Written by: Captain Sean Andrews - Church Army

Matthew 1 v 1 & 17
This is the family history of Jesus Christ. He came from the family of David, and David came from the family of Abraham.

So there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David. And there were fourteen generations from David until the people were taken to Babylon. And there were fourteen generations from the time when the people were taken to Babylon until Christ was born.

Notes
What’s in a name?

Our name is probably the most important personal detail about ourselves. It identifies who we are. It is also the most used personal detail, because we have to provide our name to all sorts of people in everyday life.

Names provide clues to where we might originally have come from. Millions of pounds are spent each year by people all over the world, trying to find out the origin of their name. “Where have I come from? Do I have any famous ancestors, or am I related to a living celebrity?”

It is very easy to say that we are related to somebody else, but without proof others have difficulty in believing that what we say is true. The proof we can provide is a family tree.

Matthew opens his gospel with Jesus’ family tree, showing that Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, and in Jewish terms one of God’s chosen people. Matthew also shows that Jesus was part of King David’s line, which is where the Messiah was to come from. Matthew gives us the proof that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. 

What Matthew provides us with is the confidence to tell our families and our mates that Jesus is the one that God sent, to help us and to be with us. This Christmas, remember that Christians are all members of God’s family; we are God’s chosen people. We know this because Jesus came to us to be our Saviour. So tell others about the Christian family tree and how they too can be part of it, by accepting Jesus into their lives.

Matthew 1 v 18-19
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, but before they married, she learned she was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly.

Notes
Mary’s having a baby; Joseph isn’t the father. Mary says that the baby is God’s. This is a lot for Joseph to take in; a lot for him to think about. What does he do? “Shall I stay with her? Or shall I quietly put her aside to avoid scandal for the both of us?”

The decision Joseph had to make was very difficult. That decision was: “Do I follow God, or do I take the easy way out?” It’s not every day that your fiancée comes up to you to say: “I’m pregnant, and by the way, God is the father!”

We can find it difficult sometimes to follow God, especially if we are trying to be popular with our mates, trying to impress and be one of the gang. Often the decisions we have to make are so difficult that we take the easy option, but we know that the easy option isn’t really that easy in the long-term, it’s just convenient for now.

Being a Christian is difficult because often we find that by following God we aren’t always going to be popular, we won’t be flavour of the month. If you find that following God seems to be taking you the most difficult way, take heart because Joseph must have felt the same.

Taking a stand for your faith is about following God and doing what he wants for your life. The Bible tells us that the Christian life won’t be easy, that along the way there will be all kinds of tests to that faith, but by being faithful to God, he will be faithful to us. 

Matthew encourages us to take a close look at the decisions we make; that in the direction we choose, we put God first in our lives.

Matthew 1 v 20-21
While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Notes
“Shall I? Or shan’t I?” These are the two big questions that Joseph was left to grapple with. I guess he didn’t have an easy night, and sleep would have been very difficult. 

“What do I do? Who do I believe? Who’s she trying to kid? Angel of the Lord? My foot! Sounds too fantastic.”

During that night Joseph received his answer, his confirmation from God that it was all true. The angel of the Lord told Joseph in a dream that Mary was carrying God’s own Son. The angel even told Joseph what to name the child when he was born, and also, not to be afraid, don’t worry, God had everything under control.

Sometimes we aren’t very good at the not worrying bit. It’s something that many of us have become experts at. We fill ourselves with doubts about many things, yet as Christians we are told not to worry, that God is in control, that he has a plan for each of us, and that all we need to do is follow and have faith. 

Joseph was like any other person. He too had doubts, but once he recognised that God was in control he chilled out. He knew that what God had in store was for the benefit of everyone. Jesus was the start of the plan to win back the human race for God.

Today, listen to God and learn how to trust. Be strong in your faith and don’t worry. No matter which direction he points you in or takes you, realise that he is there with you and that you are part of his plan to extend his kingdom.

Matthew 1 v 22-23
All this happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel,” which means “God is with us”.

Notes
What do you look forward to? Is there something in your life that you have been waiting for with great anticipation? It might be something that you hope to get for Christmas. It might be something that you have been waiting for a long time, yet even though what you really want doesn’t happen, you keep on hoping and keep on waiting.

Matthew today reminds us that Jesus is the person that everyone has been waiting for - that Jesus is the one. He reminds us of this by referring to the prophets in early Scripture. What the people were expecting might have been a warrior king who would free them from Roman control, or a charismatic political figure. What the world received is summed up in one word, “Immanuel”, which means “God with us”.

We go through many experiences in our lives. Some are pleasant and exciting; some are not so pleasant and cause sadness and hurt. Some are expected, and some come completely out of the blue. Yet in amongst all of the experiences that we encounter, that one word lingers in the mind and heart: “Immanuel”. 

Many people today, like many in previous centuries and millennia, have missed the encounter of “Immanuel”, “God with us”. Today, set aside some time to realise the presence of God with you. Then help other people realise and feel “Immanuel”, that God is with them.

Matthew 1 v 24-25
When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife, but he did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to the son. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Notes
Popularity, the be-all and end-all?

Doing the right thing isn’t always the popular way to go. Joseph changed his mind and plans very quickly, because he realised that Mary hadn’t been unfaithful. He carried out his plan to marry Mary. 

This might not have been a popular decision as far as others at that time were concerned, but he made it because he realised that it was far more important to listen to God and follow him than to worry about what others might have thought of him.

How many times have you done something to try and impress others, especially your friends? How often has trying to make yourself popular got you into hot water? It seems that being popular and part of the in-crowd sometimes gets in the way of our faith. Joseph teaches us all a great lesson, in that he helps us to realise that we don’t have to follow the crowd, that we can stand up for what we believe.

Sometimes we avoid doing the right thing because of what others might think about us. If this is the case, it’s time to take control of your life and your faith, because what really counts is your relationship with God, not what others might think about it. God doesn’t want to stop you having fun; what he wants is for you to be able to stand up for what you believe, for you to show people your faith through obedience to him. You might be surprised by people’s response, because they will begin to see you as you really are and will respect you for what you believe. You never know, they might want you to tell them more about this baby, that when he was born Joseph and Mary named him Jesus!

Matthew 2 v 1-2
Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

Notes
How far would you be willing to search?

When Jesus was born, his birth wasn’t announced the whole world over. It was an event that came and happened in a quiet but powerful way. There were a couple of angelic visits to the prospective parents, a bunch of wise men, and a star. 

These wise men, or Magi, travelled thousands of miles looking for the new king that had been born. Their travels brought them to Jerusalem. You would think that the place to find a new king was in the Palace of Herod; after all, that’s where kings lived. Wrong. The point in today’s verses from Matthew has nothing to do with kings in palaces - it is about searching for God.

The wise men searched for thousands of miles, bringing gifts. When they did find Jesus, they worshipped him and were full of joy at having found him. They had searched and found what the rest of God’s chosen people had missed: Jesus the Messiah.

Today, things are very different. We expect God to come searching for us, to explain himself and to prove who he is. Yes, God knows who we are and where we are, but we sometimes forget to see where God is. God doesn’t barge into our lives; he waits for us to invite him to become part of our lives. 

Today’s mission, if you would like to accept it, is to help someone search for that one thing they have missed. Tell your friends about the search you have made in your faith journey, show them which direction to travel in, then let the search begin.

Matthew 2 v 3-6
When King Herod heard this, he was troubled, as well as all the people in Jerusalem. Herod called a meeting of all the leading priests and teachers of the law and asked them where the Christ would be born. They answered, “In the town of Bethlehem in Judea. The prophet wrote about this in the Scriptures:
‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are important among the tribes of Judah. A ruler will come from you who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’” 

Notes
What are your expectations? What do you hope to get out of life? What are other people’s expectations of you?

In today’s verses, Matthew talks about people’s expectations. We see Herod’s expectations of someone who will come and depose him. We see the expectations of the chief priests and teachers of the law whose expectations are rooted in the old scriptures. We see the expectations of the people of Israel who look to be freed from Roman occupation.

These are different people with different expectations and motives for wanting to know who the Messiah is and where he is coming from. Even though expectations are high, they miss the point. They are looking in the wrong place and in the wrong way, and so they miss him.

Today, so much is expected of us as Christians. People get the wrong idea of what being a Christian is, that it means following a rule book of “you shan’t do this or must do that”. We often become the focus of unwanted attention when we do or say something that runs against how others see us.

Matthew sets us a challenge to make others aware that when all is said and done, we are only human after all. The challenge is to get rid of the unrealistic expectations that others have about us, and to show that, even though 2,000 years ago the majority of the people missed the coming of Jesus, it’s not too late for others to see Jesus through the way we go about our normal everyday lives.

I hope that our expectation is that others will see Jesus in both what we do and what we say - that they can be encouraged to become part of the family that is God’s church.


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes