From Family Ties to Eternal Promise: A Look at Jesus' Lineage

When I was a kid my mom spent time researching our family history. The Kletzings immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1833. Hannah arrived with five children. Her husband died either just before boarding the ship or at sea. The youngest was a baby, and he’s the one from whom I am descended. We made interesting discoveries. At one time there was a Kletzing College in Iowa. But does a study of our family genealogy change the way I live today? Not that I’m aware.

There are, however, some genealogies that matter, such as the one that begins in Matthew 1:1 – “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham . . . .” The list of names continues to verse 17. God had made a covenant with Abraham and his descendants, promising to be their God and to take them as His own people. And He promised that through Abraham’s offspring blessing would come to all nations (Genesis 12:3). Then in 2 Samuel 7 God promised an eternal dynasty that would develop from King David’s royal line of descendants which would usher in eventually a perpetual state of blessing.

God keeps His promises. During the time the land of Israel was subject to a Greek empire and then the Roman empire, numerous characters proclaimed themselves to be political messiahs, and they gained a following because people were filled with hope. But those attempts to establish political messiahs were crushed.

Jesus did not present Himself as a political Messiah. He came to deal with the root cause of disappointment, stress, suffering, death and sadness. That root cause is sin. A political solution can’t solve the inner corruption that infects all people any more than putting on makeup could cure cancer.

Matthew wrote in order to show that Jesus really is the true Messiah sent from God. Just like each one of us, the people of Matthew’s day had to learn to desire what God was giving. This Messiah can change hearts and make believers righteous.

In verse 16 there is a change in wording. It interrupts a father/son pattern when it comes to Joseph and does not say Jesus was descended from Joseph, but that Joseph was married to Mary of whom Jesus was born. This is so noted because of the virgin birth.

What does this mean for us? About a year ago, in a week’s time I bumped a lamp and broke multiple globes at our home, showed up for the first time on the wrong day for an appointment, and tried out a hearing aid even though I don’t think I’m of age. Your challenges presently might be far greater, but however we are struggling to find contentment and happiness, Jesus’ genealogy reminds us that God acted in a supernatural way to bring the promised divine and human Savior into the world so that repentant believers can become a part of the story of His kingdom which ends gloriously.