Family Trees
Opening Prayer
Think how much God loves us all, and thank him for the love of your family and friends.
Read Matthew 1:1-17
[1] This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: [2] Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, [3] Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, [4] Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, [5] Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, [6] and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, [7] Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, [8] Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, [9] Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, [10] Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, [11] and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. [12] After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, [13] Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, [14] Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, [15] Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, [16] and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. [17] Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What is the human ancestry of Jesus?The Jews believed that the Messiah would come from King David’s family line. Matthew wrote his Gospel for his fellow Jews, and he wanted to show that Jesus was a direct descendant of David. He started with Abraham, through Jesse to David (2-6), and then from David’s son Solomon through to Joseph, Mary, and Jesus (7-16). Unusually, Matthew mentions four women. They are not high-born women, as we might expect. Tamar tricked Judah, her father-in-law, and bore him two sons (3; cf. Gen. 38). Rahab, the mother of Boaz, had been a prostitute (5a; cf. Josh. 2; 6:22-25). Boaz himself married Ruth, who was a Moabite and a foreigner (5b; cf. Ruth). And David’s son Solomon was the result of his affair with Bathsheba (6b; cf. 2 Sam. 11). The way we see ourselves is not how God sees us. We may, like the women in Matthew’s genealogy, have low self-esteem, or have lived lives that others would consider sinful, but God sees us as his children and is ready to use us.
Apply
What are some incidents in your history that might make you seem a less-than-obvious candidate for God’s grace?
Closing prayer
Pray today for those who feel far away from God or who struggle to see where they fit in God’s Kingdom.
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