Overview of: MatthewToday's Reading:
Matthew 1:1-25
"Mary, Joseph and Jesus"
Focus Verses: Matthew 1:21-22
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."
Insight:
Matthew makes more references to Old Testament texts than any other of the four Gospels. He begins his account of Jesus' life with a genealogy that traces his descent from the house of David. Matthew saw, in the birth of Jesus, a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy to the house of David (Isaiah 7-8). Jesus was the coming King, the coming Messiah, and the one who would deliver Israel from their oppression. He was "God with us."
Response and Action:
Like Matthew, I believe the Jesus is the promised savior. I believe that in his birth, God became flesh and lived among us full of grace and truth (John 1). I believe that Jesus is Immanuel--"God with us." I believe Jesus' departing promise that though he was physically returning to the Father, he would be with us--through the Holy Spirit--always to the very end of the age. I believe he will come again to judge the living and the dead, and his Kingdom will have no end.
O God, thank you that though you existed in the very form of God, you did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but instead emptied yourself to become a man who lived among us. Jesus, thank you for the gracious work of salvation and deliverance you accomplished. Thank you for being faithfulness to obey God all the way to death, even death on the cross. I will exalt you and give you my praise. Your Name is above all other names! My knee is bowed before you. My mouth declares that you, O Christ, are LORD. Be with me this day as I commit myself to live out my faith in you. Amen.
Old Testament for Today: Isaiah 8:9-10
9 Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! 10 Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us.
In Context: Isaiah 8:1-10
Proverb for Today: Prov. 27:11
"Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt."
Recommended Reading:
God in the Flesh: What Speechless Lawyers, Kneeling Soldiers And Shocked Crowds Teach Us About Jesus
by Don Everts
