Luke 3:23-38 (ESV)

23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

Luke provides the genealogy of Jesus and traces his ancestry all the way back to Adam. Luke begins with Joseph, Jesus’ “supposed” father (v. 23). The reader knows the Holy Spirit conceived Jesus, making Joseph Jesus’ actual stepfather. Jesus’ brothers and sisters were half-siblings. Mary was the mother of them all, but Jesus had a different father. The genealogy makes its way back to King David in verse 31. It was promised to David in the Old Testament that the Messiah would come from his descendants and sit upon his throne. In verses 32 to 34, Luke goes even further back, this time to Abraham. God promised Abraham in Genesis 12 that the whole earth would be blessed through his offspring. In the very beginning of the book of beginnings, Genesis, God revealed a plan for all people groups of the world. Finally, Luke ends the genealogy in verse 38 with Adam. In tracing the genealogy of Jesus all the way back to Adam, Luke shows that Jesus fully identified with the human race. Luke called Adam the “son of God.” This doesn’t mean Adam was the one and only Son of God in the same sense that Jesus was, but it does mean that as a human being, Adam was created in God’s image.

Sin came into the world through one man, Adam, and death came through sin. We may question the fairness of Adam’s rebellion against God placing all under sin, but it’s even more unfair that Jesus paid sin’s penalty. Adam was created, he broke God’s rule, and we all suffer as a result. Jesus had to put on human flesh, live the perfect life, be rejected by those he longed to redeem, and absorb the wrath of God to undo what Adam did. When we recognize that things in this life just aren’t the way they should be, let’s also remember the extreme lengths God went to in order to fix the problem. Not only has Christ solved our sin issue, but he will restore things to the way they would have been before the fall of Adam. Those who follow Jesus will receive a new body that won’t even have the ability to sin anymore. If you are tired or weary today, keep doing the right thing. Soon, you won’t ever desire the wrong.