Matthew 1–Matthew 2:12, Day 2. Jan 2nd | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

MATTHEW 1

¹ This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac,
   Isaac the father of Jacob,
   Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
   Perez the father of Hezron,
   Hezron the father of Ram,
⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab,
   Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
   Nahshon the father of Salmon,
⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
   Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
   Obed the father of Jesse,
⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.

   David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
   Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
   Abijah the father of Asa,
⁸ Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
   Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
   Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
⁹ Uzziah the father of Jotham,
   Jotham the father of Ahaz,
   Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
¹⁰ Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
   Manasseh the father of Amon,
   Amon the father of Josiah,
¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jeconiah^[^c^] and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

¹² After the exile to Babylon:
   Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
   Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,
   Abihud the father of Eliakim,
   Eliakim the father of Azor,
¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok,
   Zadok the father of Akim,
   Akim the father of Elihud,
¹⁵ Elihud the father of Eleazar,
   Eleazar the father of Matthan,
   Matthan the father of Jacob,
¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷ Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Hmm. I like this—the ones he chose. His ancestors: Kings and shepherds. Good kings and bad ones. The most famous men of Israel, and the ones who are only remembered as a name on a genealogical record.

And these are the ones good enough to be his ancestors: Jacob, liar, swindler, manipulator and deceiver, WHO SEES GOD; Judah, promiscuous, a liar and deceiver, who colludes in the attempted murder of Joseph; Tamar who tricked her father-in-law; Rahab, prostitute; Jesse, father with favourites; David, not above adultery and murder; Solomon, most uxorious and lustful of kings, and then from 14 no-name generations, comes the Messiah.

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Joseph wanted to do the right thing but kindly. He was a mixture of righteousness and gentleness. How the world needs Josephs!

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,

And let us then never underestimate the sweetness and wisdom of dreams. Much like “speaking in tongues,” they are a way in which God can break through to our unconscious mind.

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid

The great words which angels always speak, “Do not be afraid.”

If I am doing something purely out of fear, it is then, for me, almost a reason to examine it more closely, and see whether I should do it. Fear has nothing to do with the omnipotent God, for whom all things are possible

to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

What is conceived was of the Holy Spirit, and yet it came mixed with scandal, disgrace, sorrow and suffering.

Your words or actions might be criticized, mocked, scorned or ridiculed. However that does not necessarily mean that they are not from the Holy Spirit.

²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,because he will save his people from their sins.”

And that is the sweetest of promises—sanctification, progressive sanctification. The promise that we shall be progressively delivered from the power of sin in this life.

And that in God’s sight, we are now his toddlers, and he no more holds our sins against us forever, than we hold our toddler’s tears and tantrums when they are too tired to sleep against them.

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).

Immanuel, God with us, born out of the sheerest impossibilities, a virgin conceiving.

Immanuel, God with us. Wonderful thought. What more do we need? Let me never forget that you are with me, Lord. Because if you are with me what have I to fear?

Lord, you are with me, whether I am popular or lonely, whether I make loads of friends or lose them, when I remember you, and when I forget you. Thank you.

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 2

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

God reveals himself to all sort of people, and in all sorts of ways—through dreams, through visions, though an inner voice, through the wise men from the east who have seen his star.

Not everything from the East is necessarily of the occult. Yoga for instance, has been a blessing to my father, whom had excellent mental and physical health until he died at 89, and to me, who has only taken it up 2 years ago.

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.

A new thing, a new King, a new centre of power.

And what is the reaction of King Herod, and all Jerusalem with him. He was threatened, disturbed.

. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied,

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but few knew that, since he grew up in Nazareth. We need to be aware of the possible width of interpretations of prophetic words, whether in Scripture, or spoken to us by others, or heard in the stillness of our own spirit.

“for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

The mark of a leader after God’s own heart—He shepherds his people. He is not am empire-builder, not a visionary, not absorbed in tangential activities. He loves people, and shepherds them.

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

Would you have believed Herod? I would. I would have been impressed. Give me wisdom, Lord, to know when to believe, and when to doubt.

It is always safer not to take people’s words at face-value but to watch and pray to see if everything adds up.

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.

Never underestimate guidance.

Lord, in my undertakings, give me stars. Let me see them as they go ahead of me, and see them when they stop over the place where Jesus lies.

¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

The normal human reaction to the revelation of God.

¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The instinctive response of worship is to give. We give our treasures. We give ourselves.

¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Dreams again. How they speak to us!

Speak sweetly to me, Lord, in my dreams.

And warn my heart of dangers my conscious mind can’t see.

Amen.