Jesus’ Family Tree

Jesus belonged to a family. We sometimes forget that. In our individualistic world we neglect the longer story to which our lives belong. This is were the genealogies of the Bible remind us of the longer story God has been and is telling through the family that is humanity.

In Five Smooth Stones of Pastoral Ministry, Eugene Peterson states, "The genealogical lists in the Bible, synonymous in so many minds with tedium, are, in fact, documentation for the most exciting parts of the story. For the gospel does not address a faceless, nameless mob, but persons. The history of salvation is thick with names. The name is the form of speech by which a person is singled out for personal love, particular intimacy, and exact responsibilities. The biblical fondness for genealogical lists is not pedantic antiquarianism, it is a search for personal involvement, a quest for a sense of personal place in the web of relationships in which God fashions salvation."