City Life Starter

Written by Efe Abbe

The Word

²³ Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Luke 3:23-38

Reflection

One of my all time favorite shows is Finding Your Roots with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. because, 1) I love genealogy; and, 2) the show highlights ordinary people who had no idea that they would have famous descendants.

The show illustrates how limited we are in that we can only see the panorama of history by looking backwards. Many times on the show, family scandals come to light and there are seeming “coincidences” that were clearly the hand of God.

When I read the genealogy of Jesus, I come away with the following:

Jesus didn’t have a mythological bloodline. He was born in time and space to a very human family. When Luke wrote this, anyone could have verified Jesus’ lineage (His brothers James and Jude were leaders in the early church). This list of names is a mixed bag with lots of scandals and some moments of heroic faith, but it shows God’s devotion to save us that He bound Himself to humanity through this family.

God is the only one powerful enough and all-knowing to have a forward view of history. Most of the people in Jesus’ lineage had no idea they would be ancestors of the Messiah but before there was anything, God chose them to be and worked in history to accomplish His plans.

The long passage of time doesn’t mean God is slow to keep His promises. This list of names represents millennia between God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 and Jesus’ birth; but it happened exactly on God’s schedule.

Application

The truth that God, in Jesus, opted to become human, born to a family is worth our contemplation. God, in Jesus, knows the complicated human experience called family, and His redemption of all things includes redeeming our families. Also, those of us who belong to Jesus, now belong to Jesus’ enlarged human family – the Church.

God is the only One worthy of our entire trust because of who He is. He is the all-knowing, all-powerful, all-wise One. To say that God has got everything, including every detail of our lives, under His control, is an understatement.

God is the ultimate promise-keeper. He has never, nor will He ever break a promise. It’s been millennia since Jesus promised to return, bringing His reward for faithfulness with Him, and to make all things new – it will happen, exactly on His schedule.

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, I am amazed that You, Almighty God didn’t despise my humanity. Thank You so much, for Your devotion to me in Jesus, and for keeping every promise You have made, amen.