Matthew 1 n 2

We started our introductory lesson on PUP Matthew last Tuesday. It was short and sweet and we had each a warm curry puff with a cup of water. Each class was also given a pack of potato chips to share! So thoughtful of the organizers :)The next morning when I started on Day One of the workbook, I was filled with a sense of expectancy and am really looking forward to learn and relate more to my LORD Jesus Christ. I came to know the LORD as my personal Saviour when I was a teenager. We were taught to pray to GOD the Father through our LORD Jesus Christ. So I hardly pray direct to Jesus or to the Holy Spirit. Of course, I know Jesus died for me, how He rose again on the 3rd day, etc but now to be able to really study more in dept about Him again, I felt a sense of excitement and I pray that my sisters and brothers in Christ who are in the same class as I am will persevere as the Holy Spirit leads us to encounter our MESSIAH.

After one week of homework and digging into the first 2 chapters of Matthew, we had a time of discussion and summarizing what we have learnt last night in class. Matthew 1 started with the genealogy and birth of Jesus, The Messiah. V1 introduced us to :

1) Jesus, the son of Abraham. Why Abraham?? Well, in Genesis 12:1-3 GOD initiated a covenant relationship with Abraham, blessing him with promises of a land, to be a great nation, making his name great and that in him, all the families of the earth will be blessed.

2) Jesus, the son of David. In II Sam 7:8-13 says GOD made an everlasting covenant with David where his kingdom will be established forever, where time cannot exhaust, sin cannot defeat even through the lineage, after King David, there were many bad kings like Ahaz because GOD is Faithful even though man is not.

3) Jesus, the Messiah. Messiah means Christ "The Anointed", Khre-sto's in Greek, consecrated for a task. Matt 1:23 is the reversal of v.11 when the Israelites were deported to Babylon. Matt 1:21 tells us that "Jesus will save His people from their sins" and v.23 says His Name Immanuel means "GOD with us."

The purpose of genealogy is to tell us our heritage and identity, and in the Bible, it tells us that it is GOD who sits on the throne. It is a close cousin of theology. Gen 3:15 we see the Seed Theology where the good seed vs the bad seed. It started with the serpent vs woman (GOD pronounced enmity between man and the serpent). Then Cain killed Abel, Ishmael vs Isaac, Esau vs Jacob until we come to satan vs Jesus. Very interesting.

Another interesting thing to note in the genealogy of Jesus is about the characters of the four women below:
A) Tamar, who slept with her father-in-law (Gen38:1-30)

B) Rehab, a prostitute in Jericho (Josh 2:1-14, 6:22-25)
C) Ruth, a Moabite (Ruth 1:1-4, 4:13-22) Moabities are a snare to the Israelites. GOD has pronounced judgment on them in Jer 48.

D) Bathsheba, had a adulterous affair with king David (II Sam 11:3-5, 26-27, 12:24)

Hey, if Jesus, who is GOD, could use these people, lowered Himself to be born through this kind of lineage, what pride do we talk about? Like Paul says, there's nothing he could boast in expect in Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 2, we see the meeting of Two Kings; king Herod and Jesus, the King of the Jews. Matthew showed us who Jesus is; the Messiah, King of the Jews, Ruler, Shepherd for My people Israel. Why must Jesus be conceived by the Holy Spirit, born through a virgin? Heb 10:4-10. Why must Jesus become man in order to save us from our sins? Heb 2:9, 14-17.

We also note in the following verses are prophecies of the OT fulfilled:

1) Matt1:23 (Isa 7:14)

2) Matt 2:5-6 (Micah 5:2)

3) Matt 2: 15 (Hosea 11:1)

4) Matt 2: 17-18 (Jer 31:15)

Jesus, Name above all names,

Beautiful Saviour, Glorious Lord

Emmanuel, God is with us

Redeemer, living Word.