Matthew 1:1-17
When I was young, my father told me that some of my ancestors were from Wales. For awhile I was confused about why they were whales, but I eventually figured it out. My father often talked with me about our family history. From him, I learned about my grandparents, great-parents, and great-great grandparents. From him, I learned what European countries and which Native American tribes my family came from.
Joesph must have done the same with Jesus. I imagine him saying, "You are from the tribe of Judah son. This is a royal tribe. Our ancestors were kings." I imagine Jesus as a young boy reciting his family tree, "Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah. . ." (Matthew 1:4). Jesus knew his ancestors and his family history. But there was another story his parents told him. "Yes, Joseph's family is from the tribe of Judah, but Jesus you are conceived from the Holy Spirit."
If an adopted child must grapple with his identity, imagine how much more Jesus must have struggled to understand who he was. What did it mean to be conceived from the Holy Spirit? What did it mean to be "of the tribe of Judah" and yet "not of this world"?
Then there were the townspeople, the mockers. Those who called him "illegitimate, the bastard". "Really, Jesus," they must have said, "the Holy Spirit conceived you? Isn't that the strangest lie ever made up?"
There's something powerful about taunts give to us in childhood--those words tend to haunt us into our adult years. So it makes me wonder when the devil tempted Jesus, when he said, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down" (Matthew 4:5), if that was not the first time, Jesus had heard those words.
We are not privy to know how Jesus formed his identity, but I imagine that at Jesus's baptism, when God the father said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17)--that the Father's words were a seal to what he had already discovered. But how precious the Father's words must have been to him.
Whose son are you? "I'm the Son of God."
Hi Julie!
ReplyDeleteThis is something that for sometime has me wondering.
Can you imagine the moment when he became aware of whom he truly was? Can you imagine when he became aware of his mission? (He explained that to the disciples on the way to Emmaus) It's amazing (to me at least) to think of how Jesus through his family's testimony, Spirit guidance and Bible study learnt of his identity and mission. Those must have been momentous revelations.
The trip to Jerusalem when he was 12 years old appears to be a time in which at least big questions where going on and at the same time being pretty much advanced in Bible understanding.
Anyway, thank you for your sharing your thoughts!
Daniel
Hi Daniel,
ReplyDeleteYes, I can't wait to get to heaven and understand and see more fully how Jesus discovered his own identity. And yes, it does seem he at least new by the time he was twelve.