- The genealogy of Jesus through Joseph's lineage. This genealogy goes back to Abraham, the great patriarch of Israel, showing Jesus as the "promised seed" in Genesis 12. It also connects Jesus with David, the great King of Israel. This is to show how Jesus is the promised Messiah Who will sit on the throne of David.
- The birth of Jesus is explained - Joseph's struggle, his dream, his faith & obedience.
- Call His name Jesus = Savior
- The birth of Jesus is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14.
- Immanuel, God with us. God dwelling among His people was the hope they all carried. Israel experienced this joy during the time of the Tabernacle and the Temple. Now they would experience God in the form of Jesus Christ.
- Jesus is born in Bethlehem, the house of bread, a fulfillment of Micah 5:2. It's fitting for the "Bread of Life" to be born in the house of bread and laid in a feeding trough. What a picture!
- Chapter 2, Herod the Great enters the story.
- Wise men come from the east to worship Jesus. Jesus could have been as much as 2 years old when they visited. They are warned by God in a dream not to have any further communication with Herod.
- Joseph is warned in a dream to take Mary & Jesus and flee to Egypt. Jesus the Messiah will emerge from Egypt to save His people (Hosea 11:1). This is to show us the similarities between Jesus and Moses. Jesus being similar to Moses but far greater than Moses. It's interesting to see how these two lives are similar in The Story. Israel was told that Messiah would be 'a prophet like Moses'.
- Herod, in an attempt to kill Jesus, has all the male children two years and under in the area of Bethlehem killed (Jeremiah 31:15). Herod attempts to kill Jesus as a baby, Pharoah attempts to kill Moses as a baby.
- Herod the Great, dies. He is called great because of his building genius and architectural feats. He was probably the wealthiest man that has ever lived, making his money in the spice trade. During his reign, he employed many of the Jews with his vast building projects. This created a major moral dilemma in the region. The Jews hated him but he feed most of their families. It is said that he paid his workers very well. Herod the Great is one of the strangest and vilest personalities to have ever lived. History reports that he murdered his wife and then built a mausoleum for her and he visited the mausoleum freuently to mourn her death. He murdered two of his own sons in very torturous ways. He ruled with an iron fist when necessary. He was wealthy, powerful, eccentric, a visionary, one of the greatest builders ever, a tyrant, a ruthless killer and crafty politician. His three sons rule after his death. These three are never as powerful as their father, but they are just as immoral and vile.
- When Herod died, his kingdom was divided among his three sons: Archelaus, Philip and Antipas. These three rulers remain part of The Jesus Story.
- Joseph, Mary and Jesus leave Egypt and move to Nazareth.
- Jesus will be called a Nazarene - means branch, shoot or spout (Isaiah 11:1-16).
Question: Why would God choose to have Jesus born during the time of Herod the Great? Is God trying to show us a comparison between two Kings and two Kingdoms?
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10 comments:
testing...testing
It's exciting to read Matthew 1-2. It's amazing how God timed this event. In the first 17 verses of Matthew 1, 46 people are named. This genealogy spans 2000 yrs. It's incredible to see heroes of the faith like Abraham, Isaac, Ruth, and David. At the same time you see shady characters like Rahab and Tamar. Many were very ordinary like Hezron, Ram, Nashon and Akim. Others were evil like Manasseh and Abijah. It's great to know that God's work in history is not limited to human failures or sins, and He works through ordinary people.
What an AWESOME God we serve. I am so excited to take this journey.I am ashamed to say that I have never read the bible from beginning to end, and what a wonderful place to start. I have so much to learn and just can't wait to get to the end. Thanks for the wonderful teaching!
Jesus' lineage re-emphasizes that He is the Savior of all. Anyone in any condition can come to Him and He is faithful to forgive their sins. Seek and ye shall find, knock and it will be opened to you!
What is the significance of the mention of the 14 generations three times in Matthew 1:17?
Thanks for the comments. There was a question: What is the significance of 14 generations being mentioned 3 times? I do not know other than it was a marking of time to show that God had a plan and worked it out over 42 generations from Abraham to Christ. I don't think the number 14 has any direct significance in the Scriptures, like the number 7 or 12. I know it matters somehow. Interesting to read the list of names. The more you know about the Old Testament, the more significant they become. Some were good, some bad, some evil. There are some great testimonies of faith and grace behind these names. People are so important to God. When He records history, it is always about the people, not just the major events. It's people He uses to establish His Kingdom. It may be hard for us to get through some of the "begats" but I hope they remind us that if God used them, He can use us. Good question, keep thinking and digging!
As this is the first time I've really studied the text, I seem to be treating it as I would a college class - good? bad? who knows. I too had the question about the significance of the 14. Nothing is coincidence and I look forward to being shown why He chose that number. Another thing that struck me whas that Herod called all of the priests and teachers of the law together; seemed interesting that today we are so willing to turn to the law to support us or justify our wants, desires, wrongs against us and when we're challenged by our own sinful desires. Makes me wonder how directly the "law" and our pride is linked togehter.
The fact that God spoke to Joseph mostly through dreams begs the question, "how do we know He's talking to us in our dreams?"
Also - in Psalm 1 I saw the analogy of the righteous standing like a tree beautiful - something we take for granted - I mean...I tree just stands there right? Who really takes the time every time we pass by one to consider how strong the root system must be? But most beautiful to me was the description of sinners not being able to stand in the assembly of the righteous. Nice! What tree can stand without solid roots?
Psalm 2 - I enjoyed for the first time the image of our Lord laughing and scoffing at the wicked.
Proverbs 1 - I actually learned so much from this I used it in my class at CrossPointe to work with the kids on excellence and wisdom.
-In Matt. 8 where Jesus cast out the demons from the men and sends them to the pigs, the demon makes the comment or question "Have you come here to torment us before the time?"(NKJV) Is the "Time" referring to in Revelation when satan is cast into the lake of fire or is it referring to crucifixion?
-- In Mark and Luke they referred the demon possessed man as one man but Matthew says there where 2 demon possessed men? And why did Matthew's Gospel leave out the parts about breaking of chains and the man cutting himself? Last question, in Mark and Luke the demons ask Jesus to not torment them(Mark 5:7,Luke 8:28) compared or contrasted to Matthews's account where they ask the question as stated above?
- I do realize their might not be a by the book answer, or even an answer, but i was just curious about how their personalty and their different relationships to Christ would have caused different accounts of the same event. If thats even part of the answer.
Hey Josh:
My response is after each queston. Tried to space them out so you could follow me. Hope these answers help.
-In Matt. 8 where Jesus cast out the demons from the men and sends them to the pigs, the demon makes the comment or question "Have you come here to torment us before the time?"(NKJV) Is the "Time" referring to in Revelation when satan is cast into the lake of fire or is it referring to crucifixion?
It seems to be referring to the last days Judgment in Revelation. Interesting to know that satan and his demons know their time is short and they will be judged and tormented. They are afraid of Jesus and submit to His authority. They more than likely remember Jesus as the one who cast them out of heaven when they rebelled against the Father. They are afraid of Jesus so why are we afraid of them?
-- In Mark and Luke they referred the demon possessed man as one man but Matthew says there where 2 demon possessed men?
There are often different details in the different Gospels. The details never conflict but rather the different tellings of the stories shine light on the things the Holy Spirit wanted that particular writer to focus on. The fact that Matthew mentions 2 and Mark & Luke mention one is a mystery or maybe one of these men stood out in their mind more because he was more vocal or demonstrative. Notice the word "men" in verse 33 is italicized in the NKJV. This means it was add for clarity but is not found in the orginal manuscript. Perhaps it could be as simple as two approached Jesus and then one of them ran away while the other man wanted to be free. These are just possibilities. It's still a mystery.
And why did Matthew's Gospel leave out the parts about breaking of chains and the man cutting himself? Last question, in Mark and Luke the demons ask Jesus to not torment them(Mark 5:7,Luke 8:28) compared or contrasted to Matthews's account where they ask the question as stated above?
The cutting and breaking of chains is one of the details that the Spirit prompted Mark & Luke to cover. Matthew was not prompted to use these words. Instead, Matthew just says "exceedingly fierce". God used Mark & Luke to explain what "exceedingly fierce" meant. Remember this: no one person ever has the total revelation of who Jesus is. It takes the Body of Christ and different members in particular to make up the whole revelation. This is illustrated in the 4 Gospels. Maybe it's another one of those lessons to teach us that we really need each other to understand the whole Story of Scripture.
- I do realize their might not be a by the book answer, or even an answer, but i was just curious about how their personalty and their different relationships to Christ would have caused different accounts of the same event. If thats even part of the answer.
The Holy Spirit had each of the four Gospel writers pen their accounts for specific purposes and audiences. The different accounts give an added richness to the life of Christ, kinda like different preachers and speakers can preach the same text and shine different light on certain things without there being any conflict between who is right and who is wrong. However, preachers' and teachers' messages today are NOT considered to be inspired and infallible like theirs was.
I cannot find a significance of teh 14 generations three times either. I thought it may have had something to do with when they were exiled (14 from David to the exile to Babylon and 14 from the exile to Christ) I looked in Stong's and it states that Matthew traces the decent of Jesus from Abraham and David and divides it in into three 14 generations and that he omits three generations after Joram, namely Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah (1Ch 3:11-12) and contray to Hebrew pratice, he names five women:Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. The sense of "became the father of" in Hebrew genealogies is not exact: it indicated immediate or remote decent, an adoptive relation, or legal heirship. Luke's genealogy moves from Jesus to Adam, agreeing with 1 Chronicles beween Abraham and Adam. From David to Abraham he agrees with Mathew; from Jesus to David he differs from Matthew. Perhaps Matthew gives the line of legal heirship, while Luje gives the line of physical descent. Still no answer to the 14 x 3. V
I did it this week. It did take discipline. It is amazing how God reveals something new to me. I've read Matthew many times, but for today there is something new. That's exciting That's God my Father, that just makes me want to read more. Thank You Pastor Ron
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