The ultimate fulfillment of the genealogy of Jesus Christ would occur one quiet night in an animal stable. Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, the birthplace of his ancestor, King David, just as God had planned since the creation of the world. The great King of all eternity would arrive on earth not in a plush palace, but under the humblest of circumstances. Israel’s promised Messiah, foretold of by a host of devout prophets, was born at last. Reading from the book of Matthew:
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. Matthew 1:17 (ESV)
God had initially chosen a people to Himself through the call of Abraham. These, the privileged “first fruits” of His spiritual harvest, were the foundation of His outreach to the entire world. The Lord would miraculously bring this people out of slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses, and ultimately brought them into the Promised Land. Their throne was established in Jerusalem for King David, and will one day become the site of the eternal throne of Jesus Christ, upon His return to earth.
Many centuries before the birth of Jesus, the people that God called willfully rejected Him and His covenant, turning away to serve and worship other gods. No longer under His protection, they eventually found themselves defeated and taken into exile in Babylon. Though they had broken the relationship, God still promised through His prophets that He would send a Messiah, to free His people from oppression and establish a new covenant. They would become the focus of an eternal, worldwide government, personally led by Jesus, and filled with His faithful believers from all over the globe. As revealed in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream given to the prophet Daniel, Christ’s kingdom will one day replace all of the great human empires of history, the prophesied one “not made with human hands”.
Prior to Jesus’ and His herald, John the Baptist’s birth, there were two visitations by the angel Gabriel. Gabriel had visited the prophet Daniel five centuries earlier to lay out the timing for the coming Messiah. Now, Gabriel paid visits to Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father, and less than a year later, to Mary, who would become the mother of Jesus.
When visited by Gabriel, Mary agreed to give birth to the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, through a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Her relative Elizabeth and husband Zechariah would bring Jesus’ herald, John the Baptist, into the world, even though Elizabeth was well beyond normal child-bearing years. John would go on prepare the way for the coming Messiah, as the Holy Spirit worked through him to draw vast multitudes towards a spiritual revival, baptizing them in preparation for Jesus and His new covenant.
But there was one bump in the road. Mary’s betrothed husband, Joseph, had not yet received an angelic visit, so upon learning that Mary had become pregnant, he naturally assumed that it was of human origin. So Joseph decided to quietly break off their engagement. But God was not finished sending divine messengers.
20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. Matthew 1:20-25 (ESV)
This is not the only time that God would speak to Joseph using angelic dreams. He would do so again after the young child was born to warn Joseph to flee with his family from Bethlehem to Egypt. This was because King Herod, like King Saul so many years earlier, would turn brutally homicidal in a futile effort to oppose God in order to retain his earthly throne. God again communicated with Joseph using dreams, first telling him that King Herod died, then directing Joseph to move his family from Egypt to Nazareth.
The most powerful Emperor of all time had finally arrived, born in a humble manger in Bethlehem, right on God’s timetable. His kingdom would start slowly, building throughout the centuries, but will one day grow to cover the entire world when the Messiah and King returns.
Reflection
Have you ever had a divine dream while sleeping, a divine vision when awake, or even heard the audible voice of God? Some people who I know have.
Father God, draw us closer to You and to each other through a deeper understanding of Your holy word, the Bible. Grant us the power to resist temptation and to obediently pursue love, forgiveness, and peace. Reveal Your majesty and awe to us as we seek to experience new dimensions of You and Your unlimited goodness. May You be praised forever. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have a blessed and beautiful day in the Lord today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 