He Knows My Family Tree
Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:1-17
Meditation
When the Father sent his Son into the world, he placed him in the care of a frail, human family. Though he was the only begotten fruit of the Father, Jesus fell from the limb of Abraham and David’s family tree.
At his birth, the Son of God was given a set of fingerprints, a birth certificate, and a first and last name. God became Jesus, the Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. The Alpha and the Omega—the one who had no beginning and no end—suddenly had ancestors, a lineage, and a genealogy. Eternity became a part of recorded history.
The Son of God was no distant deity. In the incarnation, the great I AM became a child of the patriarchs; the Prince of Peace dove into the gene pool of kings; and the Messiah transfused himself into the bloodline of humanity.
He became the son of Abraham—the child of promise.
All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants because you obeyed me.1
He became the son of David—the promised heir of a king
A green Shoot will sprout from Jesse’s stump, from his roots a budding Branch.2
He became the firstborn son of a working class family—the son of a carpenter named Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Jacob had Joseph, Mary’s husband, the Mary who gave birth to Jesus, the Jesus who was called Christ.3
Though the Promised Seed of the woman would bear much fruit, the family tree from which Jesus came had more than its share of knots, splinters, and broken limbs.
Its patriarchal roots ran shallow.
Its Messianic trunk was twisted.
Its kingly limbs bore rotten fruit.
When God told an arthritic Abraham and a sterile Sarah that they would soon be moving from the geriatric ward to the maternity ward, the two senior citizens looked at each other, shook their heads and laughed at the promise. The promise was planted but faith had yet to take root.
God continued speaking to Abraham, “And Sarai your wife: Don’t call her Sarai any longer; call her Sarah. I’ll bless her—yes! I’ll give you a son by her! Oh, how I’ll bless her! Nations will come from her; kings of nations will come from her.”
Abraham fell flat on his face. And then he laughed, thinking, “Can a hundred-year-old man father a son? And can Sarah, at ninety years, have a baby?”4
Sexual abominations, indiscretions and mixed marriages twisted the trunk of the Messianic tree. Incest between Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar, produced twin boys, Perez and Zerah. Rahab, the great grandmother of King David, was the prostitute who had hidden the spies when they came to Jericho. Ruth, the grandmother of King David, was a Gentile, a foreigner and an outsider but she married Boaz and was grafted into the Messianic tree.
Salmon had Boaz (his mother was Rahab),
Boaz had Obed (Ruth was the mother),
Obed had Jesse,
Jesse had David, and David became king.5
The kingly limbs were no better.
The ground below their royal branches reeked of rotten fruit. King David was said to be a man after God’s own heart, yet his heart beat fast for Uriah’s wife. When he saw Bathsheba bathing, lust conceived a plot and deception brought it full term. Adultery gave birth to murder.
David had Solomon (Uriah’s wife was the mother).6
Though the branches of the messianic tree tried to twist the purpose of the Father, the love of the Messiah never turned. His lineage was a genealogy of grace. Hanging from another tree, he would declare that no family was beyond redemption, no sin past the point of forgiveness and no sinner too far from the extended arms of God.
He answered to the name of Jesus—“God saves.”
She (Mary) will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—“God saves”—because he will save his people from their sins. This would bring the prophet’s embryonic sermon to full term:
Watch for this—a virgin will get pregnant and bear a son; they will name him Emmanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”).7
In Jesus, God has come near.
Divinity is no longer distant, nor detached. He is Emmanuel—“God is with us.” Heaven’s Seed has planted himself in the soil of earth. Messiah has rooted himself deep into his creation. Grace, mercy, and peace have grafted themselves into the family tree of humanity and the fruit of that tree is forgiveness—the taste of sweet salvation.
Reflection
In what ways has Jesus worked in your family in spite of its past? How has he redeemed the knots, splinters and rotten fruit of your family tree?
How is your lineage a genealogy of grace?
How have you been grafted into the tree of salvation?
What does it mean to be rooted in Christ Jesus?
Prayer
Father,
Your Son was the promised Seed of salvation. Though the fruit of your heaven was perfect, the family tree from which he fell was not. His ancestors had more than their share of knots, splinters, twisted branches, broken limbs, and rotten fruit. But when good genes went bad, your grace covered the ages. In generation after generation after generation, you redeemed rebellion, sanctified the stain of sin, and protected the promise of Messiah.
During this day, help me remember that I am a descendant of Jesus the Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Though my family tree may be gnarled, crooked, and twisted, assure me that my life is rooted in the cross of Christ. Give me faith to believe that I am grafted into the tree of salvation. Though my past is imperfect, remind me that Jesus the Christ can still use me.
It’s in the name of the son of Abraham that I pray. Amen.
1Genesis 22:18 2Isaiah 11:1 3Matthew 1:16 4Genesis 17:15-17 5Matthew 1:5-6 6Matthew 1:6 7Matthew 1:21-23
All Scripture references in the meditation are marked by italics and are taken from the Gospel reading for the day. Those verses quoted outside of the chosen reading for the day are noted. All Scripture quoted in this post is taken from THE MESSAGE: Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001 & 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.