A translation of the article “Nevidimye parallels из родословия Христа” from the Stephanus issue 4|2021 of the Russian site
The Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This is no coincidence, as the people of Israel loved and valued it highly. Reading the genealogy reveals many interesting facts, such as how the priestly families were chosen.
Another interesting fact revealed in the genealogy is that Jacob considered his son Benjamin to be small at the time of Israel's migration to Egypt, even though Benjamin already had ten children by then. There are other facts as well, but these will not be discussed further here.
When reading the genealogy of Jesus Christ, something important immediately stands out: God knows everyone by name. Even if we don't find information about every name in the Bible, every name is significant to God.
In this respect, we see an invisible parallel: He also knows us, His children, by name, and we too are precious to Him.
The people in Jesus' genealogy were connected, and the Holy Spirit worked in them from generation to generation. This amazing work has led to what the Bible calls the "fullness of time." Although the meaning of this term is not immediately apparent to us, we can see that the coming of Jesus Christ to this earth was prepared by the Holy Spirit. God used apostles and prophets who desired to do God's will, sustained by the centuries-old work of the Holy Spirit.
They believed in the Messiah and did the work the Holy Spirit had prepared them for. Let us draw another parallel and recognize that we do not know from whose prayers in previous generations our blessings are woven, but we must see in them a great work of God's grace for each of us.
The genealogy of Jesus is important because in Him the fulfillment of the promises concerning the mission of the Messiah, which God gave to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David, becomes visible. As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:3-4: “He who came from the seed of David according to the flesh and was declared the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness through his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. ”
The royal genealogy of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew begins with Abraham and ends with Joseph. It presents Jesus as the Messiah promised to Abraham and Israel. In the Gospel of Luke, the genealogy begins with Jesus and ends with Adam. This is because this Gospel speaks of Jesus as a fully human being, thus tracing his earthly origins back to Adam.
It is noted that there are some discrepancies in the list of names in this genealogy. This interpretation of the genealogy is explained by the law of levirate marriage: when a man died, the deceased's brother took the surviving wife into his care. The firstborn child of this new marriage bore the name of the woman's deceased husband, even though he was the son of the brother.
God promised David that the Messiah would come from his royal lineage and occupy the royal throne. This proved difficult. Some of David's descendants grieved God greatly, and He decided to deny them this throne. Nevertheless, we can see these names in the genealogy, which some perceive as a contradiction. However, this is not the case!
Human sins prevented God from fulfilling his promise, but through the law of levirate genealogy, the lineage continued holy until the birth of Jesus. This is not a game—it is an amazing lesson in God's grace.
Another parallel to our time: We were by nature sons of wrath, but through grace we are children of God. Not through the law of levirate marriage, but because Christ drank the cup of wrath for us and in exchange gave us His blessing.
Jesus Christ was born of the seed of David as a man in the flesh. If His Father were a man, He could not be our Savior. He would have been bound to sin along with Adam, as would His entire inheritance. But the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary and brought into her a personhood that had always existed. The Immaculate Conception is different from the way humans are conceived. When the seed of a husband and wife is born in the womb, a human being has come into being, according to God's definition. This was not the case with Mary: Christ as a person and Son of God had always existed. But when the Holy Spirit descended upon Mary, God, in the person of the Son, assumed the human body. In doing so, He did not mingle with the human body, but rather He absorbed the human body into His divine essence. As it is written: "Therefore the one to be born will be called holy—the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).
In Mary's womb appeared a tiny human being who was in reality the embodiment of the eternally existing Son of God. He accepted the human lineage of David, but as the Son of God, he was sinless. And that is why He can be our Savior.
The invisible parallel: Faith must accept this.
In the genealogy of Christ, there are three female figures: Ruth, the Gentile; Bathsheba, the original wife of Uriah; and Mary, the mother of Jesus. God included them in His lineage to emphasize that He is not concerned with human righteousness, but with accepting God's righteousness. He does not require a "series" of righteous works.
Accepting His mercy, our humility before Him, our trust and submission, and the surrender to letting Him do what He wants to accomplish in us—these are things God needs from us. That is what these women had in their lives. Through the power of God's mercy, sinners became saints.
The parallel for us: In heaven, there will be no people who have relied on their own righteousness. Rather, there will be those who have grasped God's grace with broken hearts, who worship Christ not only with words but with their whole lives, regardless of whether it is easy or difficult for them, whether they benefit from it or not. There will be those who are moved by the joy of Christ's sufferings for us, as well as those who feel fear and pain at the blasphemy of Christ's love.
The Lord is indeed a descendant of David, and all the promises have been fulfilled. The law of levirate frees Him from all the limitations imposed on man through the Fall. He is sinless, born of the Holy Spirit, and embodies the Son of God. Indeed, a human being can be our representative before God. As the Son of David, He is the promised Messiah. And as a sinless human being, He can be the true Lamb of God. Praise the Lord!
Richard Zimmermann
Municipality of Bremen