Tuesday December 30, 2014

Read Luke 3:21-37

Oh no! Another genealogy!!!  I hope and pray that you actually read through the genealogy rather than skipping over it. When we read Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus we saw the transition from Abraham to King David to Jesus. This time we start from Joseph, the step-father of Jesus and work our way back to God Himself.

That is fascinating isn’t it? Matthew was written for a Jewish audience and naturally goes back to the key figures among the Jews, namely King David and Abraham. Dr Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke, was a Gentile (or a non–Jew) and wrote to Gentiles. He wants to show us that the good news of the Gospel is available to all mankind, even non-Jews. He wants to show us that God’s plan of salvation has always meant to include the entire world, not just one nation.

When God created the world He intended that the entire world would be under His blessing and rule. He intended that all mankind would live in a perfect paradise without sin in the world. Mankind was told to rule over the paradise and to tend it. They were to populate it with children who loved and served God as they themselves did.

But sin did enter the world and God’s paradise was ruined. God’s rule was not ruined though and God revealed that He would save the world through Jesus. That blessing of Jesus was foreshadowed to Abraham when God promised to bring blessing to all the nations/families of the world through one of his descendants - who turned out to be Jesus. Kind David was promised a ruler from his descendants that will rule over the entire world for all eternity. Again it turns out to be Jesus.

When Jesus comes into our world, it is said of Him that He is ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29). He is the one that God gives to the world as a sacrifice to save the entire world (John 3:16). His name is to be preached to all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Anyone from any nationality can believe in Jesus and receive God’s offer of salvation. Nationality does not come into consideration.

When Jesus was born, God began the final phase of His plan to bring His salvation to all corners of the earth. Christmas is so much more than Christmas trees, fairy lights and reindeer-driven snow ploughs. It’s about taking God’s salvation to the ends of the earth. That’s why we need Christ in Christmas.