Dec. 15: The Royal Family of God

Genealogy of Jesus, Donald Jackson. Gilded illuminated manuscript on vellum. © 2002 The Saint John’s Bible, Saint John’s University, Collegeville, Minnesota, USA. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

"Christ" by Jesse and Leah Roberts (Poor Bishop Hooper).

Week Three Introduction

December 15–21
Title: The Royal Family of God

When Christ our King and God took on flesh and became a child, he was welcomed into a particular family, tribe, and nation. The entire Old Testament foreshadowed his coming through messianic prophecies and a multiplicity of characters who prefigured or were shadows/types of Christ. Out of all the nations on earth, God chose the children of Israel. In Deuteronomy 7:6–8 God says, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers.” Of the twelve tribes of Israel, Judah, the redeemer, became the progenitor of Israel’s monarchs and, eventually, of the Messiah. Patriarch Jacob/Israel foretold of blessings and kingship for Judah’s clan: “The scepter [of royalty] shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Genesis 49:10, AMP). It has been determined that most Jews today can trace their lineage back to the great tribe of Judah.

That Christ would come into this world through the line of Judah and David is well established in both the Old and New Testaments. “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth’” (Jeremiah 23:5). Two genealogies of Christ can be found in the beginning chapters of Matthew and Luke. Some scholars think the genealogy in Matthew traces the ancestors of Christ back through the line of Joseph, the earthly or legal father of Jesus, while Luke’s genealogy traces the ancestors of Christ through Mary’s family tree. Both Joseph and Mary were from the royal tribe of Judah, thus fulfilling the ancient prophecy. It is intriguing to note that they were related—evidently cousins of some sort.

Dr. Michael Wilkins says this about Christ’s forebears: “Jesus’ ancestors were humans with all of the foibles, yet potentials, of everyday people. God worked through them to bring about his salvation. There is no pattern of righteousness in the lineage of Jesus. We find adulterers, harlots, heroes, and Gentiles….God was working throughout the generations, both good and evil, to bring about his purposes.” Among the members of this royal family were those counted as righteous. Boaz, David, and Solomon are all considered types of Christ. Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer, through marriage rescued the Moabite/gentile Ruth. Likewise, Jesus is the great Redeemer who through his salvific actions purchased for himself a bride from among the nations. King David, despite his shortcomings, is referred to as a “man after [God’s] own heart” (Acts 13:22). Christ, the Greater Son of David, is known as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” (Revelation 5:5) and “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). The powerful and wise King Solomon, whose name means peace, reigned over the united kingdom of Israel, building a permanent dwelling place for God in the holy city of Jerusalem. Christ Jesus, the lasting Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), referred to himself in Matthew 12:42 as one “greater than Solomon,” for his rule and reign shall never end.

Hear the glad tidings of Christmas: this King of kings assumed the form of a helpless baby and took on the guise of a lowly servant. Why? Because he chose and still chooses to abide in the “foul rooms of human hearts,” until paupers become princes, and out of the ruins, a new majestic family is born. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9–10).

Poetry:

“Lineage”
by Jacqueline Johnson

My father’s father painted houses seafoam green,
colonial white, mule-bone brown.
Sea Island bred, a saltwater Geechee.

Black as they come kind of man.
His pretty eyes passed to all his children and
to generations who will never know him.

Who knows where the line begins?
The Gambia? Sierra Leone? Nigeria?
My cousin has seen five generations

pass through the Congress Street house.
My father’s father born in the 1890s,
among the first generation free of the fields.

Barely had an education, made sure
all his children went to Avery Institute;
were counted among the best of the new.

My father’s father was not considered a fighter.
Nothing like his son, hotheaded, known
for throwing his bosses overboard any ship.

My father’s father was a
soft-spoken, non-reactionary man.
Lived among the folk. Survived, made do.

My father’s father long gone before I was born.
Married to a brown, fire-brand woman.
His sons were rolling stones, husbands, and fathers.

His only daughter culled knowledge into
minds and hearts of students, leaving a legacy
strong enough to outlast her life.

Through a mirrored prism I find your face
peering from the bottom of a river
amidst swirling golden light.

Hard to tell if it is sunset or dawn where you are?
Eugene, you are not forgotten, your photo is
dusted pristine on the family mantelpiece.

THE FAMILY OF JESUS

This might be the most boring Scripture reading in the history of our Advent Project, but there really is a lot here! And artist Donald Jackson captures the richness embedded in our passage in his artwork forTheSaint John’s Bible. The family tree of Jesus takes the shape of a menorah, reminding us of Jesus’ Jewish roots and human nature. The double helix structure of DNA also suggests his divinity and hypostatic union.

This genealogy reminds us that Advent is not simply about Jesus’ birth, but about his coming (for more, see Timothy Keller’sHidden Christmas). We don’t simply celebrate the birthday of our great teacher, but we remember that God actually came on earth to save us as he promised he would. Jesus’ teachings are important, but what separates him from all other religious leaders is that he didn’t just come to provide good news, but tobecomeour good news by living the life we should have lived (active obedience) and dying the death we should have died (passive obedience). This coming of Jesus is something that we remember as we look back to the first Christmas, and it is something we anticipate as we look forward to when he returns to make all things new (Rev. 21:5).

It is not surprising that Jesus’ kin include such luminaries like Abraham, Jacob, and David since we as humans like to remember the legacies of our important ancestors. But Matthew doesn’t gloss over embarrassing aspects of Jesus’ past, and overtly highlights them by incorporating five women into this patrilineal genealogy. Three of the women in this Jewish genealogy are surprisingly Gentile: Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth. Tamar pretends to be a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law (Gen. 38). Rahab was actually a prostitute (Josh. 2). Bathsheba is referred to as “the wife of Uriah” to remind the reader of David’s adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11). Mary was suspected of adultery by her community (Matt. 1:19). Jesus’ line is filled with outsiders––women, Gentiles, and the immoral.

Yet this is the family tree of Jesus that Matthew highlights to begin his gospel; it is messy and chaotic. And this is why Jesus has come––because we are messy and chaotic, and we need a savior. And the beauty is that Jesus invites us into his family and isn’t surprised or even embarrassed by what we might be bringing in. He’s not ashamed of our past and wants to be united with us, no matter how much of an outcast we feel like we are.

The beauty of Jesusbeingour good news is that our missteps and our past doesn’t define us. God can birth the beautiful from our mistakes, and we find our hope in being part of his family.

Prayer:
God, How great is the love you’ve lavished on us as our Father and calling us your children. We are grateful for your Son, Jesus, who’s coming has brought new hope into our lives. We wait for his second coming, knowing that he will make all things new. We live this life now in your Spirit, submitting our plans to you. We participate in your Body, with our brothers and sisters, believing that the church is the hope of this world.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Mike Ahn, Ph.D., M.Div.
Dean of Spiritual Development
Biola University

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, please visit our website via the link in our bio.