There are three genealogies of Christ Jesus in the Scriptures. There is a lot of debate about the differences found in those contained in Matthew’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel. Many scholars look at Matthew’s Gospel as the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph’s line, and Luke’s Gospel as the genealogy of Jesus through Mary’s lineage. I am not a great scholar so I will let you decide what you think.
There is a third genealogy of Christ Jesus found in Scripture. It is in John’s Gospel. And it is amazing! It is the Divine genealogy of Christ Jesus.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” [John 1:1-4]
The true wonder of Christmas is that it is not the beginning of Christ! Sometimes we think it all started in the manger – it didn’t! It started before the foundation of the world.
1 Peter 1:18-20: “For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was chosen before the foundation of the world but was revealed at the end of the times for you.” [HCSB]
Before the world was created, God had a plan to redeem fallen mankind. The Word, God’s Son, would come to earth to bring grace and truth, and to open the way for us into the Father’s House.
Long before the manger, the Word embraced the Cross. He agreed to leave the glory of heaven and come to earth to shed His precious blood for us. The Word became the Lamb of God.
We celebrate our redemption this Christmas Season in light of that wondrous glory of Christmas that the manger was not the beginning!
