LENT BLOG SERIES: Preparing Jesus
Lent 3: 3rd March:
2. In the line of David
“13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14)
Paul was very clear that the Kingdom of God and all its riches are inherited by sons and daughters of God. In this way we are brothers and sisters in the family of God and there are rewards awaiting the faithful. That which is Christ’s will be passed on.
As we continue to consider how Jesus was prepared for ministry, this week the question is – what does it mean that Jesus was in the line of David? What did he inherit through his genealogy?
We find one genealogy in Matthew’s Gospel in Chapter 1 (there is a Lukan version too). We find an interesting set of biblical characters there (how many can you name?*) – a man credited with righteousness through faith but who was too afraid to admit his marriage that he presented his wife as his sister, a Father who was a swindler and shows favouritism to some of his sons, one who maintained the family line by tricking her Father in law to father a child, thinking she were a prostitute, an upright man who marries his family member out of duty (and maybe out of love?), a foreigner who follows her Mother in Law and faithfully supports her, a grandson who is the father of a King to be, a king who unites a kingdom, cheats and lies and leads Israel to victory, who repents and passes on to his wise son who is in line of a dynasty littered with errant idolaters and rebels against the law of the Lord mixed in with the occasional faithful King who would return to God and his ways, then after exile a series of generations that lead to:
“Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. (Matthew 1:16-17)
Just imagine what would turn up if Jesus were to do an episode of Who do you think you are? All the above and more! There is something comforting in the fact that the perfect, sinless Son of Man should come through a line of variable, often dysfunctional ancestors! It is indicative of how God works through the mess of fallen humanity rather than being separated from it.
But the key motif in the ancestry of Jesus is the House of David.
We see this in many ways from the start of the New Testament where prophecies are fulfilled in the nativity story.
Isaiah proclaimed “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit 2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord –
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:1-2). Jesse was David’s Father and this describes Jesus’ own mission and being – with the Spirit resting on him.
We know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but why was it there? “4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.” (Luke 2:4) Joseph’s family, are of the line of David.
And the birth in Bethlehem ties in with the prophecy of Micah “‘But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans] of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.’ (Micah 5:2)
Jesus, through his place in Joseph’s family, lies squarely in the line of David. According to Luke this is through Mary’s line, so doubly so!
Why is this important? In what way is this preparation for the ministry of Jesus, the saviour, the Son of God, come to save the world?
Who was David?
David was Jesse’s youngest son of eight. The people of God demanded a King and despite Samuel’s concerns, God warned them what this might mean and then granted them their wish, to be like the nations that surrounded them.
Saul was chosen and anointed King by Samuel, the prophet. Later, as a young boy, David is chosen from among his much more likely brothers to be anointed King, while Saul makes a series of disastrous choices. David was the unlikely hero in the face of the giant, Goliath the Philistine, whom he slayed with a single slingshot. David, a skilled musician, became the soother of King Saul who by now was suffering significant angst.
Eventually Saul sees David as his enemy and hunts him down and David retreats and hides in the mountains and caves. David had met and immediately formed a bond with Jonathan, Saul’s son. Jonathan saved David and eventually Saul is defeated in battle and dies an ignominious death.
At 30 Years old David is crowned King of Judah. After 7 years David was made king of Israel too, a warrior king who is also a poet and many psalms attributed to him. David made plans to build a temple to god in Jerusalem, his new capital of the United Kingdom of the 12 tribes, but God told him it was not his task to undertake. David received many other promises including that his line would be a royal one 16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.”’ (2 Samuel 7:16)
Sometime later, David fell into sin, through lust for another’s wife. Not only did he commit adultery he lied and cheated and abused his power so that Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, died in battle – isolated and alone. David repented after being accused by the prophet Nathan (see psalm 51) and paid a price through the death of his son. The drama continues through the succession where Solomon, Bathsheba’s son, becomes a wise King to follow David, and it is he who builds the temple to the Lord.
David was 30 years old when he became king of Judah and reined in total for 40 years.
David was chosen, anointed and prophesied over with a legacy that went beyond his generation. He was flawed and weak, especially in his later years, where he felt secure in his position and absolute power. He was a warrior poet who left (and inspired) many words of human emotion and godly praise that we call the psalms. To be in the line of David meant having the eternal promise of God over you and the long-term future for humanity, not just Israel, ready to be fulfilled. And that fulfilment came with Jesus.
That Jesus was both fulfilment and greater than David is highlighted by a short exchange we find in Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost.
29 ‘Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
‘“The Lord said to my Lord:
‘Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.’”[f]
36 ‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.’ (Acts 2:29-35)
Jesus, being in the line of David, was prepared from the beginning to be the fulfilment of God’s plan. God sent the perfect human to fulfil the promises to a great but flawed human King. The Davidic history and legacy was well known to the crowds and Peter’s audience. This gave credence to Peter’s claims about the resurrection and the import of what had happened here. They responded:
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’
Peter responded in turn with the Gospel in just a few words:
‘Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call.’
Peter and Paul agree, through David’s line, Jesus was the Messiah and King, and his death and resurrection opened the door for all to become inheritors of the Kingdom.
All we need to do is repent and believe.
That’s the invitation.
Will you accept?
Do it today.
Yours in Christ
Doug
Any questions about this or anything contact vicar@christchurchpurley.org.uk
*Abraham, Jacob, Rahab, Boaz, Ruth, Obed, David, Josiah / Hezekiah
LENT BLOG SERIES: Preparing Jesus