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Matthew 1
What a boring way to start a book!

Why the heck would matthew start off his account of the life of Jesus Christ with a boring genealogical record?

Because he was writing to a mainly Jewish audience who were consumed with the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah.

That Messiah was to come from Abraham’s family tree and also Davids.

Jesus came from both.

Don’t think for a second though that Jesus only had royal holy blood running through his veins. In this genealogical record we also see Rahab, a notorious prostitute, Manassah the Idol worshipper and Abijah a corrupt evil judge.

This was the perfect way to start off a Gospel because it linked the Old Testament with the present day life of Jesus Christ, but it was like a punch to the throat to it’s readers. It wasn’t an entrance to this world full of power, order, and dominance like they thought it would be.

This introduction causes a complete shift in thinking, scripture always does. We thought the Messiah would come from Abraham and David but not through a peasant girl like Mary. We thought He would be born with much fan fare, not in a lowly manger.