Matthew 1:1-17 Luke 3:23-38
When we read through the genealogies of Jesus recorded in
Matthew and Luke we can observe a couple of things that appear to be
significant. Perhaps the most
significant observation we can make is simply the fact that these family
generations were known and seem to be important to the Lord. God clearly had a plan of redemption that He
carried out in a purposeful manner going all the way back to Adam. He accomplished that plan through the lives
of men and women. These men and women
were of very different character and varied abilities but they were used of God
in His plan of redemption none the less.
Some of the names listed here are famous and we have entire books of the
Bible dedicated to their histories.
Other people listed here we know almost nothing about, besides the fact
that they are recorded for us here. God
continues to accomplish His plan of redemption in the world today through the
lives of a wide variety of people that serve in a wide variety of ways. It is hard to do an expository outline of the
genealogies apart from doing a biographical sketch on every person mentioned so
I would just like to make three observations about these lists.
JESUS IS THE MESSIAH: Perhaps this is the main point as to
way the genealogies are recorded. Both
Matthew and Luke want to demonstrate that Jesus, in every way, fulfilled the
requirements of the Old Testament for the Messiah. Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus from
Abraham forward to Mary. Luke traces the
genealogy of Jesus backwards from Joseph all the way to Adam. The point of this was simply to demonstrate
that Jesus was qualified through His ancestry to be Messiah. His is the rightful heir to the throne of
David through both Mary and Joseph. He
was conceived of the Holy Spirit through Mary so is the Son of God. He was born into the house of and is the
legal heir of Joseph and Luke presents Jesus as the Son of man. Clearly God is in control of the happenings
on the earth. He had a carefully
orchestrated plan to bring Jesus into the world at the right time and the right
place. He continues to accomplish His
plan today through our lives.
GOD USES SINNERS: As we read through these lists of men and
women; we cannot help but notice that there are some rather savory characters
mentioned all along the way. Liars,
murderers, adulterers, idolaters, polygamists, thieves, traitors, cowards and
many other sins were all a part of the reputation of the people mentioned in
these lists. That is not to say, in any
way, that God approves of these sins.
However, it should be an encouragement to all of us who struggle with
sin to know that God can still use us to accomplish His purposes in and through
our lives. The reality is that sinners
are all that are available to God because we are all sinners. However, we can also see in these lists that
there were a wide variety of responses to sinfulness. Some of the most serious sinners in these
lists are considered to be heroes of the faith because they repented of their
sin and responded correctly to them. We
all have sinned and will continue to do so.
What is important to God is how we respond to that sin.
GOD MENTIONED WOMEN: There are four women besides Mary
mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy. Certainly
the above point is true about all of them.
Of the four, two were prostitutes, Tamar and Rehab. Two were adulteresses, Tamar and Bathsheba. These are not the types of women that we
would typically want to highlight in our family tree. We should in no way misconstrue the fact that
these women are mentioned as some sort of an approval of their actions. Rather,
it should be a testimony to the grace of God and an encouragement to all of us
to know that God forgives sin. It is
also interesting to note that both Tamar and Ruth were Gentiles that became a
part of the lineage of Jesus. This
should serve as a reminder that God is a God of all the nations and desires to
reach all of the nations for Himself. It
is also interesting to observe that Tamar, Ruth, Bathsheba and most likely even
Rehab were widows who remarried into the line of Jesus. God is a specialist and bringing good things
into our lives even through the greatest tragedies that we might face in our
lives.
APPLICATION: We can always rest assured that God is in
control of the events of this world and He is working through people both small
and great to accomplish His will. We can
take comfort in the fact that God came to save sinners through repentance and
faith. He is able to use any one of us
no matter what we have done. God will do
the unexpected and use our tragedies and even, at times, our own sinfulness to
accomplish His will in our lives.
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