Day 1: Root of Jesse and Joseph's Family Tree

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Isaiah 11:1-5
Romans 15:4-13 
Matthew 1:1-17
Luke 3:23-33
  It’s no surprise that passages like Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-33 aren’t generally printed on coffee mugs. We usually skip the “begat begat begat” sections of the Bible—the genealogies—because… well…
Genealogies are tedious.
But it must have also been tedious to pass prophecies from one generation to the next—waiting and waiting for them to come true.
Yet the Gospel of Matthew opens with the proclamation that 42 generations have been waiting for the promised Messiah (all the way back to Abraham in Genesis 12!). 28 of those generations have been hoping and longing and waiting for a king like David with the wisdom of Solomon  (Solomon the son of David who was the son of Jesse)…..and here,
“Finally here!” proclaims the  genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17
“The Messiah—from the royal family of Jesse—is here.”
“We finally have Joseph, the husband of Mary,
of whom Jesus was born, who is called Messiah!”
~Matthew 1:16
“And look! He’s in the royal family tree of Jesse.
Just like Isaiah said!”

(on the flip side, the family tree in Luke connects Jesus all the way back to Adam in Genesis 1. This means that God directly stepped into relationship with ALL humanity—even and especially the sinners. God worked through sinners in human history to bring Jesus into the world. Moreover, it means that these 'boring' genealogies tell the story of a God who has worked for generations to bring salvation into history)
Prayer: Lord God, you stepped into time
in a very real way.
Connect my life to Your story, and help me to live into it.
Make us a generation who connects your lineage to the world.
Amen.

Want more? Check out this online Jesse Tree that tells the salvation story in the Old Testament


Kids Corner:

Look at some of the names in Jesus’ genealogy or family history in Matthew 1:1-17  and/or Luke 3:23-38. Can you find Joseph?  (1:16 and 3:23).  Try to think about how long people were waiting for Jesus to come into the world… How do you think Joseph felt when he realized that the promised Messiah was finally coming into the world? How do YOU feel?

Do more Together:
  • How many generations back does YOUR history go? Ask your family to help draw some of your “genealogy” or family tree.  (Do you think YOUR family might be connected to Jesus?)

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