"A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham..." Matthew 1:1
When we come across genealogies in Scripture, our minds tend to glaze over. We acknowledge the fact that God has a purpose in including them in his Word, and so somewhat guiltily give them a cursory glance on our way to the more interesting and inspiring portions of Scripture. We generally leave the genealogies to the scholars whose job it is to decipher such things. And when it comes to the season of Advent and our time spent with the Lord, our hearts long for more than a tedious list of obscure names we may or may not have ever heard of. In actuality, there is much encouragement to be gained from the family records placed throughout Scripture, especially the one at the beginning of Mathew's gospel which sets up the entire Advent story.
Jesus, born of Mary by the Spirit, wrapped in cloths and placed in a manger, is the long-awaited Messiah, the promised King from the line of Judah, the light to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. He is the fulfillment of all the promises and prophecies of God. He is our hope, our salvation, our very life. Matthew's genealogy not only lays out the lineage of Jesus to confirm his rightful rule, it also, amazingly, reveals the magnificence of God. If we are willing to linger just a little while over the history and seek out its truths, we will discover a richness and depth in the genealogy of Christ that has everything to do with our own living faith.
Matthew's genealogy testifies to the sustaining power of the sovereign hand of God at work throughout history and the reliability of his word. We serve a God on whom we can rely and in whom we can rest, because his word is sure. What he says will be accomplished regardless of the hearts of mankind or the twists and turns of history. He chooses imperfect people to accomplish his purposes, and in the midst of our imperfection, his plan moves forward without fail. Sin cannot render his Word void, evil cannot thwart his plan, man's conniving and selfish pursuits cannot upend his intentions. God uses all people and is impeded by none. Within the genealogy we see Abraham, whose faith was credited to him as righteousness; Judah, a man who refused to keep his word; Tamar, a deceiver bringing about her own justice; Rahab, a foreign prostitute who found grace; David, the man after God's own heart - the warrior king who also led Israel in worship, and committed murder and adultery; Bathsheba, an adulteress; King Rehoboam, the exceedingly proud and unwise son of Solomon who split the nation of Israel in two; Manasseh, arguably one of the most wicked kings of Judah known for sorcery, unrestrained slaughter of the innocent, and child sacrifice; King Josiah, the righteous grandson of Manasseh, who renewed Judah's covenant with God. These are not just names on a list; they are real people who lived lives just as vivid as ours - each flawed, some redeemed, who God used to fulfill his promise of a Savior.
Christ came at the exact time ordained by God despite all the seeming twists and turns of history brought on by capricious hearts. His lineage speaks to the mercy, sovereignty, and power of our God, who used both the best and worst, the righteous and the evil to accomplish his will; and he does in our lives as well. Through the lives and stories represented in Matthew's genealogy we see the faithfulness of God's heart, and we see that his word is true and stands forever. Advent is the culmination of generations of people who we can learn from and who point to the greatness and glory of God. There is no wasted space in Scripture. If we are willing to dig a little deeper and linger a little longer over the remarkable stories behind the names, we will find people strikingly similar to us who have truths to teach us. More importantly, as we look beneath the layers of Matthew's genealogy, we find hope, encouragement and confidence because God is there.