Bookends: Matthew

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The Intertestamental Period stretched from the closing of Malachi...

Today's Devotional By:  Dr. David Jeremiah

Today's Devotional Scriptures:  

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.- Matthew 1:1

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Recommended Reading: Luke 3:23-38 - "Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God."

 
The Intertestamental Period stretched from the closing of Malachi to the opening of the book of Matthew. During those four hundred years, God did not speak through His prophets to His people. God’s “voice” was not heard until “the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight’” (Matthew 3:3). This was the one whom Malachi wrote about in the last verses of his book: John the Baptist, preparing the way of the Messiah.

But who was this Messiah? What were His credentials? Matthew provides a bookend for the New Testament with “the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” The Messiah had to be a Jew (“the Son of Abraham”) and a descendant of King David (“the Son of David”). So Matthew, whose Gospel is the most Jewish of the four Gospels, set out to establish the lineage of Jesus Christ. This was the perfect bookend to begin the New Testament.

As the New Testament begins with Jesus, so must our spiritual life. “There is no other name under heaven…by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

A Christian is, in essence, somebody personally related to Jesus Christ.- John R. W. Stott

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