The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.
This book begins with a genealogy that is really a new genesis, the forward to the story of a new creation being brought about in Christ. But what can we really learn from a list of names, other than, perhaps, interesting historical anecdotes? For one thing we can see that the Jewish people were looking for a messiah who was a real person, rooted in history. He would demonstrate that the kingly line of David had not failed, which would in turn prove that God had not abandoned his covenant promises. Not just anyone could fill the role of the messiah. It wasn't something one could just claim without substantiating that claim. That is why so many people took issue with even the implicit idea that Jesus might be the messiah and sought to poke holes in the possibility. They did so by criticizing his place of origin, his way of appearing on the scene, his association with Gentiles, and probably even the circumstances of his birth. But the geneology Matthew preempts all of these criticisms. He shows how the birth even more scandalous births than that of Jesus did not prevent God accomplishing his plans for David. He also demonstrates that the Gentile's inclusion in the lineage of David was not problematic, and thus that the Gentiles always had a part to play in God's plan. The inclusion of many unsavory individuals, even outright sinners and corrupt kings, demonstrates that God was and is able to work through even the worst of human circumstances to bring about his ends. This is good news for the followers of Jesus, who often fail to live up to the standard he set. Even in spite of our mistakes God is still capable of bringing his messiah to the world.
Thus the total number of generations
from Abraham to David
is fourteen generations;
from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations;
from the Babylonian exile to the Christ,
fourteen generations.
Fourteen was apparently significant as the numeric value of David's name in Hebrew, which is also given as fourteenth of the list. David and Jesus were the only two people on the list whose respective titles ("the king" and "the Christ") are given. Thus the emphasis is on the fact that Jesus would be the one to fulfill the promises to David, the true son of David, the messiah¹.
We can take comfort from the genealogy that God has always been involved in history, working to bring about his plan to bless all the nations through his covenants to Abraham and David. The idea of Jesus as a character of ahistorical myth makes no sense in the Jewish context. Such a misrepresentation was only able to arise later within other cultural milieus. Yet during much of the time during which the geneology of Jesus played out it was not immediately obvious that God was at work. Thus, even if his work is sometimes hidden in our own day we still have reason for confidence, and far more reason than merely the ancestry of Jesus, since his own life speaks for itself. It is the concrete point at which the history of our world changed forever. This is still reflected by the dating system we use, no matter what designations we use to express it. It is an inescapable fact that, as Saint John Paul the great wrote, "THE REDEEMER OF MAN, Jesus Christ, is the centre of the universe and of history" (see Redemptor Hominis, 1).
Many of us are often tempted to think that the story of Jesus is too good to be true. His contemporaries were more likely to think it was too human to be part of God's plan. But it is both better than we guess and more human than we typically give it credit for being. After all, we are talking here about the God man himself. But it is most definitely true that the lion of tribe of Judah has come and received a kingship that will never end. Let's remember the full density of the historicity of the Christmas story as we prepare to welcome Jesus again this year. When we do so we will more easily believe in its continued power to change the world.
1) Hahn, Scott; Mitch, Curtis. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament (p. 138). (Function). Kindle Edition.
Robin Mark - You're The Lion Of Judah
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