The Ancestors of Jesus

 

 Matthew 1: 1-17

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

⁸ Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

⁹ Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

¹⁰ Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

¹² After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

¹⁵ Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷ Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, Matthew gives us a list of his significant relatives, as is customary in tribal cultures, to show just who he is and where he fits in.  Most of these names mean little to us, unless we are biblical scholars.  We do know  Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Obed, Jesse, David, Solomon, and certainly Joseph from our old Bible History days and simply accept the others as key  persons somewhere along the line.  The important thing to remember is that Jesus is fully human (as well as divine) and has a family history as we do.  He is truly "one of us." The story of the birth of the Son of God stresses this human dimension and makes it all the more memorable and touching.  May we give proper place and attention to this in the midst of our Christmas shopping , caroling, baking and gift wrapping.  These last days of Advent set the scene of this miraculous event.  Let us listen carefully and watch prayerfully in the days ahead.

Bro. Rene

Lord our God you bless us with a holy history. Today the Gospel recalls for us the names of our ancient ancestors who have passed on to us the story of your divine love. Unbroken is the line of that descendance, beginning with the life of our father, Abraham of Ur of the Chaldeans, and ending with our brother, Jesus of Nazareth. Teach us to be worthy of such a divine call until our hope is finally realized in the eternal kingdom of your Son, who lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

  Rev. LeRoy E. Clementich, C.S.C.