Day 1

Reading: MATTHEW 1-4

Journal

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (1:1). Thus, Matthew begins his gospel to provide the essential bridge that links the Old Testament (OT) to the New Testament (NT). The long awaited Messiah had finally entered human history to bring about redemption and deliverance in the person of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, veiled in flesh and blood.

Matthew's account of the life of Christ is targeted at Jewish readership, obvious from the many OT references he quoted throughout his book, that this is indeed the King of the Jews. Everything about Jesus is unique, from His miraculous birth, His flight to Egypt, His forerunner, His baptism, and His temptation by Satan. All these point to Him as the culmination of what the OT prophets predicted over a thousand years ago. The Seed of the Woman had finally appeared.

The promise to Abraham was that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, is 'the Son of Abraham' and as 'the Son of David' He is indeed qualified to be Israel's King. It is no wonder that in the first four chapters, Matthew presented Christ with many prophetic quotes as he narrated incidents concerning His birth, baptism, and battle with the devil.

The temptation of Christ qualified His messianic status as the Man whom God chose to fulfill all righteousness on behalf of mankind, by facing the common enemy of God and man—the adversary, Satan. Only by passing this crucial test could Messiah begin His ministry of reconciliation. There are many discourses and good expositions on the nature of Christ's temptation. We need to realize that in essence, the tactics used by Satan on the Son of God encompassed the whole person: body, soul (mind), and spirit. He still uses the same tactics on Christians today: the necessity of the flesh, the vanity of the mind and the religiosity of the spirit.

How do we overcome the devil and his temptations? By grounding ourselves in the sure Word of God just as Christ did. Nothing else will deliver us from the mortal enemy of our souls.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. And take... the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. (Ephesians 6:12, 17)

Ponder & Meditate

Today's reading mentioned at least seven OT prophecies that were fulfilled on Christ. Can you find them?

The wise men came from a distant land to look for the King, not to ask favors or seek personal gains, but to present their most precious gifts in reverend worship.

Consider this: What is the first thing we do when we come before our God and King—to put forth our petitions and ask for blessings, or to offer Him our worship and praise?