Luke #38 - Family Tree

Luke #38 – Family Tree

“And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God” (Luke 3:23-38 – King James Version).

I have a great aunt who declares she can show proof that we are descended from the same family that Queen Elizabeth II descends from. I don’t know about that…no one has invited me over to London for fish and chips and a spot o’ tea. I have gotten no “Dear Sir Timothy…” letters from Cousin Charlie; he didn’t even tell me that he and Lady Diana were having trouble with their marriage a few years ago…maybe I could’ve helped! Some way to treat family, ain’t it? I sure would like a crown; my title would be “Duke of Mayonnaise” or maybe “The Duke formerly known as Prince.” Which one do you like better? I get no respect from my family across the pond. It serves to make me more thankful than ever that through Christ I am in the family of God.

Believe it or not, this is a rich passage. It’s easy to get caught up in all the names and trying to make sense of Jesus’ family tree. If we were to lay it beside Jesus’ family tree found in Matthew we would find several noticeable differences, one huge difference of note that we will talk about tomorrow. First, in Matthew’s Gospel he was writing to a Jewish audience. With that in mind the Holy Spirit gives the Jewish Matthew Jesus’ genealogy in a way to satisfy their Jewish minds; Matthew moved forward from Abraham to Jesus. Luke, on the other hand, moved backward from Jesus to Adam. Matthew was connecting Jesus with His Jewish family and Luke was connecting Jesus to the whole of the human race. Also of note, Matthew record of Jesus’ family tree is the genealogy of Joseph and Luke’s is that of Mary. Pretty neat, huh?

It doesn’t stop there. As Matthew’s account connects Jesus to the line of David through His legal father, Luke’s account connects Jesus to the line of David through his mother, thus connecting Jesus both legally and physically. That’s important for the fact that Jesus came both to fulfill the law and prophecy. Matthew establishes Jesus connection to David through David’s son Solomon. Luke does that through David’s son Nathan. Joseph came from Solomon’s line and Mary from Nathan’s line. (MORE on that tomorrow…good stuff!)

Luke, led of the Spirit, went through the pains of connecting Jesus to Adam that he might correctly establish Jesus as the true Son of God as a man on earth. The first Adam lost his title because of his sin. Jesus came to reclaim that title by being sinless and thusly being accepted by the Father. Jesus took on the same difficulties of Adam, yet He did so with success. By Jesus’ success at remaining sinless and subsequent offering of Himself for our sins, He bought back (redeemed) the privilege of mankind to be called the children of God again. Of course, we know that only happens as we accept this gift that Jesus has purchased for us.

Many folk may think that Jesus has no connection with them. By Jesus’ family tree alone, we can determine that He is connected to all men. By His death on the cross and His rising from the dead we can join with Him in the everlasting family tree and be connected as heirs to the grace of God forever.

I do not think that the royal family of Great Britain will go through any pains to connect themselves to Tim Bowes. I do not think they will even try! God, on the other hand, went through great pains to reestablish contact with me. He reached out across the centuries and sent me a personal love letter / invitation calling me to a great family reunion. That letter was signed in blood by Christ Jesus who bids me come and enjoy the bonds of family again.

That same invitation is open to all who would come. I am so thankful to be in the family tree of Jesus. He purchased that right and privilege for me and for you. This earthly family may forget me; they may disown me; they may not even recognize my existence. God has done none of those things. No, indeed not; in fact, He remembered me even when I wouldn’t think of Him. Thank you God for bringing me back to your family!