by Elder Mike Chon
When we think about Jesus and his earthly life, we are amazed by everything that He taught and experienced which is recorded in the gospels. Of course, the pinnacle of His earthly life was His death on the cross and His resurrection which gives us salvation and hope for the life to come. As amazing as His earthly life is, it is equally amazing that Jesus was even born to Joseph and Mary. The genealogy of Jesus is written for us in Matthew 1:1-16 as well as Luke 3:23-38 which show us the amazing journey that our King had to take even before his birth.
- It began with Adam and Eve who turned away from God to follow Satan which resulted in the fall of the whole human race.
- Then during Noah’s time that the wickedness of man was great (Genesis 6:5) that God decided to bring judgment to the world by sending a worldwide flood that would destroy every man and woman, except for Noah and his family because Noah found favor in the Lord’s eyes (Genesis 6:8).
- Then there is Abraham who is known as a man of faith, but instead of waiting for God’s timing he has a son with Hagar, his wife’s maidservant.
- Then we have Judah who was one of the brothers who sold Joseph off to slavery in Egypt.
- It continues with David who was a murderer and adulterer.
As you follow the genealogy you realize that this isn’t a family line that you would be proud of in worldly standards but it is amazing that God would use these people to be the ones that the King of the world would be associated with in His genealogy.
One thing is certain that God’s wisdom is far greater than ours (Romans 11:33-34). Even though this genealogy may be full of imperfect people, we realize that these are the people that God used to accomplish His will. Even for the most important moment in history God would use these imperfect and sinful people to prepare the way for the birth of Jesus. It was amazing that Jesus would be born through this family line and likewise it is as amazing that God would save us in our sin when we didn’t deserve it so that we can be part of His family. It is encouraging to know that the all-knowing, sovereign God has chosen us before the foundation of this world to be part of His redemptive plan. No matter what background we came from, whether it was of privilege or poverty, whether it was from a Christian home or a broken home, we have been chosen by God to be the person we are today because of His grace and mercy which works in and through us. May God receive all the glory and may we be encouraged that God uses imperfect, weak, and frail men to accomplish His purposes.