The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Not too many are inspired by the genealogy of Jesus. The fact that there are two of them makes it even more difficult to spend much time reflecting on them. Matthew starts with Abraham and works forward, whereas Luke traces backward and goes all the way to telling us that Jesus is the son of Adam, the son of God.

Matthew is trying to place Jesus’ birth within the context of all Jewish history from the time of Abraham up to the birth of Jesus. He gives us the impression that God made mathematically precise preparations for the coming of the Messiah. The first fourteen names mentioned are those of the patriarchs, people such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The second fourteen are Israel’s kings, especially King David and King Solomon. The last fourteen are unknowns from Israel’s past who played a vital role in the coming of the Messiah. Four women are mentioned in the genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Except for Ruth, the others are neither admirable nor Jewish.

Anyone can be a partner with God in the coming of the kingdom, and that includes all sorts of people one might not normally invite to dinner. Jesus’ family tree shows that he was truly human, born with an earthly history, warts and all. He was fully divine, but fully human. The family of Jesus Christ is imperfect. God does not sugarcoat the lives of the people he uses; at times we fail, and at other times we show great faith. God has gifted all of us. We all can rise above our backgrounds to be what God calls us to be.

Can we truly embrace our humanity to become God’s children?

Let Us Pray:

O Jesus, help me to live more fully in your grace. May I appreciate the ability you give me to live each day as Jesus did, loving others as he loved us.