Lineage of our King

Oh how I have enjoyed being in His presence so far during this Christmas season! Christmastime has still been overwhelmingly busy, a little chaotic, and somewhat exhausting, but I look forward to the daily, restorative time spent in His presence where He fills me up, quenches my thirst, and gives me peace, strength, and pure joy! I invite you to continue with me on this journey during this season to truly focus your heart and eyes on Him. Even more importantly, He is inviting you to come to Him. To rest in His presence. To experience His love and blessings.

If you have read the other posts in the series “ ‘O Come All Ye Faithful,” you will recall that we compared the story of Jesus’ birth in Matthew, Luke, and John. I loved the new things He taught me through His Word and prayer about His son’s birth. I pray that as we continue, I will continue to recognize Him as the true King of Kings, Son of Man, and Son of God who came to deliver us.

This week, we will be looking at Jesus’ lineage as found in Matthew 1:1-17. Remember that Matthew starts his Gospel off with Jesus’ genealogy in hopes of convincing the Jewish people that Jesus is the true Messiah who is a descendant of David who fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament. Before you bail on me, let me offer something that may help you stay with me.

I stated in an earlier blog post that many times in the past when I read through Matthew 1, I would skim over the overwhelmingly long list of unfamiliar names that give the readers a look at Jesus’ family tree. The names were often meaningless to me because

1. Why is that person important again?
2. How do you even pronounce that name?
3. How does this connect to me?

If I am perfectly honest, it wasn’t until recently that I realized the incredible importance, beauty and love found in the stories of the Old Testament. I have always loved Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament, but I often felt that the Old Testament could be a bit scary at times, a bit difficult to understand with lots of lineages and difficult names to pronounce and places to envision on a jumbled map (okay, maybe more than just a bit difficult), and a bit disconnected from the mercy, love, and forgiveness found in the New Testament.

What I have learned in recent years is that it is exactly the opposite…the Old Testament is a beautiful compilation of connected stories of God’s promises and Jesus’ ancestors that leads us into the New Testament where we find ourselves in Bethlehem meeting the Bridge that links the old and the new.

Thanks to a wonderful Bible study by Angie Smith called Seamless: Understanding the Bible as One Complete Story, and a mentor whose love for God’s Word is inspiring, I can now see more clearly the connecting of dots along the way, the intertwining love story, the seamless thread that runs through the Bible carrying us to our Savior.

So now when I read the genealogies I look for the names of those people in scripture that I recognize. I try to re-imagine their stories and how God used them regardless of their position in life, abilities, or experience. I try to connect the dots that make up a bigger picture.

As we continue to focus on Him and His birth, let’s reflect on the beautiful family tree of our Savior and how God had a seamless plan all along. And guess what…His plan for you and for me is just as seamless and perfect today as it was then.

I cannot wait to delve into His lineage…and ours. How thankful I am to be a daughter of God.

Shared with love,

Lindsay