What’s weighing on your heart and mind these days? What sorts of doubts and uncertainties are flurrying around you? Perhaps it’s something related to COVID, the supply chain, your work, or a relationship in your life…
These days, I find it so easy to live in a constant state of doubt and uncertainty. It’s almost as if selling panic, doubt, and uncertainty have become a game for the media! All you have to do is scroll through a few news headlines and then BAM! It feels like everything is unravelling, the world is crumbling, and what’s happening to us right now is unique…but is it really?
Is this the first time that humanity is facing a global pandemic? No…
Is this the first time that humanity is experiencing wide scale disruption in our work, schooling, and normal everyday lives? No…
No wonder Jesus says, “Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?” (Matthew 6:27 CSB)!
Alright, so I want to offer you something to reflect on. The next time you find yourself feeling uncertain, or you have some doubts regarding what’s going on in culture and in your life, take a read through the Genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1.
And no this isn’t a joke!
Now I recognize that any sort of Genealogy is probably the last thing any “normal” person would want to read on a good day, so how in the world could this possibly be helpful when you find yourself full of doubt or uncertainty?!
Here are three reasons why the Genealogy of Jesus Christ is helpful:
1. We’re reminded that God has been at work through generations past
In this seemingly mundane list of names you see in Matthew 1, we’re reminded that God has been at work through generations past. When we remember that God has, is, and will continue to be with us—just as he was with each of these generations—this becomes our confidence that he will continue to work in our generation and in the generations to come.
2. We’re reminded that we are not the only generation that has ever existed
So even if everything seems to be going haywire in one generation, messed up in another, and God seems to be eerily absent, we see in this genealogy proof that he actually isn’t! God has never been absent in history and that’s not about to change.
3. We’re reminded to never place our confidence in our external circumstances
Because everything around us will continue to constantly change, this genealogy reminds us to never place our confidence in our external circumstances. Our confidence, rather, needs to be in THE ONE that this genealogy is building up to—Jesus Christ our Emmanuel—God with us.
I love how pastor and author David Platt puts it, “Billions of people have come and billions have gone; empires have come and empires have gone; countries, nations, kings, queens, presidents, dictators, and rulers have all come and gone. At the center of it all stands one person: Jesus the Christ.”
“Billions of people have come and billions have gone; empires have come and empires have gone; countries, nations, kings, queens, presidents, dictators, and rulers have all come and gone. At the center of it all stands one person: Jesus the Christ.”
So the next time you find yourself feeling uncertain, or you have some doubts regarding what’s going on in culture and in your life, try reading through the Genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1 and see how God might speak to you through his word that is “living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 CSB)
“An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham fathered Isaac, Isaac fathered Jacob, Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers, Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Aram, Aram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab, Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered King David. David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife, Solomon fathered Rehoboam, Rehoboam fathered Abijah, Abijah fathered Asa, Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat fathered Joram, Joram fathered Uzziah, Uzziah fathered Jotham, Jotham fathered Ahaz, Ahaz fathered Hezekiah, Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Amon, Amon fathered Josiah, and Josiah fathered Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel, Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel fathered Abiud, Abiud fathered Eliakim, Eliakim fathered Azor, Azor fathered Zadok, Zadok fathered Achim, Achim fathered Eliud, Eliud fathered Eleazar, Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary, who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:1-17 CSB)
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