Gospel of Matthew

Last Sunday I mentioned how important it was to get back to scripture.  I mentioned that if one wanted to begin to study scripture and I recommended starting with the Gospel of Matthew.  I know that it is important to read the entire bible but starting with Matthew and reading closely what it says will point to Jesus’ scriptures found in the Hebrew Scriptures what we sometimes call the Old Testament.  Our church is offering a bible study on Matthew.
I began to reflect on doing something different.  So here is the challenge that I would like to present.  I would like to challenge people to read a chapter a day of Matthew.  The night before starting tonight, I will offer some insights and questions that may help focus on what we are reading.  We should be done with the gospel in 28 days.
So the challenge is to read Chapter one of the Gospel starting tomorrow.
Here are some insights to think about.  Why does the author start with a genealogy of Jesus?  What does it mean to be the son of David, the son of Abraham?  Genealogy for the Jews at that time determined status and one’s place in the history of the people.  Then as it is today status came from who your parent’s were and what tribe you belonged. 
Notice the people that are listed.  Were all the ones listed righteous people?  See Judges, Ruth, Kings, and Chronicles.  What would you make of the idea of 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the Exile, and 14 to Joseph?
The author than tells the story of Joseph and Mary.  The focus of Matthew is more on Joseph than Mary which is focused more in the Gospel of Luke.  Notice verse 22 and 23.  Where is that prophecy?  Notice how important dreams are.