Matthew begins his gospel with what, for many of us, may seem like a boring and pointless list of names, tracing the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Abraham. But to Matthew’s original audience, these names would have been far from boring or pointless. This was their history! These are their people! And they would have known and understood the lessons Matthew was wanting to instill in them by this recitation of names. In this sermon, Pastor Evan teaches on this genealogy and helps us to grasp the underlying importance of Matthew beginning his gospel this way.