The Music of Christmas, Day 2

 Echoing Down the Generations

 

Read: Matthew 1:1-17 & Luke 3:23-38

… the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

 

 

As we read yesterday, John didn’t include details of Jesus’ birth. Instead, he traced the story of Jesus back to the very beginning of time itself. Matthew and Luke then provide the link between Creation and Jesus by following the genealogical trail down to Bethlehem. Though modern Bible readers are often tempted to skip over genealogies and long lists of hard-to-pronounce names, these passages are, nonetheless, an important part of the biblical record. Genealogy allows those of us on this side of the resurrection to better grasp the chronology of God’s big story. 

 

These accounts also highlight important yet easy to miss relationships. For example, it is the genealogy at the conclusion of Ruth’s story where readers discover that this Moabite heroine is the great-grandmother of the revered King David. Genealogies help us place people in context of the overarching story the Bible tells.

 

While today’s assigned passages may not be thrilling, they are rich with information about who Jesus is, which is difficult to cover from every angle in a short devotional. Both Matthew and Luke trace His lineage back to King David. This is an important detail because of God’s repeated promise that Messiah would come from the line of David. Also, notice that these genealogies do not match. Bible students have argued and theorized over this for centuries. Again, our goal here, today, is not exploring all possible explanations. Still, I encourage you to grab a commentary or study Bible and dig into these passages for yourself.

 

For now, let’s focus on one simple and critical insight these verses produce. While it’s true that both lists contain a veritable ‘who’s who’ of Bible heroes -– David, Abraham, Isaac, Adam -– for the most part, we read the names of unknown and forgotten people. Heli, Neri, Mela, and his father Menna. And don’t forget the women listed. Matthew certainly didn’t. He mentions five in his account. Admittedly, by modern standards, we would not consider this a fair and thorough representation. However, Matthew’s inclusion of women, even a few, was unusual and noteworthy for his time. 

 

Take a moment to think about the unknown and unnamed. Men and women who lived, worked, parented, suffered, celebrated, fought, and died. People who prayed for God to deliver them yet died never knowing how their families would be eternally woven into the fabric of Messiah’s story. The promised Messiah they would never see. The answer to oft-breathed prayers was closer than ever. Perhaps some died having lost hope while others maintained an unwavering faith. These folks are not remembered for heroic acts of faith, but they forever stand on the pages of our salvation story. I want that to be true of my family. For all the ways someone gains notoriety these days, none compares with the eternal recognition and benefit of being in the family of Christ. There were famous and powerful people alive when Menna and his wife gave birth to their son Mela, but their names are since lost. Their pursuit of power and fame may have achieved short-term notoriety, but it did not yield eternity. Only the name of Jesus does that.

 

One final observation: Jesus’ family tree contains what many would consider a list of the Bible’s “Least Likely to Succeed.” People like Tamar who tricked her father-in-law into fathering her child. Perez, the child of that affair. Rahab, a foreign-born prostitute. Ruth, another foreigner and young, penniless widow. Bathsheba, David’s mistress, and Manasseh, who is called the wickedest king to ever sit on the throne in Jerusalem. Even the so-called “heroes” in Jesus’ lineage were far from perfect. Noah had an unforgettable drunk-and-naked moment. David was a serial womanizer. And Abraham tried to take matters into his own hands when God seemed slow in delivering His promise. These well-known heroes aren’t recognized in this list for their good works. It is only because of their relation to Jesus.

 

The next time you reflect on your family tree, consider the pain, failures, hopes, and dreams of those who came before you. Failure and brokenness are in our DNA. God could have sent Jesus down on a cloud, untouched and unaffected by the heritage of sin. Instead, He came into the family of humankind, familiar with the unnoticed, forgotten, broken, defeated, and damaged. He chose this heritage and offers us a better one. 

 

 

Son of Man,

 

Our families are broken and fragmented. We are powerless to escape the cycle of sin. 

But You, Lord Jesus, have entered into humanity — into our families — to save us from sin and make us Yours. Thank You for the sacrifice of the manger and cross.

Amen.

The Music of Christmas is available in print or digital formats.