I said, “This weekend . . .”
“. . . I want you to find out where you came from . . .”
Genealogies tell us about our past and our future.
Watch our two minute video on the genealogy of Jesus to find out why (full text follows).
Jesus’ past matters to our future.
Blessings on The Holiday, from all of us at The Comenius Institute.
Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here). Subscribe to “Truth in Two” videos from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), hosts a weekly radio program with diverse groups of guests (1 minute video), and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video).
Picture Credit: Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT:
They were surprised when I gave them their weekend assignment. “I want you to talk with your parents, grandparents, and extended family. Find out where you come from.”
The next week I had a classroom full of bubbling genealogists. “When I asked my Gramma where I came from she told me stories I couldn’t believe!” was one of many comments. They were astonished by the narratives behind the names. And all they had to do was ask a question: “Where did I come from?”
For years I taught the importance of biblical genealogies. Key to understanding Hebrew genealogies in Scripture focuses on the question “Whose family are you in?” For instance, when Nehemiah wanted to make sure he was getting the right people in the priesthood, he checked a genealogical record in Nehemiah 12. When Naboth told King Ahab he couldn’t sell his vineyard, the reason was his family lineage in 1 Kings 21.
But the most important genealogy in the Bible is about Jesus. Matthew 1 supports Jesus’ hereditary right on David’s throne, promised to the Messiah. The New Testament begins with a genealogy in Matthew 1. Jesus is shown as the fulfillment of Old Testament promises found in genealogies.
Claiming to be The Son of God is one thing, proving it is another. Matthew’s genealogy cements the history with the theology: Jesus is the promised Messiah.
Students asking families about their genealogy teaches this one idea: Who we are often depends on whose we are. Family matters. The idea is doubly important when we consider Jesus as the promised Messiah.
Matthew’s genealogy shows that God keeps His promises over years, centuries, millennia–from Abraham to David to Jesus and to our celebration of Jesus coming to earth.
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel. For all of us at the Comenius Institute, we wish you and your family a blessed season, celebrating Jesus’ birth.