December 9, 2018

Second Sunday of Advent

Matthew 1:16

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

Genealogy involves tracing the lineages of families. It is most often used to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members. Look at your family tree and marvel at the number of people from all different backgrounds that came together so that you could be here today.

The genealogy of Jesus was important to prove to Jewish leaders and believers that he had a right to the messianic throne. In Matthew’s gospel, the lineage appears in three groups of fourteen as stated in Matthew 1:17, “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.” In this lineage, Joseph is reported as the husband of Mary who is reported as the mother of Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God, inherits his legal right to Israel’s throne through his foster father, Joseph.

Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah, and Jewish believers waited expectantly. All the while, God was preparing the way. On a starlit night in Bethlehem, God became flesh, and the prophecies were fulfilled.

…she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit (v. 18).