City Life Starter

I. The Word: Matthew 1:1-17

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: ² Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.³ Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.⁴ Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.⁵ Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, ⁶ and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife^[a] of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.^{[b] 8} Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon,^[c]and Amon begot Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. ¹² And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.¹⁴ Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. ¹⁶ And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. ¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

In today’s reading, we are focusing on the genealogy of Jesus and why you should be excited about it.  You are probably wondering how can we possibly be excited about a genealogy, the dreaded list of names that you can’t seem to pronounce?  There is so much we can learn from the genealogy of Jesus, and within this genealogy lies hidden treasure that will change the way you read the Bible as a whole.  

If you are reading the genealogy purely as a historical record, it may not be that exciting unless you are a historian.  But if you have read the Old Testament and understand the significance of the life events connected with the names, genealogies are beneficial for seeing the greater picture.  Every gospel has an authorial intent and intended audience.  It would be wise for us to start from Matthew. As the author of the gospel, his audience was the Jews, both in Judea and abroad.  For Jews who observed traditions in the first century, genealogy mattered. Your family heritage and the tribe to which you and your family belonged mattered in their culture.  So, many scholars and experts believe that the main reason Matthew writes a genealogy in the beginning of the chapter is to identify Jesus, that He was a Jew from the house of David.  

I am grateful the author establishes Jesus’ background and His credentials as Savior for the nation of Israel.  To expound further, during the first century, under the power of Romans, Jews were looking for the Messiah to deliver them from their enemy.  Their expectation of this Messianic figure was a political Messiah who would rule Israel and defeat Romans militarily, once and for all.  There were plenty of false messiahs in the first and early second century who led to the destruction of the temple and exiles that lasted for over 2,000 years.   Matthew’s introduction prepared his audience for a different Messiah, one whose purpose was to be the sacrifice for the sins of the people and to suffer for the sake of salvation.  What Jesus’ genealogy teaches us today is that God’s divine plan is perfectly designed and not coincidental.  What we believe historically, prophetically and divinely is affirmed through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  

This month, we would like to invite you to join us in celebrating the birth of Christ by studying God’s Word.  If we are spending the whole month buying gifts, attending Christmas parties, and going on vacation, I am afraid we will miss the importance of the reason for the season.  Christmas isn’t just a celebration of the birth of Jesus, but a time for understanding His humility, love and obedience to save humanity.  As you study the genealogy of Jesus, you will find that all the stories leading up to the birth of Christ points to Jesus as the Messiah if you are willing to look for it.