Day 1: Root of Jesse and Joseph's Family Tree

By




Isaiah 11:1-5
Romans 15:4-13 
Matthew 1:1-17
Luke 3:23-33
  It’s no surprise that passages like Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-33 aren’t generally printed on coffee mugs. We usually skip the “begat begat begat” sections of the Bible—the genealogies—because… well…
Genealogies are tedious.
But it must have also been tedious to pass prophecies from one generation to the next—waiting and waiting for them to come true.
Yet the Gospel of Matthew opens with the proclamation that 42 generations have been waiting for the promised Messiah (all the way back to Abraham in Genesis 12!). 28 of those generations have been hoping and longing and waiting for a king like David with the wisdom of Solomon  (Solomon the son of David who was the son of Jesse)…..and here,
“Finally here!” proclaims the  genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17
“The Messiah—from the royal family of Jesse—is here.”
“We finally have Joseph, the husband of Mary,
of whom Jesus was born, who is called Messiah!”
~Matthew 1:16
“And look! He’s in the royal family tree of Jesse.
Just like Isaiah said!”

(on the flip side, the family tree in Luke connects Jesus all the way back to Adam in Genesis 1. This means that God directly stepped into relationship with ALL humanity—even and especially the sinners. God worked through sinners in human history to bring Jesus into the world. Moreover, it means that these 'boring' genealogies tell the story of a God who has worked for generations to bring salvation into history)
Prayer: Lord God, you stepped into time
in a very real way.
Connect my life to Your story, and help me to live into it.
Make us a generation who connects your lineage to the world.
Amen.

Want more? Check out this online Jesse Tree that tells the salvation story in the Old Testament


Kids Corner:

Look at some of the names in Jesus’ genealogy or family history in Matthew 1:1-17  and/or Luke 3:23-38. Can you find Joseph?  (1:16 and 3:23).  Try to think about how long people were waiting for Jesus to come into the world… How do you think Joseph felt when he realized that the promised Messiah was finally coming into the world? How do YOU feel?

Do more Together:
  • How many generations back does YOUR history go? Ask your family to help draw some of your “genealogy” or family tree.  (Do you think YOUR family might be connected to Jesus?)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seventh Symbol of the Jesse Tree: 12 Tribes of Israel

By
Image
Seventh Symbol of the Jesse Tree: 12 Tribes of Israel And Israel (previously named Jacob) had 12 sons who didn't all get along (despite their Father's dying attempt to gather them together for blessing and peace...). These sons became the 12 tribes of Israel. Genesis 49:1-28  God could have chosen any tribe or any family lineage--God could have skipped the family drama and tribal violence of the Old Testament tribes, but God chose to remain faithful to those ancient promises. God chose to root new  life and new  peace in a previously violent story. Praise be to God!  Just for fun: Which of the Twelve Tribes of Israel are you? (online personality quiz)  Tribe of Jesus: · Matthew 1:1–6 and Luke 3:31-34  describe Jesus as the tribe of Judah . ( “Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.” ~Revelation 5:5) ·   Mary, Jesus’ mother, was also related to ...
Read more

Eleventh Jesse Tree Symbol: Gideon's Clay Pitcher

By
Image
Eleventh Jesse Tree Symbol: Gideon's clay pitcher The Israelites enter the promised land, but the next generation stops worshipping God. When enemy armies attack and conquer them, the  Israelites turn back to God and cry out. God--in grace--raises up a judges (like Gideon) who leads Israel back to victory.  Gideon 6:11-16, 7:19-23 (or all of 6-8 if you're feeling ambitious)   Gideon--Peace by Karlie Harper I love the story of Gideon because it is an underdog story. In this story we see a man who is so full of doubt of himself that he does not recognize the Spirit of the Lord sitting right in front of him. For someone like me who battles doubt and anxiety, this story is particularly meaningful.  In the verses we see the Lord trying to build up Gideon’s courage by calling him a “might warrior” and telling him “Peace, do not be afraid”. But Gideon, not unlike myself, doesn’t listen to his Lord right away. If we read the story we go on to learn how Gideon—...
Read more

Twelfth Symbol of the Jesse tree: Ruth's wheat

By
Image
Jesse Tree Symbol #12: Ruth, shaft of wheat I n the days of the Judges, famine left an Israelite woman named Naomi widowed and without both her sons. As she moved back to her hometown, one daughter-in-law (Ruth) stayed with her. This  penniless  foreigner--this outsider--Ruth was cared for and brought in to the Israelite family tree... the roots of Christ  Ruth 1:6-9,15-18; 2:1-12 and 16 Matthew 1:1-5                                       Reflection b y Peg Powell After reading these passages in Ruth, I was reminded of one of my favorite stories. Long ago, there was a mayor who lived with his only son in the hills of China. None of them in this village owned a horse, but one day, out of the blue, a stallion appeared at the mayor’s home.  All of the people exclaimed, “How lucky you are.” The mayor said, “We’ll see.” A few days later, the stallion disa...
Read more