Key Passage
This is the family history of Jesus Christ. He came from the family of David and Abraham.
— Matthew 1:1 ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought
Jesus is God keeping his promises. This will be one of Matthew’s continuing themes—Matthew writes his Gospel to stress the fulfillment of God's promises to his people. Matthew begins the good news of Jesus by reminding us that Jesus is not only Jewish, but he also has a family line that can be traced back to King David and to Father Abraham. Matthew wants to show his readers that Jesus is the fulfillment of God's promise to send a Messiah who will bless all nations. The Apostle Paul, God’s chosen missionary to the Gentiles, said that all of God's promises find their "yes" in Jesus (2 Cor. 1:18-20). He stresses that faith in Jesus is the key to unlocking the truth of Scripture (2 Tim. 3:15). Let’s use this year to find Jesus as we have never found him before!
Prayer
Holy and faithful God, thank you for keeping your promises and sending Jesus. Thank you for taking care of your people Israel through their long and often difficult history. Your faithfulness to your Word gives me assurance that you will send Jesus back to bring victory to all of your people, just as you have promised. In the name of Jesus, son of Abraham, son of David, and your Son, I pray. Amen.
Related Scriptures
But when the right time came, God sent his Son. God's Son was born from a woman. God's Son lived under the law. God did this so that he could buy the freedom of the people who were under the law. God's purpose was to make us his children. You are God's children. That is why God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. The Spirit cries out, "Abba, Father."
— Galatians 4:4-6
God made promises to Abraham and his Descendant. The Scripture does not say, "and to your descendants." (That would mean many people.) But it says, "and to your Descendant." (That means only one person; that person is Christ.)
— Galatians 3:16
So people get God's promise by having faith. This happens so that the promise can be a free gift. And if the promise is a free gift, then all of Abraham's people can have that promise. The promise is not only for those people that live under the law {of Moses}. The promise is for any person that lives with faith like Abraham. Abraham is the father of us all.
— Romans 4:16
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