There was a widow and her daughter-in-law, and a man and his son. The widow married the son, and the daughter the old man; the widow was, therefore, mother to her husband's father, consequently grandmother to her own husband. They had a son, to whom she was great-grandmother; now, as the son of a great-grandmother must be either a grandfather or great-uncle, this boy was therefore his own grandfather.
Confused yet? This was a true story first reported in the U.S. in the Republican Chronicle of Ithaca, New York on April 24, 1822. The story was copied from the London Literary Gazette as they reported the event that had happened to a young boy in Norwich, England. I have read and re-read of the event many times and each time leaves me scratching my head.
I’ve also had conversations with my mom that resembles this. So and so’s great grandmother was my 5th cousin twice removed and so on. Our family trees can indeed get very complicated. And this complication can ensue in only a few generations. But what if I were to tell you that I wanted you to trace your lineage 2000 years back. Yes, 2000 years, that’s about 80 generations. And I want you to do it with factual perfection. And I want all of the names and lines as proof. Did I mention it has to be 100% accurate and without error? No DNA genealogy site in the world would touch that challenge, it’s just not possible to achieve. But yet, that is exactly what we see playing out in the brilliant genealogical lists that lay before us in 1 Chronicles chapters 1-9.
You really must grasp the importance of the accuracy of the lineage of Jesus. You see God has big shoes and He must fill them. If you claim to be the truth, then well, you must be truth all the time, every day…forever. If you claim a prophecy will happen in the future, it must happen 100% of the time, all the time. If it fails even one time, then you’re not proclaiming truth, but falsehood. You see, every promise and prophecy that you casually read about God in His Word is not taken casually by God. He takes it very seriously. One slip up, one error, and His entire reputation is at stake.
Observing and witnessing the prophecies of God is something that should keep you covered in goosebumps. The prophecies alone concerning the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus have been figured by "smart math people" as incalculable. Yep, for God’s Word to predict the coming of one man and that that same man would endure exactly what He did in the exact ways He did, is mathematically impossible. There’s just not enough zeros in existence. Now God is just showing off, right?
But another incalculable set of probability is the genealogy of Jesus. Think of it this way. The average adult human body contains over 100,000 miles of blood vessels. That’s enough to stretch around the Earth’s 25,000 mile equator an amazing 4 times. Now imagine the blood vessel that’s in your big toe. It goes somewhere, right? Ok, trace it. I want you to think about tracing that very vessel all the way to its origin. Pretty tough right? I mean, you know it’s in your body, you know it’s working and if you cut that vessel it will bleed, but I need proof of its source. You see, the proof is the hard part. And God does the hard part throughout his genealogies. Of not just claiming that Jesus is the lineage of Abraham and David, but proving it.
All the way back in Genesis after Abraham had in obedience placed Isaac upon that altar, we see God allude to the lineage of Christ.
“And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Genesis 22:15-18
God soon restates the same promise of lineage to Abraham’s son Isaac.
“And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 26:4
And then to Isaac’s second son, Jacob.
“And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” Genesis 28:14
All the way back to the trunk of the human family tree, we see God promising One will come that will bless the nations of the Earth. And today in 1 Chronicles 3 we see the limbs of that tree continue to stretch out in wonderous proof. You see, it’s not just important that Jesus be born, it’s important that He be born in exactly the way that God said He would be born. For the Word of God contains something that exists in no other place today…pure and absolute truth. You can’t find pure truth in other people, you can’t find it in human love, and you can’t find it in relationships, all are destined to fail at some point. You can’t find it in leaders, governments, or organizations, for they are led by people and those people are destined to fail. You can’t find it in textbooks, media, TV or movies, for they are created by men and women that are doomed to see failure. You see, God has cornered the market on truth, if you want it, He is the sole possessor. And He earns the right to every single shred of it through the Glory of His Words, His promises, and the proof of His prophecies.
If your life today seems unfilled, that feeling is there for a reason. If you feel hollow and unsatisfied, it’s not an accident, that is your soul crying out to be quenched. Just as we can die of thirst in a desert, our spirits can die of thirst without a drink from the living water of God. You see, our spirits are constantly seeking what the world cannot provide. Pure and absolute truth, goodness, and righteousness. Our hearts seek unconditional love, mercy and grace that is pure, true and cannot be withdrawn, forgotten or changed. The world and the humans that live within this world cannot provide these. All men and women are destined to disappoint us at some time. All organizations will fail in some way. All governments will bow to pride, greed and self-serving. You can only go to one place to satisfy what your soul is craving today…Jesus Christ.
If your emptiness is persisting, I bet that you’ve been all over to try and satisfy it. Motivational books, psychology, different religions, positivity programs, and maybe even drugs or alcohol. But you see, none of those will truly satisfy what you crave. Why not try Jesus? Why not go straight to the well of a living God that offers His living water to those that truly seek it? What have you got to lose? Call out Jesus Christ today and ask Him to forgive you of the wrongs that you have in your life. Pride, selfishness, anger, sexual immorality, greed, and addiction are all sins that create distance between you and God. Not that God moves away from you in your sin, but that we move away from God in our sin. Get rid of the sin in your life that causes that barrier and draw close to God. And as you do, ask Jesus to save you from the reckless destructive pattern of that sin. He is faithful to hear and faithful to save all those that call upon His name.
And folks, as you read today, if He can accurately trace the lineage of Jesus through over 18 centuries with perfection, His promises are true and trustworthy. Trust in the power of Jesus today and watch His pure truth and limitless love change the very way you walk in this world.
If you're reading this, you're being prayed for.
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