I recently found an online claim that we didn’t need to use “a book” to get to know Jesus. The person was referring to the Bible. I was shocked that anyone would post such a thing, particularly since I had decades of experience in getting to know Jesus through his book!
However, whenever I face such things, I simply keep meeting with God every morning in his word and prayer to see how he leads me. I don’t change where I am reading. I don’t do a word study on the topic being challenged. I just continue my journey through the Bible that began in childhood and for over three decades has focused on God speaking to me through his word.
One of the things God has done for months is the same thing I have witnessed so often, that my journey through the Bible will lead to one viewpoint after another that addresses the very things I am facing. And it will always fit like puzzle pieces coming together with people in our home church who are also sharing their journey through God’s Book.
Since I discovered this dissing of God’s word, I have been absolutely amazed at how often God has drawn attention to his “word”, or his “book”. All through the generations of God’s people, they received the “scriptures” as the written word of God. We now have sixty-six “books” collected into one “Book” we call the Bible, the word of God, and the way this book keeps referring to itself as God’s Book is absolutely amazing.
Yesterday, I finished a journey through the book of Nehemiah. When I was going through Jeremiah, I was mesmerized by God’s promise, “‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.’”[1] I realized that Nehemiah was one of these shepherds, and I needed to read his journal like it was mentoring me in what a shepherd after God’s own heart looks and sounds like. I wanted to know how he fed God’s people with knowledge and understanding. Let’s just say I was not disappointed with my journey and what it taught me!
This morning, I began my next adventure in God’s word, a journey through the gospel account of Matthew. What greeted me was the introductory expression, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” It hit me like receiving the key to a chest full of “the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” that are hidden in Jesus Christ our Lord.[2] I could hardly contain myself in what to do with all the wonder-filled thoughts that were delighting my mind. Let me give a summary of how this phrase speaks to us.
It does something to me to hear Matthew refer to his gospel account as “the book”. We call the Bible God’s “Book”. The sixty-six sections of God’s word we call “the books” of the Bible. Matthew calls his record of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, “the book” about Jesus. Reading this brought to mind God’s encouragement, “But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”[3] That is certainly the way I felt, that my heart was trembling with awe and wonder at God’s word in this book.
The message all through the Bible is that God has written us his story (history). My testimony is that we can read this Book every day of our lives and feel like the ink is still wet on what God has written because of how it speaks to us in such real and personal ways that address whatever we are going through.
“The genealogy” puts Jesus Christ so solidly into verifiable history that even Richard Dawkins (the high priest of the evolutionary religion) had to admit Jesus truly existed and that he (Dawkins) lied in his book, The God Delusion, when he claimed there was virtually no proof of Jesus’ even existing. Not only does the genealogy show that Jesus existed, but Matthew’s gospel account was written so soon after Jesus’ death and resurrection that anyone could talk to people who were still alive to verify the events that took place.
As an
example of the way the genealogy verifies Jesus’ existence, I read about some
Bible translators who had just completed their translation of the gospel of
Matthew into the language of whatever people group they were reaching. When
they presented it to the people to read, they weren’t sure how they would do
with the way it begins with the genealogy. After all, so many North American
church folk struggle to get through these parts of the Bible!
However, when the leader read the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel to those who had gathered, the most unexpected thing happened. Everyone began talking with amazement at how this Jesus was a real person who really lived. And how did they know this? Because Jesus had a real story of the generations of his ancestors. And they didn’t even know how significant these ancestors were!
The various “genealogies” in the Bible are given so we can know for certain that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”[4] And Jesus has now accomplished this redemption so it can be applied to us today.
“Jesus” is the name given to the Savior who was born of the virgin Mary. The name means “God saves”, and God’s angel told Joseph to give Jesus this name, “for he will save his people from their sins.”[5] And it is Jesus who fulfills God’s word that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”[6]
“Christ” is the title of Jesus’ role in God’s redemptive history. It is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew designation, “Messiah”. It refers to the one set apart by God to carry out the work of reconciling people to God. Jesus came into the world authorized by his Father to be the Savior who saves from sin. And his work of salvation in his death and resurrection makes it possible for him to now save anyone who calls on his name in repentance and faith.
“The son of David” tells us that Jesus fulfills the prophesies that a King would one day sit on David’s throne and restore God’s people to their God. Again, Jesus’ genealogy back to David could be verified by talking with people who were still alive when this gospel account was written.
“The son of Abraham” tells us that Jesus is the “offspring” God promised Abraham when he said, “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”.[7] And, while both Jews and Muslims look back to Abraham as the father of their people, only Christians know that Jesus was the “offspring” God promised to save people from all the nations. But it is a special delight whenever Jews and Muslims discover this truth about Jesus and become Christians, born again disciples of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Matthew’s opening statement, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the
son of David, the son of Abraham”, invites us to open our hearts to
this “book” in God’s “Book” so we can have “the eyes of our
hearts enlightened”[8]
to what God himself has given us in his Son. And that is enough for all of us to
hear Jesus calling, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest,”[9]
and to answer that call with repentance and faith for the forgiveness of our
sins and the gift of eternal life.
© 2024
Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the
English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text
Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of
Good News Publishers.)
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