December 15: The Royal Family of God
♫ Music:
Week Three Introduction
December 15–21
Title: The Royal Family of God
When Christ our King and God took on flesh and became a child, he was welcomed into a particular family, tribe, and nation. The entire Old Testament foreshadowed his coming through messianic prophecies and a multiplicity of characters who prefigured or were shadows/types of Christ. Out of all the nations on earth, God chose the children of Israel. In Deuteronomy 7:6–8 God says, “For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers.” Of the twelve tribes of Israel, Judah, the redeemer, became the progenitor of Israel’s monarchs and, eventually, of the Messiah. Patriarch Jacob/Israel foretold of blessings and kingship for Judah’s clan: “The scepter [of royalty] shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet” (Genesis 49:10, AMP). It has been determined that most Jews today can trace their lineage back to the great tribe of Judah.
That Christ would come into this world through the line of Judah and David is well established in both the Old and New Testaments. “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth’” (Jeremiah 23:5). Two genealogies of Christ can be found in the beginning chapters of Matthew and Luke. Some scholars think the genealogy in Matthew traces the ancestors of Christ back through the line of Joseph, the earthly or legal father of Jesus, while Luke’s genealogy traces the ancestors of Christ through Mary’s family tree. Both Joseph and Mary were from the royal tribe of Judah, thus fulfilling the ancient prophecy. It is intriguing to note that they were related—evidently cousins of some sort.
Dr. Michael Wilkins says this about Christ’s forebears: “Jesus’ ancestors were humans with all of the foibles, yet potentials, of everyday people. God worked through them to bring about his salvation. There is no pattern of righteousness in the lineage of Jesus. We find adulterers, harlots, heroes, and Gentiles….God was working throughout the generations, both good and evil, to bring about his purposes.” Among the members of this royal family were those counted as righteous. Boaz, David, and Solomon are all considered types of Christ. Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer, through marriage rescued the Moabite/gentile Ruth. Likewise, Jesus is the great Redeemer who through his salvific actions purchased for himself a bride from among the nations. King David, despite his shortcomings, is referred to as a “man after [God’s] own heart” (Acts 13:22). Christ, the Greater Son of David, is known as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” (Revelation 5:5) and “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). The powerful and wise King Solomon, whose name means peace, reigned over the united kingdom of Israel, building a permanent dwelling place for God in the holy city of Jerusalem. Christ Jesus, the lasting Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), referred to himself in Matthew 12:42 as one “greater than Solomon,” for his rule and reign shall never end.
Hear the glad tidings of Christmas: this King of kings assumed the form of a helpless baby and took on the guise of a lowly servant. Why? Because he chose and still chooses to abide in the “foul rooms of human hearts,” until paupers become princes, and out of the ruins, a new majestic family is born. “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy” (1 Peter 2:9–10).
Day 15 - Sunday, December 15
Title: The Genealogy of Jesus
Scripture: Matthew 1:1–16 (NKJV)
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
Poetry:
“Lineage”
by Jacqueline Johnson
My father’s father painted houses seafoam green,
colonial white, mule-bone brown.
Sea Island bred, a saltwater Geechee.
Black as they come kind of man.
His pretty eyes passed to all his children and
to generations who will never know him.
Who knows where the line begins?
The Gambia? Sierra Leone? Nigeria?
My cousin has seen five generations
pass through the Congress Street house.
My father’s father born in the 1890s,
among the first generation free of the fields.
Barely had an education, made sure
all his children went to Avery Institute;
were counted among the best of the new.
My father’s father was not considered a fighter.
Nothing like his son, hotheaded, known
for throwing his bosses overboard any ship.
My father’s father was a
soft-spoken, non-reactionary man.
Lived among the folk. Survived, made do.
My father’s father long gone before I was born.
Married to a brown, fire-brand woman.
His sons were rolling stones, husbands, and fathers.
His only daughter culled knowledge into
minds and hearts of students, leaving a legacy
strong enough to outlast her life.
Through a mirrored prism I find your face
peering from the bottom of a river
amidst swirling golden light.
Hard to tell if it is sunset or dawn where you are?
Eugene, you are not forgotten, your photo is
dusted pristine on the family mantelpiece.
THE FAMILY OF JESUS
This might be the most boring Scripture reading in the history of our Advent Project, but there really is a lot here! And artist Donald Jackson captures the richness embedded in our passage in his artwork for The Saint John’s Bible. The family tree of Jesus takes the shape of a menorah, reminding us of Jesus’ Jewish roots and human nature. The double helix structure of DNA also suggests his divinity and hypostatic union.
This genealogy reminds us that Advent is not simply about Jesus’ birth, but about his coming (for more, see Timothy Keller’s Hidden Christmas). We don’t simply celebrate the birthday of our great teacher, but we remember that God actually came on earth to save us as he promised he would. Jesus’ teachings are important, but what separates him from all other religious leaders is that he didn’t just come to provide good news, but to become our good news by living the life we should have lived (active obedience) and dying the death we should have died (passive obedience). This coming of Jesus is something that we remember as we look back to the first Christmas, and it is something we anticipate as we look forward to when he returns to make all things new (Rev. 21:5).
It is not surprising that Jesus’ kin include such luminaries like Abraham, Jacob, and David since we as humans like to remember the legacies of our important ancestors. But Matthew doesn’t gloss over embarrassing aspects of Jesus’ past, and overtly highlights them by incorporating five women into this patrilineal genealogy. Three of the women in this Jewish genealogy are surprisingly Gentile: Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth. Tamar pretends to be a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law (Gen. 38). Rahab was actually a prostitute (Josh. 2). Bathsheba is referred to as “the wife of Uriah” to remind the reader of David’s adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11). Mary was suspected of adultery by her community (Matt. 1:19). Jesus’ line is filled with outsiders––women, Gentiles, and the immoral.
Yet this is the family tree of Jesus that Matthew highlights to begin his gospel; it is messy and chaotic. And this is why Jesus has come––because we are messy and chaotic, and we need a savior. And the beauty is that Jesus invites us into his family and isn’t surprised or even embarrassed by what we might be bringing in. He’s not ashamed of our past and wants to be united with us, no matter how much of an outcast we feel like we are.
The beauty of Jesus being our good news is that our missteps and our past doesn’t define us. God can birth the beautiful from our mistakes, and we find our hope in being part of his family.
Prayer:
God, How great is the love you’ve lavished on us as our Father and calling us your children. We are grateful for your Son, Jesus, who’s coming has brought new hope into our lives. We wait for his second coming, knowing that he will make all things new. We live this life now in your Spirit, submitting our plans to you. We participate in your Body, with our brothers and sisters, believing that the church is the hope of this world.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Mike Ahn, Ph.D., M.Div.
Dean of Spiritual Development
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
Genealogy of Jesus (overall and detail views)
Donald Jackson
Gilded illuminated manuscript on vellum
© 2002
The Saint John’s Bible
Saint John’s University
Collegeville, Minnesota, USA
Used with permission
All rights reserved.
www.saintjohnsbible.org
The Gospel of Matthew begins with the genealogy of Christ. Reaching back into the Old Testament Scriptures to Abraham, progenitor of the Hebrew nation, Matthew lists the names of succeeding generations, culminating in the birth of Christ. This illumination is a family tree structured as both a tree of life and a menorah, the Jewish seven-branched candlestick. Placed at the beginning of the first gospel, the menorah serves as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments. A mandala-like cosmic image near the base is common to several religions and implies the universality of the search for God. The intricate gold medallions above the menorah were inspired by illuminations from the Koran. Reflecting our own time, patterns of DNA double helixes between the outer branches emphasize the connectedness of all humanity. The ancestral names flank the base of the menorah/tree and march up between the innermost branches. Abraham’s name appears in English and Hebrew, with that of his wife, Sarah, from whom these generations arose. Named in both Arabic and English is Hagar, Sarah’s handmaiden, with whom Abraham fathered Ishmael, the ancestor of the prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam. At the very top is the name of Jesus, in the same lettering style as Abraham, David, Mary, and Joseph.
About The Saint John's Bible:
The Saint John's Bible is the first completely handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned since the invention of the printing press. After a Saint John’s University–sponsored calligraphy presentation in 1995, master calligrapher Donald Jackson proposed a handwritten Bible to Fr. Eric Hollas, OSB, the former executive director of the Hill Museum & Manuscript Library at Saint John's University in Minnesota. Between 1996 and 1997, Jackson created the first sample illuminations for the proposed Bible while theologians at Saint John’s University developed an illumination schema for the project. The Saint John’s Bible, officially commissioned in 1998, was completed in 2011. During production, artistic director Donald Jackson oversaw a group of artists working in a scriptorium located in Monmouth, Wales. Using a mixture of the ancient techniques of calligraphy and illumination, the artists created illuminated manuscripts that were handwritten with quills on calfskin vellum decorated with gold and platinum leaf and hand-ground pigments. Gold leaf was used liberally to represent the divine, silver/platinum to reflect the principle of wisdom, and rainbows to show God’s faithful promises. A wide range of artistic styles, including iconography, abstraction, chrysography, and illustration, were incorporated to create a contemporary visual vocabulary for the sacred. A new script for the sacred text was devised by Donald Jackson to be readable, modern, and appropriately dignified. Meanwhile at Saint John’s Abbey and University in Minnesota, a team of biblical scholars, art historians, and theologians gathered weekly to develop the theological content behind the illuminations. This included not only developing the schema for the illuminations, but also identifying underlying themes and elements for the artists to incorporate. The Saint John’s Bible is divided into seven volumes and is two feet tall by three feet wide when open. It is made of vellum, with 160 illuminations across 1,165 pages. The Saint John’s Bible contains the text and notes of the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
https://saintjohnsbible.org/
About the Artist:
Donald Jackson (b. 1938) is one of the world's leading calligraphers and the artistic director and illuminator of The Saint John's Bible, a handwritten and illuminated Bible commissioned by the Benedictine Monastery of Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. At the age of twenty, Jackson was appointed to be a visiting lecturer at the Camberwell College of Art, London. Within six years he became the youngest artist calligrapher chosen to take part in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s first International Calligraphy Show after the war and appointed a scribe to the Crown Office at the House of Lords. As a scribe to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, he was responsible for the creation of official state documents. In 1985, he received the Medal of The Royal Victorian Order (MVO). Jackson is an elected fellow and past chairman of the Society of Scribes and Illuminators and, in 1997, was named master of the six-hundred-year-old Guild of Scriveners of the city of London. He is the author of The Story of Writing and The Calligrapher's Art. Jackson and his wife Mabel live and work in the Hendre, a converted town hall and outbuildings in Monmouth, Wales.
https://saintjohnsbible.org/
About the Music: “Christ” (single)
Lyrics:
Abraham fathered Isaac,
Isaac fathered Jacob.
Then Jacob fathered Judah and his brothers.
Judah, he fathered Perez,
Who fathered Hezron,
Who fathered Aram.
Aram fathered Amminadab,
Who fathered Nashon,
Who fathered Salmon.
Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab.
Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth
Obed fathered Jesse
And Jesse was the father of King David.
And David fathered Solomon,
By Uriah’s own wife.
Solomon he was the father of Rehoboam
Fathered Abijah
Who fathered Asa
And then Jehoshaphat
Jehoroan fathered Uzziah
Who fathered Jotham
Jotham he fathered Ahaz
Who was the father of Hezekiah
Manesseh he fathered Amon
He fathered Josiah
And Jeconiah and his brothers
Amidst the exile
Shealtiel who fathered Zerubbabel
Who fathered Abihud
Who fathered Eliakim
Who fathered Azor
Who fathered Zadok
Zadok featured Achim
Who fathered Eliud
Who fathered Eleazar
Who fathered Matthan
Who fathered Jacob
Jacob was the father of Joseph
And Joseph took a virgin for his wife
And Mary was the one who gave birth to the Son of God (2x)
And Mary was the one who gave birth
And his name is Jesus (4x)
Who is called Jesus
Wonderful Counselor
And his name is Jesus
Almighty God, the Everlasting Father
And his name is Jesus
The Prince of Peace, Almighty One
And his name is Jesus
Who is called the Christ.
About the Composers/Performers: Jesse and Leah Roberts (Poor Bishop Hooper)
Both hailing from small towns in central Kansas, Jesse and Leah Roberts began writing, recording, and performing together after their marriage in 2013. What began as a duo, weaving together a patchwork of melodies atop an upright bass and a guitar, has blossomed into numerous, multifaceted expressions of music, art, and ministry. Though they still often perform classic covers and simple tunes in simple places, they have been blessed to develop a vibrant musical ministry—ranging from full-band, heavy mood moments like that in The Golgotha Experience, to the string- and vocal-laden scores of Firstborn. Their most recent project, EveryPsalm, began January 1, 2020, and aims to release a psalm-based song each week until all the psalms are sung again. They have shared music and conversation with thousands around the country, in venues ranging from the largest of concert halls to the smallest of living rooms. Their hearts for the Creator and the endless, bountiful inspiration he provides are ever growing. They say, “We’re thankful for all that we’ve been able to experience, and for all those who support what we’re doing!”
https://www.poorbishophooper.com/
https://www.everypsalm.com/
About the Poetry & Poet:
Jacqueline Johnson is a multi-disciplined artist creating poetry, fiction writing, and fiber arts. She is the author of A Woman’s Season (Main Street Rag Press) and A Gathering of Mother Tongues (White Pine Press). Works in progress include The Privilege of Memory and How to Stop a Hurricane. Ms. Johnson has received an award from the New York Foundation of the Arts, has received the Middle Atlantic Writers Association’s Creative Writing Award in poetry, and has done residencies at MacDowell Colony for the Arts, Hurston Wright, and Blue Mountain Arts. She is a Cave Canem fellow, Black Earth Institute fellow, and VONA fellow.
https://www.jacquelinejohnsonarts.com/writing
https://brooklynpoets.org/community/poet/jacqueline-johnson
About the Devotion Author:
Dr. Mike Ahn, Ph.D., M.Div.
Dean of Spiritual Development
Biola University
Mike Ahn oversees the various departments in spiritual development: chapel programs, worship teams, Torrey Memorial Bible Conference, student-led ministries, and pastoral care. He is a graduate of Haverford College (B.A., History, ’01) and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div., Spiritual Formation, ’09; Ph.D., Educational Studies, ’22). If he could, he would have two In-N-Out cheeseburgers with chopped chilis, animal-style fries, and a Pamplemousse LaCroix for every meal.