Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Identity
- Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father. Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.
Matthew 1
always gets a bad rap. It is largely the
genealogy of Jesus. So-and-so begat
another so-and-so. But there is
something extremely significant in this chapter. Identity.
All of the
people in this list belong to the lineage of David. That makes them all have some kind of
legitimate claim to David’s throne.
Furthermore, all of these people – and for the record, all Jews – belong
to the lineage of Abraham. That makes
them all have a legitimate claim to faith.
This chapter is full of identity.
When Jesus comes on the scene, He has a right to both the throne and
faith.
This sense
of identity is highly organized. 14
generations. From Abraham to David was
14 generations. From David to exile was
14 generations. From the exile to Jesus
was 14 generations. God is a God of
order. He brings order to the chaos. This is also a part of all of our identity in
God.
That beings
said, there is a contrasting identity here in this passage as well. God calls Joseph to care for a woman who will
give birth to a child that isn’t his.
God is doing something new in Jesus, as Joseph is called to protect
that. Yes, God is a God of order. But God is also the God of new things,
too. God doesn’t call us to be the same
in every context and every time. God
calls us to His plan, which is fluid. It
is consistent – God’s ideals, premises, and commandments do not change. However, the means and methods that cultures
and peoples are reached for those ideals are quite fluid. God is the God of new things. Joseph is being called into that as a part of
His identity when God asks Him to defend this young virgin who will give birth
to His Son.
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