January
J anuary 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 his and Mary’s son. Thus, Matthew traces Jesus’ family through Joseph. Ironically, though Jesus certainly became a part of Joseph’s family, through the work of Jesus, Joseph and the rest of us could become part of God’s family. Family is more than flesh and blood - the best kind of family, in fact, is not flesh and blood, or even a “found” family, it is the family of God. J. C. Ryle notes three great lessons in 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) Human sinfulness is great. Take a look at these names, many of them were exceedingly evil people despite having godly parents. Pray fo...