A Pregnancy Announcement

Used to be that a woman wouldn’t tell anyone she was pregnant  until it began to be evident that was the case, or unless her age or health had made it unlikely that she would ever become pregnant. In today’s reading we learn of the birth of John the Baptist. You decide whether the circumstances of the case warranted an early and public announcement.

Luke 1 (v. 5-14)

• When: in the days of Herod, the king of Judea
• Who: a certain priest named Zacharias
  • division of Abijah
  • wife a descendant of Aaron, named Elisabeth
  • both righteous, obedient and blameless
  • childless
  • advanced in years
  • serving before God
  • submitting to his being drafted to work
  • in the temple of the Lord
• What: an angel of the Lord appeared to him
  • do not be afraid
  • your prayer is heard
  • your wife is pregnant with a boy
  • you shall call his name John
  • So what?
  • you will have goy and gladness.
  • many will rejoice at his birth

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Genealogy of Jesus, from Luke 3

One would think that everybody who prepares a family tree would arrive at the same result. But the Luke and Matthew accounts of the genealogy of Jesus seem strikingly different. Though both find Jesus related to Abraham and David, the Lukan record goes much farther back in time.

In fact, that is one major difference between the two records. Matthew starts with Abraham and progresses through time arriving finally with the birth of Jesus. Luke, on the other hand, begins with Christ and works backwards until arriving at the most ancient father of Jesus, God Himself (v. 38)

• Jesus was the son of David (v. 31)
• Jesus was the son of Abraham (v. 34).
• Jesus was the son of God (v. 38).
• Matthew showed us that Jesus was a Jew with rights to the throne; Luke shows us that Jesus is the Son of Man-a true Son of Adam. Why would this be so significant, as all men are men, unless there were the need to explain how the Son of God and Son of a Man could be one and the same?
• Note the “as was supposed” in v 23. We cannot be held liable for what others may falsely believe; but we can be sure to point out such error of conclusion as necessary.

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The Genealogy of Jesus

Who isn’t interested in his own family tree? Our interest then branches out to curiosity about the family backgrounds of others, especially sport figures, actors, politicians and other famous people. In our reading for today and tomorrow we will look at the formal genealogy of Jesus as that record is found in Matthew 1 and Luke 3.

The trunk and the big branches (vs 1-17 of Matthew 1)

• Jesus descended from David and Abraham (Matthew 1:1; 17).
• This is important because it establishes that Jesus was not only a Jew, but also that He was a rightful heir to the throne.
• Keep this idea in mind as you read the Gospel of Matthew which often views events and people through Jewish eyes and goes to lengths proving the kingship of Christ.
• Among the men listed, many are familiar to those who have read the Old Testament, but many are not. How many do you recognize?
• Listed along with the men are three women (v. 5, 6, 16). Do you know who they are?
• The genealogy is divided roughly into three time periods: a. from Abraham to David; b. from David to the captivity; c. from the captivity to Christ.
• Note: those who deny the Babylonian captivity must contend with this passage from the New Testament.

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