Jesus’s family tree listed in Matthew 1:1-17 reminds us that no family is without flaws and serious shortcomings. The ancestry of Jesus includes the sibling rivalry of Jacob and Esau, Judah fathering sons through a vile act with his daughter-in-law Tamar, and King David, who took Uriah’s wife for his pleasures before taking Uriah’s life. We could go on, but you get the picture. There is a lot of messiness in Jesus’ family.
While I am unaware of your ancestry, I venture to guess there is brokenness in your family lineage as there is in mine. As Susan and I have become more aware of sins being visited upon the third and fourth generations, we find it essential to identify the destructive patterns in our personal family trees. Just as medical professionals are curious to learn about health issues in our biological history, it is important spiritually to discern behavior patterns in our families of origin. This is not to say we air our dirty laundry for all to see, but we also don’t engage in keeping dark family secrets under wraps. We’ve learned to identify destructive patterns in our own lives and take spiritual authority to renounce them so we don’t pass these maladies on to future generations. We have also claimed our true identity in Jesus, who can redeem our family’s brokenness. This may seem like a rather heavy discussion, but we embrace hope that Jesus will rescue us from any family darkness.
Back to Jesus’s family tree… Matthew divides the 42 generations of Jesus into three 14-generation segments, from Abraham to David, from David to the deportation, and from the deportation to Jesus. The only hitch is that there is one generation short in the final segment, with Jesus being the thirteenth name listed. Who is the next generation? I like to think we all can be.
Consider this: As there are four Gentile women outsiders included in Jesus’s family lineage, we too are Gentile outsiders grafted into Jesus’ family (Romans 11:17). We have been adopted into God’s family with full rights as God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. We are now heirs with Christ (Galatians 4: 4-6). Moreover, as Jesus is identified as the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18), we have assurance that we, too, will be raised with him.
Jesus’ family is ultimately our family, too. While we love our biological family, warts, and all, our hope is grounded in God’s family. Our loving affection is not limited to our personal family but extends to all our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the hope throughout the generations. Something to ponder this Advent and something to celebrate this Christmas!
