Matthew Chapter 1

Alright here we go!I am so excited..........wait a minute........what's that.....a list of names?? A genealogy? *YAWN* *SNORE* *HEAD THUMPS ON TABLE*

Whoa!! Sorry I must have dozed off. Please excuse me, I mean no disrespect but does anyone really read these long lists of names? This person was the father of that person and so on and so forth. Be honest, do you just skip over these parts like I do? Come on.....I said be honest.....God knows!!

I always ask myself what the point is to listing these family trees in Scripture. What is it that God wanted to tell us when He included them in His Holy Word? I have to believe that He has a reason.....and He does.

In this instance (by the way, I am not an authority on Scripture. I only know what I have read and researched. If I am wrong or you have another viewpoint or something to add please let me know and I will include it in another post.)God is letting us know that Jesus fulfilled one of the prophecies that stated that the Messiah would come from David's family tree. Another significant part found here is verse 17 when the author adds up the generations and groups them in 14. Fourteen is a multiple of 7 which I believe is the number that signifies perfection as it relates to God's creation being done in seven days.

So even if it seems boring or insignificant God has a reason behind every word found in the Bible!! Maybe next time we see a list of names we will pay more attention and show the proper respect for God's Holy Word!!

The next thing I want to point out is in both translations (NLT and NIV)the author clearly states that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ or "The Anointed One". Right away in verse one Matthew places this very important title on Jesus. When he is finished with the genealogy he again points to it and when he starts his next section about the birth of Jesus he includes the title again. He is clearly stating the point of his book.....to let everyone who reads it know for a fact that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who was prophesied about all throughout the Old Testament.

As I read through the birth account of Jesus I can't help but think what a great guy Joseph was. Here he is engaged to Mary and all of a sudden she shows up with a bun in the oven. He had every right to scorn her publicly and have her tried. Under the penalty of Jewish Law I believe she could have been killed for this infraction. But Joseph keeps things quiet even under the intense scrutiny that he himself must have been under. If you haven't seen the movie "The Nativity Story" I highly recommend it. It is a wonderful film that attempts to portray what Joseph and Mary must have been feeling inside as all of this was unfolding around them. I try to watch it with my family every Christmas Eve to remind myself how amazing it was for Jesus to come down to earth for us in this manner.

As Joseph struggled with this God gave him reassurance in a dream. When Joseph woke up he knew he was doing the right thing. He married Mary even though the society around him must have thought he was crazy. He was probably shamed and made fun of around town but he was obedient to God's will for him and God used him in an amazing way. We don't know too much more about Joseph, all we know is that he obeyed God even though it must have been extremely difficult and uncomfortable to do so.

Well, that's it for Matthew Chapter 1. Let me know your thoughts.
God bless.