Daily Walk Through the New Testament
April 1

Read Matthew 1:1-25

The Incarnation is presented here, for all to see our Heavenly Father’s deep love for the world. He cared enough to clothe Himself in flesh and come to us. This is the true picture of our Immanuel, God with us. The promise of Isaiah 7:14 is now a reality: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son…” Oswald Chambers, in his book, My Utmost for His Highest, said, “The whole meaning of the Incarnation is the cross. Beware of separating God manifest in the flesh from the Son becoming sin. The Incarnation was for the purpose of redemption. . . . The center of salvation is the cross of Jesus, and the reason it is so easy to obtain salvation is because it cost God so much.”
After 400 years of silence, the Lord wasted no time in speaking through His servant Matthew, sharing the good news — that He had made a way for humanity to be forgiven of sin by His only Son. This first chapter of Matthew prompts a believer not only to celebrate Christmas, but also to foresee the cross and the hope for celebration come Easter.
Think back to the garden of Eden, where the first couple sinned against a holy God. They were separated from Him and cast out of the Garden. Yet in Genesis 3:15 the Scriptures promise a deliverer. Now, after years of waiting, God Himself had come in the flesh in the Person of His Son. As you consider God’s divine rescue plan today, express your gratitude to the Babe in the manger who paid the ultimate price for you.