by Mitzi Saltsman

Created on: April 27, 2009   Last Updated: May 11, 2009

The beginning of the first chapter of Matthew is often glossed over. Who actually wants to spend time reading a bunch of "begets" Abraham beget Issac. Issac beget Jacob and so on and so on. Of course if you are not reading from the King James version of the Bible you will understand a little more clearly that Abraham was the father of Issac and Issac was the father of Jacob and so on and so on. Either way it is a long list of names that have often been thought of, as too boring or too insignificant to spend a lot of time studying.

However, if you look closely at the special list of names, you'll discover some interesting characters in Jesus' Family Tree. With the surge of interest in our own genealogies, Jesus' lineage takes on a new appreciation. To the Jewish people these lineages have always been very important. They link you back to the tribe of your origin and possibly the lineage of the promised Messiah.

The Old Testament is filled with wonderful and sometimes scary stories of long ago. Stories that we've heard in Sunday School classes and as rather random heroes of the Bible. The point of each story is often within the story itself and the connection between all the stories is not nearly as clear. All the Bible stories, heroes ... and bad guys ... are there for a reason. They point to the coming Messiah. The Savior that God had been promising all along.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden and the human race was separated from God because of sin, God promised a Savior. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible is ALL about Jesus coming to be that Savior. In the Old Testament a Savior was promised to crush Satan and redeem God's children. The first promise is written in Genesis 3:15 where God is punishing Adam, Eve and the Serpent Satan. God tells them that "Satan will bruise His (the Savior's) heel, but that He will crush his head." Jesus wins.

There are over 300 promises or prophecies. The Jewish people knew that when One came and fulfilled ALL of those promises, that One would be the Messiah. One of the promises was that the Savior or Messiah would come from the Tribe of Judah and from the Line of King David. Matthew chapters 1 and 2 provides the information to prove that Jesus fit the promises. In fact Jesus fulfilled ALL the prophecies that are scattered throughout the Old Testament.

Here, finally in Matthew chapter 1 the stories are all pulled together. They line up Jesus' earthly family and why the Old Testament stories are there. It is also

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