12-2023
Pastor’s December Ponderings:
Matthew1:1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar…
5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife…
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
Tracy Sybesma writes in Reformed Worship, “Genealogies often look like a grocery list of names. But if you take the time to listen, a genealogy reveals a story—a thread woven into the history of a family that connects one generation to the next.
The genealogy in Matthew 1 tells the story of Christ’s human ancestors; evidence that God became flesh and dwelt with us. Jesus was born into a family whose history, like ours, is filled with stories of heroes and stories that people might prefer to leave hidden.”
During this advent season we will be considering the mothers of the Messiah found in Matthew’s genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. In recalling their stories, we learn much about Jesus’ earthly family and God’s incredible persistent grace.
I pray that we will all be encouraged by these stories leading up to our Savior’s birth!
May you have a Blessed Christmas!
Pastor Vern
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