77 Generations
(12) The Long-Awaited Gift of The Savior - Luke 3:23-38
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12
Dear Reader,
May “The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.’” (Numbers 6:24-26).
The Genealogy Passages of the Bible.
It is simple to ignore the Bible's genealogy sections. Finding out what the genealogy chapters are teaching or preparing us for can occasionally be difficult. Can I simply skip over the genealogy sections and go straight to the more significant parts of the Bible that I can relate to more easily? I'm not sure if I'm the only one who thinks this. Sincerely, do you share this opinion? Let us keep this in mind whenever we approach the Bible, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2nd Timothy 3:16-17.
Forty Two Generations from Abraham to Christ.
"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," according to Matthew 1:1–17, which outlines the forty-two (42) generations that led from Abraham to Christ.
Seventy-Seven Generations from Adam to Christ.
The genealogy in Luke 3:23–38 appears to differ from Matthew's in that it lists seventy-seven (77) generations from Christ to Adam to the Son and from Mary's line through Adam to God the Son. Why would a reader want to know the genealogy details? By pointing to the Lion of Judah, the royal line of David, Matthew sought to emphasize the lineage of Abraham to David and David to Christ. Luke's aim is to emphasize the Savior for all mankind. The prophetic promise that the Savior would come through the seed of the woman (Eve) was finally fulfilled, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.” - Genesis 3:15
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:12
77 Generations
Is the number 77 significant to Luke 3? I have read that seventy-seven is symbolic of unlimited forgiveness. Take the story of Matthew 18:21-23, “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven (77) times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.”
I have shared this story before in a previous post, but my daughter who is twelve (12) often likes to discuss bible passages with me after church or Sunday school. One weekend, we discussed together how Jesus came ‘full’ of grace and truth (John 1:14). I asked her what that means to her that Jesus was full of grace and truth? Her response to me was, Jesus was “full of forgiveness”. I love the heart of childlike faith, so simple and pure, so quick to understand concepts that take adults a lifetime to understand. The arrival of Christ at the seventy-seventh generation from creation (Adam and Eve) to the exact moment in time Bethlehem is perhaps no coincidence? The Savior offers full forgiveness to anyone (every tribe, tongue, and nation) who calls on Him. “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” - Acts 2:21.
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” - Ephesians 1:17
Every generation teaches and can be taught:
The generations before and after Christ's ascension continue to speak, some for warnings, others for edification, and some for a more subdued but still audible purpose. Take "Enoch," whose name translates to mean "dedicated." According to Genesis 5:24, “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”. Take Noah another example. According to Genesis 6:8, "But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." You can spend a lot of time reading and rereading the narrative of Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38), but one takeaway is that Perez possesses Canaanite blood through Tamar, which God grafted into the family of faith many years before Christ arrived. We can learn from past generations, therefore let's not be so arrogant.
I've been reading "The Overcoming Life," a book by D.L. Moody. Susannah Spurgeon sent Moody Charles Spurgeon's personal bible upon his passing, which was filled with numerous notes and remarks from Spurgeon himself. I suppose that this was an outdated practice. "Don't be afraid to borrow or lend bibles to others," Moody said. Moody described how someone borrowed his own bible to gain additional things out of it and then returned it with these handwritten notes, which he kept for personal reference:
Justification, a change of state, a new standing before God.
Repentance, a change of mind, a new mind about God.
Regeneration, a change of nature, a new heart for God.
Conversion, a change of life, a new life for God.
Adoption, a change of family, a new relationship toward God.
Sanctification, a change of service, separation unto God.
Glorification, a change of condition, at home with God.
(Source: The Overcoming Life, Classic Version, DL Moody, Bridge Logos, Page 46, Copyright 2007):
Questions or Comments:
Why do you think certain gifts, God makes us wait? Have you ever waited a long time for a certain gift and how did that change your life perspective?
What are things previous generations of faith have taught you?
What legacy of faith do you want to pass down to younger generations?
What is the upcoming generation teaching you about faith in Christ?
Listen to these songs, “Worthy of Your Name” and “The Blessing”, how do the lyrics to these songs relate to the genealogy of Luke 3 to you?
What do you make of the long lists of generations from the Book of Matthew )(Matthew 1:1-17) and the Book of Luke (Luke 3:23-38)?
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Love these genealogies, reminds me that I am sowing into my generation and all those after me! The Blessing is an awesome song, given by Moses to Aaron and his sons to bless Israel. That blessing has been cascading with mighty power from generation to generation for thousands of years!