As you begin your Bible reading, you may feel like you sprung from the starting block and immediately landed in a pothole. The very first words from this gospel contain names one can hardly pronounce. Do not let your excitement for reading God’s word be squelched by having to plow through a genealogy, a long list of descendants who lead us up to the birth of Jesus. What this first chapter reveals for me is not only the historical link of how God has been preparing for this salvation moment, but also the mess that He works through to bring about His plan. Many of the names you will recognize in this genealogy have life stories that make modern day soap operas appear G-rated. I like the thought that God can take the mess of my life story and still bring about His Story.
Once you leave Matthew’s genealogy account, you move into familiar territory with the narrative of Jesus birth, his baptism and his temptation by the devil. Take time to reflect on the crisis moments in these stories as from the beginning the writer discloses the challenges facing God’s work in this world.
Matthew 5 begins Jesus’ sermon that shows how God’s ways are so very different from the ways of the world and even the ways of the religious structure of Jesus’ day. If we really were to grasp what Jesus says in this sermon, our lives and our churches would be quite different than they are today
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