The Son of God: St. Luke 3:23-38

St. Luke 3:23-38: "Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God."

I imagine there are some people who get to these sections in Scripture, the ones with a long list of names, and think, "filler . . . skip." But these genealogies do relay more than just a person's bloodline. Today we get the bloodline of our dear Lord Jesus from the Evangelist St. Luke.

Let us begin by pointing out the differences between St. Luke's genealogy and St. Matthew's genealogy (St. Matthew 1:1-17): Here are two major differences. First, St. Matthew descends from Abraham to Jesus; St. Luke ascends from Jesus to God. Second, St. Matthew includes in his genealogy a reminder of certain people's sins (Tamar, who bore Perez by playing the harlot to get Jacob to sleep with her; Rahab, whose trade was a harlot, gave birth to Boaz, the grandfather of David; Bathsheba, who isn't even called by name, but rather given the title of "her of Uriah," who gave birth to Solomon the son of David; there is also included the listing of all the wicked kings of Judah, who disobeyed God). Therefore, one could say that St. Matthew's geneaology is full of sinners. This is not so with St. Luke, St. Luke leaves out the infidelities in our Lord Jesus' lineage. Both St. Matthew's and St. Luke's geneaology is by design. St. Matthew wishes to portray that the Savior of mankind has come that was promised to Abraham. St. Luke, however, is portraying the righteousness of Christ.

This is why St. Luke's genealogy takes place directly after the baptism of our dear Lord Jesus. In the same way that He purified the waters of the Jordan, and thereby purified all water for baptism, drowning the Old Adam in the River Jordan, He now purifies His whole lineage, all the way back to God. The genealogy starts with the Son of God, our Lord Jesus, and ends with the son of God, Adam. The first son of God, Adam, was made by Father, the second Son of God, was begotten by the Father. Adam was created in the image of God, but on account of his sin, that image was corrupted and distorted. Our Lord Jesus restores that image, it was for this reason that He descended from the Father, in order that He might ascend back to the Father, bringing Adam (and all who are is descendants by adoption into Christ) with Him.

Therefore, this genealogy ties back into the baptism of Our Lord Jesus, because just as the voice from heaven declared that our Lord Jesus was His "beloved Son," so too are we His beloved Sons by adoption, through this baptism. Hence, when people ask you, "Who is your father?" You may rightly reply, "My Father is God the Father in heaven."

This is the gift of our dear Lord Jesus to us. Adam destroyed the Father/son relationship he had with the Father, but our Lord Christ restores that Father/Son relationship. And He transfers to us that relationship. We are all now God the Father's sons, on account of our baptism. And make note that I did not say "sons and daughters," this is both theologically and Scripturally incorrect. The inheritance belonged to the firstborn son. Our dear Lord Jesus is the firstborn Son, and through baptism, He makes us co-heirs with Him. He makes us all "sons." Both male and female.

But this should not cause anyone any great consternation, for by calling all those who are adopted into this sonship, "sons," our Father in heaven is claiming us as His own. He is saying to us, that He loves us as much as He loves His Firstborn Son, our Lord Jesus. And just as our Lord Jesus is perfect and holy, so too are we, on account of Him, perfect and holy through our baptism. So that, even as our Lord Jesus is called the Son of God, we too are called sons of God. And thereby receive all the benefits of sonship, that is, eternal life with our Father in heaven.

Rejoice this day that our Father in heaven as called us His sons through the waters of baptism, and pours out upon us His grace.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

This One Will Comfort Us: Genesis 5:1-32

Genesis 5:1-32: "1 This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. 3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. 4 After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. 5 So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. 6 Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. 7 After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. 9 Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. 10 After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. 12 Cainan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13 After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived eight hundred and forty years, and had sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. 15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and begot Jared. 16 After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, and had sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years; and he died. 18 Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch. 19 After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years; and he died. 21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. 25 Methuselah lived one hundred and eighty-seven years, and begot Lamech. 26 After he begot Lamech, Methuselah lived seven hundred and eighty-two years, and had sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. 28 Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed." 30 After he begot Noah, Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and had sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died. 32 And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth."

The geneology from Adam which leads to Noah, contains one striking detail, and that is the ages of these offspring of Adam. I get asked the question all the time of why these men lived so long compared to our life spans. Many theories have been put forth, but the reality is that the reason why we don't live as long as these men is the affect of sin upon both mankind and nature. Sin, death, and the devil, have completely enveloped the world, and they have left it in darkness and despair. Death surrounds us all the time, we are always hearing of someone who has died. For Christians, we can take comfort in the Resurrection from the dead, just as our dear Lord Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. But for those outside of Church; those who do not believe that our dear Lord Jesus fulfilled the Law of God, which they cannot, nor are able to fulfill, or are not that bad to merit condemnationon their behalf, and suffered and died in their place, and now gives us forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation, through the preaching of the Word, and the adminstering of the Sacraments, have no hope for a Resurrection from the dead.

 

Such was the case of the men of the world before and at the time of Noah. But the one True God shows His mercy, by giving to this lost generation the gift of a baby boy, named Noah. Noah means "rest." Noah was meant to be the rest for this lost generation. And Noah fulfilled that task, by preaching to the people of that generation, the warning of God of a flood which would destroy the whole Earth. But as we learn, they did not heed that warning.

 

The One True God, has sent His Son, to dwell in our flesh, so that we might have "rest." Rest from the terrors of sin, death, and the devil. And He sends out to this fallen generation His ministers, those who embody the message Noah, proclaiming all to come into the Ark of the Church, to be rescued from the flood of sin, death, and the devil. This Ark of Christendom, carries us through this life, we enter through waters, the waters of Baptism, and are carried through the means of grace, to our eternal home, where live not just for several hundred years, but for all of eternity. And unlike this life which is fill with dread and trouble and strife, our eternal life is filled with joy and peace, and indeed, rest.

 

So this evening we take our rest in the comfort of Noah, the comfort of the Ark, the Ark of our salvation.

 

God's peace be with you!

 

Deacon Dulas