Walking in the GENES of Our Forefathers - Matthew 1 Blog
During my Time Alone With God (TAWG) today, I read in Matthew 1, which started off with a lengthy list of the Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah. We can either choose to be bored by this list, or let our minds wander as we read these names and allow ourselves to be amazed. I’ve always found it to be so fascinating to even look back on my own genealogy and see some of the similarities between my Great Grandfathers & I. Can you think of any neat similarities that you have with your relatives that came before you? Can you think of some similarities between Jesus and any of those mentioned in His Genealogy?
Before my grandfather passed away I was intentional about spending even more time with him talking about his grandfathers, and I was so intrigued that I made sure to record these conversations. I learned that I got my funny jokester sense of humor from not only my grandfather himself, but from his grandfather too. Similarly, I look at David from the Bible, and am reminded of Jesus.
David fought and defeated a giant named Goliath. To do this, King Saul had suggested that David wear his royal armor to fight this giant. However, David wasn’t comfortable in the king’s armor as he simply wasn’t used to wearing armor… he never wore armor as a shepherd boy when he was fighting off lions and bears. Instead, he decided he would fight the giant with his sling and some stones. As far as we can tell, David was both offended and FEARLESS walking up to that giant Goliath. David said, “You come against me with sword and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head” (1 Samuel 17: 45-46a). And, when you read the rest of the story, you see that David did exactly as he said he would do.
You might be asking yourself, “How is James going to compare the life of David to the life of Jesus”. Well, Jesus fought and defeated a giant known as death. To do this, he did not wear a royal crown as so many that knew Jesus as “The Christ, The Son of the Living God” had hoped he would. In fact, Jesus did the opposite of what His followers had hoped, because He came to serve, not be served. Before he went to the grave, he did wear a crown, but it was a crown of thorns meant to mock Him. There were times when the disciples even took up swords to protect Jesus, but the Lord told them to put the swords down. The weapons that Jesus choose to carry were: Continuous Prayer, His Perfect Love, & His Blood. Jesus took all of those weapons all the way to the cross and continued to use them until He breathed His last breath. He defeated death three days later when He was raised to life from the grave.
One more thing that I want to mention that I feel is similar with David and Jesus, and that similarity is their FEARLESSNESS. I would bet that David perhaps had a moment or a glimpse of fear when so many around him were likely laughing at him and doubting him as he was trying on the kings armor and perhaps even as he was working his way through the enemy lines towards Goliath. But, I believe that his healthy anger to defend his God and his love for his God removed any and all fear as he knew that God would deliver this Giant into his hands and Victory was his in the name of the Lord.
Similarly we see Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just before He is arrested, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away from me unless I drink it, may Your will be done” (Matthew 26:42). I believe this scripture is huge in showing us just how human Jesus actually was as He walked the Earth. Jesus was battling the flesh and its desire for comfort as the road ahead was looking to be very uncomfortable. Jesus is fully God, but He is also fully human. So, you might look at this section of scripture as a moment where perhaps Jesus had a bit of humanly fear in moving forward with the planned task. But, the most important part of that prayer was “may Your will be done”, and when Jesus knew it was His Fathers ultimate will for Him to go to the cross, I believe He then operated FEARLESSLY. I feel this way because I believe that “His Perfect Love Casts Out ALL Fear”. I believe that the prayer moment in the Garden of Gethsemane was a pivotal moment for Jesus. His disciples kept falling asleep when they were supposed to be praying, just proving to Jesus that He can’t trust in humans or in human nature (fleshly desires), but that He needed to put His full trust and hope in His Father in Heaven. When He 100% knew of the Fathers will, He was able to transition ANY possible fears into His Perfect love. His love and sympathy for people was so incredibly huge and I believe that it grew with every step that He took on His way to the cross. As people beat Him, spit on Him, and mocked Him, etc., His love grew all the more for them as He so badly wanted them to experience the perfect love of His Father in Heaven. That drove Him FEARLESSLY to the cross as He knew that His death on the cross would bridge the gap between God and humans, and then people would finally get to experience the perfect love of God.
As Christians, the Holy Spirit dwells within us. That means that the perfect love of God actually dwells within us, and “His perfect love drives out ALL fear”. That being said, what is the giant that you perhaps have a fear of facing? Perhaps it’s time to have a “Garden of Gethsemane” prayer moment just as Jesus had, so that you can begin to face this giant FEARLESSLY, knowing that God has your back. Go deep into prayer with God asking Him to guide and direct your every step. Approach that giant in your life just as David did, with a healthy anger to defend your God, because the giant you are fighting is known as the father of lies (Satan). We fight that enemy with prayer and with the Truth that comes from the Word of God (The Bible), which is also referred to as our Double Edged Sword. Jesus IS the answer to all of the giants we face in life. Seek Him in prayer, seek His Word, and get to slaying those giants with the strength that comes from the Lord.
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