READ: Matthew
1
Matthew begins his gospel with a very important piece of information:
the genealogy of Jesus. This is critical to all Jews if they are to believe
Jesus really is the Messiah. They knew that the Messiah had to be in the line
of David in order to be the King whom
they were waiting for. Lines of ancestry are really important to the Jewish
people and so Matthew takes time to fill in many names so every Jew can see
that Jesus really does belong, by blood and by birth.
However, the Holy Spirit does not leave out the Gentiles in this
genealogy either! In this list there are the names or references to a few people
who were born Gentile: Rahab was from Jericho and part of a nation that were
archenemies of Israel. Ruth was from Moab. It is possible that Bathsheba, the
wife of a Hittite man, could have been Hittite as well, but of this we can’t be
sure.
The interesting thing about these Gentiles in the genealogy is two-fold.
First: it’s interesting that they are mentioned at all because they are women.
Typically Jewish genealogies only list men. But in this case five women are
noted: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba and Mary. Their inclusion helps shift the
thinking of the Jews to understand the value that God places on women. The
second reason is because not all of them are Jewish. The Jews were very
particular about the purity of lineage.
So the fact that Gentiles are in the line of Jesus show us God’s plan is
very grand and includes any who turn to Him in faith. For example, Rahab and
Ruth chose to follow the God of Israel. By this fact, they are just as much
part of the pure lineage of Jesus as those who were born Israelites.
This gives us our identity today. Whether we are Jew or Gentile, when we
give our hearts to the Lord and choose to follow His ways, our entire identity
is changed. Although God was careful to have a legally pure lineage for His Son
Jesus, He lets us know through Matthew that there are others who have spiritual
rights to be in that line as well. As believers, this includes us.
Near the end of the chapter, two names are given to the Son of God:
Immanuel and Jesus. Immanuel literally means “God with us”. This speaks to the
fact that now, in the person of the baby born to Mary, we have the very nature
of God in human flesh. That baby grew up, lived, died and rose again and is still
Immanuel: God with us. The other name He was given was Jesus. Jesus is another
form of the name Joshua. The meaning is “God who saves”. Even as we call on the
name of Jesus we are reminding ourselves we are speaking with the God who
saves… and is still with us.
JOURNALING
AND PRAYER
1.
Spend time thanking the Lord for allowing all people from all races to
enter into a new identity with Him through faith.
2.
Spend some time thanking God for the value He places on women. Ask Him
to give you the name of a woman or girl you can pray for today who needs to
know they have value in Christ. Spend a few minutes praying for her.
3.
Thank God for the truth of His character revealed in His names. Thank
Him for being with you and for saving you by His name. Ask the Lord to reveal
to you how being Immanuel (God with us) or Jesus (God who saves) can make a
difference with a struggle you have right now. Pray about your situation with
this in mind.
