1. Why is it so important to know Jesus’s genealogy? Which two of Jesus’ ancestors does Matthew name?

• We need to know that Jesus is the right king. We need to know that Jesus is from the promised line. Matthew names Abraham and David because these men were given promises and God made a covenant with both of them. God was going to send a Messiah from their lines who would be the one who would fulfill all the promises God made.

2. Which women does Matthew include in Jesus’s Genealogy? Why does Matthew include them? What 2 main reasons?

• He includes Tamar (Gen 38), Rahab (Josh 2), Ruth, and Bathsheba (2 Sam 11-12). Each of these women (except for Tamar) were not Israelites and they were involved in a situation where there was a possible sandal. Matthew lists them because it shows that Jesus has come to be the savior of all the nations and to save all kinds of people.

3. Why was Jesus’ birth surrounded with sandal? What would you have thought if you found out Mary was pregnant before getting married?

• People found out that Mary had a baby coming before she was married to Joseph. This was not the way that God designed in the beginning when he created man and woman.

4. What was the Angel’s message to Joseph? What did he tell Joseph was going to happen, what he should call the child, and what the child was going to do?

• The angel told Joseph to take Mary as his wife and to not divorce her. The angel said the baby was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. This was a miraculous birth. Joseph was to call the baby Jesus, which means, Yahweh saves. Jesus came to save people, not from the power of the Romans, but to be saved from their sins.

5. What does the name Emmanuel mean? How does this show that there is no one like Jesus?

• The name Emmanuel means ‘God with Us’. If you read John 1:14, and Colossians 1:19, The Bible tells us that God the Son came to this earth and his full presence lived among us. There is no one like Jesus. Jesus was fully God and fully man living with us in one person. He is the promised Messiah! Praise God that he was faithful to all of his covenants, his promises, and his people!