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Look at Who’s in The Family
- 1. The Family Is Important to God.
From creation in Genesis to the conclusion of His Word in Revelation, God demonstrates that the family is important to Him. He created the family unit and gave it His blessing.
Genesis 1:27-28 (KJV)
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
A genealogy is a record or study of decent involving a tracing backward or forward of the ancestry of a nation, tribe, family, or individual. It traces people of successive generations who are related by birth. When God created man in His own image, He knew exactly what He was doing; He was starting a family. We are a part of God’s genealogy.
Matthew helps us understand the importance of family by giving us a genealogy of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ’s genealogy, there are three generations of fourteen: 1. A gradual ascent from Abraham to royalty, 2. A royal line from David to Jeconiah, and 3. From Babylonian captivity to Joseph, the husband of Mary, whom gave birth to Christ.
Matthew 1:1-16 outlines the genealogy as such:
Abraham -> Isaac -> Jacob -> Judas -> Phares and Zara -> Esrom (Phares begat) -> Aram -> Aminadab -> Naasson -> Salmon -> Booz -> Obed -> Jesse -> King David -> Solomon -> Roboam -> Abia -> Asa -> Josaphat -> Joram -> Ozias -> Joatham -> Achaz -> Ezekias -> Manasses -> Amon -> Josias -> Jechonias and his brethren (carried away to Babylon) -> Salathiel -> Zorobabel -> Abiud -> Eliakim -> Azor -> Sadoc -> Achim -> Eliud -> Eleazar -> Matthan -> Jacob -> Joseph -> Jesus
Matthew placed emphasis on Jesus’ lineage declaring Jesus Christ and the Son of David, and the Son of Abraham. In the genealogy, we see how God used the family to further His will and purposes. He used Abraham and Sarah to seed a nation and from that nation, the Messiah or Christ would come.
It is important to understand this Christmas truth: Jesus was a gift to a family before He was a gift to mankind. He was born into a family and remained in the context of a family for thirty years before He began His ministry.
- 2. No Family Is Perfect!
Alex Haley became famous by writing a book tracing his ancestry back to his “Roots” in Africa. If you look at your family line, you’ll discover ancestors you’d rather not be identified with. The same is true with Jesus’.
Look at who’s in Jesus’ family line. The genealogy of Jesus includes the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It includes Ruth, King David and King Solomon, but it truly represents what we see in our families. There are no perfect families!
When we review the people in Jesus’ genealogy, we see some who are not just saintly, but suspect, shameful, and all were sinful.
Jacob: the twin brother of Esau, stole his brother’s birthright and blessing, fled for his life, but God appeared to him and blessed him and changed his name to Israel.
Tamar: Married twice and widowed twice. She was hurt by the second husband who would not allow her to get pregnant. She posed as a prostitute and seduced her father-in-law, slept with him, got pregnant and had twins.
Rahab: A Gentile woman who lived in Jericho, made her living as a prostitute. She hid the spies that Joshua sent in exchange for the safety of her family.
David: The king and man after God’s own heart lusted for a married woman named Bathsheba when he saw her bathing from his rooftop. He took her, slept with her, and she became pregnant. To cover his tracks, he plotted Uriah’s death on the battlefield.
Solomon: Although, he prayed for wisdom and knowledge upon assuming the throne, and built the magnificent temple, He disobeyed God and loved women of foreign countries. He had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He allowed his wives to affect his loyalty to God.
In this family line of Jesus, we discover incest, vengeance, deceivers, prostitution, pride, presumption, adultery, murder, lust, idolatry, and outright disobedience of God.
If you think your family is messed up, look at Jesus’ family. More than likely, you have someone in your family who is or has been a liar, hateful, perverted, lazy, immoral, selfish, bitter, full of jealousy, angry, hostile, depressed, or addicted to something. You can’t disown them. They are your family. You have an obligation to pray for them, love them, witness to them, and help them in any way you can. Your family should be your first target to win for Christ.
- 3. Jesus Chose His Family.
Jesus was not ashamed to be identified with the people in His genealogy.
Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird wrote: “You can choose your friends but you sho’ can’t choose your family, an’ they’re still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge ’em or not, and it make you look right silly when you don’t.”
This proposition of Harper Lee has been true for everyone born, but Jesus Christ. The only exception is Jesus. He chose the bloodline. He selected his earthly ancestry. He was not ashamed of their faults, failures, and flaws. He didn’t hide them from us.
Jesus choose Jacob, Tamar, Rahab, David, and Solomon. He came to redeem family members like them. He came to bear the cross to Calvary, shed His blood, die and be placed in a borrowed tomb for family members like yours. He rose on the third day to show that He can conquer anything. If He conquered death, He can conquer anything. That’s why they call Him Savior, Deliverer, Healer, and Counselor.
- 4. This Christmas Make Your Family Important to You.
Renew your love and devotion to your family. Pray for the salvation of all family members. Do something nice for those you’ve been angry with or ashamed of.
