OCTOBER 1 MATTHEW 1-4

October 1

Matthew 1-4

The Messiah has come...in a way that no one expected! What did we expect? God’s people were looking for a conquering King, a Liberator, someone to ride to the rescue and free God’s people from the Roman overlords!

What they got was a baby. 

This very human baby was also very Jewish, descended from Abraham, we read. Later, we will see His obvious connection with the whole human race, both Jew and Gentile, in Luke’s genealogy, which goes all the way back to Adam. But even here, we see Jesus’ connection to the whole world through those Gentile women who were grafted in to his lineage, most notably Rahab and Ruth!

This baby was also very divine. Matthew makes it clear that God was the Father of this Child, and that a perfectly appropriate nick name for Him might be “Emmanuel,” which means, God with us. 

In chapter two, we learn from both Herod’s jealousy and the Magi’s devotion, that this Jesus is Someone to be reckoned with. All through the first two chapters, we also see the faith of the stepfather that God provided for his Son.

In chapter three, we skip ahead to the days when John the Baptist and Jesus are young adults. John fulfills the forerunner role of Elijah, which Malachi had described in yesterdays’ reading. John, even as he baptizes people for repentance, speaks of Another, who will baptized with the Holy Spirit. Just then, it seems, Jesus approaches for baptism, and John—recognizing Him—tries to get out of it. Jesus insists and all heaven breaks loose.

In chapter four, Jesus faces His final trial before beginning His ministry: temptation by the devil in the wilderness. Of all the lessons we learn, the power of the Word in doing battle with the enemy may the greatest. Immediately after those forty days of testing, Jesus begins to preach, to gather disciples and work miracles. 


It has begun!

Your fellow pilgrim through the New Testament,

Pastor Gary