Why is Jesus' Family Tree So Important?


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Matthew 1 - The Genealogy of Jesus

 "This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham ...Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah."

 As we start out a new year we go back to the book of Matthew, the first gospel and first book of the New Testament.  I hope you will journey with me through the New Testament again this year.  We will go through five chapters each week, and I will take a few verses from each chapter to comment on.  Feel free to read the whole chapter to understand the entire context of the selected verses.

 Today Matthew reveals one of his main purposes right away by starting with the genealogy of Jesus.  Matthew's gospel is sometimes called the "Jewish gospel".  Why?  Because he connects the Old Testament stories to their fulfillment in Jesus.  Many of us are interested in our family tree because there is a sense in which our ancestors are part of our story.  In Matthew, Jesus' lineage is detailed through Joseph his father, whereas Luke focuses more on Mary's family tree.  Bottom line is it very important for Matthew to establish God's faithfulness to his covenant promises to both Abraham and David.  Through Abraham God promised that through his family all nations would be blessed.  And through David, he promised an everlasting kingdom that would never end.  So Jesus fulfills both covenants by coming to this earth in the line of Abraham and David.  

 As our family lineage is important, so is our spiritual lineage.  If you are like me you most likely had people in your life that influenced you to be a more devoted follower of Jesus.  Someone may have been instrumental in helping you to understand the personal nature of a relationship with Christ, or how you might grow deeper in your faith.  Regardless God put this person into your life to help you to grow in your knowledge of God through Christ.  Often this person might have helped you to grow in your understanding of God's word as well.  

 So if it is true that someone in your spiritual lineage helped you establish or renew your relationship with Christ, who might God be calling you to encourage this year?  Discipleship (becoming a more devoted follower of Christ) was never meant to be exclusively through a pastor or program, but through a person. One believer helping another believer one prayer at a time.  While going to church and volunteering are important, I would encourage you to find a spiritual mentor this year.  Someone you can learn from and be encouraged by.  It could be as simple as meeting on a regular basis with someone to talk about your relationship with God together.  Or, maybe you study a book of the bible or other book together with particular attention to the application in your life situation.  Jesus' lineage shows us that God uses all kinds of people to bring His purposes to fruition.  And God does this through people like you and me, who like Mary and Joseph are willing to follow Him wherever that leads!

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