We are children of God, and if children, heirs also

Luke 3:23-38 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Genealogy of Jesus

When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Yesterday’s text ended in Luke 3:21-22 saying:   Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”  Today’s text says: When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.   Whether the only begotten Son of God or traced through the lineage of Adam, Abraham and David, Jesus is the beloved Son of God.

Of the reasons that the genealogy of Jesus is recorded are that it is important to the Jewish people to know and record the tribal ancestry because the different tribes had different responsibilities and inheritances. Additionally, the genealogy of Jesus also confirms God’s promises and prophecies concerning His blessings and salvation; that the promise was through Abraham and that the eternal reign of the King of Kings would be through the line of David.  For myself though, I cannot help but to marvel at the beautiful picture of God’s redemption that is revealed in the genealogy of Jesus. The genealogy is traced all the way back to Adam, who with Eve was the initiator of sin. The redemption of Christ was promised in Genesis 3:14-15 it says:  The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;  And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”  The redemption of Christ is for all sin from the fall of Adam and Eve up to now and in the future.

Look at just a few of the others who are listed in the genealogy of Christ. Seth is the son of Adam, the lineage fell to him because Cain killed his brother Abel. Moving on a few generations, we see Perez the son of Judah. Perez was born to Tamar, who was actually Judah’s daughter-in-law. The details can be found in Genesis 38. A bit later we see Obed, the son of Boaz, born to Ruth, the Moabitess. The story of Ruth is itself a beautiful picture of redemption. What is easily overlooked though is that she was a Moabitess. The origin of the Moabites is found in Genesis 19:30-38:  Lot went up from Zoar, and stayed in the mountains, and his two daughters with him; for he was afraid to stay in Zoar; and he stayed in a cave, he and his two daughters. Then the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him that we may preserve our family through our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. On the following day, the firstborn said to the younger, “Behold, I lay last night with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father.” So they made their father drink wine that night also, and the younger arose and lay with him; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.

Of course, there is David, God’s chosen king of Israel to whom He promised that his descendants would be on the throne forever. David was a great warrior, worshipper and king. He was also an adulterer and a murderer. Surely, we could dig more deeply and find the sin or sins in the lives of others listed in the genealogy. The truth is as it says in Romans 3:10-12;23:  as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;  There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God;  All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Yet through the redemption of Christ, Romans 8:14-17 says:  all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.  We now also are in the line of Christ. We are redeemed from sin, past present and future, through the cross. As He said of Jesus, God also says of each one who believes, ‘This is my beloved child in you I am well pleased.’

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for You redemption, granted to me through the cross. Abba Father, I am Your child, a fellow heir with Christ.  Amen.