Tag: christ’s authority

Walk on Water? Why? (Matthew 14:22-33)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jesus Walks on Water, by Konstantin Alexejewitsch Korowin, 1890 

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

“Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (New International Version)

In the New Testament Gospels, we see Jesus for who he is – Son of God and true Sovereign of the universe – seeking to reconcile people to God through his life, miracles, and teaching. In the Gospels we also see Christ’s disciples for who they are – a rag-tag bunch who express both belief and doubt, and experience both faith and failure.

The reality of the Christian life is that it is a sort of three-steps-forward and two-steps-backward kind of experience. The expectation that we will “succeed” and have everything go hunky-dory each time we step out in faith, is far from how things actually work in both the world and in God’s kingdom. Doubt and failure are important experiences for the believer in Jesus.

Without failure, there is no Christian life. Why? Because it means we are still in the boat.

It’s evidence that we never left the safety of established routines and responded to God’s command to step out of our comfort zone, and boldly go where we’ve never gone before.

Our failures may, like Peter, be colossal bellyflops. Yet, Jesus is there – extending grace to Peter and helping him, even in his failure of faith. Failure does not define us; it isn’t our identity. Jesus is Lord over everything, including storms, hardship, and trouble. 

Yes, there are a lot of scary things in life. Learning to ride a bike was scary. Driving for the first time on an icy road was scary. Getting married and having kids was scary. Admitting a fault, mistake, or weakness is scary. Being vulnerable with another person is scary.

It can even be scary to be at church. Why? Because we might fail, and it may crush us.

The fear of failure, however, need not control our lives. Why? Because grace overcomes everything.

We all find ourselves, at times, caught midway between faith and doubt. But to know this situation is to experience grace. If the worst scenario you worry about in your head would actually come to pass, it will still never change the reality that God loves you! And it will not stop Jesus from extending his hand to you in a life-saving grip of grace. 

Fear melts away when we keep our eyes on Jesus. So, we must focus on Christ, instead of fixating on the waves around us. The truth sets us free. Therefore, let’s notice five truths about Jesus that help us overcome the fear of failure and embrace a life of faith.

1. Jesus is a person of prayer

Jesus was deeply dependent on his heavenly Father. His life exhibited the necessities of simple prayer and obedience. If Jesus found the need for solitude and prayer for his life and ministry, how much more to we need it!? 

The Lord had his disciples get into the boat and go out on the lake. Jesus knew they were about to face a storm. The boat ended up getting thrown around by the waves. Even though the disciples were doing God’s will by going out on the lake, they were not spared from adversity.  

Jesus wanted his disciples to experience the storm. Why? Because it is through the storm that we learn faith.  

Faith is developed through experience and adversity. Faith that never endures distress, never grows and matures. Faith must be exercised – and if it isn’t, it atrophies and becomes useless. 

Show me a person with great faith, and I’ll show you a person that has gone through a boatload of adversity and hurt, having allowed Jesus to grace them with healing.

2. Jesus is present with us, and this presence brings an end to fear

Being in the middle of a lake during a storm did not prevent Jesus from being present with the disciples – he just walked on the water to be with them. Even though the disciples had just participated in the miracle of Jesus feeding the five thousand, another miracle was not on their radar – which is why they did not recognize Jesus and were afraid when they saw him.

While afraid, we don’t see Jesus, even when he’s right in front of our faces. Why? Because we don’t expect him to be there and mistake him for a ghost.  

When the disciples cried out in fear, Jesus responded. I used to have a factory job, training workers. When the training was completed, I had the trainees evaluate our time together. The top response I received is that my presence helped them to learn their job – the freedom to fail time and time again without judgment. Having me there to rescue them, when things got too much, built confidence that they could do it on their own.

3. Jesus desires those who follow him to imitate him

Jesus walked on water. Jesus invited Peter to walk on water. Peter was not chided by Jesus for getting out of the boat, but for doubting that he could continue in the miracle that was happening. 

Jesus isn’t merely interested in disciples being able to regurgitate his teaching. Why? Because he wants us to exercise our learning through actual deeds of faith.  

Once the command of Jesus was given to Peter, “Come”, then walking on water became only a matter of trust.

“Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”

G.K. Chesterton

We understandably get nervous when a crazy Jesus and an unpredictable Holy Spirit call us to change by getting out of the friendly confines of the boat. Why? After all, we might fail. 

However, it is at those times that we bank on God’s Word and promises. The Apostle James said that if we find ourselves lacking wisdom to deal with the unpredictable and unknowable, we are to ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and will be given to us. (James 1:5)

Christ Walking on the Sea, by Natali Fedorova

Peter responded to his predicament by crying out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out and saved Peter from his own doubt and lack of faith. Jesus called Peter a “little-faith.”

Many people have lived too long with the notion that God is some stern angry deity who is constantly displeased with sinful people, and that only through perfection will God ever be happy with us. The truth is that Jesus wants us to imitate him; and, when we fail, he is there to pick us up. 

4. Jesus has the authority to settle the storm when he is ready to do it

Jesus is King. Christ is Sovereign of the world. He will bring the crisis to an end according to his own good pleasure and good timing. Rather than spending all our emotional capital by worrying or conniving to get out of a situation, we can trust God and keep our eyes on Jesus.  Our job is to believe; God’s job is everything else.

5. Jesus’ power led the disciples to acknowledge who he is

Worship happens when we see Jesus as he really is, the Son of God. Flat, dull, boring worship comes from flat, dull, boring Christians who are unable to see the power of Jesus in their lives. We discover the power of God when we are in a situation which requires God’s strength to deliver us. Grasping Jesus as the Son of God is more than a verbal confession of faith; it is being able to trust him, like getting out of a boat in the middle of a lake.

We are to live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us (Galatians 2:20). It doesn’t require much faith to pray that Aunt Mable’s bunions will feel better. It only requires a little faith to give a dollar when you have ten dollars. It takes no faith to discuss the weather and steer clear of hard conversations.

But it does require faith:

  • to pray for a miraculous healing every day without giving up for a little boy who is racked by epilepsy, and trust God to spare his life
  • to write a check for $100 to someone in need when you have exactly $100 in your checking account, and trust God to provide for you own necessities. 
  • to go off the grid of the routine schedule to have a difficult discussion about social justice, and trust God to act on Christ’s teachings. 
  • to live as though the mission of God in this world is the most important thing we could ever do, and trust God to step out and do it.

It would be great if we could pray and act without ever doubting or failing, yet the only way to do that is to never step out of the boat. Instead, live life. Trust God. And see what happens.

Holy God, help us, your people, to embrace the life that is truly life by stepping out of the boat.  May Jesus define our lives instead of letting failure define us. May we accept the grace that is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we are bold to pray. Amen.

The Gentle King (Matthew 21:1-11)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Triumphal Entry, by He Qi

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

“Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” (New International Version)

A Humble Leader

Gentle humility and strong leadership are not mutually exclusive concepts. They can and should co-exist together.

Los Angeles County traffic cops receive plenty of complaints about their work. After all, most motorists don’t think they deserve a ticket. Each complaint gets documented and placed in the officer’s personnel file. One officer, however, Deputy Sheriff Elton Simmons, made 25,000 traffic stops over a span of 20 years, without a single complaint on his record.

When his supervisor started looking through Simmons’ file, he was stunned to find plenty of commendations, but not a single complaint. It was so unusual, that a CBS News crew was assigned to follow Simmons in an attempt to learn his secret. They described Deputy Simmons as having a “pitch-perfect mix of authority and diplomacy” without a trace of arrogance or self-righteousness.

Although handing out plenty of tickets, they never came with a guilt trip.  Deputy Simmons described his mentality: “I’m here with you. I won’t look down at you.” 

One driver who got a ticket from Simmons said, “It’s his smile. How could you be mad at that guy?”  “Apparently, you can’t,” concluded the CBS News team. “Time after time, ticket after ticket, we saw Officer Simmons melt away a polar ice cap of preconceptions.”

A Meek Celebrity

As Jesus entered Jerusalem for the last week of his life, he was at the height of his fame. Christ’s teaching and healing ministry touched thousands of people. Jesus was the most famous celebrity to come into town since David captured the city a thousand years before. 

But Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem as a great and mighty warrior who conquered Jerusalem in a military battle. There is coming a time, at the end of the age, when Jesus will take on this role, but that was not his purpose on this occasion. 

Hosanna in the Highest, by Malaysian artist Hanna-Cheriyan Varghese

One of the challenges for people in every era is to properly balance scriptural truth. Many Jews emphasized King David’s victories in battle, and his great political dynasty, and so, tended to overlook that David was also a humble servant. 

King David showed steadfast love and kindness to his subjects and submitted himself to God in such a way that, even with opportunities to seize the kingship from Saul who was trying to take his life, he left vengeance to God alone.

Christ’s triumphal entry portrays Jesus as King, the Son of David, but as a gentle king. He embodied both powerful authority and gentle humility. Jesus wanted the crowd to understand that he was not like most kings – he was a lowly king. 

Jesus as a meek celebrity seemed so odd that many people saw that combination of gentle authority as being wishy-washy. Jesus didn’t fit any of the typical labels that people expected. They wondered, “Is he a Pharisee? Or a Zealot? What’s his position on the Romans?  How is he going to lead us out from under Gentile rule?” There was lots of anxiety and concern over Jesus; the people could not nail down exactly what kind of guy he was.

A Servant Pastor

Over the years, as a Pastor, many people have wanted to label me as something, but have had a hard time doing it. Am I liberal or conservative? liturgical or non-liturgical? open or closed to particular people or groups? e.g. LGBTQ folks, Black Lives Matter, etc.

The problem with all this is that it assumes you cannot be both, as if life is all either/or, instead of both/and. It makes ministry about choosing sides, instead of breaking down barriers.

Meekness and strength, gentleness and authority, humility and leadership, grace and truth, love and anger, are all meant to be together – not compartmentalized in sequestered ghettos of the mind.

Jesus sought to hold kingly authority and divine righteousness together, at the same time, all the time. Christ came into Jerusalem to face the cross and take upon himself the sin of the whole world. He came as a gentle king.

Yet, many people do not want this kind of leader because they think leadership is all about power – taking charge with strong authority, telling people what to do, and controlling every aspect of the realm.  

Jesus, at times, acts like a decisive and absolute authority. He knocks over the tables of the money changers in the temple, curses fig trees, and refuses to answer direct questions. But then he turns around and goes against the people’s expectations of him as a leader by riding on a lowly donkey, inviting tax collectors and prostitutes to join him, going after the lost, and embracing the least persons in society.

A Donkey Lord

Jesus displayed a combination that seemed confusing and wishy-washy to many. Christ is both sovereign lord, and humble servant. Jesus riding on a donkey seemed a strange fusion of authority and humility. 

On the one hand, a donkey was the beast of burden for most working class poor people. Donkeys are ordinary, and not like war horses. Kings didn’t ride into conquered cities on donkeys. But, on the other hand, the donkey is also linked to Messiah’s power and authority.

Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion!
    Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem!
    Look, your king is coming to you!
He comes triumphant and victorious,
    but humble and riding on a donkey—
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The Lord says,

“I will remove the war chariots from Israel
    and take the horses from Jerusalem;
    the bows used in battle will be destroyed.
Your king will make peace among the nations;
    he will rule from sea to sea,
    from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.” (Zechariah 9:9-10, GNT)

Jesus is the ultimate leader who uses his authority for the benefit of others, to bring peace. Jesus did not use his authority to consolidate power and squish enemies, but instead, gave his life so that others might live. 

Gentle and meek does not mean being a washrag or a limp noodle. Rather, it means to have power under control, e.g. a broke horse; it is power for useful purposes to serve people, not like other kings who were concerned with getting, consolidating, and keeping power, at all costs.

Jesus is the crucified Messiah; the modest leader; the lowly Lord; the God Man. We must hold it all, not emphasizing one aspect above another, so that we have the complete picture of Christ.

A Gracious Royal

Believers and followers of Jesus are royal children of the King. That means we live in the way of Jesus by bestowing grace to others. What does this “look like?”

  • In our families, Christian parents do not merely bark orders at kids, but love and support them by humbly and gently coming alongside and helping. 
  • In our neighborhoods, Christian citizens pray for the welfare of their neighbors, even and especially the ones who we may not like very well.   
  • In our work, Christian workers use their skills and abilities to serve others, transforming what we do from a secular job to a sacred vocation. 
  • In our daily life, Christians scan the horizon to seek people whom we might show God’s kindness, instead of just waiting for something to fall into our laps, if it ever does.

A Talking Donkey

From the Old Testament, we know that donkeys can talk (Numbers 22:21-38). If Christ’s donkey could speak, I imagine him saying: 

“King Jesus, why did you choose a lowly donkey like me to carry you to ride in your parade? Didn’t you have a friend who owned a horse – a spirited royal mount, fit for a king to ride? Why choose me, a small unassuming beast of burden, trained to plow and not to carry kings?”

It is a privilege to be a Christian. Perhaps you will say: 

“King Jesus, why did you choose me, a lowly unimportant person to bear you in my world today? I am poor and unimportant, trained to work, and not to carry kings – let alone the King of kings; and yet, you’ve chosen me to carry you in triumph in this world’s parade. King Jesus, keep me humble, so everyone may say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,’ and not ‘what a great Christian he is.’”

God of all, you gave your only begotten Son to take the form of a servant, and to be obedient, even to death on a cross: give us the same mind that was in Christ Jesus that, sharing in his humility, we may come to be with him in his glory, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing (Galatians 2:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Fourteen years after that first visit, Barnabas and I went up to Jerusalem and took Titus with us. I went to clarify with them what had been revealed to me. At that time I placed before them exactly what I was preaching to the non-Jews. I did this in private with the leaders, those held in esteem by the church, so that our concern would not become a controversial public issue, marred by ethnic tensions, exposing my years of work to denigration and endangering my present ministry.

Significantly, Titus, non-Jewish though he was, was not required to be circumcised. While we were in conference we were infiltrated by spies pretending to be Christians, who slipped in to find out just how free true Christians are. Their ulterior motive was to reduce us to their brand of servitude. We didn’t give them the time of day. We were determined to preserve the truth of the Message for you.

As for those who were considered important in the church, their reputation doesn’t concern me. God isn’t impressed with mere appearances, and neither am I. And of course these leaders were able to add nothing to the message I had been preaching. It was soon evident that God had entrusted me with the same message to the non-Jews as Peter had been preaching to the Jews.

Recognizing that my calling had been given by God, James, Peter, and John—the pillars of the church—shook hands with me and Barnabas, assigning us to a ministry to the non-Jews, while they continued to be responsible for reaching out to the Jews. The only additional thing they asked was that we remember the poor, and I was already eager to do that. (The Message)

The former devout Jew, Saul, had become the Christian apostle and missionary, Paul. His ministry was as radical and dramatic as his conversion to Christianity was.

The Struggle

Keep in mind that the earliest church was predominantly made up of Jewish Christians. They had to struggle with the relationship between their historic Judaism and their newfound Christianity. For many of them, Paul was doing the unthinkable; he not only purposely sought to reach Gentiles (non-Jewish people) with the message of Jesus Christ, but he also did not require them to be circumcised. For Paul, one did not have to first become Jewish before becoming Christian.

Paul doggedly sought to preserve the core essence and spirit of Christ’s message, that is, to proclaim the good news of forgiveness and new life through the person and work of Jesus – and not by means of retaining Jewish customs or laws, including circumcision.

The Main Thing

Christianity is more than set of beliefs and practices; it’s a way of life which can be summed up in three important words: faith, hope, and love. 

Both new believers in Jesus and veterans in the faith know from experience how difficult it can be to live the Christian life. One reason for this difficulty, even when we want to please the Lord, is due to the confusion that occurs between our inner feelings and our outer actions.

The Confusion

The confusion starts with the creation and fall of humanity. In the beginning, God created humans as persons with a divine/human relationship as central to daily life. (Genesis 1:26; 2:16-25) 

What’s more, God created people with the capacity to receive divine revelation through our ability to think and reason. (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10) 

Before disobedience entered the world, in the original state before humanity’s fall, all human functions were under complete control with an inner experience of unity and harmony with one another and God. (Genesis 1:31; 2:7, 16-25) 

It is imperative for us to recognize the distinction between our personal being and our personal functions. (Romans 1:21-32; 6:16-22; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Ephesians 4:21-32)

If we don’t grasp how cataclysmic the fall of humanity was, we are going to have big struggles with living the Christian life – illustrated in the way that Paul needed to fend off a bunch of professing Christians who still seemed spiritually stuck. 

The Disobedience

In Adam and Eve’s original disobedience to God, the authority for life was transferred from God to us so that our sinful bent is to call our own shots without God. The source of authority also got whacky, transferred from a holistic and synergistic approach of body, mind, emotions, and spirit to a one-dimensional approach of simply how we feel at any given moment.

If we fail to understand this dynamic, we will be continually frustrated with people because they do irrational things. For example, many church pastors are flabbergasted that parishioners do not simply take what they teach them and go and do it. Yet, if it were that simple, there would be no place for the Holy Spirit!

Unfortunately, there’s more. In humanity’s fall, we lost control of our capacity to function well. We are all now vulnerable to manipulation, too easily swayed by the surrounding culture, and, of course, Satan. (Ephesians 2:2-3; Galatians 5:16-21) 

As a result, our inner conscience has become confused. We are not always certain of right and wrong. We misunderstand what life is really supposed to be all about. 

We lose sight of the main thing. And, in that state, there’s no way we can keep the main thing the main thing.

Instead, we become obsessed with feeling comfortable and secure; so, we pursue false gods – leaving usdisappointed and with a lack of fulfillment in life.

The Good News

However, the good news is that through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, new life emerges; the bondage of sin is broken in our lives, and we are legally reinstated in a relationship with God in which the Lord is central in our daily life and the final authority. 

In this new relationship we can again receive truth through the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures. We regain control of our functions. 

Yet, unless we learn the Scriptures and growin a daily walk with Jesus, the practical experience of this relationship with all its freedom, joy, assurance,  power, and fruitfulness may be greatly limited. (Romans 7:14-25; 1 Corinthians 3:1-4)

Even though we have redemption and faith, it is still possible to regress and give in to our old ways of functioning. This is a big reason why Christians can experience conflict, doubt, fear, anxiety, frustration, disappointment, and confusion.

To live keeping the main thing the main thing means to grow in the experience and application Christ’s centrality and authority in our lives. 

The Awareness

We must, therefore, make daily decisions of faith, hope, and love based in who we are in Christ and recognize his authority in our lives. The following seven recognitions and awareness may be helpful for you in experiencing Christian freedom and unity:

  1. You are a person with the ability to function in faith, hope, and love as God’s beloved child in Christ (2 Corinthians 7:1; Romans 8:14-17)
  2. There is a difference between who you are and what you do (or don’t do).  Evil thoughts and emotions do not make you evil, anymore than fantasizing about being a unicorn makes you a unicorn.
  3. You can take charge of your actions and your life (Galatians 5:22-23)
  4. The key is the use of your will through living in harmony with revealed biblical truth. In other words, you really can make choices of faith, hope, and love, no matter the situation. (Romans 4:17-21; Psalm 56:3; Psalm 43:5-11)  
  5. Reject whatever is contrary to Scripture, reason, and conscience. Listen to your whole self. Unhealthy patterns of acting and speaking must be broken in Jesus’ name. (Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:5-9; Titus 2:11-12)
  6. Choose to obey the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures. Learn to think and act on the basis of truth. (Acts 27:25)
  7. Practicing the truth results in freedom, a re-patterning of thinking and functions, as well as the fruit of the Spirit. (John 8:32; Titus 2:11-14; Philippians 2:12-16)

The church is intended to be a supportive community of fellow redeemed people who worship and love Jesus together. 

Without sharing our collective learning of the Scriptures and daily struggles of faith, hope, and love, believers will inevitably be spiritually immature over the long haul. Instead, talk about your shared experiences of worship, Scripture reading, and Christian living. 

In doing so, God is glorified, the church is strengthened, and the cranky circumcisers are seen as the legalistic lunkheads they really are.

Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-17)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Jesus Christ by Liviu Dumitrescu, 2017

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Judah 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,

Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. (New International Version)

Jonathan Roumie as Jesus in the series “The Chosen”

You might be saying to yourself, “Really? You’re doing a reflection on this, a genealogy? Are you kidding?”

Why? Because all of Holy Scripture drips with grace, including genealogies.

The gospel of grace is the good news of Jesus; and, through the genealogy, we have the opportunity to understand and appreciate Christ better.

At the heart of Matthew’s gospel is a presentation of Jesus and Christ’s teaching which centers on the kingdom of God. Jesus is the King who fulfills all Old Testament promises. The genealogy is more than a chronicle of Christ’s lineage; it is a theological statement that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the anointed King of Israel, and the Savior of the world.

Who is Jesus?

Jesus is the Christ. The name “Jesus” means “God is salvation.” And “Christ” means “anointed one” (king). The name “Jesus Christ” communicates his person and his mission; he is the sovereign king who brings deliverance. 

Matthew, throughout his Gospel, takes pain to convey that Jesus is the King over an ethical kingdom of righteousness, and not a political kingdom. Therefore, Jesus is unlike King Herod or any other earthly king who seeks to have power and serve his own interests. Instead, Jesus uses his authority to serve others through love and grace; he doesn’t make subjects by coercion.

Jesus is the son of David 

Matthew establishes Christ’s pedigree by saying that Jesus was not some new kid on the block; he was anticipated for centuries. Jesus is the fulfillment of the covenant given to King David by God:

When the time comes for you to die, I will raise up a descendant of yours after you, one of your own sons, to succeed you, and I will establish his kingship. He is the one who will build me a temple, and I will establish his throne forever. I will become his father and he will become my son, and I’ll never withdraw my faithful love from him as I did from the one before you. I’ll install him in my house and in my kingdom forever, and his throne will be established forever. (1 Chronicles 17:11-14, CEB)

Jesus is a king in the same line and spirit of David. For example, when David became king, he didn’t immediately set out to annihilate all of the previous king’s (Saul) sons. That’s often how kings did it back then. Instead, David used his power to scan the land and show kindness to them. (2 Samuel 9:1-16)

Jesus is the son of Abraham

Matthew also establishes Christ’s pedigree as the rightful king of the universe by saying that Jesus is the fulfillment of the covenant given to Abraham:

I will make you a great nation,
I will bless you.
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you, I will curse.
Through you every family on earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:2-3, GW)                 

Abraham was called by God because of sheer grace. There was nothing special about Abraham, other than the fact that God called him out of a pagan land to create a people for God’s own possession. Jesus is the fulfillment of that promise; all nations are blessed by coming to Christ the Lord and King.

From Abraham to David

Matthew made a statement about God through the genealogy: the Lord is merciful and full of grace. Grace is seen in the inclusion of four women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. 

The use of genealogy was a conventional form in the ancient world for establishing the credibility of a king’s right to rule. What was highly unconventional was including women. Matthew purposefully included them for two reasons:

  1. Women are central to the kingdom of God and play a pivotal role in the New Covenant.
  2. The women in the genealogy are Gentiles and were all notorious for their sexual exploits. 

Matthew highlighted a gospel of grace. No matter your gender, race, or even sordid past, the kingdom message is for everyone and is not an exclusive club. 

God is acting to redeem and reconcile the world. The gospel is not bound in any way by scandal, race, or gender. Jesus is the Savior and uses whomever he wants to extend his gospel of grace. 

From Solomon to the Exile

The men listed in this part of the genealogy are all kings; most of them not very good kings; and many of them downright evil. Because of this, God’s wrath was aroused, and the people were expelled from the land for following the unrighteous kings. 

However, grace overcomes everything. God’s purposes are still providentially accomplished despite human failure and sin. The lineage of Jesus was neither cut off nor thwarted because of powerful men who went in the wrong direction. In the end, God’s promises prevail.

Though the mountains be shaken
    and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
    nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10, NIV)

From the Exile to Christ

God is faithful, despite human unfaithfulness. Even though the people didn’t listen to the prophets during the reign of the earthly kings, the Lord quietly preserved a remnant who carried on the kingdom ethic. 

“I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.” (Jeremiah 23:3, NRSV)

Instead of extermination, God sent a Savior to settle the sin issue once for all. God’s grace and providence reign supreme in the universe.

Jesus is the Promised King

Matthew’s genealogy is presented with 3 sets of 14. The number 14 is symbolic: the name “David” has three consonants in Hebrew, and the number value of that name is 4+6+4=14. By modern standards, this doesn’t make much sense. However, by ancient standards, this was a conventional use of genealogy. And so, Matthew’s original readers got the point that David is the center of the genealogy; and Jesus is the promised king to come. It’s a creative way of pointing to Jesus, which connected to people accustomed to using numerology for making arguments.

It’s good to think about avenues of communication that speak to the people we want to reach. For example, in raising three girls, playing tea party with dolls was a way to love them and have a conversation on their level.  

In other words, we must ask: How do I need to change in order to reach the people I want to reach? (and not how others need to conform to what I’m doing).

Conclusion

God acted in history by sending Jesus, who is the rightful king of the universe. Christ is the Anointed One, sent to restore people to God. He is our peace, and our hope. To walk in the footsteps of Jesus is to walk in grace, not self-serving, but looking to use what has been given us to live as God’s subjects in the kingdom. 

May we make our own theological statement of who God is by the manner in which we live and speak, truly having Jesus at the center of all we do and say.

Soli Deo Gloria