Boring

I was talking to a family member just recently, and our discussion turned to Bible studies and reading the Bible. She just categorically stated, "I don't read the Bible. I find it boring."

Well, we might be able to relate to that, at least as a young Christian. People told me, "Start in the New Testament," so I start in the book of Matthew—it's the first book—and you walk straight into a genealogy. It's fascinating, and it's about the gospel of Jesus Christ. Luke does it as well, a full genealogy, a complete ancestry.

Everybody today seems fascinated with the idea of "Who am I connected to?" And that is what it's all about: "Who is Jesus connected to?"

I remember as a young Christian, when the King James Version was the only thing with small print available, you'd begin to read: someone begot someone, and someone begat someone, and someone begat someone. I probably got up to five or six of them, and then I pushed fast forward because I was thinking, This is boring. Let's get to the real story. Let's get to the gospel.

Never did I realize that this genealogy is a very vital piece of the story.

It begins in Matthew chapter 1, verse 1: "This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." That's the connection Matthew wants to make in the Gospel. Two very important people in the heritage of the Jewish people: the son of David, a king chosen by God, and the son of Abraham, the Father of Faith—the father of the three major monotheistic religions in the world.

Part of the Gospel's purpose is to make that connection back through David, back through Abraham. Fifteen hundred years of history. It's not that Jesus just popped out of nowhere.

It's very important that in this genealogy we are told that Joseph was of the line of David, and so was Mary. This makes it vitally important in understanding Jesus' place as the God-man and the connections that are essential to establishing what is later called the Kingdom, the Davidic Throne, the Davidic Kingdom. Yet this Kingdom will be the culmination of all that.

We take heed from Jesus' words because people are asking Him, "When is the kingdom coming? When are you going to establish your kingdom?"

And He says clearly, "My kingdom is not of this world."

What is He saying? Put the pieces together. He's saying, "This is the fulfillment. I am the Messiah. I am bringing the Kingdom." And indeed, in the gospel story we're told that His Kingdom will last forever.