ADVENT 2015 - GENEALOGIES

For the next 18 days, I will be sharing our 2015 Advent Devotionals, written by Diana Barker.

“The Mighty One, God, the Lord speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.” Psalm 50:1 

The Bible records several lists of ancestors, called genealogies. A genealogy is defined as the record of someone’s lineage; the study of family pedigrees; or ancestral lines. Genesis 5:1, 2 states, “This is the written account of Adam’s line. 

When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them ‘man.’” I Chronicles 1: 9-44 relates the genealogies of Israel. The recording of all these names proves God is interested in each individual, not just nations. These records also taught the exiles about their spiritual heritage as a nation and to renew their faithfulness to God. 

In early times, the Hebrews passed their beliefs and family history orally from one generation down through the next. Most people could not write so stories were told verbally from one family to another. A genealogy helped the people remember these stories. Some genealogies in the Bible are believed to record the entire history of a family, tribe, or nation. Others were compressed history. The phrase “the father of” can mean “the ancestor of “since not every generation of ancestors was noted. 

An example of this is Matthew 1:17. “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to exile to the Christ.” Genealogies were included in Bibles to confirm its promise that the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, would be a descendant of both King David and Abraham. Matthew knew a Jewish person’s family line was very important to prove his or her standing as one of God’s chosen people. 

A lost genealogy put his or her status as a Jew at risk. Matthew 1:1 says, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.” This tells us Jesus was a descendant of the father of all Jews, Abraham, and a direct descendant of David which fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about his lineage. 

Jesus’ genealogy ends in Matthew 1:16 stating, “and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Joseph is not listed as the father of Jesus because Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant. Joseph being the husband of Mary gave Jesus royal lineage. Matthew traced Jesus’ genealogy back to Abraham showing Jesus was related to all Jews. Luke, however, was a Gentile, physician, and the first historian of the early church. He traced the genealogy of Jesus back to Adam showing the Gentiles that Jesus is the Savior of all people. 

Although, Luke was not an eyewitness of Jesus ministry, he understood the necessity of accurately preserving true eyewitness accounts. In Luke 1:1-4 we hear, “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it

seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.” Luke has written the most detailed account of Jesus’ birth, childhood, and development. 

This Gospel, more than the others, gives specific instances where Jesus displays concern for women. In Luke 3:23 we learn, “Now Jesus was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli.” Heli was probably Joseph’s father-in-law, therefore, making this Mary’s genealogy which Luke would have received personally from Mary. This proves Mary’s genealogy also traces back to Adam. In Luke’s writings to the Gentiles, he emphasized Jesus as the Savior of all people.