7 Miraculous Observations on the Genealogy of Jesus
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A few years ago, my sister and I decided to send off saliva samples to reveal our ancestry. We were excited to see the history of our relatives, as well as our family origins. The results came in, and although we did not discover anything very surprising, we did have a firmer grasp on our heritage.
Why is it important to know where we came from? It tells the story of us. It reveals how we got to where we are today.
In Matthew 1, the beginning of the New Testament, we read a detailed documentation of the family history of Christ. This is still extremely significant to us today.
Think back on the names of your relatives. How far back have you gotten? I tried once to compile the names of family members, and could only get back a few generations. The Scriptures provide 42 generations in Jesus’ genealogy. This is no small amount of information. This is miraculous. The detailed account provides evidence of Jesus’ fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah.
Matthew 1:1 says, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Check out seven observations on the genealogy of Jesus.
1. Jesus Is the Messiah
Matthew 1 begins by clearly stating that Jesus is the Messiah. This is the reason for this chapter in the Bible. He is telling you the “why.” When we first look at a chapter like this, we can easily roll our eyes and avoid reading the long list of names, deeming it insignificant. However, the Lord has intentionally placed this information in His word for us to read.
2. David and Abraham Are Specially Mentioned
Matthew 1:1 specifically mentions Jesus as the son of David and the son of Abraham. Out of the five covenants in the Bible, the Davidic and the Abrahamic were given as promises of the coming Savior. God told Abraham that He would bless him and make him into a great nation (Genesis 12:1-9). He told David that He would establish His kingdom through the line of David and his throne will be forever (2 Samuel 7:8-17).
3. The Words “Genealogy” and “Genesis” Are Connected
The Greek word for genealogy in Matthew 1:1 is “geneseōs.” It means, “of the genealogy.” You can see the word is very similar to the word Genesis. In the Greek, the word Genesis actually means, “A book of one’s lineage, used of birth, nativity.” In the first book in the Old Testament and the first book of the New Testament, we see God providing a lineage. In Genesis 1:1, He tells us that He created all and He was outside of time. In the New Testament, He shares that He came to us through an earthly lineage which He had promised.
The idea of a new beginning at the start of both books gives us excitement at their correlation. God is revealing first that He has no origin, and secondly that Jesus in the flesh is the perfect fulfillment of the family line that He was supposed to appear from in the world. God’s plans are always perfectly executed. His ways are so much higher than we could ever imagine.
Genealogy is very important in the book of Genesis. We read of many family lines that are preserved in history. Genesis 3:15 says, “And I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”
Throughout the book we see the line of Seth and the line of Cain. We see this battle of good and evil take place from the moment humanity sinned in the garden. They were looking forward to this coming Messiah. Everything that happened and all of the names taken down were leading up to the death and resurrection of our Savior Jesus.
4. Joseph Was God’s Choice to Fulfill His Promise
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. However, Jesus’ earthly father would need to be in the line of Abraham and David in order to fulfill the prophecies. Women traditionally take on their husbands last names in marriage and children have their father’s last names. In the Jewish culture, it was very important for the man’s family line to be recognized. Joseph was in the direct lineage for this to be possible for Jesus to take His name.
“And Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. 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” (Matthew 1:16-17).
Joseph was invited to take Mary to be his wife even though he knew this child would not be his biological son. Jesus, the Son of God came into this world by the miraculous conception of the Holy Spirit. Because of the Lord’s great sovereignty and Joseph’s obedience to Him, Jesus was born into a family which fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies and covenants. We can ponder how Jesus knew what it was like to be a biological and an adopted son. He truly does relate in every way to us (Hebrew 4:15).
5. Jews, Gentiles, Sinners, and Righteous People Are Included
Another beautiful connection is Galatians 3:28, which says “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” When we look at the people mentioned in the family line of Christ, we see Jews, Gentiles, sinners, and righteous people. From holy men to murderers, from prostitutes to the virgin Mary. Jesus makes it clear that there is none righteous and whatever the sin struggles and history of a person, through Him, we can have hope and salvation (Romans 3:10).
6. There Are Four Unique Women in His Genealogy
There are four women mentioned in the genealogy of Christ. They played valuable roles in Biblical history. Rahab was a former prostitute, Ruth was a foreign widow, Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife) was a victim of King David’s adultery, and Mary was a teenager impregnated by the Holy Spirit. This is incredible information. God unashamedly named these women in the genealogy so that the world would know of His beautiful redemptive love.
7. This Points Towards a Larger Spiritual Family
The physical genealogy of Jesus is extremely significant. It is also valuable for us to remember that Jesus did not marry or have physical children on this earth, but those who believe in Him are called God’s children.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1-2).
This genealogy and hope of Jesus reminds believers everywhere that we are now in His family. We are the children of God. We are in His lineage forever. Our names are in the book of life, always. We can celebrate His faithfulness to His Word forever and live out this identity every day.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Liudmila Chernetska
