From Matthew 1:1-17 / The Glory of Genealogy – At first blush, we are tempted to skip over portions like these opening verses to Matthew’s Gospel. They don’t seem to contain anything truly important. But we’d be wrong. In the first case, Matthew is establishing Jesus’ authentic Jewishness. In the 2nd place, Jesus’ lineage makes Him fit to sit on the throne of David, to be King of The Jews should they recognized Him as such. So Matthew’s aim in this entire 1st chapter is to answer the question – Who is Jesus? vs. 1 / a. The King of Israel. God’s perfect ruler. b. The Fullness of the promise given to Abraham in person. vss. 2-16 / In every way a partaker of our humanity. And yet without sin. vs. 17 / a. The Promise of the Father. b. God’s Presence with us in our exile. c. The Accomplish-er of our Salvation – our Messiah. vs. 18 A participant in our shame, without sin or shame of His own. vs. 19 / Undesired. vs. 20 / Unaccepted apart from divine revelation. vs. 21 / Savior. In the third place, we see Jesus as descended from Kings, Scoundrels, Nobodies, Men, Women, Jews, Gentiles, Faithful, Faithless, A Prostitute, Nomads, Warriors, Prophets, Farmers, Those who lived in ease, Those who lived in poverty, Those who accomplished much, Those who left nothing behind but their names, The shunned and the accepted, The steadfast and the mercurial, The creative and the dull, Intellectuals and uneducated commoners, Christ Jesus came in the likeness and lineage of fallen, broken, sin-cursed humankind. There are none who cannot be touched by Him, nor reconciled to the Father through Him. The miracle of the incarnation. What a Savior!