she was not even Jewish. Another unusual place for the Christ to come from. She later changed her name to Naomi. Her daughter-in-law is also mentioned, Ruth. Ruth has a book about her in the Old Testament. She was not Jewish either. She was part of a race condemned because of their unwillingness to turn to God. She mothered Obed and Obed fathered Jesse. Jesse, as some of you may know, is the father of King David. King David is a huge important person, who God promised to put Christ in his line since he was such a good servant. and Matthew could have just gone on to mention his son, Solomon, another important person, because genealogies usually only include males, but he again puts some focus on the strangeness of Christ's line. He mentions Bathsheba and Bathsheba's husband, who is not David. David had an affair with Bathsheba, and she became pregnant with his child. When David found out, he had Bathsheba's husband killed. That doesn't sound like a good place for the Christ to come from because David had other sons. After Solomon, a few more generations pass by, and eventually you reach Jechoniah and his brothers. From David until Jechoniah, the men mentioned have all been kings. It ends with Jechoniah when he gets dethroned by the king of babylon and exiled. After that, more generations pass and finally you reach Joseph. From Abraham to David there are 14 generations, and from David to the exile there are 14 generations, and from the exile to Jesus, there are 14 generations. I've said it before, God is very deliberate when He does things, and He planned this family tree meticulously. After all this effort, why did He include some shady characters? The answer lies in reaction. If any of these people who seem like odd choices had tried to declare they belong in Heaven by what they have done, would not pass the test. At the time, that was the way. But after Judah sold his brother into slavery, Joseph grew to be powerful and could have had him executed, but Judah bowed and begged forgiveness, which Joseph gave. Just as Jesus forgives us despite how we condemn Him. David was a man after God's own heart, but he went off and had an adulterous relationship and murdered. Not the story you bring up at a family reunion. God chose that because David actively sought forgiveness. The exile dethroned the royal line, so when Jesus came, the Jews wanted a king.

Now we have a shorter Christmas story than what we find in Luke. Joseph was pledged to be married to Mary, but she realized he was pregnant before the wedding. Joseph was an honorable man, as right to raise the Messiah, so he decided to divorce Mary quietly. While considering this, an angel came to him in a dream and told him not to. He explained that the son was a Messiah, and they should name Him Jesus because He wil save humanity. All this must happen so what God said through the prophets will come true, and as we know, God always keeps His promises. Joseph listened and everything happened the way that the angel said. Mary gave birth to a son and they named Him Jesus.