School of the Word
Advent Series: A Time to Make Room for God to Act 1/4: Genealogy of Jesus and St Joseph
by Sr. Sandra Seow
By Sr. Sandra Seow// Passages
The Ancestors of Jesus Christ
This is the list of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, a descendant of David, who was a descendant of Abraham.
From Abraham to King David, the following ancestors are listed: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers; then Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar), Hezron, Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.
From David to the time when the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon, the following ancestors are listed: David, Solomon (his mother was the woman who had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.
From the time after the exile in Babylon to the birth of Jesus, the following ancestors are listed: Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim, Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, who married Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was called the Messiah.
So then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and fourteen from David to the exile in Babylon, and fourteen from then to the birth of the Messiah.
Birth of Jesus
This was how the birth of Jesus Christ took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was a man who always did what was right, but he did not want to disgrace Mary publicly; so he made plans to break the engagement privately. While he was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife. For it is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. She will have a son, and you will name him Jesus—because he will save his people from their sins.” Now all this happened in order to make come true what the Lord had said through the prophet, “A virgin will become pregnant and have a son, and he will be called Immanuel” (which means, “God is with us”). So when Joseph woke up, he married Mary, as the angel of the Lord had told him to. But he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth to her son. And Joseph named him Jesus.
Matthew 1:1-25
Points from the session:
Jesus’ family tree throws light on our lives. It gives us hope because God writes straight with our crooked lines. He can bring good out of our mistakes, flaws and negative experiences of our lives. We too have a role in bringing Christ to the people around us.
Jesus’ genealogy shows us that it is ok not to have a perfect family. We are called to love and accept each member of our family. Like St. Joseph, we can use our faith to shape and form our family life, our friendships and make a difference in the lives of others. As we draw closer to the Advent season, let us give God room to act by giving our daily “Yes” to Him and do what He tells us. By doing so, we can bring Jesus, Emmanuel, God-with-us into the lives of those around us.
“We know that in all things God works for good with
those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
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