Matthew 1 - "Joseph An Unlikely Father"

Matthew 1 (click on link)
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+1


Verses for the Day:

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
Matthew's gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus dating back to Abraham.  It includes three 14 year segments that lead to the birth of Jesus at the end of the chapter.  Abraham and David are the two key figures in Israel's history.  Through God's covenant with Abraham, God promised his steadfast love to all generations of Abraham's descendents. He promised that Abraham would be a blessing to all nations, including the Gentiles.  The next 14 generations show that the Messiah would come through the King David's line of sons who were all kings.  Through the Davidic Covenant, God promised a Messiah would come whose kingly reign would never end.  We will see throughout Matthew's gospel a focus on Jesus as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy regarding the promised Messiah. This makes sense because his gospel is written to a primarily Jewish audience.
The first chapter concludes with the story of God revealing himself to Joseph through an angel and that Joseph would be Jesus' earthly father. Whereas Luke focuses on Mary, Matthew focuses on Joseph in the Nativity story. The angel tells Joseph not to worry though his fiance Mary has become pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Joseph makes an incredibly gracious and merciful decision not to divorce his fiance Mary, but take her as his wife.  Her pregnancy would have tremendous cultural consequences for Joseph, but he does what the angel commands and Jesus is born.  His name Jesus means "God saves"! A Savior is born!
As you begin a new year, think about how God uses an unlikely character in Joseph, who trusts God at a crucial time in his life, and becomes the earthly father of our Lord and Savior.  How might God use you this year to bring the Christ-child to the world! If he used Joseph and Mary, could he not use you?
I am excited to walk through the New Testament with you, one chapter a day.  We will only do 5 chapters a week so if you miss a chapter you can catch up on the weekend!






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