Daily Reading:
Matthew
1
Holman
Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1
The historical record of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
From Abraham to David
2 Abraham fathered Isaac,
Isaac fathered Jacob,
Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar,
Perez fathered Hezron,
Hezron fathered Aram,
4 Aram fathered Amminadab,
Amminadab fathered Nahshon,
Nahshon fathered Salmon,
5 Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab,
Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth,
Obed fathered Jesse,
6 and Jesse fathered King David.
From David to the Babylonian Exile
Then David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s
wife,
7 Solomon fathered Rehoboam,
Rehoboam fathered Abijah,
Abijah fathered Asa,
8 Asa fathered Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat fathered Joram,
Joram fathered Uzziah,
9 Uzziah fathered Jotham,
Jotham fathered Ahaz,
Ahaz fathered Hezekiah,
10 Hezekiah fathered Manasseh,
Manasseh fathered Amon,
Amon fathered Josiah,
11 and Josiah fathered Jechoniah and his
brothers
at the time of the exile to Babylon.
From the Exile to the Messiah
12 Then after the exile to Babylon
Jechoniah fathered Shealtiel,
Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel,
13 Zerubbabel fathered Abiud,
Abiud fathered Eliakim,
Eliakim fathered Azor,
14 Azor fathered Zadok,
Zadok fathered Achim,
Achim fathered Eliud,
15 Eliud fathered Eleazar,
Eleazar fathered Matthan,
Matthan fathered Jacob,
16 and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of
Mary,
who gave birth to Jesus who is called the
Messiah.
17
So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations; and from
David until the exile to Babylon, 14 generations; and from the exile to Babylon
until the Messiah, 14 generations.
The Nativity of the Messiah
18
The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been
engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was
pregnant by the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man,
and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly.
20
But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord suddenly
appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to
take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is by the Holy
Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, because
He will save His people from their sins.”
22
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the
prophet:
23 See, the virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and they will name Him Immanuel,
which
is translated “God is with us.”
24
When Joseph got up from sleeping, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him.
He married her 25 but did not know her intimately until she gave birth to a
son. And he named Him Jesus.
Reflection: The
verse of the day is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. This prophecy can be found in Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will
conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel." Throughout the Old Testament (or Old Covenant) we have been guided lovingly to this very point in time; the birth of our Savior and King who has first come as a living sacrifice for us all, and then, in His second coming, will return as King of kings and Lord of lords. Here, on the night of His birth, prophecy is fulfilled. From this point on, our focus is on #nonebutChrist.
Discussion
Topic: Who would have thought, at that
moment in time, at the birth of a boy child, that a new chapter in the war
against the enemy had begun. With Jesus
on earth, it signaled the Kingdom of God's invasion into the enemy's
territory. Do you think Mary and Joseph
had any idea of exactly what the significance of Jesus' birth was?
Prayer: Oh Lord, Your plan from the beginning was to create a people in Your image who would choose to love, obey and worship You of their own free will. Sin came into the world in the Garden of Eden, but even then You knew that the day would come when You send Your only Son to rescue us from Your judgment of our sins and bring us back into a relationship with You. Father, there are no words to describe how thankful I am that You sent your Son, my Savior, to this earth to save me and to make me a child of the Living God. As I meditate on what was begun on that night, may your Holy Spirit wash over me and fill me anew, that I may sing songs of joy and raise up praises to You with a clean heart and a renewed mind and may this Christmas season offer us many more opportunities to share the gospel with others. To You be the glory and honor and praise forever and ever! Amen!
