Matthew Study 1: 1:1-25

Dear Student of the Word,

Happy New Year! I trust that you enjoyed your holidays and that you are looking forward to 2008 with great faith and anticipation. Our family had a wonderful holiday together and it's not over. We reconvene in New York City this weekend but, before we go there, I thought it best to start the year in the right way, by sending the first installment of my new Matthew series.

Matthew's gospel is written by a Jew for Jews, to prove that Jesus was the Promised Messiah. I had a powerful encounter with Jesus through this gospel last summer and I hope I can reproduce that dynamic for you in these studies. I hope you make the most of them.

This week I wrote:

vs. 12-16 – I am wondering from whom Matthew got this genealogy. Did every Jew have this kind of detailed family tree? Was it a matter of public record? It would seem that Jews did keep this kind of genealogy, because ethnic purity was so important to them. It is obvious why they struggled so with the message that the gospel was for everyone, since they thought they “owned” God because they were Jews.

I grew up attending an ethnic Catholic church. Many of those people were more concerned about preserving their culture than they were about worshipping God, or so it seemed to me when I was growing up. It always impressed me that our church then was too limited and narrow; we only worshipped with people who had our same ethnic heritage, allowing for a few who married into it as well.

Today, I will only attend a church that includes a lot of people who don’t look like me. I think that is the way a church should be because that is what heaven is going to be like:

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 7:9-12).

The church should be a place of great diversity because that is how God’s creation is. Our worship should honor God’s love for all His people and not just a few. I still don’t care for churches filled with believers of one type, such as Spanish churches, Korean churches or Messianic congregations. It is my humble opinion that these churches should work to broaden their membership so that they don’t fall into the same attitude of superiority or exclusivity that the Jews had.

Feel free to add your comments to this week's study. You can do this and find the studies to Corinthians, First Timothy and Mark's gospel on the site where this week's entry is posted. You can also go to that site to sign up to receive each week's study.

Download this week's study: Matthew 1.doc

*************************************************************

As we start a new year, I ask that you consider a contribution to my purpose work around the world. I offer these studies I write at no cost and will continue to do so. It would be most helpful if you would consider a gift if you have found benefit in my work as you walk out your own PurposeQuest. You can make a donation using a credit card by going to my website and using PayPal, or you can send a tax-deductible check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Thank you for helping me do the work that I was created to do.

Comments

[Martha]

I Thank God For You. Thru Your Studies I Have Learned To Ask Myself Querries And To Meditate. This Has Opened My Mind To Clear Understanding Of The Word Of God. I Have Been Studying With You Since 2003 And Have Found The Teachings Quite Awakening. May0the Lord Enlarge Your Territories In 2008.

[Deni]

I loved your message Matthew study one. I had a similar background growing up in Grosse Pointe, Michigan in a Protestant church. It is refreshing to hear like kind of stories.