I am excited to kick off a new book of the Bible. For the next few weeks, I'll be digging into Matthew with specific interest in the life and teachings of Jesus.
If you are just joining me in pursuing your own devotional, I highly recommend evaluating where you would like to begin. Matthew is a good start, but can be a bit challenging if you're not ready to hit the ground running full speed. For fresh starters, I would recommend starting in the book fo John as you build momentum in the Word.
As I read the first two chapters of Matthew, I did not land on a particular passage or verse to focus on. I would think that this is largely due to the fact that the first few chapters are mainly informative and historic in nature. I ended up focusing more on the background information about the gospel of Matthew.
It is widely accepted that Matthew, a tax collector, wrote with the Jews in mind as his audience. This is seen in these two chapters in several ways. For one, the first half of chapter 1 is Jesus' genealogy, which is filled mostly with names I cannot pronounce. This is certainly not the greatest jump start to a devo, but there are some cool facts in there. Matthew was incredibly intent on showing Christ's fulfillment of prophecy. Jews would've been well-aware of the prophesied family line.
Matthew goes on to reference more Old Testament scripture than any other book in the new testament, except for Paul's writing in the book of Romans. Again, this highlights Matthew's priorities and his intended audience.
Matthew was also really adapt at noticing parallels and pointing out comparisons. One of the cooler parallels he begins to discuss what will stick with me today, and that is the comparison between Jesus' early story and that of the Jews.
Matthew deliberately points out that Jesus came out of Egypt after fleeing there. This is analogous to the Hebrew people and their Exodus from Egypt with Moses. Following this, Matthew will point out that Jesus will 1) enter into the Jordan river (his baptism); 2) suffer in the desert; 3) and give his famous Sermon on a mountain. All of these reflect the early story of the Jews, but I don't want to get too ahead of my chapters today.
To step back, I am blown away by the meta-narrative, the big story that God crafted in the beginning, and how perfectly interwoven and intricately designed it is. This to me is an incredible revelation of God's sovereignty. It is much more difficult to doubt a God who reveals how in control he is, and so much easier to trust him.
Father, thank you for your sovereignty and for reigning in my life and in the big story. May my heart reflect my awe at your divinity. Thank you for being in control and for revealing the overwhelming truth so clearly. Allow me to surrender the things I cling to, and remove any illusion of control I possess. May your sovereignty be seen, and become more in my life while making me less.
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