Matthew 1:1-17
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king.
David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
“It twas the night before Christmas …”
Now, most reading those words above would be able to finish the rest of that line. Yet, if it read, “So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:…” (Lk. 1:22) hardly anybody would be able to finish it.
It just reveals how mankind is more apt to read and re-read (or get familiar with) secular stories over God’s Holy Scripture because the flesh hates God’s Word; finding it boring and unsatisfactory to the flesh. So goes the reading for today. Not that anyone is supposed to memorize it, but simply reading it all the way through is still arduous for man’s flesh. Yet, it remains “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” (vs.1)
Truly in Christ, God has drawn near to sinful man to redeem sinful man. In Christ God became what God was not—a human being to save human beings. No matter how disgusting our sins are —to ourselves or others— our Savior was born to die for those very sins. It is God who moved toward us. It is He who gave gifts to us. Among those gifts are His human body and blood which we take into ourselves so that we might receive strength from them. Since Christ’s holy, innocent Body and Blood have touched our lips, our sins are atoned for and our guilt taken away. Now —that— should always be remembered and rejoiced in!
All praise to Thee eternal God,
Who, clothed in garb of flesh and blood,
Dost take a manger for Thy throne,
While worlds on worlds are Thine alone.
Hallelujah! (TLH 80)
Let us pray: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
