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1:
1-17 The family tree.
We can trace the family tree, to which Jesus Christ belongs, right back
to king David, and then back even further to Abraham. This means that Jesus is
legally a son of David, and therefore a royal prince, and also one of the many
descendants of Abraham.
Briefly, here is how the links between Abraham, David and his mother are
joined : Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Perez (and Zerah through Tamar the
harlot), Hezron, Ram, Amminidab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (through Rahab the
harlot), Obed (through Ruth the Gentile), Jesse and then David the king.
David, Solomon (through Bathsheba the adulteress), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa,
Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah,
Jeconiah (whose royal line was cursed - Jer. 22:30), Shealtiel, Zerubbabel,
Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and finally
Joseph, Mary's husband and the natural birth-mother of Jesus.
The generations of Jesus' family tree are divided into three sets of
fourteen, which match three important periods in Israel's history. From the call
of Abraham to the call of David. From the building of the Temple to its
destruction, and from the time when the kingdom of Judah was under Babylon's
rule to today, when it is under the rule of Rome.
1:18-25
Jesus is born.
These are the facts surrounding the birth of Jesus. Joseph and Mary were
betrothed (engaged) but they had not lived or slept together because they were
both godly people. However, to Mary's surprise, she found that she was pregnant!
This amazing event was brought about by God through the Holy Spirit, but at that
stage she didn't know this.
When Joseph found out that his fiancee was pregnant he thought she must
have committed adultery, and he knew that if the locals found out they would
want to punish her - even stone her to death - so he decided to call off the
engagement. He didn't want the shame of being involved with such an immoral
woman either, so he started to make arrangements to call off the engagement.
Joseph was really upset by the way his proposed marriage was going, but
God sent an angel to explain to Joseph what was going happening.
"Joseph" said the angel, "Don't be afraid to marry Mary.
She is pregnant because God has worked a miracle inside her. Go through with the
marriage and trust God for what happens."
"Furthermore, Mary will have a baby, and it will be a son, whom you
will name Jesus. The name means "saviour" because through this child,
God will make it possible for all His people the Israelites to be saved from
their sins."
(There is a 700 year old prophecy in the Old Testament about this -in
Isaiah 7:14 : "Look at this remarkable event! A virgin shall have a child,
and it will a male, and God will call this child Immanuel, which means
"Jehovah is with us."")
When the angel finished speaking, Joseph woke up, and realised that he
had been asleep, but he knew that he had had far more than a dream. He was
inspired! With great courage he went to Mary and told her he was determined to
marry her, in spite of how bad things looked. He was now prepared to go through
the predictable shame and insults because now he knew that God was in control.
So from then on Joseph stayed faithful to Mary, right up until her baby was born, and then, in obedience to God, he named the baby Jesus.