URC Daily Devotion Thursday, 9 October 2025
St Matthew 1: 1 – 17
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
Reflection
There’s something deeply moving about tracing one’s family history. You may have watched celebrities doing it on television, or you might have done it yourself. In former times it involved long travel to records offices and poring over microfilms, but today most of the records are online and can be accessed from home. In my own family I encountered many of the usual research difficulties, unanswerable questions, and surprises hidden away, as many of you may have done.
Where family history comes alive is when there are photos and stories. Then I find myself feeling that I am connected to names I’ve never met, indeed who died decades before I was born. That’s the beauty of Matthew 1: it begins not with action or miracles, but with a list of names: Jesus’ family (well, actually it’s Joseph’s family, but we’ll leave that for another day).
This genealogy isn’t just a historical record, it’s a tapestry of grace, woven from brokenness and redemption. Names like Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth remind us that Jesus’ lineage includes outsiders, the scandalous, the faithful, and the forgotten. It’s not a perfect line of saints, it’s a story of people just like us. God doesn’t shy away from our messy stories, rather God embraces and uses them. My own family tree has its share of dysfunction and hurt, but just as God worked through every generation to bring about the Messiah, God is at work in my family too.
Matthew’s careful accounting, three sets of fourteen generations, is no accident. Jesus came at the right time, through the right people, with all their imperfections, to be the Saviour for all.
If your family history feels broken or unimportant: God redeems stories. Your life is part of a larger narrative, just as Jesus’ birth was. Every name matters. Every life has purpose. Even yours.
Prayer
Loving God, thank you for weaving beauty from brokenness and purpose from every name in Jesus’ family tree. You remind us that no story is beyond your redemption. Use my life to carry your light forward. Let me walk in faith, knowing I am always part of your family. Thank You for calling me your own. In Jesus’ name, Amen.