THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS...IMPERFECT FORBEARS OF A PERFECT MAN / GOD

It is amazing to note that in this scripture,

 Jesus' ancestry over 42 generations is recounted. 
shared by
Corinne Mustafa

 Matthew 1:1-17

 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah 
the son of David, the son of Abraham

    

    Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 

Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

 Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

 Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

from Matthan the father of Jacob,and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen m David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

It is interesting to note that Jesus came from a family just like all the families of the earth! There was goodness and there were ancestors who were people who were not what we would have expected. Their lives were filled with challenges of immorality and and behavior that we would not expect.

We all face the challenge to become our best selves. Family tradition and social expectations play their part here, but deepest down we need to know what God is inviting us to be. We are God’s beloveds, and a high destiny awaits us. We are to reveal to the world something of God’s own self.

This scripture looks unsparingly at Jesus’ ancestry. Matthew points out that Jesus’ forbears included children born of incest (Perez), of mixed races (Boaz), and of adultery (Solomon). God entered our human history with all the episodes that proud people would be ashamed of. Lord, teach me to accept my humanity, my genes, and my relatives, as you did.

This is how we can look at JESUS and KNOW that He faced everything that we face and still HE WAS PERFECT......SON OF MAN AND SON OF GOD. PERFECT AND NEVER TEMPTED!!!