Devotional: The end of the story Bobs Your Uncle Season 2.2

We show in less than five minutes what some call a meditation, a thought, a devotional to assist you in thinking along with me about a topic. And in this 5-part interim season 2, we are looking at the first chapter of the Newer Testament in the Bible. That means in less than 25 minutes you will have considered what Matthew, a tax collector, had to say about the characters in the genealogy of Yeshua, the Jew, and why we should consider him as relevant in the 21st century. 
Today's episode is about the upside-down listing of the generations of Abraham or Yeshua!

This is episode 2 of 5. 

Transcript

What follows in today’s episode of less than five minutes is what some call a meditation, a thought, a devotional to assist you in thinking along with me about a topic. And in this 5-part season, we are looking at the first chapter of the Newer Testament in the Bible. That means in less than 25 minutes you will have considered what Matthew, a tax collector, had to say about the characters in the genealogy of Yeshua, the Jew, and why we should consider him as relevant in the 21st century.

Devotional #2:  The end of the story

The Jesus Genealogy: What’s the point?

We read in chapter 1 of Matthew:
 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:Abraham was the father of Isaac, … Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

Titles matter whether you are in a bookshop or in a restaurant. We choose medications in the pharmacy by checking the label and making our decision. We pull up to the bowser and whether by colour or name, we fill our car’s tank. In all areas of life, we seem to use the labels both to warrant our continued approach and our acceptance of the matter.

In the Jewish religion the label, especially of genealogy, is always front and centre. Even in the Bible, the records of the genealogy of famous people are listed as the progenitor. The main man is the first one listed.  For instance, in Genesis 5, we read, “this is the book of the generations of Adam.” Then his genealogy follows. Similarly in Genesis 6, “These are the generations of Noah.” 

When Paul wrote his letters, he didn’t wait to the end to sign them; he wrote his signature at the very top. That’s normal in Jewish custom.

But at the very beginning of the Newer Testament, we have an upside-down listing. Rather than it beginning with “This is the record of the generations of Abraham,” as would be ordinary, it’s the final entry who is the main character. Matthew teases us, like a news presenter with the next story after the commercial, and thus we suffer the listing of at least 42 labels of Jewish names. Instead of “the generations of Abraham,” it’s actually the naming of Jesus at the last that caused Matthew to write. 

Many of my people today make the mistake of dismissing the story simply because we think Jesus is Italian or Norwegian; we don’t know his blood relatives are from the entire Jewish line. By convention, Jesus has been peddled to us as a Gentile, that is, a non-Jew, and his followers are all the same. If we become interested in him for whatever reason, we are treated as traitors. But the reality is that Jesus is the consummate Jew, from the patriarchal heritage.  He’s the upside-down star of the show, and the story is all about him.

Thanks for joining me for this episode 2 of the interim season 2. Remember, when things seem bleak or uncertain, look up to God, he’s in his heaven, and Bob’s your uncle. Shalom from Sydney.