HRC New Testament Reading Plan: daily NT reading devotional thoughts.
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:22-23 NIV
Who is Jesus and what does He mean to you?
Matthew begins his gospel account with a long genealogy of Jesus, starting with the father of faith for the Jews, Abraham. He lists the genealogy through Isaac and Jacob, along to King David and Solomon, the builder of the great Temple. Along the way, he mentions Tamar, who prostituted herself to her father-in-law Judah to carry the line along, and Ruth, who provides a tender love story of loyalty and faith in the book named for her. Matthew mentions there are 14 generations from Abraham to David, then 14 more to captivity and 14 to the birth of Jesus. Most of the names in the last two groups are unfamiliar to us, just names to us now.
However, the genealogy ends with “Joseph, the husband of Mary”, the mother of Jesus. Matthew tells us here that he is called the “Messiah”, the Christ, the chosen one. Joseph was from the line that would end with the anointed leader, son of David, the mighty King to lead God’s people.
An angel appears to Joseph to assure him of the news that Mary’s child is from the Holy Spirit, and he accepts Jesus as his son.He is told to give the child the name “Jesus”, which means “Yahweh saves” because he would be the one to save his people from their sins.
Finally, we’re told that all this was to fulfill the word from Isaiah 7:14: the virgin will give birth to a son, and he will be called “Immanuel”, which means “God with us”. Jesus came to be with us so that by his sacrifice we could have God with us.
His Name is Jesus
Messiah, Savior, Immanuel. Matthews introduces us to the chosen one from the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. He tells us that Jesus came to bring salvation through being a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus came to be with us so that God could be with us.
When I meditate on Jesus and who He is, I’m often drawn to one of these three names and what they mean to me. Jesus is my King and Lord, and I need to submit to Him and live the life he calls me to. He’s also my Savior and takes away my sin when I fail in living the kingdom life. Finally, he’s my Friend, always with me “to the end of the age” as it says at the end of Matthew. Jesus is all this so I want to live my life all for him.
Questions:
- Why did Matthew start his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus? Why did he start with Abraham and not Adam?
- What do the names mentioned above say about Jesus (Messiah, Jesus, Immanuel)?
- What does Jesus mean to you personally? What does it mean to you to have him as your Lord, Savior and Friend?