September 25, 2019 - The first verse of Matthew reads, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Now imagine someone is handed a pocket New Testament and they actual start to read it. Skipping of course the introduction section that talks about translation philosophy, they are hit with Matthew 1:1. To interpret this verse we of course need to know a few things. Luckily for the reader, we live in a culture that is saturated in Christian terminology and names.
What do I mean by that? I recall as a kid every Christmas a certain Peanuts cartoon that would come on the television. As a teenager I can recall going to Christian youth group events. As an adult I notice all the business that have evangelical tracts on counters or Bible verses on their cups. I think it is safe to say that in the United States, whether you have faith in Him or not, know or at least can describe who Jesus Christ is. This is a result of cultural Christianity.
But how far does this knowledge of Christ go? Is it based on art and cinema or on Scripture? Does the knowledge of David go beyond Goliath? Does the knowledge of Abraham go beyond him having many sons?
If the knowledge is shallow then I fear that importance of Matthew 1:1 is missed. The importance of pointing out that Jesus comes from the line of David and Abraham. To the original audience of Matthew, they would have seen the importance of the geneology of Christ. It is important because it shows that Christ is the fulfillment of what God has promised. It shows us that by Christ Jesus, we are forgiven.
Wynter is an Elder at Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church. Find out more at MariposaChurch.org or email him at wynter@mariposachurch.org. Visit Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church on Facebook.
Pastor’s Corner is a column from Pastor Wynter Sturtevant III of the Mariposa Reformed Baptist Church.
The Church has moved locations, services are now held at the Bootjack Stompers Hall (located at 4662 Morman Bar Crossing) across from the Mariposa County Fairgrounds.
Time of service is still 10:00 A.M. on Sunday.
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