Jesus' family tree
This family tree makes us realise Jesus was a real person with a real family tree. Not only was He real but He was also an important person.
Lets looks at some basic observations. There are 76 names mentioned here. It was a long list. It was a colourful family tree. There re names on this list that are not exactly a savoury lot. There are all kinds of rogues on this list. It is a different family tree from Matthews. This is a longer one than Matthews. Matthew just has 42. This 76. There are different names. They are all the same from Abraham and David but from David to Jesus at here are differences. One may be tracing the lineage of Joseph and the other of Mary. Some suggest one is tracing the Daviddic line the other the natural line. We are not sure who is correct. The Bible has no errors but this shows that there are parts that are difficult.
It is a reversed family tree. Matthew begins with the past and works to the present however Luke starts with the present and works back to Adam.
This is a sandwiched family tree. It is between the baptism of Jesus and His temptation.
So let us look at some theological reflections. Luke one and two we looked at the Messiah being born. Then we looked at the Messiah coming. At His baptism we wonder is He the Messiah. We of course came to the conclusion He was. God says so. Then comes the genealogy. Then will come the temptation. This is all about the credentials of the Messiah. He has the human credentials.
There are three connections that are very important.
He is the son of David. The prophets had predicted the Messiah would come form the line of David.
He is the son of Abraham. If being a son of David made Him a king this makes Him a Jew so a fulfiller of the scriptures.
Luke goes back further to this of course. He tells us He is the son of Adam. So not only was He a king, a Jew but He was a man. He was part of the human race. Not only was He the Son of God but He was the Son of Man.
So what about some piratical implications.
Only a human Messiah can represent human beings. When Adam disobeyed God, he sinned as a representative of the the entire human race. This means we are born into sin. This is something we inherit from Adam. We are not born free from sin. We are born with the prospect of death.
Thankfully there is a hope. The message of the Bible doesn't stop with the first Adam. We have the story of the second Adam. Our messiah. Jesus is another representative of the human race. This time not disobedient but obedient. He had to be human to be that representative.
Only a human Messiah can die. The suffering of the saviour is so prevalent in this gospel. Jesus could not have suffered and died if He was not human. Jesus took flesh and blood to die and destroy the power of death. He took the rap that we as Christians should be taking. God became a man to die for our sins.
Only a human Messiah can sympathise with us. We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with us. We have a Messiah who understands what we are going through. He has walked this fallen world. He understands our aches and pains. He knew loneliness he knew temptation. He new hunger. He knew thirst. He was fully God but He was fully man. He knew suffering. He knew rejection and He even knew death.
We have a God who can sympathise with every part of our life.
Do you know Him?
Created 3 months ago
