So I thought I would go through different parts of Jesus' life and write my thoughts. I will not go "too deep" with my thoughts. What I think I will do, is comment on the verses and maybe share a practical application to life and then a prayer. I may call it "The Life Of Jesus" and as I add a new post I will go pt.1, pt.2, etc. So we will begin with Matthew chapter 1.
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham : 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 After the deportation to Babylon : Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations ; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations ; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
When you first begin to read Matthew you get a bunch of names. This is the genealogy of Jesus. You can read about some of these people in the Old Testament. This list only goes back to Abraham. You can begin to read about Abraham in Genesis 12. At that time he is known as Abram.
The Jews were waiting for a Savior. They had been waiting many years for the Christ. (Christ means Annointed One). But if you really think about it, all people have been waiting for a "savior". It seems to be a universal longing. When you think of many of the most popular movies or books, there is usually a savior of some kind in the story. Think about it, Star Wars, The Lord Of The Rings, Braveheart, Gladiator and the list could go on and on. They all share the idea of a savior. Even romantic movies have the idea of a person coming to be your savior. Jane Eyre books like Sense and Sensibility. In fact, in Titanic, at the end Rose says, "He saved me in every way a person can be saved."
You would think that if Jesus was going to come into this world He would come through a "pure" line. As you read about some of these people you quickly learn that this family is anything but "pure".
Abraham, for example. He is a great man of faith. But also out of a lack of faith he lied, which put his wife's life in jeopardy. He did this not just once, but twice.
There is David who was known as a man after God's own heart. But as Ken Gire says, he was also a man after other things. Bathsheba, for one. With whom he committed adultery." He also in trying to cover up his sin, had her husband murdered.
Rahab was a prostitute. Jacob was a trickster. As you read about these people in the Old Testament you begin to see they all had dysfunctional lives. You want to talk about a dysfunctional family, this is it.
And yet, this was the line that Jesus came through. These were the people Jesus chose to identify himself with. You and I don't get to choose our family. But Jesus is God, and He came through this group of people.
Application: As I reflect on this passage it reminds me that God can still use people who have made some mistakes in their lives. These people didn't make "small" mistakes. These were mistakes that society looks at as big. Murder, adultery, prostitution, deception and the list could go on and on. So we need to remind ourselves that our sin can't get to a place where God's grace can't reach.
I also am reminded that God is still working out His plan in spite of our shortcomings. Now this isn't an excuse to be disobedient to God. But God still worked out His plan even though these people seemed to make some very big mistakes in their lives.
Finally this passage reminds me that Jesus is not ashamed to identify Himself with us. As I stated earlier, He could have come through a line that was more pure than this line, but He didn't. He continues to reach out to people even when we have made a mess of our lives. Others may be ashamed of us, but He isn't. In fact, the Bible says that the way that He would be ashamed of us, is if we are ashamed of Him. But He doesn't say He is ashamed of us because of our sins and failures.
Prayer: Oh LORD thank You for coming to this Earth and living among us. Thank You for identifying Yourself with us. Thank You that even though it seems like we have messed up our lives, You are still working out Your plan.Help us to not listen to that voice that tells us we have gone too far and there is no hope. As we look at this list of people and their history we know there is always hope. Help us to listen to You and respond in obedience. As You help us to get our lives to the place You want, help us to never become self righteous or to think we are better than anyone else. We thank You for never giving up on us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
You would think that if Jesus was going to come into this world He would come through a "pure" line. As you read about some of these people you quickly learn that this family is anything but "pure".
Abraham, for example. He is a great man of faith. But also out of a lack of faith he lied, which put his wife's life in jeopardy. He did this not just once, but twice.
There is David who was known as a man after God's own heart. But as Ken Gire says, he was also a man after other things. Bathsheba, for one. With whom he committed adultery." He also in trying to cover up his sin, had her husband murdered.
Rahab was a prostitute. Jacob was a trickster. As you read about these people in the Old Testament you begin to see they all had dysfunctional lives. You want to talk about a dysfunctional family, this is it.
And yet, this was the line that Jesus came through. These were the people Jesus chose to identify himself with. You and I don't get to choose our family. But Jesus is God, and He came through this group of people.
Application: As I reflect on this passage it reminds me that God can still use people who have made some mistakes in their lives. These people didn't make "small" mistakes. These were mistakes that society looks at as big. Murder, adultery, prostitution, deception and the list could go on and on. So we need to remind ourselves that our sin can't get to a place where God's grace can't reach.
I also am reminded that God is still working out His plan in spite of our shortcomings. Now this isn't an excuse to be disobedient to God. But God still worked out His plan even though these people seemed to make some very big mistakes in their lives.
Finally this passage reminds me that Jesus is not ashamed to identify Himself with us. As I stated earlier, He could have come through a line that was more pure than this line, but He didn't. He continues to reach out to people even when we have made a mess of our lives. Others may be ashamed of us, but He isn't. In fact, the Bible says that the way that He would be ashamed of us, is if we are ashamed of Him. But He doesn't say He is ashamed of us because of our sins and failures.
Prayer: Oh LORD thank You for coming to this Earth and living among us. Thank You for identifying Yourself with us. Thank You that even though it seems like we have messed up our lives, You are still working out Your plan.Help us to not listen to that voice that tells us we have gone too far and there is no hope. As we look at this list of people and their history we know there is always hope. Help us to listen to You and respond in obedience. As You help us to get our lives to the place You want, help us to never become self righteous or to think we are better than anyone else. We thank You for never giving up on us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
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