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Daily Bible Studywith SEEDS OF THE KINGDOM

Updated: Saturday, 22 November 2008, 12:06 (GMT)

18 August 2008 | Matthew 1:1-25

Jesus Christ came from the family of King David and also from the family of Abraham. And this is a list of his ancestors. From Abraham to King David, his ancestors were: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers (Judah's sons were Perez and Zerah, and their mother was Tamar), Hezron; Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.

From David to the time of the exile in Babylonia, the ancestors of Jesus were: David, Solomon (his mother had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram; Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.

From the exile to the birth of Jesus, his ancestors were: Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim; Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.

There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David. There were also fourteen from David to the exile in Babylonia and fourteen more to the birth of the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born. A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David's family. But before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God's Holy Spirit. Joseph was a good man and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to quietly call off the wedding. While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, "A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel," which means "God is with us."

After Joseph woke up, he and Mary were soon married, just as the Lord's angel had told him to do. But they did not sleep together before her baby was born. Then Joseph named him Jesus

Notes

This is not just a random list of names! Matthew's aim in this passage is to convince his Hebrew readers that Jesus is the Messiah, the one God had promised to send.

It was important to establish that Jesus was both the 'son of Abraham', who would bring God's blessing to everyone on earth, and also the 'son of David', who would fulfil God's promise to establish a ruler on David's throne for ever.

Whether righteous or sinners, kings or poor, all of these people in the list played a role in God's great plan to bring salvation to the world through Jesus. Most were unaware of the part they played in God's plan. Joseph, on the other hand, made a clear decision to accept the part God offered him.

Whoever we are, God wants to use us to bring Jesus to others. Sometimes we will be unaware of God's plans. At other times he will call us to make specific choices. God wants to use each one of us in his plan to save the world through Jesus.

Our own genealogy is both physical, reflecting the Christian character - or not - of our natural family, and also spiritual, as our relationship with God is no doubt partly the result of many people's prayers and commitment to us.

Give thanks to God for all those who have played a part in you knowing Jesus. Consider how you can share your Christian legacy with others.

Prayer

Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?
If you have questions, begin by asking the one who has the answers: pray.

Today's Writer

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