Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Son of Man-12/20/2011

"Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse." Matt 1:5

No consideration of Christ's birth could be complete without recognition of his lineage. To the glory of God, we know that His Spirit came upon Mary and caused her to give birth to the Savior despite the fact that she was a virgin. Nevertheless, a lineage through Mary and Joseph are provided in the Holy and Divinely inspired scriptures. It requires study that exceeds the scope of this writing to prove that the Luke genealogy went through Mary but suffice it to say that Romans 1:3 unquestioningly shows that Christ is a fleshly descendant of David which would necessarily include Mary.

The point to be made here involves the individuals who are members of that genealogy:

  • Tamar (Gen 38:6) was both a deceiver and a Canaanite

  • Rahab (Josh 2:1,17) was a harlot and a Canaanite

  • Ruth (Book of Ruth) was a Moabite

  • Bathsheba (2Sam 11:12,24) was an adulteress and a Hittite

  • Solomon was an idolater

Beloved, from this list, it can be seen that God's love covers both sinners and foreigners. He could very easily have inspired a purer genealogy for His only begotten, however, Jesus was sent to be an atoning sacrifice for all mankind. Our entire faith rests on the fact that our Creator put on flesh and came to this earth to save us from ourselves. And he did so, not by being born rich in a palace or as an elitist, far above the reach of the poor and wretched that needed him most. No. Even his lineage contains the poor and wretched. If the Son of Man is of us, surely he is for us. "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin." Heb 4:15

Let us reflect on this amazing benefit as we consider his birth.

Loving Like Jesus,

Lee

No comments: