This study guide can be used for individual Bible Study, small group curriculum, or family studies. Small Group Leaders Note: The purpose of this study guide is to draw you and your group into conversation and discussion of God’s Word and its application to our lives. The questions are posed in a specific order and each of the questions has a specific purpose. As you become familiar with the purpose of each question, this will help guide the flow of the discussion. A high-level view of the five basic questions and their functions: 1. Introduction (lean in). The goal of this first question is to get everyone in the ​ ​ group to “lean in” and get involved. It is normally easy to answer, fun and creates a sense of energy—so much so that you’ll see group members sometimes physically lean in as they engage in the discussion. 2. Observation (look down). This is an observation question. It is designed to ​ ​ help group members “look down” and see the relevant details and facts in the Bible passage being studied. This question establishes a solid foundation for the rest of the study. Regardless of how much time someone has spent studying God’s word in their lives, everyone in the group can get involved simply by taking an observant look at what the passage says. 3. Evaluation (look up). What do we learn about God from this passage? This is ​ ​ the ultimate goal of every Bible study—to get a clearer picture of the God we worship, so that we can serve and love Him better. 4. Understanding (look out). This question helps group members “look out” and ​ ​ see the principles of the Bible passage through the lens of the world today. It builds a bridge between the facts of the passage and our understanding of it as it relates to our lives and culture. 5. Application (look in). Here is where group members begin to “look in” and see ​ ​ what God might be nudging them to change in their lives. During this part of the study, group members move from “knowing” to “doing” what God’s word says. It’s the final step of all Bible study: life change—of being transformed into the likeness of Christ. Adapted from the Liquid Curriculum series Matthew 1:1-17 August 16th, 2020 ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Week One There are several interesting aspects of the genealogy that begins the gospel of Matthew. The first is highlighted in Matt 1:17. It points out that there were 14 generations from Abraham to David, from David to the Exile, and from the Exile to Messiah. Yet, when we look at genealogical records from the Old Testament, we see that in several cases, certain generations were skipped over in the listing we are given in Matthew. We seem to be missing a few names in this genealogy. Noticing this helps highlight for us an important fact we need to keep in mind when reading scripture. We must take care not to lose sight of the fact that this book, our Bible, was written in the Ancient Near East, some 2,000+ years ago. It is not written from a 21st ​ century Western perspective. We must put on new glasses when reading scripture and try to move beyond our western way of thinking. What Matthew is doing in listing this genealogy this way is creating a mnemonic device, a tool common to that culture, which will help make memorizing these generations easier. So, it is divided into 3 sections of 14 names. It is not meant to be comprehensive, as we, in the West might expect. We need to read the scripture with different lenses than we’re used to. Another interesting fact is that we see in each of the genealogies of Christ recorded in the Gospels (Matthew, Luke, and John), a unique perspective is offered. In Matthew’s genealogy he lists the generations from Abraham through King David and traces Jesus’ royal lineage all the way down to Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father. The book of Matthew was written primarily for the Jews, to demonstrate that Jesus was and is their long-awaited Messiah—thus highlighting His connection to Abraham. Whereas, the genealogy in Luke traces the bloodline of Jesus from Adam down to David (the list of names from Abraham to David is identical to Matthew’s account), but then Luke diverges from Matthew after King David, tracing the lineage of Jesus not through Solomon, but another son of David, Nathan, all the way down to Heli, the father of Mary, Jesus’ mother. The significance is that the combined force of these two complementary genealogies establishes Jesus’ absolute right to the throne of David: through the bloodline of Mary (Luke 3:23–38); and by legal title through Mary’s husband, Joseph (Matt 1:1-17). Finally, one can also see John 1:1-18 (especially John 1:1) as another genealogy of sorts. The book of John highlights the deity of Jesus and thus this genealogy reveals the supernatural origin and eternal roots of who Jesus truly is—another unique facet that reveals more of the identity, mission, and role of our Messiah. 1. Who is someone famous (or infamous) in your family tree? Have you, or your family, ever done a genealogical or DNA trace to explore your roots? What did you find? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 2. ​Why do you think Matthew includes a genealogy in his gospel? Why would he start with Abraham? How would this be meaningful to his Jewish audience? What were the Jews looking for in a Messiah? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 3. Read the genealogy given in the gospel of Luke as well (Luke 3:23-28). Why would it ​ be important for Jews to be confident in both the blood pedigree, as well as the legal title for Jesus, for them to acknowledge Him as Messiah? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 4. How is someone’s pedigree (cultural, racial, educational, or financial) important to those in the world today? What doors will this status open/close for a person? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ 5. ​What does our pedigree as adopted sons and daughters of God say about us? How should that affect our behavior? Is this motivating for you? Why or why not? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Going Deeper: 1. Read Gen 12:3 and 2 Sam 7:12-16. How do these verses relate to Matt 1:1? How is ​ ​ this first verse of Matthew “good news”? How should it