Matthew 1:1-17

It’s a family affair and we are invited to be a part of the divine family of God in  adoption through the blood of Jesus Christ!  Sometimes we need to be reminded of our roots! Some in this lineage we are very familiar with but most were just normal God fearing, sometimes backsliding members, of a family who believed!

Genealogy means “origin.” Genealogies were very important to first-century Jews. A genealogy (1) proved that a person was indeed an Israelite, (2) identified the tribe to which he or she belonged, and (3) qualified certain Jews for religious duties such as Levitical and priestly service. Christ’s genealogy is crucial to historic Christianity. Matthew traced the lineage of Christ Jesus back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to show that He was a Jew, but also back through David to inform the readers that Jesus is qualified to rule on the throne of David, an event still in the future.

At the beginning of his Gospel, Matthew shows how God’s grace forgives the darkest of sins and reaches beyond the nation of Israel to the world. He also points out that God can lift the lowest and place them in royal lineage. Joseph the husband of Mary was a direct descendant of David. Matthew, however, was careful not to identify Jesus as the physical son of Joseph. The Greek pronoun translated of whom is feminine and refers to Mary. Christ and the word messiah both mean “Anointed One”; the first term is from Greek; the second is from Hebrew. In the OT, anointing signified two things: God’s choice and His empowerment for a task. Israelites were traditionally anointed to three different offices: prophet, priest, or king. Although the Lord Jesus was God’s Anointed for all three, Matthew places the most stress on Jesus’ royalty.

The genealogy is broken down into three groups of names with fourteen generations in each list. The name David in Hebrew has a numerical value of 14. Because the heading of the list is “Son of David”, Matthew may have been drawing attention to the Davidic emphasis in these names. In the first group, the Davidic throne is established; in the second group, the throne is cast down and deported to Babylon; in the third group, the throne is confirmed in the coming of the Messiah. Further, a basic covenant is set forth in each of these three periods: the Abrahamic covenant in the first; the Davidic covenant in the second, and the New Covenant in the third.

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 of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 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, 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.

Nahum 3:19

Our God is a loving, kind and merciful Father who does not want to inflict pain on the sons of men but there will come a time of judgment for those nations who use their power against others. God will not always tolerate mans arrogance and mislead self reliance.

Every nation and people that had suffered under the abusive power of Nineveh would shout and clap upon hearing of the city’s destruction. There would be no mourning for Nineveh.

Nahum 3:19                                                                                                                                     

19 Your injury has no healing,          

 Your wound is severe.

 All who hear news of you

 Will clap their hands over you,

 For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?

Ephesians 4:11-16

Jesus calls each of us to a task that will be used to build up His body, the Church. Our response will be the deciding factor in our accomplishing His call on our life. The biggest obstacle is to get over our inabilities and to rely on His ability to get the job done.

Gifted leaders are responsible for the equipping of the saints; the well-equipped saints do the work of ministry; and the result is that the body of Christ is built up. The final goal is maturity, truth, and love. Children are gullible, vulnerable, and easily victimized. The church needs to work diligently at moving babes in Christ on to maturity. Speaking the truth in love suggests that all that believers say or do should be honest and true, and said or done in a loving manner.

Ephesians 4:11-16

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Mark 3:13-15

Jesus called and they came. It is as simple and as complex as that……we hear and we listen!

Jesus had a large group of followers. Later Jesus sent out an additional 70 disciples. These twelve were Jesus’ apostles—a chosen group sent out to fulfill a particular mission. Christ gave power or authority to these twelve apostles. The apostle Paul called this authority “the signs of an apostle”. Christ and the apostles authenticated their ministry through signs, miracles, and wonders

Mark 3:13-15
                                                                                                                                                                                
And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons:

Mark 2:17

God so loved His creation that He sent Jesus to sinners to make us realize that in acknowledging our sins and inabilities and asking for forgiveness we are made whole. That moment creates in us the missing link to our mental, physical and spiritual wholeness. Our part is to grasp the meaning of His goodness and let go of the delusion of our own. There is no other way that man can be complete without the One who made him from the beginning to be in relationship with Him. Give it to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit and let them accomplish their perfect work in you!

In this instance Jesus was speaking tongue-in-cheek when He used the word righteous. None are righteous, though some, such as the Pharisees, fancied themselves as such. Instead, Christ came to call sinners to repentance. Jesus did not condone the activities of sinners, but required repentance—a change of mind that recognizes the need of a Savior and recognizes Jesus Christ as the only Savior.

Mark 2:17        

17 When Jesus heard it, He said to them,  “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

Ephesians 5:1-2

Any action no matter how well intentioned that is taken without concern for others and without love at its nucleus is simply wasted time.

Believers are to follow the example of God’s actions. He loved us when we were still His enemies. As imitators, believers should demonstrate that type of self-sacrificial love.

Ephesians 5:1-2                                                     

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Zephaniah 1:15-16

The time is coming, yeah nigh, the end of God’s grace and mercy extended  to man through Christ Jesus….seek Him while He still can be found. Pride and our trust in our own abilities can be the biggest stumbling stones we use to keep God out of our life. We need to humble ourselves under His hand and maybe, just maybe, we can be hidden in the troubles to come upon the earth.

The references to fortified cities and high towers speak of the extent of God’s judgment. There would be no adequate defense against the Lord’s searing judgments.

Zephaniah 1:15-16

15 That day is a day of wrath,

 A day of trouble and distress,

 A day of devastation and desolation,

 A day of darkness and gloominess,

 A day of clouds and thick darkness,

16 A day of trumpet and alarm

 Against the fortified cities

 And against the high towers.

Matthew 18:32-35

Forgiveness is not an option in Christ’s Kingdom it is a requirement!

This parable reiterates the principle that we should forgive others because God forgives us. All of a Christian’s sins are forgiven and forgotten forever. But this parable illustrates the Christian duty to forgive others. If our forgiveness should be in direct proportion to the incredible amount that we have been forgiven, then we must always be willing to forgive.

Matthew 18                                                                                                     

32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Mark 2:22

In order to fully benefit from the New Testament and the message of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone we must let go of legalism and the traditions of man. God wants to work a marvelous thing in our future but it only comes by putting our complete trust in Him and in the salvation only He can give.

The comparison implies that the newness of His message, and of the new covenant to follow, cannot fit into the old molds of Judaism. The Old Testament was preparation for the New Testament.

Mark 2:22                                                                                   

22 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.”

Zephaniah 1:12

Be hot or cold, not stagnant! We need to believe in God’s power not our own and seek His agenda not ours realizing that even misdirected passion is better than no passion at all. Our trust in Him and His Word protects us knowing that like a good father He provides for all our needs but He also will discipline us if we stray.  The measure that you trust in Him is the measure that you can receive from Him! He alone has the ability to protect us, even from ourselves.

The complacency of the people led them to believe that God is similarly complacent. Foolishly these people believed that the Lord would be inactive, neither blessing nor cursing, neither benefiting nor punishing His people.

Zephaniah 1:12                                                                        

12 “And it shall come to pass at that time

 That I will search Jerusalem with lamps,

 And punish the men          

 Who are settled in complacency,

 Who say in their heart,

 ‘The Lord will not do good,

 Nor will He do evil.’

Luke 17:3-5

Not forgiving is not an option in the eyes of God…….thank Him for the mercy He has shown you and extend mercy to those who have offended you. In the measure that you forgive others is the measure that you can be forgiven by God! No one says that it is an easy thing to do but it is the right thing to do.

Luke 17:3-5

3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

5 And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”

Luke 15:17-4

God loves ALL of His creation, those who have never strayed or made wrong decisions and those who were caught up in life and all her sinful ways, He loves all of us…….an amazing and divine intervention! He loved us enough that He sent His only Son, all God and all man, to die for our sins so that we could have a full and abundant life here and for eternity. No one will ever love you more that He does, no one!

The son’s words represent the confession of a sinner. The son expected nothing and relied completely on the mercy of his father. So it is with the sinner who repents. The description of the father’s compassion in running to his son and kissing him illustrates the immediate acceptance of a sinner who turns to God. Despite his awareness of being accepted by his father, the son continued his confession of his sin. He then asked to become one of his father’s servants. Similarly, a sinner realizes that he or she brings nothing to and deserves nothing from God, but must rely completely on God’s mercy. The father accepted his son’s confession but refused his request to make him a servant. Instead the returning son was made a full member of the family again.

Luke 15:17-24

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.