The beginning of the New Testament begins with a bridge to the Old by giving the genealogy of Jesus, beginning with Abraham. In the genealogy, there are only four women mentioned. Each of these women was either a foreigner or had some history of indiscretion. Yet here these women are, in the middle of Jesus' genealogy. All these people, none of whom were perfect, some of whom were down right scoundrels, were all used by God in bringing about His son, the Messiah. Then Matthew records the story of Jesus' birth, as seen from Joseph's eyes. He finds out that Mary, his fiancee, was pregnant, and decided to divorce her quietly to save her from the shame and punishment from adultery. However, he has a dream where God's Messenger tells him that what is conceived in Mary was from the Holy Spirit. In other words, God was acting in the world to save the the world, and the angel is telling Joseph to participate in what God is going to do. Then Matthew tells us all this happened to fulfill what God had said through the prophet "and they will call him Immanuel (which means God with us)." Fulfillment of prophecy will be a constant theme throughout the book of Matthew. Matthew begins with book with the promise of the prophet saying "God with us," and Matthew will close his book with Jesus telling his disciples, "I will be with you."
The beginning of this gospel says to me that God is active in the world. We do not have a God who is far off, and just leaves it up to us to figure out life. Rather, we have a God who is "Immanuel" and who promises to be Immanuel to all his followers for all times.
"God thank you that you are with us. Thank you that you interact with us and have saved the world through Jesus Christ. Help us to be aware of your activity in the world. Amen"
About Me
- Robert and Ray Miller
- Robert is the pastor of First Baptist Texas City, Tx. And Ray is the pastor of First Baptist Mertens, Tx. Robert brings over 30 years of biblical study as a pastor. Ray brings a younger perspective to the Bible and also a command of the original languages. Our greatest passion is to see lives changed through the good news of Jesus Christ.
1 comment:
The genealogy of Jesus has always inspired me. As you said there were scoundrels, foreigners, those of questionable pasts and those who just messed up.
God was so loving and kind to allow Rahab a harlot, Ruth a foreigner, and Bathsheba an adulterer to be ancestors of Jesus. God used them as an examples that all of us can be used by God, regardless if we have fallen in the past.
Joseph shows me that he loved Mary so much that even though he thought in the back of his mind that she was unfaithful, he still had doubt and wanted to protect her. He was thrusts into an unknown position but he loved God and Mary and was open to God's direction.
I believe that God has a since of humor and shows us what he can do in the lives of those who believe that they are dirt, and helps us to see the value that's inside of us. We often judge ourselves much harder than God does.
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