Life of Jesus 2

The Genealogy of Jesus

Matthew 1:1-17

Parallel verses: Luke 3:23-38.

Questions

1. What is your favorite verse or set of verses? Why?
2. Did you learn anything from the reading or find anything particularly cool? What?
3. Was there anything unclear in the passage that you have questions about? What are they?

Summary of reading

This section focuses on Jesus’ ancestors. The main reading is Jesus’ lineage through his father Joseph. The parallel passage is very different, first of all because it traces Jesus’ lineage through his mother Mary. But there are other differences. Luke goes all the way back to Adam, while Matthew starts at Abraham. But even considering just Abraham onward, Luke has many more generations listed, suggesting that Matthew intentionally skipped some. We also see that in Matthew, the lineage is traced through the kings.

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Devotions based on reading

Matthew 1:3-6 (Finding the Unexpected in Jesus’ Ancestry).

This is part of a devotional on the Life of Jesus, based on a study using the Harmony of the Gospels. The full listing can be found under the menu 90 Days with Jesus.

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Finding the Unexpected in Jesus’ Ancestry (Matthew 1:3-6)

“Judah [was] the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” — Matthew 1:3-6 (NIV)

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I generally find genealogies boring. I don’t like reading long lists of anything, actually. But in this genealogy of Jesus, and in particular focusing on these four verses, I see things that just grab my attention. I see memories of scandal, ethnic diversity mixed in with the Jewish identity, and women being highlighted in what is typically a male-oriented affair of bloodlines, with the mention of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba (Solomon’s mother).

Why did Matthew, who was writing primarily to Jewish people, include these? It’s not clear. Maybe he wanted to remind them that in the midst of all the promises of the Messiah coming to the Jewish people as a descendant of David, there were reasons to both be humble and to extend this gift from God beyond the confines of the people of Israel.

Continue reading “Finding the Unexpected in Jesus’ Ancestry (Matthew 1:3-6)”

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