LOC 004: Life of Christ: The
Family History
In the introduction to this series we saw how both Matthew and
Luke as Gospel writers are concerned to show how the Lord Jesus Christ is the
fulfillment of God’s good purposes towards his people.
Matthew is addressed to the Jewish audience showing how Jesus was
the fulfillment of what God had spoken out about the Messiah through the
prophets of Israel and Judah many hundreds of years before.
Luke is addressing a Gentile of Greek audience. He is introducing
them to the work of God and how Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s word and
purposes for all nations.
Matthew and Luke include family histories, or genealogies to point
the readers back to the magnificent detail wherein God worked to bring Jesus,
the Christ, into the world.
Matthew shows Jesus descent from Joseph showing the royal descent
that would have been important for a king.
Luke shows it through Mary’s family back through Abraham to Adam.
Within these two lists, we find a number of intriguing things.
Let’s look at the two genealogies.
Matthew starts his book with the family history of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He want to set before those who
would read or would hear it read the legitimate claim of Jesus to be heir of
David’s throne and King of Israel and as the one who is the seed of Abraham who
would bless all nations. Matthew even
gives us a catalog of the family roots from Abraham to Jesus. He works from the oldest relative of
significance to the newest.
Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of
David, the Son of Abraham:
2 Abraham begot
Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot
Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot
Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot
Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot
David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of
Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam
begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah
begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot
Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and
Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah
and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.
12 And after they
were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot
Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot
Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud
begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of
Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
17 So all the
generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until
the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in
Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
Jesus is the son of David the King giving him claim to the throne
of David. Jesus as King is important
later on in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus is
also the son of Abraham, the seed who will bless all nations of the earth.
Turn over to Luke 3. Luke
doesn’t place his genealogy at the beginning of the book, but after the birth
narratives immediately following his baptism at the start of Jesus’ public
ministry.
Luke starts with Jesus and works his way back through the family
to Adam. Luke links the Lord Jesus with,
not just the Jews or the nation of Israel, but with all men in all
nations. Luke’s purpose is to show Jesus
as the universal savior--in the sense that if anyone is to be saved, they must
be saved by him.
Earlier I said the Luke traces the history back through Mary, yet
we don’t find Mary’s name in the genealogy.
How can this be? Well, the text
does not say that Heli begat Joseph, his son-in-law by virtue of marriage to
his daughter Mary, it asserts the family relationship. To marry into a family is to become one with
the family. A son and a son-in-law were
not always carefully distinguished. They
are two types of sons. In verse 23 Luke
tells us there is something quirky about that part of the listing--he adds as
was supposed.”
The family history of Jesus through the relations of his mother
Mary:
Luke 3:23-38 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of
Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son
of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of
Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of
Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son
of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son
of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of
Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of
Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of
Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son
of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of
Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son
of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of
Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of
Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,
the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,
the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,
the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos,
the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
What is your first impression?
Just a list of names? Well, there
are a number of valuable lessons to be learned from these lists of names.
1. A lesson about the
details of life
2. A lesson about literacy
3. A lesson about History
4. A lesson about sinners
5. A lesson about God
6. A lesson about the Lord
Jesus Christ
1. A lesson about the
details of life
Even in the details regarding who begat whom, God’s good purposes
are found to be working themselves out.
Speaking of details, how many times does God use the little
insignificant insects to accomplish his purposes? Nothing happens by accident in God’s
world. We don’t rally have traffic
accidents, either. We have unforseen providences that God brings into our lives
in order to work out that which is for our good.
Even when we read lists of names we should read the Word of God
with great awe and reverence. No part of
the Bible is insignificant. Not a jot or
a title. These folk did not appear by accident.
God was the one who opened the womb at the right time and brought forth
a succession of men and women in order for God’s son to come at his appointed
time. In all of the details of all these
generations representing countless conceptions and births, God's Word says, in Galatians 4:4-5 But when the
fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born
under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive
the adoption as sons.
It was when time was fully ripe that God sent forth his son. He was not a moment too early nor too late.
He came forth at the time of time’s ripeness.
Like a fruit ready to be plucked before it falls off the branch. Just at that perfect moment, God sent his
Son. Behind that moment is an eternity
of God’s purpose and since the creation, a succession of births to godly and
ungodly men. Why? In order that God
might be found to be God of the details.
People stumble over the idea that God controls even the details of
life. How can he be Lord of all, if he
is not Lord of the details. Men give God
credit for being able to deal in the big things while leaving the little
details and choices to man. But in these
genealogies we infer that God was evening the details of a man having a proper
marital desire for his wife many times and many places. For the succession of births there had to be
the details that brought them about infallibly.
Why are these people included in the family history of our Lord and not
any others? Because it was God working
in and through the mundane details of life in order to bring forth his son at
his appointed time. What was that purpose? To redeem men from the bondage of
the Law and to adopt them into his family.
If you are a believer, whose family history is this? It is Jesus, our brother, and that makes it
our’s as well. Have you ever read this
as your own family history? It is also
another lesson......
2. A lesson about literacy
Since it is your family history too, how many of the people did
you know as we read through the lists?
Most will have known some like Abraham and David and Adam and Noah. Some may not have known many. Many may have known many because they have
been acquainted with the Bible for a good while. Nobody knew everybody. There are some in the lists who are unknown
to us except for these genealogies.
These lists of Jesus family history can show us how familiar we
really are with the history of the Bible. They can be a gauge to show us how
literate we are in the content of God’s Holy Word. It can be an encouragement to us as we see
God has taught us so much, or it can be a motivation to us to get going in
order to learn more about God by seeing how he dealt with others before
us. We can learn from their good examples
and imitate their faith when it is commended.
We can also learn to not commit the same sins as we seek God;s grace
where others have fallen. Speaking of History.......
3. A lesson about History
Strictly speaking, history is the study of mankind through the
record left in written materials. These
genealogies are a remarkable record of thousands of years of God’s
faithfulness. Each name carries with it
a piece of history. Who were they? Who was Rahab? A prostitute to whom God gave
faith in action that she would save the spies.
Who is Enoch? One who walked with God in faith. Who was Zerubabbel? Or Boaz? What place did they have outside of this
list. Did they love God and his people?
Where they good or were they wicked?
We are not the first generation wherein we find the grace of God and
the presence of faith. There is often an
arrogance about modern times. Most
modern people think that they have come so far beyond the past to reach new
heights of understanding. We are just
like the men and women in these lists. A
mixture of those in who God has worked and those in whom God may work.
The Gospels give us the entire of history of the created world in
these genealogies. It doesn’t give us
all of the details, but it shows us that there is a powerful God working in and
through all things, including time, to bring about his desired end. History is moving towards a goal. That goal
is the consummation of all things when men will stand before God in
judgment. At the end of history they
will be sorted into two groups, the one--those who have faith in the pivotal
man in all of creation, the Lord Jesus Christ; the other group will be those
who God does not know who will be cast from his comfortable presence to a place
where there will be great weeping and gnashing of teeth--Everlasting hell.
The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as God’s appointed Messiah, is
the most important event in all of history.
If you miss that, you would have better off having never been born. Jesus is a true historical figure who
actually came to earth, who actually had parents and grandparents who were
known to their contemporaries. Jesus was
not created by the desires of a religious community after the fact. Jesus was a real live historical man who
walked upon the earth at God’s appointed time.
There is a great deal of debate about the veracity of these
genealogies in academic circles. Suffice
it to say that Matthew and Luke are real historical figures dealing with
another real live historical figure so men might see how the God of all entered
into history to accomplish for man what man could not do for himself. He came into the world to seek and to save
that which was lost. Jesus is a real verifiable
historical figure.
4. A lesson about sinners
In Matthew’s genealogy we find Reheboam, Joram, Amon and Jechonias. Even though these men had good fathers,
Solomon, Jehosophat, Mannaseh, Josiah, they ended up as miserably wicked
men. God’s grace does not run in family
lines by natural descent from one man to another. God’s grace is not passed on through the
processof procreation. God’s grace is
dispensed when and where he sees fit. It
is through regeneration that men are found to have active faith. A Child needs something more than good
examples and techniques of manipulation, they need the God of grace to be
merciful towards them. Children of
believing parents are tremendously blessed to have all sorts of means to grace
at their disposal, but to be numbered among God’s elect, they need grace
themselves.
All men who know God and enter heaven through the new birth will
not do either because they were born of the will of man, but because they were
born by the will of God.
5. A lesson about God
To Eve in the fall, God promised to send one who would be her
deliverer. It was not an empty
promise. God sent forth that one in the
appointed time to be born of a woman. We
learn that God always keeps his word.
The Lord said,
Genesis 3:15 And I will
put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He
shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."
When we read the genealogy back to Adam we see the promise was
kept.
God also promised to Abraham,
Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: "Get out of your
country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will
show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name
great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I
will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed."
For this Abraham was commended and in this Jesus fulfills what
Abraham never saw while he was on the earth.
Through Abraham’s greater son all the nations would be blessed. God kept another promise.
To Jesse’s family it was spoken, Isaiah 11:1-5 There shall come
forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and
understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of
the fear of the LORD. 3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall
not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the
meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And
with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be
the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
What a comfort! Whenever
God has spoken he has kept his word. It
should encourage us to seek after the God who has promised his people so
much.
Mundane genealogies show us that God abided faithful to his
promises. NUM 23:19 "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a
son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He
spoken, and will He not make it good?
6. A lesson about the Lord
Jesus Christ
We saw a few weeks ago that Jesus was eternal God present at and
active in the creation of all things.
Here we meet his other nature. He
is a man like you and me. He is made of
the same stuff as us.
Jesus is truly God, yet he is truly man. Two natures present in one being without
confusion or mixture of them both. As
God he knows the glories of inter-trinitarian love and harmony, as man he knows
temptation and the frailty of creatureliness.
He alone is equipped to be what we really need--a mediator, the one and
only, who can sympathize with us is order to represent us before God. He is what we need to bring us to God. HEB 12:24 to Jesus the Mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than
that of Abel.
You remember Abel, the older brother of Seth, the second to the
last in the genealogy of Luke? What does
this mean? Well, Abel was murdered by
his brother before he could have any children himself, presumably. Yet he is
part of the family tree. From Abel until
the present, God requires sacrifices that please him. Abel offered a better sacrifice than his
brother. For this Cain went into a rage
and killed him. Abel’s gift to God was
pleasing--Jesus’s giving of himself as a sacrifice and the sacrificer was even
more pleasing to God. Jesus, the subject
of both family trees is the one and only one who can bring us to God. To him we should look, in him we should
believe.
From the two genealogies we saw:
1. A lesson about the
details of life
2. A lesson about literacy
3. A lesson about History
4. A lesson about sinners
5. A lesson about God
6. A lesson about the Lord
Jesus Christ
There is only one more thing to consider
7. A lesson about ourselves
As we work through the life of Christ, with whom will you
identify? The Gospels tell us about the
Lords Jesus Christ and our need to believe in him that we might know God whom
to know is life eternal.
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