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Thoughts of...Genealogy of Jesus Christ
The Bible contains many genealogies. They are not very exciting to read, so why does the Holy Spirit include these long lists of difficult to pronounce names? First, I see in the genealogies God’s love and concern for every name and every individual. Secondly, I see that God is a God of order and not confusion. Thirdly, I see that God keeps detailed and accurate records; nothing gets by His watchful eyes. And lastly, in the genealogies of Jesus Christ, I see both my God and myself.
The Bible reveals to us the nature of our Lord – Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God.
In His humanity, Jesus was born of a woman, grew up, and got hungry and thirsty and tired. And He died. In His Deity, Jesus knew men’s thoughts, forgave sins, raised the dead, and healed the sick, the blind, the deaf, the mute, and the demon possessed.
The genealogies of Jesus Christ also reveal His Deity and His humanity. In the genealogy in , the Deity of Jesus Christ is clearly seen. He is God. He has always been and He has always been God. He is the Creator Who worked in Genesis 1-2. And at the perfect point in time, He came from eternity to walk among us ().
As clearly as the Deity of Jesus Christ is seen in John 1, the humanity of Jesus is seen in Matthew 1. The Apostle Matthew is writing to the Jews and his objective is to show that Jesus is the Promised Messiah, the Son of David. In Matthew 1:1-17, The Holy Spirit via Matthew chronicles the genealogy of Jesus, from Abraham (the promised Seed of the Woman) through David (the promised Son of David Who will reign forever) to Joseph (the husband of Mary, NOT the father of Jesus, Who had another Father!). In this passage we can see the human line God selected to reveal Himself to us.
In that same passage listing the human line of Jesus, I see myself and that I am included in God’s plan. Let’s just look at .
In v1 we have Abraham, a common, garden-variety idolater before the God of Glory revealed Himself to him () and the father of all those who by faith take God at His Word ().
In v2 we have Jacob, a polygamist (contrary to ) and a liar/deceiver (), and Judah, an incestuous fornicator (Gen 38).
In v3 we see Phares and Zara, bastards resulting from Judah’s incestuous relationship with his daughter-in-law Tamar, who played the harlot to accomplish her objective. The Law of God in says that a bastard and the nine generations following him will be “outsiders” unable to enter into God’s body of people. (NOTE: Who do you suppose that ninth generation after Phares is? David!)
In v5 we have two Gentile women listed in the genealogy of the Jewish Messiah – Rahab, a prostitute (, Joshua 2) and Ruth, a Moabitess ().
In v6 we have David, an adulterer and murderer (, 2 Sam 11), and Solomon, the polygamist of all polygamists and an idolater (, ).
What a hopelessly pathetic collection of fallen humanity! They are in the human line of Immanuel, God with us ()! I find great comfort in the genealogy of Jesus Christ for in it I see myself – a Gentile, an idolater, an adulterer, a murderer, a liar (). There is room for me in God’s plan! Jesus did not come “from” perfect people, nor did He come for perfect people. He came for imperfect failures, me and you.
I see more Good News in Matthew 1:5. Ruth is a Moabitess. The Law of God in also says that a Moabite can NEVER enter into the congregation of God’s people. Yet Ruth, David’s grandmother, is in the line God selected to bring His Son into the world. With in mind, the Good News is that Grace can do what the Law could not do (Eph 2:8-9, ).
Read the genealogies of the Bible carefully. They contain nuggets of joy and comfort.
Pastor Doug
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