Simply Jesus Day 1

Matthew 1

We are told that how you start something is important. I remember my old English school teacher telling us if you don't catch a readers attention in the opening paragraph, it very unlikely that they will read your story.

On the face of it God opens up the story of Jesus in a very boring way - a list of names, wow. I can imagine Matthew talking to God as he wrote under His inspiration. God you have got to be kidding, there has to be a better way to announce the arrival of your Son to this world than a list of relatives somehow I don't think this is going to hit the best seller list!

Clearly God knows best. Matthew was written primarily at the time to a Jewish audience. Jesus was the Messiah the fulfillment of many Jewish Old Testament prophesies. To show his readers that Jesus came from the line of Abraham and the Royal line of David was critical for them.

But Jesus ancestry was not just a long line of royalty, it is interesting to note in v5 that Rahab a notorious prostitute is listed.

Ultimately God loves people and people are important to Him so very often through scripture you will find lists of names. Its great to know that God knows your name.