The Leave-taking of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross; Holy Apostle Codratus of Magnesia (249-52)
Ephesians 5:20-26; Luke 3:23-4:1
Read Luke 3:23-4:1
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
There are two accounts of Jesus’ genealogy in the New Testament: one in the Gospel of Matthew and the other in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ lineage with King David to show that He is the promised Messiah whereas the Gospel of Luke we read today emphasizes Jesus’ lineage with Adam to show that He is connected to all mankind and is the “New Adam.” Matthew’s Gospel was directed towards a Jewish audience whereas Luke’s was primarily towards Gentiles. Knowing the evangelists’ target audiences explains why each of them approached presenting Jesus’ genealogy in a particular way.
Luke places Jesus’ genealogy between the accounts of Christ’s baptism and His temptations in the wilderness. Christ’s divine Sonship was proclaimed by the voice of the Father at His baptism, and now with today’s reading we learn of Christ’s connection to Adam and all mankind. As we read on in Luke’s Gospel, we see how Jesus even experienced the temptations which we face as humans but with one difference: He never falls into temptation. The first Adam fell into temptation; the New Adam conquers temptation, foreshadowing His victory over sin and death on the cross.
When we look back at our own family genealogies, it can be interesting to discover the places our families came from and wonder what kind of people are ancestors were. Each of us has two biological parents. Each of our parents has two biological parents, meaning that we have four grandparents. They each have their own parents, and so we have 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great grandparents, and so on. The amount of people throughout history who came together to eventually create you is astounding to think about. When we think of Jesus’ genealogy, we should be struck by the same realisation. Numerous people throughout history with different life experiences were all human ancestors of Christ. Jesus is truly the Son of Man and the Only-Begotten Son of God.