The Christmas Tree

🎄 Exploring how God changed the world through the Cross and how “trees” are woven into this redemption story of grace.

Week 2: The Family Tree of Christmas (Days 6–10)

Theme: God’s grace weaves beauty through the broken branches of Jesus’ lineage.

Day 6: The Genealogy of Grace — Matthew 1:1–17

🌿 Many people today enjoy researching their genealogy, including discovering who their ancestors were, where they lived, and what occupations they held. In fact, whole websites and businesses are devoted to researching one’s ancestry. One of the many reasons people do this is that it helps answer some of life's fundamental questions. Who am I? Where did I come from?

For God’s people in the Old Testament, lineage carried enormous weight. The Jewish identity was rooted in family line because the Messiah Himself would one day come through that sacred Jewish lineage. To be born into a Jewish family meant stepping into the covenant God gave Abraham and his descendants. Genesis 12:3 says,

“I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you” (NIV)

Matthew was a Jew who wrote his New Testament for a primarily Jewish audience. His primary goal was to convince his Jewish brethren that Jesus was the promised Messiah, sent by God to fulfill the prophecies made in the Old Testament. The Jews were told to expect the Messiah from the tribe of Judah and the house of David. Matthew meticulously documents Jesus’ lineage to help prove that Jesus was, in fact, the Messiah the Jews had been expecting.

Today, we no longer need to be born into a specific lineage to receive all the promises and blessings God gave to Abraham. When Jesus died on the cross, he died for all people, Jews and Gentiles alike. We only need to accept God’s gift of Grace by believing that Jesus paid the sin debt we owed but couldn’t pay, so we can be made right with God. Through this, we receive the blessing of His favor and are adopted into His family. Ephesians 1:5 says, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.”

✨ Christmas Truth to Ponder: God loves you, and it is His great pleasure to adopt you into His forever family.
🙏 Today’s Action Step: Thank God today for adopting you into His family through Jesus and share His grace with someone who needs to know they belong too.
🔔 Preview for Tomorrow: Abraham: The Root of Faith.

Days 6–10 by Kimberly Faistenhammer.