The Gospel of Matthew is one of four gospels in the Bible and the first book of the New Testament. Matthew was one of the 12 apostles that were with Jesus throughout His public ministry on earth. Scholars believe that the book was written sometime between 50 and 70 A.D.
Matthew was a Jewish tax collector from Capernaum, who left his profession to follow Jesus. It’s not surprising that this gospel talks more about money than the others, or that this gospel gives special attention to his home town. Matthew gives a personal account of many miracles that Jesus performed.
Matthew writes to the Jewish people to persuade them that Jesus is the true Messiah that had been prophesied in the Old Testament. It stresses how Jesus fulfilled Jewish prophecies. (By the way Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies spoken by different voices in the Old Testament over a period of about 500 years.)
Genealogy was a big deal to ancient Jews. Listed here among all these boring hard to pronounce names are four women from the wrong side of the tracks. Tamar was involved in a sandal, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth was not an Israelite, and Bathsheba was involved in all sorts of crap. What we can learn from even this tedious passage is that God can lift the lowest and place them in royal lineage, and that somehow God’s grace forgives the darkest of sins and reaches to the entire world not just the nation of Israel.
Christmas changes things. Sometimes you have to go home by another way like the Magi and like the Holy family. What new routes and new routines do you hope to cultivate in 2011?
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