马太福音1:1-6 你是谁？
马太福音1:1 亚伯拉罕的后裔，大卫的子孙，耶稣基督的家谱：2 亚伯拉罕生以撒；以撒生雅各；雅各生犹大和他的弟兄；3 犹大从她玛氏生法勒斯和谢拉；法勒斯生希斯仑；希斯仑生亚兰；4 亚兰生亚米拿达；亚米拿达生拿顺；拿顺生撒门；5 撒门从喇合氏生波阿斯；波阿斯从路得氏生俄备得；俄备得生耶西；6 耶西生大卫王。
新约的第一卷书马太福音是为犹太人而写，其中有许多关于旧约预言的实现。当然，其中有两个预言，就是弥赛亚将是亚伯拉罕的后裔，也会是大卫的“儿子”。马太以耶稣的家谱开始，追溯到大卫和亚伯拉罕。马利亚和约瑟都是大卫的后代。马太福音和路加福音中的耶稣家谱有些不一样，看起来马太是从约瑟这边追溯耶稣的家谱，而路加是从马利亚这边追溯耶稣的家谱。两者都汇聚在大卫的这条线上。约瑟和马利亚去伯利恒进行人口普查，是因为他们都属于大卫的家族，有一脉的血统。
马太的家谱很有趣，因为它提及了耶稣祖先中的三个女人。之所以有趣，是因为她们三个都不是美名远扬。在开始，他提到了喇合和路得。喇合（Rahab）是妓女，她没说实话来藏匿以色列的探子，借此与以色列的真神同行。路得（Ruth）是摩押人（Moabite），与以利米勒（Elimelech）的儿子结婚，丈夫去世后，由丈夫的亲戚波阿斯（Boaz）赎回，帮她摆脱了贫困。
为什么要有这两个人的名字在家谱中？首先，那里的故事是众所周知的。另一方面，它提醒我们，无论我们是谁，我们之前的生活如何，其实都没那么重要。重要的是，我们已经相信耶稣是我们的救主。天堂将充满妓女，毒贩和杀人犯，以及来自各个种族，说各样语言，不同民族的人们。这一切最重要的是因为他们相信了耶稣。我想，这也意味着，在那里也预备了地方，给我。感谢主。
祷告：谢谢你，亲爱的耶稣，在圣经中到处都清楚地表明你已经成为所有人的救主。这与我是谁没关系。我一生的罪恶并不能决定我到底是谁。通过相信你，我是上帝的孩子，没有人，甚至连撒但，也无法说服我说我不是你的孩子。奉耶稣的名求，阿们
Matthew 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.
Matthew writes for a Jewish audience and has lots of references to prophecies fulfilled. Of course, two of those prophecies are that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham and also the “son” of David. He begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus back to David and Abraham. Both Mary and Joseph are descendants of David. It appears that Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus from Joseph back and Luke traces it from Mary back. Both converge on the line of David. They went to Bethlehem for the census because they were of the house and lineage of David.
Matthew’s genealogy is interesting because it includes three interesting women in the ancestry of Jesus. Interesting because all three of them are more infamous than famous. In the first triad he mentions Rahab and Ruth. Rahab was the prostitute who hid the spies and sided with the true God of Israel. Ruth was the Moabite who married a son of Elimelech and who was rescued from poverty when she was redeemed by her husband’s relative, Boaz.
Why these two? For one, there stories are well known. For another, it reminds us that it doesn’t matter who we were or even what we were in our former life. All that matters is that we have come to faith in Jesus as our Savior. Heaven will be filled with prostitutes and drug dealers and murderers, and with people of every tribe and language and people. All that matters is that they came to faith in Jesus.
I guess that means that there is room for me, too.
Prayer: Thank you, dear Jesus, for making it perfectly clear everywhere in Scripture that you have come to be the Savior for all people. My skin color doesn’t matter. The sins of my life cannot define who I really am. I am God’s child by faith in you, and no one, not even Satan, can convince me that I am not. Amen.
马太福音1:6-17 信心英雄
马太福音1:6大卫从乌利亚的妻子生所罗门；7 所罗门生罗波安；罗波安生亚比雅；亚比雅生亚撒；8 亚撒生约沙法；约沙法生约兰；约兰生乌西雅；9 乌西雅生约坦；约坦生亚哈斯；亚哈斯生希西家；10 希西家生玛拿西；玛拿西生亚们；亚们生约西亚；11 百姓被迁到巴比伦的时候，约西亚生耶哥尼雅和他的弟兄。
12 迁到巴比伦之后，耶哥尼雅生撒拉铁；撒拉铁生所罗巴伯；13 所罗巴伯生亚比玉；亚比玉生以利亚敬；以利亚敬生亚所；14 亚所生撒督；撒督生亚金；亚金生以律；15 以律生以利亚撒；以利亚撒生马但；马但生雅各；16 雅各生约瑟，就是马利亚的丈夫。那称为基督的耶稣是从马利亚生的。
17 这样，从亚伯拉罕到大卫共有十四代；从大卫到迁至巴比伦的时候也有十四代；从迁至巴比伦的时候到基督又有十四代。
圣经中一些最著名的“信心英雄”，是人生没有什么污点的，对吗？大卫可能是以色列所有国王中最著名的。圣经将他形容为合神心意的人。他是“牧者一样的君王”。他知道统治上帝的子民意味着什么。上帝不是要他为自己的利益而统治，而是要像牧羊人一样守护他的羊，来守护他的子民。
如此伟大的国王，但恰恰是，在大卫身上出现了问题。在大卫空虚和软弱的时候，他看到隔壁有个女人在洗澡，邀请她到自己的房间去。事后，她怀孕了，大卫试图通过邀请这个女人的丈夫乌利亚回家，来隐藏自己奸淫的事实，以便这个丈夫认为这就是他的孩子。当乌利亚（Uriah）因为自己的手下还在战斗，因此拒绝与妻子睡觉时，大卫（David）送他回到前线，命令允许他被敌人杀死。那一刻，大卫的牧羊人的心肠在哪里？
当您通读旧约，看看所有的信心英雄时，你会看到，没有完美的人。他们就像我们一样。圣经给我们像大卫一样的有污点之人的原因是，我们可以读到他的悔改诗，并且可以说：“那也是为我写的。”上帝对待他子民的主题是忍耐和宽恕，并且今天对我们依然是如此。
祷告：亲爱的耶稣，你是我的好牧者，因为你为你的百姓舍命。感谢您在你那一颗像我一样跳动但没有罪恶的心中，彰显上帝的忍耐，爱心和饶恕。带我到您的青草地上，和可安歇的水边。为了你的名字，引领我走义路。和我一起走过这一生的所有危险之地，让我住在你的殿里，直到永远。阿们
Matthew 1: 6-11: 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 and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
The Bible doesn’t hide any dirt on some of its most famous “heroes of faith,” does it? David is probably the best known of all the kings of Israel. The Bible describes him as a man after the Lord’s own heart. He was a “shepherd king.” He knew what it meant to rule over God’s people. God did not anoint him to rule for his own benefit, but to watch over his people like a shepherd watches over his sheep.
Great king, but at the same time, David had some dirt on him. In a moment of idleness and weakness, he saw the woman next door bathing and invited her up to his room. When she became pregnant, he tried to hide it by inviting her husband home from the war so that he would think it was his child. When Uriah refused to sleep with his wife when his soldiers were in battle, David sent him back to the front line with orders to have him killed. Where was David’s shepherd heart in that moment?
When you read through the Old Testament and look at all the heroes of faith, there were no perfect people. They were just like us. One reason the Bible gives us the dirt on men like David is so that we can read his repentance psalms and say, “That was written for me, too.” God’s patience and forgiveness is the theme of all this dealings with his people, and it is still so with us today.
Another reason that the Bible gives us the dirt on these heroes of faith is to make us look to the One who would be David’s greater Son, Jesus. We find no dirt on Jesus. We find the Good Shepherd, who David made known in Psalm 23. We find our perfect hero, our Redeemer, our Savior. We can put our trust in him, because he will never fail us.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, you are my Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his people. Thank you for revealing God’s patience and love and forgiveness in a heart that beats like my own, but without sin. Bring me to your green pastures and your quiet waters. Lead me in the paths of righteousness for your name’s sake. Walk with me through the dangerous places of this life so that I may dwell in your house forever. Amen.