The “Begats” (Christmas)

Overview

Why study the “begats”? When we read Matthew 1, which describes the birth of Christ, we ordinarily skip the first 17 verses of genealogy. But they’re filled with wonderful teaching.

There are four things the genealogies of Christ tell us. I admit you probably don’t notice them the first time reading through, but after about the five-hundredth time through, some things begin to emerge in vivid and memorable ways.

This passage teaches us four things about Jesus and Christmas: 1) God took his time, 2) God broke through into history, 3) to give us his Sabbath spiritual rest, and 4), to destroy all the categories and distinctions the world holds dear.