“A New Baby and a New Beginning”

BIBLE PASSAGE
Matthew 1:21 and Luke 2

“A New Baby and a New Beginning” (Chapter 53)
GOSPEL CONNECTION

On Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Jesus. You know that. But you may not
know the strange way Matthew begins the story of Christmas. He starts with a long
list of names, called a genealogy. Genealogy is just a fancy way of saying family
tree. Why would he tell the story of Christmas with a genealogy? When we read the

long list of names, we’re reminded of how sinful people are. There are some big-
time sinners on the list.

What does all this have to do with Jesus? Well, Jesus wasn’t a big-time sinner.
Instead, he was a big-time Savior from sin. Even though he was fully human, he was
also fully God. And even though he came from a long line of sinners, he was born in
a special way so he could do some special rescuing: he was from God. And since God
is without sin, Jesus could be born free from the sin that marked his genealogy.
Now here’s where the story gets really interesting. Mary was engaged to
Joseph. He was shocked to find out Mary was pregnant! He decided the best course
was to quietly break up with her. But God sent an angel to let him in on what God
was doing. “Joseph,” the angel told him, “Marry Mary, for the baby in her has
been conceived from the Holy Spirit” (see Matt. 1:20). Joseph listened. The angel
continued, “The baby will be a boy. When he is born, your job is to name him
Jesus.” Joseph must have wondered, “Why that name? It’s not a family name.” The
reason was that the name means “Yahweh saves.” The angel explained, “Call him
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (see v. 21). Joseph and Mary
obeyed the angel’s orders. They got married, she gave birth and Joseph called the
baby Jesus.

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