The Gospel of Matthew starts right off with a rousing genealogy! For many of us this seems boring and we wonder why tell us all of this family tree information. For the Jewish audience that Matthew was writing to, and for many cultures even in today's world, the heritage and lineage of Jesus is important and inspiring! I have heard of tribal groups in third world countries that were swayed towards the Gospel message because they are from people groups that also value family heritage.
Matthew begins his genealogical discourse with the father of the Jewish people Abraham. The other genealogy presented by Luke interestingly goes back through Adam to God! This makes sense when you realize who the audience of each writer was. Matthew is writing with a Jewish audience in mind, and Luke was writing more for a Gentile audience.
A close look at Matthew's gospel reveals some interesting characters. Tamar, a widowed daughter-in-law of Judah who disguises herself as a prostitute and becomes pregnant by Judah, Ruth, a gentile woman, Bathsheba (although unnamed here) the mother of Solomon conceived in an murderous adulterous affair with King David. This family tree may not sound spectacular, but it probably does sound like some of our family trees! Our families are mostly dysfunctional - there are people in them!
After Matthew tells who, he tells how. Matthew reveals the miracle behind the birth of Jesus as it was foretold by the prophets, "Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus." Matthew 1:18-25 NRSV. What a wonder filled introduction to this Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth!
About Me
- Pastor Bill
- I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ, a happy husband, father and grandfather!
2 comments:
Yeah, the genealogy is really interesting, and it's great to have that. I'm sort of confused though - why does it go down to Joseph - when Jesus was not really related to him by blood, since Mary had no "marital relations." There must be a good answer for that, right? Mary wouldn't have had any of Joseph's blood, nor would Jesus, so the lineage ending is a little confusing.
The story of Jesus' birth has always been so awesome for me. I love Christmas time because we get to focus on it so much. Can you imagine being Joseph and having an Angel of the Lord appear to you? Certainly wouldn't want to go against what the angel said, but I wonder if Joseph thought about it... I haven't had an angel appear in my dream, but I certainly have had a slap in the face a time or two from some power, letting me know that I have no reason to doubt, and every reason to focus my life towards Jesus.
Talk to you soon,
Marsh
I noticed too how some of the less savory stories of the OT still end up shaping Jesus' genealogy. That's a testament to God working good out of all our messes! I also wondered about tracing the genealogy through Joseph rather than Mary - that would be typical for the culture though. Just the way it was done. Also, when I read passages like this, I have a hard time understanding how the Catholic church argues that Mary was always a virgin. It seems clear from the wording of this passage at the end that that was not the case. Oh well.
And finally - yippee! I'm in the same book as you again at last!
Post a Comment