“This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab. Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah). Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram. Jehoram was the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh. Manasseh was the father of Amon. Amon was the father of Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon). After the Babylonian exile: Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud. Abiud was the father of Eliakim. Eliakim was the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok. Zadok was the father of Akim. Akim was the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar. Eleazar was the father of Matthan. Matthan was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah. All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.”
Matthew 1:1-17 NLT
Matthew begins with the family tree of Jesus. Even though Joseph was not Jesus’ paternal father, he was still Jesus’ legal father, and so Matthew listed Joseph’s genealogy. Matthew also compressed some of the family tree so that it would show a pattern of “fourteen generations,” revealing God’s timing and plan—Jesus was born at just the right time. Matthew included four women in his genealogy, which is a very unique feature. Two of these women were not Jewish, which emphasizes the universal salvation of God. Two of these women also had unique and even scandalous features to their childbirth, which not only shows that God loves sinners, but sets up the story of Mary’s birth. Mary’s birth did not have sin, but it was unique.
Our heritage is important. God, of course, has no heritage. He is before all, everlasting to everlasting. He is the uncreated Creator. What wonder that God became a human! Not just appearing as a human; He was born into our world and had ancestors. Jesus understands the highs and lows of family history (some of the people listed in His family tree are heroes, some are not). The heritage of Jesus was written because it is important.
A family tree is easy to ignore, but our families are a big part of who we are. Don’t ignore your heritage, and don’t be confined to it either. Rise up and fulfill the calling the Lord has on your life. Remember most of all that you are part of God’s family.
What are some of the highs and lows of your family heritage? Why is it important to see yourself as part of God’s family?
