Matthew 1:1-17

Read Matthew 1:1-17 

Helpful Background Information:  

• Matthew begins his Gospel by tracing Jesus’ family line through some of Israel’s most important figures, including Abraham, David, and the kings of Judah. Jehoshaphat is specifically named in verse 8 as one of Jesus’ royal ancestors. Although Jehoshaphat lived roughly nine hundred years before Jesus, his life became one link in the long chain through which God fulfilled His promise to send a Savior from the family of David. The genealogy ultimately leads us to Jesus, the perfectly faithful King whom Jehoshaphat could never be. Jesus came not only from this royal family line, but also to redeem the sinful and broken people in that line, including Jehoshaphat himself.
  

Reflection Questions: 

• Why do you think Matthew begins his Gospel with a genealogy instead of beginning immediately with Jesus’ birth or ministry?

• Jehoshaphat was a mostly faithful king, but he also made serious mistakes. How does his inclusion in Jesus’ genealogy encourage you when you think about your own failures?

• Jehoshaphat’s decisions affected generations after him. How might your present faithfulness (or unfaithfulness) affect your family and others who come after you?