“The Validity of Jesus”


BIBLE READING: Matthew 1; Luke 2. 1-38
DISCUSSION                                                      
                As the Jews begin to look for this Messiah, the world begins to see many people begin to make a false claim of being that “Anointed One”.  To ensure any validity to His claim of being the Christ, there had to be a few things that had to be checked out; namely His ancestry and virgin birth.  Within the Old Testament, we see hints left for us concerning the family lineage of Jesus.  For instance, the Messiah must be from the lineage of Abraham to fit the Promise; He must be of the tribe of Judah to fit prophecy (Genesis 49.10) and He must come from the royal line of King David.  Not only that, but the one thing that will set the Messiah apart from all the counterfeits would be the virgin birth of Isaiah 7.14.  This is where the Gospel account of Matthew shines.  He begins by tracing the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Abraham in Matthew 1.1-17.  These were not simply just names on a page, but the first step of evidence in the validity of Jesus being the Messiah.  Next, Matthew introduces us to a young woman named Mary who just happened to be with child as a virgin, continually adding to the validity of Jesus being the Messiah.  Skeptics will always be there to try to disprove the claim of Jesus as the Messiah.  However, within Matthew’s account and introduction to Jesus, we find two unique qualifications already making Him fit the profile.  I wonder just how excited Matthew must have been as he penned the words as evidence of the Son of God, I can only imagine.
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