A Genealogy of Joy

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. - Matthew 1:1‭-‬17 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Advent was a time set aside to remember how the saints of old waited for Jesus, for their Savior. But we are not to only look to the past, we are also to look forward to the second coming.

It is my hope that this season stirs our hearts to remember Jesus' coming and long for Him in deeper ways. Not only that, but for us to hope deeply in His coming.

Jesus came to bring outsiders in

The listings of genealogy differ between the books of the Bible. The authors of individual books used Jesus' ancestry to highlight different aspects of Jesus. Christ is not Jesus' last name. It meant that He was the Messiah. This is why David and Abraham is listed in this genealogy.

A woman is listed in this genealogy. This was not usually done. They were often seen as second class citizens. Not only that, but the listed women were not Jewish, they were gentiles. They were foreign women.

God uses the broken the save the broken

Matthew does not only speak of the strong and successful. We usually talk about those relatives that we are proud of. We don't talk about the drunk, the poor, the embarrassing relative. But look at these ancestors in the list... incest, prostitution, idolatry, adultery, murder, etc. This is just a reflection of human reality. Look at the sex scandals in recent days... It spans people across the political spectrum. Celebrities who greet us in the morning with a friendly smile. Are we surprised? Should Christians be surprised? Are we not more evil than we think? It doesn't matter who we are... Pastor, leader, old, young, new believer... We are all susceptible to the pull of sin. So hear this, it does not matter the scandalousness of your sin or mistakes in your life, Jesus welcomes us. He calls those with a contrite heart and broken spirit to come. He beckons then to lift their heads, because He died for us with His head hung in shame.

Jesus saved in unseen and unexpected ways.

The third set of names is unfamiliar. Why? They are not listed anywhere else in the scriptures. Between the second set and the coming of Jesus, there is silence. It is as if God had stopped working. Jesus came... to an as yet, unmarried woman. He was born in a manger, acknowledged by some shepherds and some wise men. The king of Kings came quietly and lived quietly as he grew up. It is not how we expected the Messiah to come.

God works quietly and not as we expect. It is not as we would do it. We want a preview of life from God. We want to know what He is doing and why. But that is not what He gives us. He promises that He is working things out for our good. We are called to have faith and trust in God and to trust in Jesus.