The Genealogy of Jesus Christ - God delights in redeeming a people for His use.
Nick’s sermon this past Sunday was over the genealogy at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew. While many of us modern western Christians would usually be tempted to skim over the long list of hard to pronounce names we’re mostly unfamiliar with, there’s a substantial and even crucial amount of political and religious gravity to the implications found there.
“The line of the Messiah shows us exactly what type of people the Messiah came to save.”
Primarily, starting with verse 1, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” This identification of Jesus as King and the fulfilment of all the covenant promises the God of Israel had been declaring for millennia would have stuck out as a bold unmistakable mic-drop to the first century reader, especially those of Jewish heritage. This really just begs the reader to dig into the narrative contained in this Gospel account, which begins with the kingly descendant of Abraham, pointing us back to the beginning of the Old Testament, and then ends with pushing the reader forward “to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:18-20)
“Don’t forget the gravity of that claim, this claim is spiritual, social and political. ”
And while these are essential theological points that we cannot miss and need to take the time to understand, there’s even more meanings that lay vaguely beneath the surface when you begin inspecting all the names and stories found in this list. There’s not only human weakness found in the list, but brokenness like lying, murder, adultery, and betrayal. But there’s also honor, mercy, obedience, and redemption, showcasing the Love of the Father towards His wayward people and all nations, as anyone has the chance to turn their hearts toward their Creator and be reconciled to Him.
The Bottom Line from the sermon this last Sunday was “The line of the Messiah shows us exactly what type of people the Messiah came to save.” As Nick said, God delights in using sinful and broken people, because it’s His only option, we’re all sinful, but also because it showcases His love, power, perfection, and plan. Paul learned this directly when praying for relief from his human frailty ‘But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”’ (2 Cor. 12:9) Because even the “best” name that’s listed in the genealogy from a human perspective would be David, “a man after God’s own heart” who was still a lying, adulterous murderer, so there’s hope for us too.
There’s also encouragement found in the names of those who might have had struggles because of greater social difficulty, such as the five women mentioned, including Jesus’ mother Mary. “Despite lives made difficult by poverty and sin (whether their own or others’), God aided these women and gave them important places in his plan to “save his people from their sins” (v. 21).” [GTB]
Genealogies are a big deal, especially in the first century culture where this takes place. The audience likely knew the prophecies, they knew whose families were important, and even though they were waiting for the messiah, they would have a hard time seeing it clearly so Matthew opens his account directly pointing to the realities that would make Jesus of Nazareth a big deal in their collective cultural minds. That makes his intro tantalizing for those who know those names, their family line, and their collective story. This sets up the reader to either want to read the rest of the account out of anger to disprove what Matthew was claiming, or out of curiosity if Matthew could succeed in convincing them of the claims of his account.
Don’t forget the gravity of that claim, this claim is spiritual, social and political. The Messiah is also the forever King, which would take power away from those who have been claiming authority they didn’t deserve in their time. It continues to shift the power structures to this day as the upside down Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, continues to advance His Kingdom in the hearts of mankind through the working of the Holy Spirit in His Church.