By Richard Balmer, Crosslinks Ireland Team Leader
‘This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.’ Matthew 1:1
Before Matthew tells us how the birth of Jesus came about, he reminds us of the bigger picture. Jesus the Messiah is the son of David, and the son of Abraham. ‘The son of Abraham’ sounds alarm bells that ring all the way back to Genesis 12 and the promises God made to Abraham: ‘all the peoples on earth will be blessed though you.’
Abraham received a global promise!
How will God bless the nations through Abraham’s offspring? When we reach 2 Samuel, we find a great king in Israel, King David. In 2 Samuel 7, God says to David, ‘I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.I will be his father, and he shall be my son.’
God promises David that a son will come and establish a kingdom forever. And, perhaps with this promise in mind, David pens a song. In Psalm 2 he expresses God’s promise: ‘I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.’
David received a global promise!
At Christmas, we celebrate the arrival of the one who will bless the peoples of the world and who will rule as God’s great King. We celebrate the arrival of God’s Son who will be given all the nations.
This Christmas let’s celebrate ‘Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham’ and give thanks that Jesus is establishing his kingdom today in the places where Crosslinks mission partners and projects are at work.