December 1st – Matthew 1:1-17

Spend some time alone with God as you start this study. Then, come back and read the commentary, my verse, and my response to God. As God speaks to you through His Word, it will become alive and active in your heart.

• Request God’s help.
• Read Matthew 1:1-17
• Record a verse that stands out to you.
• Respond to God.

Now that you have “eaten,” let’s have dessert together!

Because of Matthew’s past, he was an unlikely candidate to write one of the Gospels. You see, before following Jesus, Matthew was a tax collector. That is equivalent to being an extortionist for the mafia and getting kickbacks for every cent you extract. Mercifully, Jesus called Matthew while Matthew was still sitting in his tax booth, and he immediately followed Jesus. Yep. Immediately, Matthew rose and walked out of the booth, leaving his only source of worldly security. With that in mind, let’s look at the first seventeen verses of Matthew and set the stage for the arrival of Jesus, our Savior and King.

Does it surprise you that this Gospel starts with the genealogy of Jesus? It surprised me when I first read it. Who cares? You might ask. Well, the Jewish people cared a lot. You see, the Messiah had to be a descendant of David because that’s what Isaiah 11:1 and Jeremiah 23:5-6 promised. There was no way to test DNA, so record-keeping was paramount. The Messiah had to be a direct descendant of King David and “a shoot from the stump of Jesse,” David’s father. Period. The unbelievable truth of this genealogy is the physical melding together of Jews and Gentiles long before Jesus made it a spiritual reality for the Church. Remarkably, both Rahab, David’s great-great-grandmother, and Ruth, David’s great-grandmother, were Gentiles.

Furthermore, Jesus had both evil and godly ancestors. For example, Ahab was notorious for idolatry and wickedness, while Josiah was known for his godliness. This points to the redeeming quality of Christ. We are not tainted by our past or judged by the actions of our ancestors. Whew! This is encouraging to me because I have both godly ancestors and some relatives who hurt and demoralized a lot of people. I thank God for His grace and sovereignty!

My verse: Matthew 1:5 “…and to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse” (NASB).

My Response: Oh, how this speaks to my heart! God uses women with a past–Women who don’t quite fit the world’s mold of perfection. A former prostitute and a Moabite are mentioned as ancestors of our King! There is much more to glean from this truth, but I will leave you with this. God is our redeemer, and it doesn’t matter who your ancestors are or what you have done. God loves you and has imbued you with gifts that glorify Him. Father, Thank you for this truth. We are a new creation in Christ because You sent Your only Son. Amen!