Day 239 - Matthew 1–3 Psalm 45

Welcome to the New Testament! The first four books of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are called the Gospels. The word “gospel” means good news, and these books tell us the good news about Jesus: His life, His teachings, His miracles, His death, and His resurrection. The Gospels are the accounts of four men’s experiences with Jesus, written so that future generations would know who He was and why He came. Each writer had a different background and perspective, which helps us see Jesus more completely: Matthew was a teacher and focused on Jesus’ lessons and parables. He wanted people to see that Jesus was the promised Messiah, the King spoken of in the Old Testament. Mark wrote with urgency, almost like an alarm bell. He focused on miracles and action, showing Jesus’ power at work. Luke was a doctor, careful and precise. He recorded events in time order and noticed the details, wanting to give a reliable, organized history of Jesus’ life. John wrote later, bringing it all together. He focused on Jesus’ love and His deeper spiritual meaning, helping us see Him as the Son of God. The Gospels were written in the first century, when the Jewish people were under Roman rule. For centuries, the Old Testament had promised that a Savior, the Messiah, would come from the line of David. The Gospels show how Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. For example, Isaiah, Micah and Malachi God could have given us just one book about Jesus, but instead He gave us four. Why? Because perspective matters. Each Gospel shows us a different side of Jesus, like four different portraits of the same person: His teachings, His miracles, His compassion, and His eternal love. Together, they give us a fuller, richer picture of who Jesus is. This also shows us that God values human experience and testimony. He used four different voices to show that Jesus is not just a legend or one person’s idea, He is real, and His life touched people in different ways. We will start this adventure with Matthew. In Matthew 1, Matthew begins with Jesus’ family tree, showing He came from Abraham and King David. This proves He is the promised Messiah. An angel told Joseph not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, because her baby was from the Holy Spirit. The angel said the baby’s name would be Jesus, because He would save His people from their sins. God planned everything carefully, In Matthew 2, Wise men from the east followed a star and came to worship Jesus, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But King Herod was jealous and tried to kill Him. An angel warned Joseph, and he took Mary and Jesus to Egypt until it was safe to return. Later, they moved to Nazareth. In Matthew 3, ohn the Baptist preached in the desert, calling people to repent and be baptized. He prepared the way for Jesus, the Messiah. Then Jesus came to be baptized, and when He came out of the water, the Holy Spirit came down like a dove. In Psalm 45, Psalm 45 is a wedding song for a great king. It praises his beauty, strength, and fairness, and honors the bride who joins him in glory.