Tag: Matthew

What’s in a name?

“You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matt 1:21

Mission Statements are vital for companies. Unless a company has a clear objective, a reason for being, then how will they know whether they are being successful? (Unless their goal is merely to make profit, but then, that’s still a Mission Statement, even if not very attractive to the outside world.) For example, The Walt Disney Company seeks to ‘be one the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information.’ How are they doing?

Jesus had a Mission Statement. He couldn’t go one day without hearing it. Embedded in his name was the reason he had come to this earth, having left the glories of heaven. ‘He will save his people from their sins.’

This is nothing new to most of us. We know his mission well. We enjoy the benefits of it each day, singing about it regularly, mentioning it in our prayers, telling others of the opportunity they have to be one of his people and be saved. But how often do words like these spark in us wonder and joy, as they filled the heart of Joseph when he heard these words from the angel?

This announcement, made to a nobody, betrothed to a nobody, was what humanity had been longing to hear since God first gave that promise all those ages ago, in a garden we can no longer enter. ‘I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel’ (Gen 3:15).

Heroes had come and gone, but always failed. No one had lived up to the hope that Genesis 3:15 gave. Where was our champion? Praise God, he’s finally come.

Christ’s family tree

‘So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation of Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.’ (Matt 1:17)

For several years there has been a growing interest among many in our culture of researching one’s family tree. The mysteries of the past are enticing. The ads encouraging the activity intrigue with the possibility of finding interesting characters. Whether the past holds royalty or criminality, the hope is something interesting.

The genealogy of Christ in Matt 1:2-17 is full of intriguing details. But unlike our genealogies which would not shed light on our own character, Christ’s genealogy has much in it to teach us about him. All the Old Testament history was leading up to him, and God has so crafted history that even the purpose of his mission is revealed.

There are glorious heights in this genealogy. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, grounding him in the redemptive purposes of God, bringing blessing to the world. There is Judah, who was promised the sceptre would not pass from him. We see this reality when we get to some of the great kings: David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah. He has a great pedigree. Jesus was born to rule.

But there is embarrassment in this list too. In an odd twist, multiple women are named, each of them a skeleton in the closet. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah’s wife – each with a sordid past (or, in the case of Ruth, embarrassment because she was a Moabitess).

It is perhaps in these women that the glory of Christ is most clearly seen. Unlike us, he chose his family. And he chose one full of shameful and public sin, and of Gentiles. Even in his family he chooses to identify with us.

Understanding Jesus

‘The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.’ (Matthew 1:1).

If you were writing a book about Jesus, how would you begin? Would you begin with a quote from Jesus? A story of his power? A call to believe?

Matthew begins his book, and the New Testament, by looking back. What a vital lesson this is for us. It can be easy for Christians, when reading the Bible, to completely neglect the Old Testament. And that’s understandable to a degree – the New Testament can often feel easier to apply. The intended audience is the first-century church, which is more immediately relatable than what is written to the pre-Jesus Jews.

But, as Matthew demonstrates, the Old Testament is critical to understanding who Jesus is. Without the covenants given to Abraham and David (and the others too) we would have an anaemic picture of Jesus. Our understanding of his mission, the Kingdom of God, sin, judgement, our future hope, and so much more would be greatly hindered, to our detriment. Without the Old Testament, we would have no idea what ‘Christ’ even meant!

But the other side is also true: without Jesus and the New Testament our grasp of the Old Testament would be incomplete. Without the ultimate son of David and Abraham, would we realise that the Old Testament was meant to be leading to an individual who would fulfil all the promises God had made? Would we realise that the promises related to descendants, blessing and land would all come to fulfilment and completion in one glorious person?

The design of the Bible is truly incredible. We need both the Old and New Testaments to truly understand the other, and to truly understand Jesus. Everything there points to him.