"A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1)" 

The next thing that Matthew does is identify this Messiah-deliverer as the Son of David and the Son of Abraham.  Jesus was first, the Son of Abraham and as such, the fulfillment of God's promise to bless all nations.  Secondly, as the Son of David, Jesus is the King and Lord of all His people.  With these two descriptions, Matthew paints us two pictures of grace and the gospel. 

First of all, as the Son of Abraham, Jesus, his seed, blessed the whole world.  "And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed (Genesis 26:4)."  Jesus, the Seed of Abraham, paid the price of sin and redeemed every man, woman, and child by His blood shed on Calvary ["But Christ came ...  not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11,12].  Through no choice of our own, the entire world was plunged into death by the sin of Adam.  But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son." (John 3:16)   Eternal redemption "for all," wow!  No wonder the angels declared at His birth, Luke 2:14  "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."  God's favor rests on all men.  All men have His favor.  The good news is "while we were ungodly/sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6,8)  No wonder in verse 1 Paul says that when we discover and believe this, it brings peace.  Paul goes on to say in Romans 5:10 that Jesus' death, paying the price of sin, reconciles us.  We're forgiven (Eph. 1:7) so there's no condemnation, no reason to stay away from God - to be His friend.  And, get this, it is this reconciliation that gives God permission to come into our lives, take control, and establish His loving rule as King and Lord.  Ta daaaah!  Enter Son of David.

The second part to God's plan for our redemption has to do with His position as the Son of David.  As the royal Son of David, Jesus is King of kings, and Lord of lords.  That's not good news, however, to a lot of us.  When I was younger, the call to make Jesus the Lord of my life was intimidating.  It meant that Jesus, my Savior, was not enough.  Unless I made Him my Lord and did what He said, I still wouldn't make it.  To do so, would require I give up some things I just didn't want to give up, and, to make matters worse, I was pretty sure there some things I couldn't give up.  This specific concern virtually destroyed any peace I might have had about my salvation. 

But folks, everything about Jesus is good news - not just some of it!  A King provides everything for His people and Jesus is no exception.  Jesus' role as the Son of David is not to intimidate us and give Him the power and authority to punish us if we don't comply with His wishes.  Instead, it is our assurance that our "God shall supply all our need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)  If we lack desire or motivation, or strength, or resources or understanding, or anything else, our King Jesus, Son of King David, will supply it all.  It's a promise, not a threat.  To invite Him into your life as Lord and Savior gives you the picture of the seed of Abraham who died to let you know you ARE forgiven and accepted. There is no condemnation!  That reconciles you.  It removes every obstacle, and gives permission for the Holy Spirit to implant the Son of David, King of Kings inside of you.  He will bless you, implant His kingdom of love inside you, and make you what He's always intended for you to be.

So today, act on this marvelous good news.  Accept the salvation that is already yours through the promise to Abraham, and accept the wealth and power that is already yours to live in Christ through God's declaration that Jesus is the Son of David - King of kings, and Lord of lords!  

Next week, in "Grasping the Gospel" we look at "Three Old Dead Guys." What's the good news that the geneology of Jesus begins with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?