A panting on the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1.
Heavenly Father,
You have purposed your plan of redemption before time,
and in its fullness sent the full expression of your nature in sending your Son, Jesus Christ into the world.
Out of such fullness you came to give abundant life to those dead in transgressions,
freedom to those held in the bondage of iniquity,
healing to those whose hearts are corrupted by the cancer of sin.
Jesus is the heavenly man,
fully divine,
infinite in beauty,
worthy of all glory, honor and praise.
Jesus is the earthly man,
fully human,
born of a virgin,
descended from a people who
have failed to obey your Word,
believe your promises,
and honor you in consecrated lives of devotion and worship.
And yet Jesus, full of history and Lord of history came
as a Deliverer, to rescue His people from their sins,
as a Conqueror, to bring victory over sin, death, and hell,
as a King, whose rule is abundantly gracious and robes entirely righteous.
Jesus, I thank you for the cross
which is my exodus, my deliverance from life in Egypt.
I thank you for your resurrection
which is my life, hope, and ultimate vindication.
I thank you for your ascension
for you reign as King of heaven and earth,
in whom all authority and power and dominion is given,
who executes perfectly your sovereign plan,
providing for your people every good and perfect thing,
protecting them form the accuser through the everlasting covenant
made with your precious blood which speaks for me.
You, the true Son of God, entered into history to redeem it,
for it is the story of your glory,
that all the promises of God be yes and amen,
that all the purposes of God be faithful and true,
that all the people of God be saved and satisfied forevermore.
Help me to believe this,
breathe it deep,
feel it strong,
preach it loud,
sing it sweet,
and live it all my days.
– TNB
Tim,
This prayer is beautiful and full of truth. May He grant your request to believe it, breathe it, feel it, preach it, sing it and live it all of your days.
TB,
For a great review of why Matthew used the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew, check out “Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament” by Christopher Wright. Great book. Maybe you have already seen it.
You can find a link here:
http://takeyourvitaminz.blogspot.com/2008/01/knowing-jesus-through-old-testament.html
Once you get over the usual reaction to the “begats,” looking at the characters in the line of Christ is instructive — especially the women.
One seduced her father-in-law. One was a prostitute. One was of a people forbidden to join the people of Israel. One was an adulteress. These are the grandmothers of Jesus. If these are the kind of people that God will use to bring about His kingdom then there is some hope that He may even be able to use me.
Zach,
Thanks for mentioning Wright’s book. I do think it is an excellent book to read on the first four chapters of Matthew. It was required reading for my OT class with Dr. Block and have enjoyed his trilogy. I just recently read his Knowing the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament and look forward to reading Knowing the Father through the Old Testament as well.
Chris,
That’s a good observation. When I wrote about Jesus being an “earthly” man, that was what first came to my mind. If one were to look for the lineage of the King of the Jews, I think his genealogy came as a stumbling block. Can anything good come out of Nazareth perhaps was presupposed a little by his ancestry. In any case, Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, tabernacled among us as one of us, with a heritage checkered by sin and failure.
Timmy Brister, Neopuritan.
Nice reflection on Christ.
Thanks David, and thanks for the link!