Nutmeg family spice: welcome to Gospel Spice Christmas!
Episode 11 -Stephanie takes us from her grandmother's Christmas kitchen straight into the genealogy that introduces the Christmas story in Matthew chapter 1. Despite the apparent boredom of such long-winded lists of names to our modern Western ears, Matthew is actually penning the ultimate Jewish page-turner. What did these names evoke in his audience's mind? What national and personal memories did they trigger? How is Jesus introduced to Matthew's original audience? How did Joseph and Mary fare as Jesus was born, and grew up amongst the whispers and shameful glances in small-town Nazareth?
That's the beginning of the Christmas story, and it is found in chapter 1 of Matthew's gospel.