When was the last time you stopped to carefully read the family tree of Jesus found in Matthew 1, or in Luke 3, for that matter? My guess is that, like most of the rest of us, you just skim over that passage and move on to the birth narrative.

Those pesky genealogies are tough to read, aren’t they? They are monotonous and boring, and full of names that we generally don’t know how to pronounce. And so we skip them, or if we do read them, we skim them and don’t study them too deeply. And that’s to our detriment.

I think that the genealogies gives us a good look into the character of God, and they do so in several different ways. Matthew’s list of the names in Jesus’ family tree is especially beneficial, because it makes a very solid case that Jesus is the legal heir and descendant to King David, and further, the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. Both of these would have been of critical importance to Matthew’s primarily Jewish readers.

That’s interesting in and of itself, but what if you aren’t Jewish? What’s the benefit for those readers? First of all, the importance of this passage for Jewish readers is also something for everyone to consider. The genealogy shows that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of a Messiah to come.

But I think there are some more reasons why we can study these passages, and a lot we can gain from them.

God cares about individuals

The genealogies show that God is not just all about the big picture. He is interested in the specifics, and shows that through his careful guidance of fathers and sons through the centuries to ultimately arrive at Jesus Christ. Many of the people listed in Matthew’s genealogy are people who carry faults and failures. Abraham was a liar, and so was Jacob. David was an adulterer and a murderer. Of the four women Matthew lists, one was a prostitute, another acted like on, and a third also committed adultery. And yet God cared enough about these individuals to use them as he carried the promise through the generations to come to a final conclusion in the long awaited Messiah.

God cares about families

Not only does God care for the individuals listed, but he cares for families. He chose Abraham to be the father of a family, who would ultimately provide a descendant who would be a blessing to every people on earth. Abraham’s family, specifically his son Isaac, was the result of a promise. And that promise finds ultimate fulfillment in Christ. But more than just Abraham’s family, God has made it possible for us all to be a part of this family. John 1:12 tells us that this family relationship is open to all: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”

God cares about all of humanity

When we can see that there are individuals and families that play a part in the story of redemption that weaves throughout history, we can see that God has his hands in the big picture. The genealogies show us people that actually lived in history, and as we see God interacting with all of humanity, we can see that our faith has a solid foundation to rest upon.

God cares about me, specifically

The genealogies show us that Jesus was God in the flesh. He was fully God, but he was also fully man. And as a man, he understands what I face, what I am going through. He had a family just like me. He had a job just like me. He dealt with friendly people and unfriendly people just like I do. He faced the temptations that I face. And he understand what all that is like, so he understands me.

And if he understands what it is like to be human, then he can help me navigate my way through this life as a human. He’s able to help me because he has been where I am, and he understands.

The genealogies of Christ have been recorded for a reason, and there is much that we can see about the character and nature of God in them. Next time you come to one of them in your Bible reading, stop and take a few minutes to study it more carefully. You might just be surprised at what you find there.

Question: When was the last time you stopped to really look at the genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3? You can leave a comment by clicking here.