Matthew 1; Part 1

Bloodlines

Initial Groundwork to Set the Stage

     For those who may not be familiar with the layout of the Bible, it will serve you well, as we go through it, to understand a few rules of thumb as to the focus of all those 66 books that make up the whole of the Scriptures.

1)       The 39 books of the Old Testament, each in their own unique way, point toward the Messiah who would eventually come and right the wrongs that came as a result of the “Fall” in the Garden of Eden when they disobeyed the only rule God had given them; namely, not to eat of that one tree. As soon as that happened, in Genesis 3:15, God announced the “Seed of the woman” who would crush the serpent’s head. (As we move forward, that “Seed of the woman” phrase will become very important!)

2)       Those 39 Old Testament books, almost without fail, focus on one single family’s bloodline, running directly from Adam down through Noah, down through Abraham, on through King David and his royal lineage as the kings of Judah (the southern kingdom that split from greater Israel after the reign of Solomon). That bloodline, though seeming to disappear after the Babylonian captivity, continued into what we call the New Testament years.

3)       The New Testament is made up of 27 books. Much like the Old Testament pointed toward a coming Messiah, the New Testament points toward the Messiah that came and is to come again. This Testament can be broken into 4 distinct sections as follows:

A)      The 4 Gospels: They each detail the life, ministry, miracles, death, and resurrection of Jesus (the promised Messiah of the O.T.)

B)      The book of Acts: Details the birth, growth, and struggles of the Church led by the disciples (now “Apostles,” meaning, sent ones) minus Judas, who betrayed Jesus, and plus (eventually) Paul.

C)     The “epistles,” or letters: These are written by various leaders of the church and sent to the various churches all around the Roman Empire of the day. They are named for the different churches or individuals to whom they were sent (Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, Timothy, Titus, etc.), or they are named according to who wrote them (1 & 2 Peter, James, 1, 2, & 3 John). These letters, most of whom were written by Paul, were sent out to help with church administration, address specific problems, provide guidance, uplift, or admonish the faithful, teaching the readers how to live as a “new creation” in this fallen world.

D)     Finally, there is Revelation: This closing book of the Bible explains, among other things, what believers can expect to see as the “last days” approach, giving us a prophetic glimpse into the future, and looking forward to the “Second Coming” of Jesus. He will be coming to take the church home, while also passing judgement upon those who refused to acknowledge Him as the Messiah.

The Family Line

     The first chapter of Matthew starts with what seems to be a simple listing of Jesus’ family tree, beginning with Abraham and following all the way down to Jesus’ father Joseph. However, one may ask, why? Why begin with Abraham?  The answer to that is more important to our study than you may think! The Bible never wastes page space! If it’s there, there is a good reason for it. Just bear with me as I attempt to unpack it all.

     Though Adam was the first man of creation, and though Noah piloted the ark that preserved the family line during the Great Flood, it was Abraham who was the father of the Hebrew people. And it was with Abraham that God made the covenant, deeding a vast portion of what we call the Middle East to he and his descendants (Genesis 12-13). And, though Abraham was not a king over that “Promised Land,” the rule of it was inherent in the ownership.

     And so, as we follow the genealogical progression from verse 2 through 6a, we come to David. However, as we begin a new paragraph in the middle of verse 6, we see the mention of one of King David’s most shameful moments:

“David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.”

     I’m going to assume that most of you have heard the story of David and Bathsheba at some time. If not, 2 Samuel 11 & 12 tell the whole sorry affair, warts and all, including the heavy price David was forced to pay for his terrible sin. How can David be lauded as a hero of faith when he so utterly failed to live up to even the basic moral standards? I completely understand your question. In fact, I’ve wondered about that same thing on more than one occasion!

   The answer is, the redeeming quality of David has less to do with the details of the story, and more to do with the recognition of his failure. He was a very flawed man, no doubt! But he always acknowledged his sins, confessing them without reservation, and was ready to pay the price for it. You see, perfection for a human (That’s you and me!) is impossible. The good news is, God knows we are flawed, sometimes very much so, and He doesn’t expect perfection from us. He does expect an effort to be made, though. The even better news is, God is always right there for us, ready to forgive our failings and bless us as we grow in our faith, letting go of the past that we cannot change, and pushing forward while making better decisions than we had before.

Next Week

     I know that we have only gone through the first 6 verses of Matthew so far, but all that set-up was necessary so that we can grasp the larger issues involved in the next portion of Scriptures. If you stay with it, even if you have never studied the Bible before, I guarantee that you will come away from this first chapter of Matthew with a better understanding of the overall message of the Bible than most professing Christians I have met!

     The sad fact is, according to several survey groups, 33% of professing Christians never read the Bible outside of following along in a church service. And more than 60% say they rarely to barely read it at all! Let me ask a question to put that in perspective:

     If you say you love someone, yet never read their love notes, how strong could that love be? How can you say you love someone, but know almost nothing about that person?

     God spent thousands of years compiling an all-encompassing Love Note, written to all of us; translated into thousands of languages; taught more broadly than any other book in history; smuggled over borders, under barbed wire, through swamps and deserts; delivered on horseback, muleback, motorcycle, bicycle, and airplane, all in the desperate effort to get it into your hands. Do you think it’s too much to ask if you would at least crack it open and read a little of it every day?

     Think about that, and we will continue with a new installment next Sunday. See you then!

God Bless