Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38
Thank you for continuing this journey of The Gospel Project®
for Kids. Aren’t you excited that we’ve finally reached the New
Testament? Four hundred years of God’s silence separated the last book
of the Old Testament—Malachi—and the first book of the New
Testament—Matthew. Matthew, the first of the four Gospels, begins with
Jesus’ genealogy, like a family tree.
The
prophecies concerning Jesus’ birth are numerous, and many of them refer
to Jesus’ lineage. Old Testament prophecies tell of the promised
Messiah being born from the seed of a woman (Genesis 3:15); from the seeds
of Abraham (Genesis 22:18), Isaac (Genesis 21:12), and Jacob (Numbers 24:17);
from the tribe of Judah (Micah 5:2); from the line of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1);
and from the house of David (Jeremiah 23:5). The prophecies said He would
be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) and would be the Son of God (1 Chronicles
17:13-14; Psalm 2:7). Jesus fulfilled all of these prophecies.
In
Bible times, Jews took great care to accurately record family
genealogies. The family a person belonged to was directly linked to
property rights. Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 both chronicle the
genealogy of Jesus. The account in Matthew presents Jesus as the king of
the Jews—the legal heir to the throne of David. The account in Luke was
written to Greek Christians and focuses on Jesus’ descent from Adam.
Jesus
came to earth as a baby in Bethlehem. Jesus had earthly parents, Mary
and Joseph, but His true Father is God. Jesus was God the Son when He
came to earth, but He also took on the form of a man. Jesus was born to
save people from their sins.
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