He remembers my name

One important part of the Christmas story we typically skip past is the first chapter of the New Testament.  Flip a Bible open to Matthew chapter one and take a look. Why do you think did Matthew started his Gospel with a seemingly boring list of decedents? That dry list of names is Jesus' genealogy. It tells us where He came from on a human level. It is recorded first because anyone presented as "King to the Jews" at this time had better have the ancestry to prove it.

In the Old Testament, after conquering Canaan, it was your tribe, family and father's house that determined where you lived. The book of Ruth tells us that for some land transitions, the pedigree had to be known to conduct business. After the Babylonian captivity, Ezra tells us that many were claiming to be priests. To verify this, they had to be able to produce the proper pedigree. Remember what Mary and Joseph were doing at the start of the New Testament? They were going to register by pedigree for taxation purposes.

Knowing where you came from helps you understand who you are--as well as where you are going.

There's another reason this list of names in Matthew chapter one is significant. There are some 50 genealogies in the Old Testament filled with the names of people we don't know. People who've been forgotten. The record is a reminder that they lived--and while they aren't important to us, they were important to God. He remembered each one.

You may not be know beyond your small circle of acquaintances, but you are significant to him. So much so, Jesus says the hairs on your head are numbered (Matthew 10:30).

Next time you open up the New Testament to read the story of the birth of Christ, don't just skip to angels, shepherds and wise men. Pause for a moment and remember what it means to see those names.

Stephen Goforth