Today, we begin a journey through the book of Matthew.  This is a lengthy series that I wrote back in 2021, so those of you who have been subscribers since then may recognize some of the content.  I am editing these as we go through them this time in order to prepare a manuscript for publication. 

Read Matthew 1:1-17

A record of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac.  Isaac was the father of Jacob.  Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.  Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.  Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Aram.  Aram was the father of Amminadab.  Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.  Nahshon was the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.  Boaz was the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.  Obed was the father of Jesse.  Jesse was the father of David the king.  David was the father of Solomon,  whose mother had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.  Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.  Abijah was the father of Asaph.  Asaph was the father of Jehoshaphat.  Jehoshaphat was the father of Joram.  Joram was the father of Uzziah.  Uzziah was the father of Jotham.  Jotham was the father of Ahaz.  Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.  Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.  Manasseh was the father of Amos.  Amos was the father of Josiah.  Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers.  This was at the time of the exile to Babylon.

After the exile to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel.  Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.  Abiud was the father of Eliakim.  Eliakim was the father of Azor.  Azor was the father of Zadok.  Zadok was the father of Achim. Achim was the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar.  Eleazar was the father of Matthan.  Matthan was the father of Jacob.  Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary—of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ.

So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen generations from the exile to Babylon to the Christ.

This first passage in Matthew is one we usually rush through or skip altogether.  After all, it’s just a list of names.  But what if one of those names was your name?  What if your name was listed in the Bible as part of the human genealogy of Jesus?  I bet you would skip reading it.  If it were me, I might print up a nice poster of this passage, highlight my name, frame it, and hang it on my wall.  After all, my name is listed in the story about Jesus!  Perspective is everything, right?  Do this for me right now.  Go back and read each name again.  As you do, imagine their delight in you, someone they never met reading their name in the bible. 

Here’s the thing.  Although your name might not be in the Bible, you are in the story of Jesus.  The life you’re living right now is part of the tapestry of a story that will play out not just over the course of your days on this earth, but well beyond your physical death.  Things you did years ago or something you will do today or next week will have rippling impact on the lives of uncountable others.  And that’s possible because God the Great Tapestry Weaver is pulling all of those strings together in a way none of us can imagine right now.  Your life matters and what you do matters.

This idea is reinforced by the three “groups” of names Matthew lists here. The first group, from Abraham to David recalls the history of the Jews being chosen by God to the pinnacle of their rise among the nations of the earth, David’s Kingdom of Israel.  The next group recalls how that all fell apart to the point that “God’s chosen people” were captured and scattered to the far ends of the known world.  The final group traces the history from that lowest low to the redemption of not just the Jews, but all peoples through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. 

I see all this and I am reminded that whether I find myself in good and prosperous times or down in the dumps, God is still doing some masterful weaving in the midst of my life that will end in redemption, not defeat.  Matthew will highlight this in a dozen ways in his Gospel, but he wants you and I to see it in these very real people in God’s story. 

Prayer:  God, I remind myself today that I am a part of your story of redemption, that my life impacts others in ways that I may never know.  Help me rest in that good news and may you use my life to bless those I know and those I may never know.  Amen.

Prayer Focus:  Pray for someone you know that you sense feels forgotten by others

Song:  Laura Story – God Of Every Story