Matthew opens with a genealogy as does the book of Genesis in Chapter five where it says, “This is the generation of Adam….” But the book of Adam’s genealogy and the book of Jesus’ genealogy are radically different. The constant refrain in the Genesis genealogy is “…and he died.” It’s often called the obituary chapter. But the genealogy in Matthew repeats the phrase “…and he begat…” There is no mention of death. It’s through Adam’s line we inherited death. But it’s through Christ’s line we inherit eternal life.
Our Daily Bread commented on this passage by saying: You’ve probably heard the familiar story of the man whose name was printed in the obituary column of a daily paper by mistake. Greatly disturbed, he went to the newspaper office and exclaimed, “This is terrible! Your error will cause me no end of embarrassment and may even mean a loss of business. How could you do such a thing?” The editor expressed regrets, but the man remained angry and unreasonable. Finally the editor said in disgust, “Cheer up, fellow, I’ll put your name in the birth column tomorrow and give you a fresh start!” That’s what happens when we find new life in Christ.
Salvation changes our heritage from a living death to a deathless life.
Chuck
Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. (Psalm 146:1-2)