Day 2: Matthew 1 | 2026 Lenten Reading Plan

Thank you for joining us for the first reading in our Lenten Reading Plan. Find all the resources you need below: Read Matthew 1 on Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%201&version=ESV Listen to Matthew 1: https://share.transistor.fm/s/c7a397b7 Download your own Lenten Reading Plan Bookmark: https://higherthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/HT_Lenten-Reading-Plan-Bookmark-2601-PRINT-at-home.pdf Download the 2026 Lenten Reading Plan Study Guide: https://higherthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/HT_Lenten-Reading-Plan-Study-Guide-2511.pdf Matthew opens his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, not just with the story of Christmas. We're tempted to skip those hard-to-pronounce names and jump to the "good stuff,” but there’s actually a lot going on in this genealogy. What's eye-catching is *who* appears in this list. For example, Jesus's lineage includes Rahab, a prostitute, and King Ahaz, who practiced child sacrifice. Jesus, who as God could have chosen any family, deliberately chose to come from a family of sinners and really bad sinners. We're comfortable with Jesus being born in poverty, in a humble manger. But this goes deeper. Jesus assumes not just our poverty and weakness, but our sin itself. The Christmas story is not just about the mighty becoming week, but the holy become sin. "He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that by him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:21) In verse 19, we see Joseph who planned to divorce Mary quietly to avoid shaming her. Even though Mary did nothing wrong here because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, she still faced shame. We all carry shame from our family histories and backstories. Christmas is about Jesus assuming everything we wish we could be rid of. He is Emmanuel: God with us, God with Rahab, God with Ahaz, God with you and me. Jesus came to gather up all the sins of all sinners and bring them to nothing through the cross, giving us forgiveness, life, salvation, and resurrection with Him. Contributor Rev. Harrison Goodman is the Higher Things Executive Director of Missions and Theology. #higherthings #lcms #lutheran #lent If you have questions or topics that you'd like discussed on Higher Things, email them to content@higherthings.org Subscribe to our channel to get notifications when we go live: http://youtube.com/@HTgospel4all To support the work of Higher Things®, visit https://higherthings.org/morehi/giving/ For more information about Higher Things, go to http://higherthings.org ------ Join the conversation on Social Media: http://facebook.com/higherthings http://instagram.com/higherthings https://www.tiktok.com/@higherthings