‘Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. When you read you begin with A, B, C; when you sing you begin with Do, Re, Mi…’ everybody loves The Sound of Music! … don’t they?
But the very beginning is a good place to start on our journey through the Bible in one year. But wait! There seems to be 2 beginnings – Genesis 1:1 & Genesis 2:4. And they both seem pretty different. What the heck’s going on? Well, don’t panic. First of all, are we to understand Genesis as a science textbook? I reckon not. I never read it in Biology (which is maybe why I failed it). Scientists, it seems, are concerned with ‘how?’ questions: ‘How do planes actually manage to take off?’ ‘How do you measure the distance to that star?’ ‘How do I get that blasted Bunsen Burner to stay on?’ Or even, ‘How did the universe begin?’
Unlike scientists, I think that people with faith – people seeking after God’s heart – ought to turn to Genesis and ask ‘why?’ questions. Like, ‘Why did God create the universe in the first place?’
So, let me have a bash at an answer… Everything that we know of God depends upon what God has decided to show us. So, throughout Genesis 1 & 2 (yep, different stories but making the same point) God creates to shows us how powerful he is (who knows how, but he spoke and stuff came into existence), that he’s good (because everything he makes is) and that he wants to have a relationship with us (he formed us, breathed the breath of life into us and talks to us). In other words, if I’m asking, ‘God, what do you want to say to me as I read this passage?’ (a good question to ask him, by the way), I’d put it like this… He seems to be saying to me, ‘You want to know why I created the world Jonnie? Well, to show you how powerful I am, that I’m really good and that I want to have a relationship with you.’ Wow!
What about Matthew? Another beginning! The beginning of a new thing God is doing and has had planned since the beginning of time. Jesus – who has always existed – now shows up in a new way… in flesh and blood… in a tiny baby. Christmas!
And, while all the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) recognise the entirety of who Jesus is, each gospel highlights one major thing about him. For Matthew, he wants to show us that Jesus is the King. Now, any king worth his salt needs a genealogy – a family tree – and this one’s pretty amazing (I mean, how many of these names do you know!). And, before the list even begins, there’s this link to David – the greatest Old Testament king.
So, yes, Matthew’s gospel marks another beginning (a New Testament, a new way of God showing up) but it also connects with what God’s always been up to throughout history by linking Jesus – the King of kings – with David and, even further back, to Abraham.
But, equally, what kind of King are we talking about here? Born to a virgin called Mary with the help of the Holy Spirit; the fulfilment of centuries old prophecies; the one who’ll save his people from their sins. He’s given his name via an angel in a dream Joseph has. And notice, no mention of a palace, his parents almost get divorced and he’s going to get the nickname ‘God with us.’
The plot thickens.
And, finally, Psalm 1. In a nutshell, the one who is blessed is the one who seeks to follow God’s law as it’s found in the Bible. So, as we start this journey together, reading the Bible in one year, I hope that you know that: you’re blessed by God!
And I hope and pray that the more we read, the more God’s words (the Bible) would get so much under our skin and into our hearts that we wouldn’t just content ourselves with reading a bit everyday but that we, like the guy who wrote the psalm, would delight in the law of the Lord, and would meditate on his laws day and night.
Let the journey begin!
But the very beginning is a good place to start on our journey through the Bible in one year. But wait! There seems to be 2 beginnings – Genesis 1:1 & Genesis 2:4. And they both seem pretty different. What the heck’s going on? Well, don’t panic. First of all, are we to understand Genesis as a science textbook? I reckon not. I never read it in Biology (which is maybe why I failed it). Scientists, it seems, are concerned with ‘how?’ questions: ‘How do planes actually manage to take off?’ ‘How do you measure the distance to that star?’ ‘How do I get that blasted Bunsen Burner to stay on?’ Or even, ‘How did the universe begin?’
Unlike scientists, I think that people with faith – people seeking after God’s heart – ought to turn to Genesis and ask ‘why?’ questions. Like, ‘Why did God create the universe in the first place?’
So, let me have a bash at an answer… Everything that we know of God depends upon what God has decided to show us. So, throughout Genesis 1 & 2 (yep, different stories but making the same point) God creates to shows us how powerful he is (who knows how, but he spoke and stuff came into existence), that he’s good (because everything he makes is) and that he wants to have a relationship with us (he formed us, breathed the breath of life into us and talks to us). In other words, if I’m asking, ‘God, what do you want to say to me as I read this passage?’ (a good question to ask him, by the way), I’d put it like this… He seems to be saying to me, ‘You want to know why I created the world Jonnie? Well, to show you how powerful I am, that I’m really good and that I want to have a relationship with you.’ Wow!
What about Matthew? Another beginning! The beginning of a new thing God is doing and has had planned since the beginning of time. Jesus – who has always existed – now shows up in a new way… in flesh and blood… in a tiny baby. Christmas!
And, while all the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) recognise the entirety of who Jesus is, each gospel highlights one major thing about him. For Matthew, he wants to show us that Jesus is the King. Now, any king worth his salt needs a genealogy – a family tree – and this one’s pretty amazing (I mean, how many of these names do you know!). And, before the list even begins, there’s this link to David – the greatest Old Testament king.
So, yes, Matthew’s gospel marks another beginning (a New Testament, a new way of God showing up) but it also connects with what God’s always been up to throughout history by linking Jesus – the King of kings – with David and, even further back, to Abraham.
But, equally, what kind of King are we talking about here? Born to a virgin called Mary with the help of the Holy Spirit; the fulfilment of centuries old prophecies; the one who’ll save his people from their sins. He’s given his name via an angel in a dream Joseph has. And notice, no mention of a palace, his parents almost get divorced and he’s going to get the nickname ‘God with us.’
The plot thickens.
And, finally, Psalm 1. In a nutshell, the one who is blessed is the one who seeks to follow God’s law as it’s found in the Bible. So, as we start this journey together, reading the Bible in one year, I hope that you know that: you’re blessed by God!
And I hope and pray that the more we read, the more God’s words (the Bible) would get so much under our skin and into our hearts that we wouldn’t just content ourselves with reading a bit everyday but that we, like the guy who wrote the psalm, would delight in the law of the Lord, and would meditate on his laws day and night.
Let the journey begin!
1 comment:
What a 'brave' (some might use other adjectives!) man, Jonnie. Basically, a commitment to write a commentary on the whole bible in one year. Christian Focus Publications will soon be after you. I can just see my great grand kids in 100 years' time with their 'Jonnie Fraser' commentary alongside their Matthew Henry! Great grace be on you for this mighty task!
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