The Bloodline of a King

Thank you for joining today as we seek God’s wisdom together. Let us begin with prayer.

“Lord Jesus, I ask that you search our hearts and see if there be anything wicked in them. We ask that your Holy Spirit show us what you are saying to us today. I ask that the words on this page would jump out to us as you speak to our hearts and minds truth and life. In Jesus name, Amen.”

Matthew 1: 1-17

“The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers. 3Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, and Hezron fathered Ram. 4Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon. 5Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, and Obed fathered Jesse. 6Jesse fathered David the king. David fathered Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, and Abijah fathered Asa. 8Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, and Joram fathered Uzziah. 9Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, and Ahaz fathered Hezekiah. 10Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, and Amon fathered Josiah. 11Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, and Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel. 13Zerubbabel fathered Abihud, Abihud fathered Eliakim, and Eliakim fathered Azor. 14Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, and Achim fathered Eliud. 15Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, and Matthan fathered Jacob. 16Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. 17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.”

What the Word is Saying

This book and by extension the New Testament; identifies who Jesus was. He was the Messiah or the anointed one who was prophesied about in the Old Testament. He is the Son of David, fulfilling the words spoken to David that his kingdom would have no end (2 Sam. 7:10-16). The son of Abraham and by extension then the fulfillment of the covenant God made with Abraham and his descendants. Through whom all the nations would be blessed (Gen. 12: 1-3). Verses 2-16 then follow the genealogies of Abraham down to Joseph who was Jesus’s adopted Father. Although the Biological Father of Jesus was God through the Holy Spirit. As an adopted son of Joseph Jesus was entitled to be the next king in succession to the throne of David.

Verse 17 then reinforces the genealogy of the Messiah and posits Jesus as the fulfillment of the promise of Abraham and David. For the first century Jew this would be something they and the ancestors have been waiting for, for a long time. They had been under the oppressive arm of the Roman empire and longed for the promised Messiah to come and take His throne and root out the enemy. However, this is not the mission of Jesus as would be later shown in the pages of this gospel. Nevertheless, as a Jew it was important for Matthew to show how the line of succession placed Jesus as the heir to David’s throne and therefore the fulfillment of the promises.

Another important factor that Matthew points out here is the inclusion of the four gentile women in this genealogy. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba who was the wife of Uriah. God used the outcasts and downtrodden to further His story. This ultimately led to Mary who was an unwed mother to be that Joseph is now contemplating on dispensing with discreetly.

It is the same for all of us. Though some reading this have Jewish heritage, the majority of us are gentile. Therefore, our inclusion in the family of God was bought by the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. We will explore the story that is told in this gospel as we work our way through it in the coming weeks. But for a beginning it is important to know that Jesus was and is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords prophesied about throughout the Old Testament.

It is possible that you have never had a relationship with Jesus Christ. All He asks for you to accept the free gift of grace is to humble yourself and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord of all. He alone is all powerful and you submit to His authority. Next you must believe He did what He did. That is die on a cross and rise again from the dead. These are both actions of faith. Faith is the substance of things hoped for with evidence not seen. Meaning you believe even though you don’t have physical evidence to prove it. I know you made it to this page for a reason and the Holy Spirit is working on your heart. The Father has drawn you and He alone can reveal to you the truth of what I am saying. I know that He is now, and you need to take a step of faith and pray these words with me.

Right where you are; say these words out loud: “Jesus I confess that you are Lord of all, I yield my will to your will for you are greater than me. I believe you came to this world and lived a sinless life; I believe you suffered and died on cross for my sins, I believe they put your lifeless body in a tomb, and three days later you rose from the dead. I confess to you that I am a sinner and ask you to forgive me. I also ask that you send me your Holy Spirit to give me power to live a sanctified life and to lead me into all truth. In Jesus name, Amen.”

If you prayed that prayer, I urge you to contact us here so that we might come beside you and hold you up in prayer as you begin your journey with Jesus. I assure you that we have all been where you are. We may have committed different sins, but we are just as guilty, nonetheless. We all needed forgiveness and someone else supported us as we began our Journey with Him.

Thank you for joining me today as we searched the scriptures for What the Word is Saying. I pray that God will send His Holy Spirit into our lives anew and fill us again with His love and His purpose for us. So that we can fulfill the mission He left us in bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.

“Scripture quotations taken from the NASB (New American Standard Bible) Copyright 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.” lockman.org