His Identity made Clear – Mt 1

When Jewish people read Matthew 1, it’s also stunning to them as they see that the New Testament is about their Jewish Messiah. Not only that, but Matthew is so bold in saying who Jesus is.

• He is a son of David
• He is to called Jesus which means “YAHWEH saves”
• He will save his people from their sin
• He is the fulfillment of prophecy in Isaiah that the virgin will be with child
• He is Immanuel which means “God with us”

There is no doubt whatsoever. Of course Matthew started his book clear also. “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”. Of course the latest NIV translates “Christ” as Messiah. It is Xristos in the Greek but Messiah is the Jewish word for Messiah.

Anyway, just thinking about this passage. The genealogy represents many generations and many difficult events in Israel’s history where the Messiah did not come. But now…he was here. As a baby. On a mission to save people from their sins. God with us.

Perhaps I recognize in myself a need to rediscover Jesus. He is so familiar to me. But I want to know him in new and fresh ways.

To a Jewish audience, these words would have been heart stopping. That he was all that he was. Could he really be the Messiah?

Only God can save people from their sins.

The fact too that his deity is clearly stated. He is “God with us.”.

I think through this. It was some very unpleasant times when Jesus came. Perhaps not the worst. But still pretty awful. The Romans ruled the land and the Jews were there as well. It wasn’t exactly a friendly two-state solution like the Romans might have liked.

And yet here Jesus came. Vulnerable. And not coming in as one ready to smite evil in the way that the people wanted the Messiah to do.

Yet he joined humanity. He walked with us. He experienced life with us. He humbled himself. Greatly.

Sometimes, or perhaps oftentimes, God doesn’t just come swooping in like superman to fix all the problems of the world. Rather he comes and walks with us. God with us. He shares in our suffering. HE makes it so we are truly not alone in it even though it may feel like it.

And when he did vanquish evil, it was not what man wanted. But it is what man needed. And it was so much bigger than man could ever understand. He delivered people from their sin.

God did something better than what we wanted. Suffering wasn’t erased. Deliverance from the Romans didn’t happen. But God set man free from the penalty of sin and death.

It’s a reminder. God does things bigger than our requests. We don’t always know why we still suffer on this earth. But it’s only for a season. A small speck of time in comparison to eternity. And that God did something more glorious than we can understand is something we will be grateful for throughout all eternity.