Reflections on Matthew 1

Matthew 01 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Jesus Christ came from the family of King David and also from the family of Abraham. And this is a list of his ancestors.
   
2. From Abraham to King David, his ancestors were: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers (Judah's sons were Perez and Zerah, and their mother was Tamar), Hezron; Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.
   
3. (SEE 1:2)
   
4. (SEE 1:2)
   
5. (SEE 1:2)
   
6. From David to the time of the exile in Babylonia, the ancestors of Jesus were: David, Solomon (his mother had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram; Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.
   
7. (SEE 1:6)
   
8. (SEE 1:6)
   
9. (SEE 1:6)
   
10. (SEE 1:6)
    
11. (SEE 1:6)
    
12. From the exile to the birth of Jesus, his ancestors were: Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim; Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
    
13. (SEE 1:12)
    
14. (SEE 1:12)
    
15. (SEE 1:12)
    
16. (SEE 1:12)
    
17. There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David. There were also fourteen from David to the exile in Babylonia and fourteen more to the birth of the Messiah.
    
18. This is how Jesus Christ was born. A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David's family. But before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God's Holy Spirit.
    
19. Joseph was a good man and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to quietly call off the wedding.
    
20. While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her.
    
21. Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
    
22. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said,
    
23. "A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel," which means "God is with us."
    
24. After Joseph woke up, he and Mary were soon married, just as the Lord's angel had told him to do.
    
25. But they did not sleep together before her baby was born. Then Joseph named him Jesus.
    
    

    ---

    
    If one's perception of God focuses on One who hates sin and judges sinners, this opening chapter of Matthew and of the New Testament helps to balance this perception to include One who is also merciful and who forgives sinners. Only five verses into the lineage of Jesus, God's promised Messiah, two prostitutes are found in the lineage. This might be of concern to the more legalistic among us and surely was for the legalistic generation of Jews in Matthew's day. To add to this insult of the proud Jew was also the inclusion of the Moabitess, Ruth, in the list. It is a caution to us not to become too ridgid in our theology. If we find something, such as this lineage, to violate our theology, it is our theology, and not God or scripture, we should question.
    
    Following the lineage comes a brief account of the delimma faced by the young parents of the Messiah. If Jesus' lineage is prone to raise eyebrows, the circumstances in which He was born certainly does the same. A questionable account for the skeptic, this story of "immaculate conception," or conception by the Holy Spirit. But it was not Mary who defended herself to Joseph, but an angel of the Lord. And Joseph was the only one to whom this defense was made. The gossips of the community could think what they will. In our reading of this account we should not miss the bravery of this young couple in doing what they were asked to do. It is never easy to go contrary to long established customs or to accept a role in which one will be accused of illicit activities. This is what the couple faced with both Mary's pregnancy prior to the couple's consummation of their marriage and their choosing to live together before the completion of their year-long engagement. Though they were legally married, custom required them to continue living separately, in their parent's homes, for the first year of their marriage arrangement. Once Joseph learned the true nature of Mary's pregnancy, he broke this custom and took her to live with him to save her the disgrace of an illegitimate pregnancy.
    
    If we assume this couple had no choice in accepting these circumstances into their lives, we assume wrongly, for God never forces His will on us. His confrontation of us with His will may be as dramatic as being told by an angel, but we choose nevertheless. And this couple was obedient.