Missing people

January 2, 2008

The life of Jesus. Read Today: Genealogy of Jesus through Matthew. (Matthew 1:1 - 17)

My pastor recently spoke on this. What follows is a portion of the notes from the sermon. I think it is good to meditate on what he said.

Matthew 1:11 KJV
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

There were three sons ignored here. The uncles of Jechonias. They were the three Kings of Judah at the time of the captivity. Jechonias was called Jehoiachin and Coniah, the later being the one used most in the Old Testement. At this point the genealogy listing. Coniah was a believer but did not know the strength of God. He went to Egypt for help. That is when the curse came in:

Jeremiah 22:28 KJV
28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?

The word vessel shows he is a believer, but one that God finds no pleasure.

Jeremiah 22:29-30 KJV
29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.

The line was cut off here by the curse, they would no longer prosper when they sat on the throne. How could God keep the promise. Well the Luke genealogy shows us through the line of Nathan. This was another line of David. The lines never crossed.

Pastor Yandian basically focused on the fact that people were skipped in the genealogy. They were the people that did not believe that the Messiah was to be born. They are not mentioned. And when King Jehoiachin was cursed, it caused a need for another line to follow for the King of Kings to come from the line of David. We will see that in tomorrow's readings.

Read for tomorrow: Genealogy of Jesus through Luke (Luke 3:23 - 28)