Saturday, December 23, 2022
Day 27-Detailed Proof
Matthew 1:1-17

Throughout this devotional book, I have asserted that the birth of Christ was not a random act by a desperate God who had run out of ideas, but rather the execution of a plan which was formulated before the universe was created. Recall the words of Ephesians 1…
For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love, He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will… Ephesians 1:4-5 NIV

Today, I want to offer you further evidence that this was a precise plan with countless intricate details that perfectly fell into place in the person of Jesus. Consider the genealogy recorded in Mathew 1:1-17. Grab your Bible and take a few minutes to read through this genealogy.

Matthew intentionally starts his gospel with a tracing of the lineage of Jesus from Abraham to David to Mary and Joseph and finally to Jesus. Verse 1 states…

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham… Matthew 1:23 NIV

Matthew divides this genealogy into three time periods of 14 generations each. The first time-period traces from Abraham to David; the second time period traces from David to the Babylonian Exile; the third time period traces from the Babylonian exile to the birth of Jesus.

Now, remember that small detail that Luke includes…

God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. Luke 1:26 NIV

Looking closely at this genealogy, we see that the father of Jesus had to be a descendant of David. We see in this verse that Joseph was indeed a descendant of David, and that the young girl engaged to him was a virgin who was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

Let’s also recall this small detail from Luke 2…

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. Luke 2:4 NIV

By choosing Joseph, a descendant of David, to be the earthly father of Jesus, the young couple was forced to travel to Bethlehem due to the Roman census during the time that Mary would give birth which ultimately fulfilled the prophecy in Micah 5:2 that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

Thus, it is obvious that Joseph was not a random choice to be the earthly father of Jesus, but part of an intricate plan of God to bring forth the Messiah who would save their people from their sins.

When thinking about how all of these ideas are interconnected, I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 1:25 which states

…for the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

I would surmise that our feeble brains would not be able to fully comprehend the breadth and depth of God’s plan to redeem us. It is enough to know that God loves us and would go to such incredible lengths to restore His relationship with us.

Prayer emphasis: Ask God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to help you understand His Word more deeply and to comprehend the depth of His love for you more clearly.

For Family Discussion…
Before you went on the Advent journey in this devotional book, in what ways were you aware of the plan of God to redeem His people?
What have you learned about this plan as you have read through this devotional book? How does this make you feel?

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