Radical Normality—Jesus The Christ, Part 2

April, 2005

by: Brodie McClain

Last month we tried to put ourselves in the sandals of the Jews some 2,000 years ago. We were waiting for God’s Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ. Would the day ever dawn that brought in God’s Rescuer, His Restorer, His Righteous One?

Then the day arrived when the virgin gave birth to a child. “The waiting has ended!” states Matthew in the first verse of his Gospel, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah…” The Messiah is here! His name is Jesus. But is this Jesus really the Messiah? Can we be sure that the Messiah has come? Matthew says, “Yes!” and then proceeds to give us thirteen proofs that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Long-awaited One.

The first proof is the genealogy in the first 17 verses. Have you ever wondered why genealogies are in the Bible? Maybe they exist to provide a nice lullaby before bedtime? Maybe they exist to help parents name their babies? Maybe they exist to give us an appreciation for the Hebrew tongue? Maybe they exist to test our love for the Word, in order to root out the weak? Maybe not. If you are guilty of slipping in to those atrocities you must repent! And do penance by reading 1 Chronicles 1-9 a dozen times, aloud.

Genealogies are actually very important. Did you know that one of the most important sections in Ruth is Ruth 4:16-22 which is a genealogy linking Perez with King David. Why is Perez such a big deal you ask? He just happens to be the Son of Judah who is the son of Jacob who is the son of Isaac who is the son of Abraham. And Abraham is an important person, for it was through Abraham’s line that all the families of the earth will be blessed (Genesis 12:3). To be in the line of David was equally significant for it was a descendant of David that would obtain an everlasting throne (2 Samuel 7:13; Jer 33:15).

So in the first seventeen verses of his Gospel Matthew is doing more than writing a lullaby. He is establishing the necessary link between the Messiah and his great-grandfathers, David and Abraham. This Jesus has the right lineage but there is more… (and why did I title this “radical normality” … if you guessed it then drop me an email)

Until that day the virgin gave birth to a child. “The waiting has ended!” states Matthew in the first verse of his Gospel, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah…” The Messiah is here! His name is Jesus. But is this Jesus really the Messiah?