Matthew 1.16 & Luke 3.23-38
The story begins with lineages – name after name after name
It was the line of David through which Baby Jesus came
All kinds of people are in the lists. Godly and sinful, Gentile and Jew
He came for the children of Israel, but He included the outsider, too
Matthew goes back to Abraham, Luke, to Adam, God’s son
Both accounts give testimony, Jesus is God’s Chosen One
And so begins the historical account of the birth of Emmanuel
God came to live among us, His perfect ‘show and tell!’
What makes this list of ancestors so special? To the Jew it verified that the Messianic line was pure, that Jesus was who He claimed He was. To the Gentile, it showed that the Jewish Jesus had gentile ancestors, an indication that the Gentile as well as the Jew had always been in God’s heart. To women, the inclusion of three females validated them in a male-dominated society that regarded women essentially as property. To the individual, to me, the list of names reminds me that God is a God of names, a personal God. The names of His children are engraved on His palms, (Isa 49.16) they are written in the Book of Life, (Rev 21.27) He calls us by name. (Isa 43.1) Yes, God knows each one of us by name.
Lord, thank You for leaving Your throne in Heaven and coming to live among us. Thank You for including all kinds of people – Jew and Gentile, pious and prostitute – in your lineage. And thank You for knowing us personally, individually, by name. Thank You for including me in your line of descendants. I pray in the name of my Saviour, Jesus Christ, Amen.
