Have you ever read over or skipped the genealogies in the Scriptures? It’s easy to do. I just read Luke 3 this morning (as part of the Reading Plan I developed for 2022), and it ends with the Genealogy of Christ… and for some reason I was captivated, and I got excited as I started hearing the names…. then I got to the last verse, and I was so touched (even though I knew it was coming). Do you know what I’m talking about? If not, don’t cheat by going there now. Read on.
I think the fact that I read the Whole Chapter, and didn’t just read the Genealogy helped me to get into the story.
I heard about John the Baptist, and I was transported into the time, and his calling Israel to repentance after such a dry spiritual dry spell in the land. And then came the expectation of the people regarding this wild man in the wilderness. – “Is He the one?!”
Then THE One, the actual One, comes on the scene and is Baptized, and hears the words, exactly the words, every child wants to hear from His Dad. “You are My Beloved Son, in You I am Well-Pleased.” (And you imagine that in Christ, that’s what God says about you!)
And then you get to the Genealogy, and your goal is to read the whole New Testament, so you don’t skip it and you realize that He is the one connected to all of these OT characters. You hear of how Jesus, comes from the line of David and Jesse and Boaz (remember the Ruth story) and Judah and Jacob and Isaac and Abraham back in time to Noah, and back further all the way to Adam, and then you hear that Last verse, and it hits you! And then you realize, “that is my heritage too.”
Its so profound. If you are inspired to read that…don’t just read the Genealogy… read the whole Chapter to set the stage.
God’s Word is Alive!
Pro Tip: If you consider the Genealogy beginning with the Declaration in Luke 3:22, you’ll notice that the Genealogy starts and ends with the Son of God.
