Matthew 1 – 2 and Acts 1 – 3
I decided to read from The Message paraphrase of the New Testament because I’m very familiar already with the NIV.
From this morning’s reading of Matthew 1 and 2 several things stand out:
- Women have a prominent place in the genealogy of Jesus. These women have interesting stories which you can read about in the Old Testament.
- Joseph was an honorable man and he also was obedient to God’s leading.
- King Herod is confusing. As a Jew he knows that God is all powerful and he has a plan that will be fulfilled. For some reason, though, Herod thinks he can outsmart God. This turns out to be foolishness.
- The Old Testament is full of prophecies about the coming of the Messiah and God makes sure each one is fulfilled.
From my reading of Acts 1 – 3 I notice the following:
- Acts is a letter written to a man called Theophilus.
- The apostles were very familiar with the Old Testament. They seemed quite knowledgeable on the Scriptures as they pertain to prophecies about Jesus.
- The day of Pentecost was awesome.
- The prophecy from Joel quoted by Peter shows that God will use men and women, young and old. He will pour out his Spirit on anyone willing to serve him.
- I love the passage from Psalms Peter quotes in Chapter 2.
- “I saw God before me for all time. Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side. I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic; I pitched my tent in the land of hope. I know you’ll never dump me in Hades; I’ll never even smell the stench of death. You’ve got my feet on the life-path, with your face shining sun-joy all around.”
- Matthew chapter 1 ties in with Acts chapter 2 in regards to the genealogy of Jesus because Jesus came from the line of David.
- After hearing the message from Peter the people ask what they should do.
- Peter’s response: “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away — whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.”
- The first mega-church was started that day — 3000 plus joined.
- Peter and John are quick to acknowledge that they did not heal the lame man, but God did it through their faith in Jesus.
Good Job….
I, too, decided to read The Message version throughout my NT journey. Those words of David that were quoted reached me. I got to thinking about how I feel a lot like that these days. I am glad from the inside out and have pitched my tent in the land of hope! What a great picture of blissful freedom.
I also never realized that God used a dream 5 times in Matt 1-2 to get his point across. I read even closer and it wasn’t just a dream, but an angel spoke in a dream. Gee, I dream a lot. I even dream in color! Sometimes I think I have God dreams- you know-the kind where you think God might have been trying to get his message across. But, never has an angel appeared in one of my dreams….and spoke. I think it would be cool for an angel to interrupt my dream to bring an important message from GOD. I wonder the difference between a God dream and an angel of God speaking in a dream. Ever wonder that? I wonder if I could handle it. I think I am up for the challenge. Maybe tonight.