Let’s spend the next few months reading through the gospel of Matthew. Start by reading Matthew 1:1- 17. OOPS! On second thought, maybe not. Matthew begins with a boring genealogy, “Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob….” and it gets even more tedious from there. Come on! Great books are supposed to captivate you from the beginning. Charles Dickens The Tale of Two Cities begins, “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.” The opening line of Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life is, ‘It’s not about you”. Those lines are attention-getters.
Why would the Bible, the most important book of all time, begin with a wearisome genealogy? It’s because one’s family tree was of keen interest to the Hebrew mind. A racing form that contains the pedigree of a horse is really boring to me but to someone who is going to put big money on a race, the horse’s lineage is vitally important. The ancestry of the Messiah, the Savior of the world, was crucial in ancient times – and still is.
You see, the Bible isn’t a book that supposed to entertain you. It’s more like a detailed map leading you to a valuable treasure. It’s of value because it’s an accurate revelation that leads to eternal life.
Notice something else unique about the genealogy of Jesus – it includes some very imperfect people. Among Jesus’ ancestors are a prostitute, an adulterer, a murderer and a polygamist. That reminds us that God uses imperfect people. Jeff Wahling preached a sermon entitled, “Our Messy Messiah”. Jesus didn’t come into a sterilized environment. He came right into our mess and made a huge difference.
A good prayer for us as we begin this week is, “Lord help me to see life from your perspective. Help me not to be so concerned about the flash, the headlines, the shallow, surface issues of the day. Help me to see events that really matter. Help me to see people for who they can become not just who they appear to be at the moment and then respond to each with respect and encouragement. I pray in the name of the one who looks beyond the outward appearance and sees the heart. Amen.
