The Sovereignty of God in Christmas (2)

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Matthew 1.1

The genealogy rage
You will be pleased to know, as I was, that Susie and I are descendants of some very important people. Our son-in-law, Andy Bobb, who knows about such matters, has traced our genealogies back several centuries. Susie is remotely related to the 10^th-century first High King of Ireland, Brian Boru, and I’m somehow descended from the great 17^th century English poet, John Milton.

So, show some respect, will you?

Genealogies are the rage these days. Ads on TV, programs on PBS, books and websites galore invite curious roots-seekers to discover something about themselves in their ancestors. It’s possible to read more into these genealogies than what is justified, but it’s also truly possible to learn something about ourselves that might unlock some mystery or point some new direction for our lives.

Genealogy and Israel
Genealogies were important to the people of ancient Israel. As we read in the opening chapters of 1 Chronicles, genealogies helped people to understand who they were, where they belonged, and what place they might expect to occupy in society.

But genealogies were also a reminder of the sovereignty and goodness of God, Who kept His people alive from generation to generation, so that they might hope for and share in the promises made to their fathers. The recitation of one’s lineage provided an opportunity for reviewing family history and retelling old and much-loved stories, but also of thanking and praising the Lord for His faithfulness throughout the ages in creating and sustaining a people for Himself.

So we’re not surprised when we see, in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, listings of the two genealogies from which our Lord Jesus descended in the flesh.

Scholars differ on how to interpret these records, since they go in different directions on the last leg toward Joseph. Some have suggested that Luke records Mary’s ancestors while Matthew records Joseph’s; others want to harmonize both genealogies in a way that points to Joseph as the de jure if not de facto father of Jesus.

For our purposes, we want to note some clues in these two accounts – in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 – that witness to the sovereignty of God.

The witness of the genealogy
We note, first of all, that the combined genealogies tie Jesus emphatically to three of the most important figures in Jewish and human history: Adam, the father of us all, and the federal head of all humankind; Abraham, the recipient of God’s promise to bless the nations; and David, through whom God determined to establish an eternal Kingdom. If we think of the genealogies like a trajectory of human history through time, we see divine providence in guiding the human race, the promise of blessing, and the promise of an eternal Kingdom straight into that manger in Bethlehem.

Second, we note that these genealogies include the names of people other than descendants of Israel. Matthew mentions Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth; all were Gentile women. Luke extends the genealogy of Christ beyond Abraham to the time before the historic line of Jewish descent, into the primeval period of human history. It is as if God intended the genealogy of Christ to bear witness to the purpose of His coming, that He might incorporate into Himself all nations and tribes as one redeemed people, sanctified unto the Lord.

Tracing the genealogy back to Adam is important, as Paul understood (Rom. 5), for Jesus is the “second Adam” Who came to undo the mess into which the first Adam’s disobedience had plunged us, by resisting every temptation, fulfilling all righteousness, and crushing the head of the serpent, that we might be set free for eternal life.

Finally, each of the genealogies intends to tie Jesus to the promises of God made to Abraham and to the eternal Kingdom extended through David and His descendants. The promises and Kingdom of God come together in Jesus Christ, just as the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament declare.

Thus everything we are as human beings and everything we might hope for from God are hinted at in the genealogies of Jesus provided by Matthew and Luke.

We might be tempted to pass over these genealogies as we recount the blessed and glorious story of Jesus’ birth, but, if we do, we will miss something significant about the sovereignty of God in creating and sustaining the human race, and upholding and fulfilling His promises and blessings through one holy Infant.

Next steps: Here’s a Christmas celebration you can try with your family or friends: Read through the genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3. Let each person tell a story of one of the names in either genealogy, and then share how that person’s story points us forward to the coming of Christ. For example: Ruth. She married a “kinsman redeemer” and thus became a Gentile grafted into the people of God – a foreshadowing of what Jesus would do in bringing peace and salvation to all nations (Eph. 2.11-22).

T. M. Moore

We’re taking a 3-week intermission from our series on The Disciplined Life to review three archive series on the meaning of Christmas. This week’s study, The Sovereignty of God in Christmas, is part 3 of a 3-part series on Christmas, As Advertised, and is available as a free download.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.