Day 281 Reading Schedule: Matthew 1-4

Matthew 1: Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus along with the declaration that Jesus Christ is the descendant of Abraham and David (verse 1). The genealogy is divided into fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen generations from the exile in Babylon to Jesus Christ (verses 2-17). Mary became pregnant before they were engaged to Joseph and lived together. When Joseph learned of this, he wanted to quietly break off the engagement, but an angel of the Lord appeared and told him that the baby Mary would give birth to was the Messiah. Joseph believed and obeyed the word of God through the angel (verses 18-25). 

Matthew 2: The Birth of Jesus Christ

[Summary]

A large star appeared in the East, and the wise men from the East came to Jerusalem to see the birth of the baby Jesus, who would become the king of the Jews. The wise men told Herod about this and asked him to tell them where the baby Jesus was (verses 1-3). Herod sent the wise men to Bethlehem, telling them that he also wanted to worship the baby Jesus, so they should tell him when they saw him. The wise men went to Bethlehem and worshiped the baby Jesus, and were warned in a dream not to go to Herod, so they returned to their homeland by another route (verses 4-12). An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him to flee to Egypt because Herod was trying to kill the baby. Herod ordered all the male children in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old or younger to be killed (verses 13-18). As time passed, Herod died, and Joseph and Mary returned from Egypt and lived in Nazareth (verses 19-23).

Matthew 3: The Ministry of John the Baptist

[Summary]

John the Baptist preached repentance and the gospel of the kingdom of heaven in the wilderness of Judea. He wore camel hair, ate locusts and wild honey, and baptized those who repented in the Jordan River (vv. 1-6). When John the Baptist saw many Pharisees and Sadducees, he rebuked them as a brood of vipers and warned them that they must bear fruit worthy of repentance (vv. 7-10). He also prophesied that the Messiah would come after him and baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (vv. 1-12). When Jesus came to the Jordan River, he wanted to be baptized by John the Baptist. John said that he was the one who would be baptized, but Jesus emphasized that being baptized by John the Baptist was the way to fulfill all righteousness, and so he received John's baptism. At that time, the Holy Spirit like a dove descended from heaven, and a loud voice was heard from heaven saying, "This is my beloved Son" (vv. 13-17).

Matthew 4: Jesus Christ is Tempted 

[Summary]

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus overcame the devil's three temptations with the word of God (vv. 1-11). After hearing about the imprisonment of John the Baptist, Jesus went to Capernaum in Galilee. From this time on, Jesus began to preach the gospel of repentance and the kingdom of God in earnest (vv. 12-17). He called Peter and Andrew from the shores of Galilee and made them his disciples (vv. 18-22), and traveled throughout Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing the sick (vv. 23-25).