Monday, March 10, 2025

New Testament Reading Plan: Matthew 1

The Matthew reading plan starts today! We're working on why you saw this same post yesterday, but we're so glad you and hundreds of others are jumping in on day 1. Let's do it!

Scripture teaches that God planned to save his people through his Son from the very beginning. In Chapter 1 of Matthew, the author gives us a glimpse of how God was at work long before Jesus was born. The first 16 verses of this book outline 42 generations of Jesus’ ancestors. In Biblical times, the lineage of the Jewish people was meticulously recorded. Today, not even Ancestory.com traces more than 6-10 generations.

Why is this dynasty so important?

The Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament (Genesis 49:10) to come from the tribe of Judah, through the line of King David, which is proven in this genealogy. Matthew demonstrates that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies and was sent by God to be the Savior of the world.

But Jesus wasn’t exactly a normal human.

Matthew 1:18
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and even though she was a virgin, enabled her to have God’s Son, Jesus. Isaiah had prophesied that this would happen 700 years prior, and God, in his faithfulness, brought it all to pass.

Isaiah 7:14
“All right then, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).”

God chose an ordinary girl, hundreds of years before she was born. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he gave her an invitation to play a role in his plan. Mary’s life was completely transformed when she accepted God’s invitation, and through her “yes,” God used her to impact thousands of other people. This is something our human minds cannot comprehend!

Jesus’ birth marked the next step in God’s plan to save the world, which he had been working toward since the beginning. Hallelujah!

God isn’t done planning. He is still writing his master story, one that we have the opportunity to take part in, too. He is offering all of us the chance to trust him, to believe that the Holy Spirit can accomplish infinitely more through us than we can do on our own.

Will you welcome him to change your life?

Questions:
How have you seen God’s faithfulness in your own life? Do you believe that the Holy Spirit can do more through you than you can do on your own? If so, why do you question what the power of the Holy Spirit is able to do in your life? What is holding you back from letting him transform you?

Next Steps:
For a deeper dive into the gospel of Matthew, click the link to explore a post from New Boston Church of Christ on Lessons from the Birth of Christ.

Pray and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. Listen to where he is inviting you, and respond with a humble yes.

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for sending your son to be the Good News of salvation. Help me to understand that he is the one and only way to eternal life. Keep me strong from the temptations of this sinful world that I live in. Thank you for blessing me and guiding me so that I may bless others. In your Son’s name I pray, amen.

Series Theme Verse:

Ephesians 4:29
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

This post was written by Jenn Macke, a Findlay attendee, and a regular contributor to the LivingItOut Devotional.