Matthew 1-2 - A long list of names and One Heck of a Birthday Party. --Believer

[Read Matthew 1-2 here.]

The long list of names: Moment of truth – normally my reaction to a long list of names in Scripture passages is not positive. I mean, how much can you really get excited about “Whats-his-face begot So-and-So, and So-and-So begot Whoz-it….” However, I didn’t figure it would be too cool to start off cheating or skimming on the first reading - particularly when you are reading the BIBLE! So with purposeful concentration I determined to plow through the genealogy set out in Matthew 1:1-17.

Rather than just skimming the names I started really looking at who the people in the list were – really cool! So much of who we are is defined and wrapped up in where we came from. (Don't believe me -- try googling "genealogy" and see how many links you get!) How many times have we been asked – “where are you from”, or “who is your Mom and/or Dad”. Things were no different in Biblical times. But the genealogy of Christ has more than just cultural significance. The Old Testament is full of God’s promises to various folks that they would be blessed with being a part of the blood line of Christ. See for example, Genesis 17 where God covenants with Abraham and promises to give him a Son named Isaac, with whom God would establish his covenant and from whom God would “make a great nation”. So the genealogy of Jesus is important for several reasons. First, it was and is important to “know who he is”; and second, the genealogy is important to show God’s fulfillment of his promises to bring Jesus through Abraham, Jesse, Isaac, Ruth, David, Solomon, etc.

But the genealogy struck me not just as a demonstration of the fulfillment of promises – the very genealogy itself speaks so much of God’s character and unconditional love for His children. Consider this:
· Abraham – fulfilled covenant: God promised Abraham that he would give him a son at the ripe old age of 99. Despite Abraham’s laughter at the promise God fulfilled the promise and gave him Isaac.
· Jacob – redemption: Jacob and Esau were the twins of Isaac. Despite Jacob’s trickery and sale of his birthright to his brother for a bowl of soup, God redeemed him, blessed him, and ultimately brought Christ through him
· Ruth – obedience: Despite her tremendous loss Ruth was obedient to go with her mother-in-law Naomi back to Naomi’s homeland. There Ruth was obedient to the instructions of Naomi and God gave her Boaz.
· Boaz – compassion: Boaz, a wealthy, established member of Jewish society noticed Ruth and her hard work and showed compassion on her, going out of his way to protect her and honor her.
· David/Bathsheba/Solomon – Forgiveness: Despite the adultery, murder, and lies that surrounded their relationship, God forgave David and Bathsheba, ultimately blessing them with a son who was the wisest man who ever lived.

And on it goes – even in the lineage of Jesus, God mastered a portrait of Himself – how cool is that?!?

NOTE: As a side note I point out that the New Testament contains two genealogies of Jesus – this one in Matthew begins with Abraham and goes through Jesus’s paternal line to Joseph – Jesus’s adoptive father. Luke 3 contains a second genealogy, which begins with Adam and goes to David where it splits and begins to follow the maternal line ending with Mary. For more info see the explanation of the two genealogies and a chart explaining the generations here.


One Heck of A Birthday Party: I next turned to the “Christmas Story” recorded in Matthew 1:18 – 2. This is not the “typical version” that is read at Christmas time every year (folks normally read from Luke 2 – which we will get to hopefully in the not-too-distant-future) – wonder why that is? Oh well. Several thoughts on this – first what the hey hey would I have done if I had been in the position of Mary and Joseph??? I mean here is Joseph just minding his own business, living in purity – and BAM – the fiancée is preggers and he’s got Angels showing up telling him not to worry about it. Mary, whose side of the story is set out more fully in the other Gospels, has maintained virginity, is now pregnant and has to face her family, friends, and society with – “really folks, God did it!!”

The other thing I noticed in the story was how many instances of willing obedience show up in this passage. Take a look:
· 1:19-21, 24: Joseph is planning to “put Mary away” so as to not disgrace her, but the Angel comes and says “no worries, marry the gal”. (My own paraphrase of course.) In verse 24 he obeys
· 2:12: Herod asked the Wise Men, a.k.a. “magi” to come back and tell him where they found Jesus. But the Wise Men were “warned by God” to return another way so as to avoid Herod – so they did.
· 2:13 – 14: After the Wise Men visited with Joseph and Mary and saw Jesus, an Angel appeared to Joseph and told him to flee to Egypt to protect Jesus; and in verse 14 he did. (Good thing too, cause not long after that Herod went on a rampage and killed all males under 2 seeking to eliminate Jesus).
· 2:20-21: After Herod’s death the Angel came again and told Joseph to return to Israel; and in verse 21 Joseph did.
Through the obedience above God was able to bless, protect, and honor this family – wonder how many times I have missed out on a blessing, protection, or honor because I refuse to do what I am told!

We Begin with the Book of Matthew...

Author: The book of Matthew was authored by, wait for it, Matthew. Matthew was a jewish tax collector, originally called Levi, who became one of Jesus's 12 deciples.

Matthew 9:9: "As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, 'Follow Me!' And he got up and followed Him."

Luke 5: 27-28: "After that He [Jesus] went out and noticed a tax collector named Levi sitting in the tax booth and He said to him, 'Follow Me.' [28] And he left everything behind, and got up and began to follow Him."

Mark 2:13-14: "And He [Jesus] went out again by the seashore; and all the people were coming to HIm, and He was teaching them. [14] As He [Jesus] passed by, He saw Levi the son of Alphaius sitting in the tax booth, and He said to him, 'Follow Me!' And he got up and followed Him."

Date Written: Approximately A.D. 60-65

Specific Audience: Matthew presents the story of Christ in a way particularly relevant to the Jews, emphasizing Christ's fulfillment of Old Testiment prophycy relating to the Messiah.

Who are you? Share your "Faith Autobiography" ...

As a part of this experience, we thought it might be interesting to have other people -- friends, family, guests, total strangers -- comment on their background and experiences with faith. Click "comment" below and have at it! Unless you would like to be anonymous, please begin with your name and location.

We will also invite special guest-bloggers to write their own "faith autobiographies," which we will publish in an occasional series of separate posts. If you would like to be invited to turn your comment into a more extensive post, please let us know.

Who is Believer? - “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life!” ~ Job 33:4

I wish I could write eloquently and explain the deepest parts of me (which at times are honestly not that deep) with impassioned prose that would sweep every audience away – but alas – I cannot! Thus, if you will indulge me, I’ll borrow from the writing of Paul. My “faith autobiography” could best be summed up by Ephesians 2:1-10 –

And [I] w[as] dead in [my] trespasses and sins, [2] in which [I] formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. [3] Among them [I] too formerly lived in the lusts of [my] flesh, indulging the desires of [my] flesh and of [my] mind, and w[as] by nature [a child] of wrath, even as the rest. [4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved [me], [5] even when [I] was dead in [my] transgressions, made [me] alive together with Christ (by grace [I] have been saved), [6] and raised [me] up with Him, and seated [me] with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward [me] in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace [I] have been saved through faith; and that not of [my]self, it is the gift of God; [9] not as a result of works, so that [I] may not boast. [10] For [I] am His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand so that [I] would walk in them.

That pretty well sums it up – I was dead, worthless, hopeless, lost. But, based on nothing short of the grace of a God who loves me more than any human capacity would allow, I have been made new. I have been given hope. I have been given purpose. I have been showered with kindness. Not for my own good, or so that I could boast in my redemption, but so that God might use me to reveal Himself through me to a world who needs that same grace, hope, and purpose.

Non and I have talked about this at some length – I’m not exactly sure how I came to a point of faith. (Faith being, as Hebrews 1:1 puts it – “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”) I am sure that a lot of it has to do with the faithful heritage of my family. I am a product of two of the most amazing people I know—my Dad and Mom. Both are Christians. Both lived (and thankfully continue to live) lives that demonstrate God’s perfect plan of redemption. At some point in that exposure, that message sunk in and was real to me. I have been asked what would happen to my faith were my parents suddenly to renounce theirs. It would be tremendously difficult for me, but at this point in my life I really do feel that my faith has become my own.

I don’t have some dramatic story of being rescued from drugs, alcohol, a battered relationship, the brink of death, etc. In a way that makes my story “less impressive” or “dramatic”. Sometimes I wish I’d had that type of experience so that I could point to an obvious time in my life where God swept in and my life was radically different (and yet what a blessing to be spared the trauma of such struggles!)—I used to be really shy about telling people I was a Christian, or explaining my faith because I didn’t have a “Damascus Road Experience”. (For those who wonder – Saul was on the Road to Damascus when God appeared to him, radically changed his life, and named him Paul. From that date on Paul was a follower of Christ.) I can, however, point to a specific day in my childhood on which the truth of the gospel became real to me personally and I “accepted Jesus”. Yet that day was but a dot on the timeline of my life and faith.

People who know me know I am a neurotic, goal-oriented, planning perfectionist. This has lead me, I’m ashamed to say, at many points in my life to seek God for the next step, the next goal, the next direction, the next comfort – only to dismiss Him, thank Him for the help, and set Him aside so that I could press on in my own strength and ability. I don’t need to finish this tale—we know where it goes—no where good. And so it is that time and time again, while pursuing “good” things I have fallen on my face and reached new points of desperation or discouragement. Yet God, in all His grace, has ALWAYS been there to “shower me with kindness”, and to perfect His strength in my weakness. It has been through these cycles of stupidity and struggle with self that I have learned more and more of God’s love and grace.

As a part of my journey God gave me an amazing gift – yet another which I could never deserve – the bestest spouse in the WHOLE WORLD EVER!! (Really – he is!) Being married has added a new dimension in my faith journey, as “Husband” and I are learning to walk together, seeking as a couple to know who God is and what He has for us as a family. The experience has truly been life changing. As uptight and neurotic as I can be, “Husband” provides the perfect balance – playing out for me a wonderful picture of unconditional love, protection, and encouragement that has helped me to understand and appreciate God in ways I never before thought possible.

In one of our discussions Non mentioned his belief that religion, God, faith, etc. was merely a creation of civilization to answer the greater question – “Why??” (Not trying to put words in Non’s mouth—be sure to check out ‘who is Non’ for his own perspective.) To my way of thinking that is exactly backwards—faith was not created by civilization. Rather, civilization was created by God for faith, so that we would ask “Why", i.e., so that we would seek and know the true and highest purpose in this life: to know God and to worship Him forever.

I realize all of this may sound like a lot of mumbo-jumbo. But I can tell you, in my life it is as real as the rising and setting of the sun. Obviously this post presents no fool-proof logic or exact science to explain God, or even my faith in Him. Perhaps in the days and weeks ahead I will make such an attempt. But for today this gives you, the brave and (no doubt) the few who are still reading, and idea of where I’m coming from—my baseline, if you will, from which I will relate my thoughts.