Tuesday, December 1
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1) These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. (Genesis 2:4) This is the book of the generations of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. (Genesis 5:1)
Genesis is a book of beginnings, as you can see from the verses above. Matthew is a book of beginnings as well, because the word for genealogy has as its root the word genesis, beginnings. Matthew saw that his book (the genealogy/genesis of Jesus Christ) was a record of new beginnings, beginnings that were planned for from of old.
Genesis first begins with creation. This was obviously the beginning of heaven and earth. After the earth was created, there were still beginnings to be made. The first humans were created, Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were expelled from the garden, but still beginnings were being started. They had children, the world was flooded, and Noah began again. Finally, God chose Abram to father his chosen people, another beginning.
All those beginnings, from Genesis on through Malachi, pointed toward the ultimate beginning to be found in Jesus Christ. All those people, from Abraham to Joseph and Mary, all pointed towards the baby Jesus and the new beginning that he would bring. Paul states it well in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
When we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, something new begins in us. We humbly submit, through repentance and confession, to the leadership of Jesus over our life, and he does something brand new in us. Think back in your own life. Who was instrumental in helping the work of Jesus to happen in you? How did it start? Are you the beginning of a spiritual genealogy in your family or friends? Or is today the day that God is going to start a new beginning in you?
