Week 1
Wednesday, January 1 Matthew 1 Commentary Matthew opens his gospel with the genealogy (family history) of Jesus through his earthly father, Joseph, and shows Joseph’s side of the Christmas story. While Jesus was not biologically Joseph’s son, he was adopted by Joseph and considered their son. J. C. Ryle brings out three lessons from this chapter: 1) God always keeps his promises – this lineage shows how through centuries, God was working and ultimately brought the Promised Savior and son of David. 2) The depths of human sin – take a look at these names, many of them were exceedingly evil people despite having godly parents. Pray for your kids! 3) The greatness of Christ’s love and mercy – Jesus chose to enter this sinful mess of a world through a family with a lot of sinful messes, coming humbly as a baby, living as a man yet never falling to sin, and dying as our sacrifice and substitute on the cross to “save his people from their sins.” Important Words/Themes 1. The royal...