Story: When I was younger, I used to wonder why on earth Matthew and Luke recorded the genealogies of Christ. That is until I met Gideon Miller.
Gideon Miller was an extraordinary man. He was about 5’6” and had size 16 shoes. He was married to a German woman who had been a member of the Hitler Youth. Which was astounding because Gideon had been born a Jew.
After the Second World War, he had been granted a gambling licence in Las Vegas, which in those days was a licence to print money.
But Gideon had a drinking problem and soon lost everything. When he eventually realised that he had a problem, he started going to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous - which used to meet in the crypt of a church.
One evening he arrived a bit too early and so looked round for something to read. He picked up a New Testament and started reading Matthew’s Gospel.
He read the genealogy of Jesus and suddenly realised that Jesus wasn’t a Christian - he was a Jew!!
So he went out and bought a New Testament and began reading it regularly. And eventually he decided to give his life to Christ.
The genealogy of Christ was instrumental in bringing Gideon to know Jesus