This Man Named Jesus
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word. He was with God and he was God. Everything in existence was made by him and through him. In the beginning was this man named Jesus. We’ve been studying this man named Jesus’ life for the past few months in our worship gatherings at Real Life and it has certainly been interesting. I always love to hear other people’s takes on scripture and the story of God and humanity and Real Life has some gifted teachers who bring new life to old stories. This morning was no different. Allow me to share a bit about my take on what the preacher shared.
You’ve may or may not have read the Gospel of Matthew in which he records the genealogy of Jesus. I say you may not have read this record simply because most people don’t. Unless you are Mormon or really into genealogy, you probably skim over it like I have done many times. The intersting thing about this section (and book) is that it is written primarily for Jews. Jews would probably have taken great interest in what Matthew laid out. Who is this man named Jesus? Well, he was begotten by Joseph, the son of Jacob, the son of Matthan, the son of Eleazar…..You get the idea. In all, 42 generations spanned from Abraham to Jesus. A Jew reading these names would know most all of them. Names like David, Solomon, Uriah, Josiah, Obed, Ruth, Jesse, Rahab, Tamar…All ‘famous’ names in Jewish writings. Some of these folks accomplished great things. Some of these folks did great things…Most of these folks had something in their past or present lives that would exclude them from looking great on the outside. David, one of the most beloved Kings in all of World history, an adulterer. Solomon, the wisest person to ever live. Josiah, the good king. Rahab, a friend to spies, but also a friend to many, many men who left money on the bedside table before leaving. Tamar, a likely candidate for the Jerry Springer show because she pretended to be a prostitute so that she could seduce her father-in-law in order to bear a child in his line.
The line of people that God chose to use in order to fulfill literally hundreds of prophecies simply amazes me. And it gives me hope. If there is hope for people like Tamar and Rahab and David and Jechoniah, then there is certainly hope for the rest of us. If you think your family line is disfunctional, take a look at Jesus’ family line. There are more miscreants and screw ups in this line that you shake a stick at! I’m still amazed that I get a great deal of traffic to this site from the phrase “I suck at everything I do”. If you’re here because you think that, this message is especially for you.
What is God’s message through all of this? His message is this (quotation and paraphrase mine):
”I’ve been working through the entire span of human history, using ordinary, messed up people to accomplish what I wanted to do from the beginning. What is that, you might ask? I’ve been searching for you. I’ve been longing for you to be near me so much that I used a long line of adulterers, prostitutes, and really bad kings to give you this man named Jesus. All of history has been building toward this day, this day when I can be reunited with you, my child. I love you.”
Christmas is undoubtedly a special time, even for people who don’t celebrate the birth of Christ. Record attendence at churches across the land show time and again that there is still something amazing about this man named Jesus. This year, more than ever, Christmas is returning to the celebration of this man. The glitz and glamour of presents and wrapping paper are fading, people are being humbled by life’s curveballs, and they are returning to the Bethlehem manger to gaze at the Christ child. Whatever your leaning, I implore you to take a moment and relect on the monumentous accomplishments of God through a bunch of misfits to bring you grace, love, and peace through this man named Jesus. At the risk of sounding corny, He is the reason for the season.
From our family to yours, have a merry and blessed Christmas! We wish you nothing but God’s blessing in the New Year and pray that you would start living life with this man named Jesus.
Thanks for this great reminder. The genealogies are usually what we skim over but as you point out there is some seriously awesome stuff in there for us to wrap our thoughts around.
Have a great Christmas!