Key Passage
This is the family history of Jesus Christ. He came from the family of David and Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah. (Their mother was Tamar.) Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz. (Boaz' mother was Rahab.) Boaz was the father of Obed. (Obed's mother was Ruth.) Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David.
— Matthew 1:1-6a ERV (Read Full Text)
Key Thought
Matthew's Gospel, while in many ways the most Jewish of the Gospels, emphasizes God's love and grace for all people. At the beginning of Jesus' life on earth, he is welcomed by foreigners, Magi, who come from many miles away to worship him. At the end of Jesus' life on earth, he challenges his disciples to go tell every nation about him and his good news, baptizing them and welcoming them into God's family. Even in the genealogy of Jesus, Matthew prepares us for the fact that, by God's grace, all people can be included in God's family. In the lineage of great King David, and the Messiah Jesus, is a Gentile woman. Her name is Ruth, and her story is a marvelous story of God's grace and the faithful heart that finds its home in the God of Israel.
Prayer
Father God, LORD of all peoples, please use my study of the Gospel of Matthew this year to awaken my heart to the needs of everyone to know about Jesus. Please give me more understanding and make me less judgmental of other cultures and races. Help me see your image in each person I encounter and see each one's need to know you as Abba Father. In the name of the Lord Jesus I ask this. Amen.
Related Scriptures
So Jesus came to them and said, "All authority (power) in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach those people to obey everything that I have told you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will continue with you until the end of the world."
— Matthew 28:18-20
But God said to Jonah, "Do you think it is right for you to be angry just because this plant died?" Jonah answered, "Yes, it is right for me to be angry! I am angry enough to die!" And the Lord said, "You did nothing for that plant! You did not make it grow. It grew up in the night, and the next day it died. And now you are sad about that plant. {If you can be upset about a plant,} then surely I can feel sorry for a big city like Nineveh. There are many people and animals in that city. There are more than 120,000 people in that city that did not know they were doing wrong! "
— Jonah 4:9-11
Then I looked, and there were many, many people. There were so many people that a person could not count them all. They were from every nation, tribe, race of people, and language of the earth. These people were standing before the throne and before the Lamb (Jesus). They all wore white robes and had palm branches in their hands. They shouted with a loud voice, "Victory belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." The elders and the four living things were there. All the angels were standing around them and the throne. The angels bowed down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God. They said, "Amen ! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!"
— Revelation 7:9-12
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