Articles
The Son of God
Reading: Luke 3:21-38
Luke records the beginning of Jesus’s ministry with his baptism by John. Here Luke is inspired to include a genealogy of the Christ—yet unlike Matthew chapter one’s legal genealogy through Joseph, Luke gives us the physical lineage through Mary. In both family trees, Jesus of Nazareth finds family ties back to David and Abraham as a fulfillment of covenants made to both men.
But Luke’s record goes further. He shows that Jesus isn’t just a descendant from a Jewish ancestry, but a human ancestry. He traces the line all the way back to the first man, Adam, “the son of God” (v. 38). This echoes what Jesus was just told by the Father in verse 22: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
Every human being is a descendant from Adam and bears the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Sadly, we also choose the same fatal error as our original ancestor: rebellion against our Father. Jesus began his ministry, even while knowing that it would end on a cross, to bring light and life for Adam’s helpless race. It is through the Messiah that we find a new relationship with God as His sons and daughters.
