“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” John 17:17
Matthew’s gospel begins with 17 verses dedicated to outlining the genealogy of Jesus Christ. We might be tempted to jump past it, thinking the story really begins in verse 18. However, Matthew wasn’t just a guy whose interests and skillset might have opened up a long and happy career with ancestry.com. Beginning his book with Jesus’ genealogy wasn’t an interesting aside for history buffs. By including Jesus’ family tree, Matthew reminds us that the Bible is staunchly a work of nonfiction. The story of Jesus is a factual account, and in it, we find the essence of all truth.
C. S. Lewis wrote,“There has been no lack of good advice for the last 4000 years. A bit more would not have made a difference… We never have followed the advice of the great teachers. Why would we be likely to begin now? Why would we be more likely to follow Christ than any of the others? Because He is the best moral teacher? That makes it even less likely that we shall follow Him. If we cannot take the elementary lessons, is it likely we are going to take the most advanced ones? If Christianity only means one more bit of good advice, then Christianity is of
no importance.”[1]
We didn’t need good advice. We didn’t need a good story. We needed a Savior. In reading names like Abraham, Isaac, Rahab, Ruth, David, Joseph and Mary, we are reminded that Jesus is the Promised One who fulfills and illuminates every other biblical verse. God wants to sanctify us, to set us apart for His holy purposes, in the truth of His Word as He has done with His children throughout the ages. So Matthew didn’t begin the gospel account with “Once upon a time in a land far, far away.” Neither did he begin by giving us a list of virtues or moral precepts to enlighten us. He began it by making sure we understood Christianity is not merely a good story or set of principles that will help us live a good life; it is actual history—truth that impacts the course of our lives for eternity.
- What names in Jesus’ genealogy has God used to lead you to a greater understanding of truth? How?
- Pray: Thank God that the gospel of Jesus Christ isn’t simply good advice about one way you can live life well but that it is historical, transformational truth. Ask Him to help you not dismiss His Word or take it for granted but to seek Him with your whole heart as He sanctifies you by His truth.
[1] Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, 156.