Why Jesus’ Genealogy Matters

Today’s post continues Logos Talk’s Christmas Bible study. Check back throughout December for more ways to study the birth of Jesus!

Biblical genealogies can be boring. So when I begin reading Matthew’s account of the birth of Jesus in Chapter 1, it’s easy to skip right over the first 17 verses and miss their significance. But with Logos 5, every passage of Scripture—even genealogies—is an opportunity to explore connections between people, places, and events, and uncover the truths they contain.

Since I’m already in Matthew 1, I don’t even need to leave my Bible to start exploring. I simply right-click on the word “Jesus”, select Person, and choose the new Bible Facts tool which opens in a new panel.

Matthew’s long list of names is now a visual guide for exploring the rich story of Jesus’ heritage throughout the Old Testament. Just clicking on any name lets me learn about each person and their significance in biblical history—from Boaz’s redemption of Ruth (Ruth 4:1–12) to Hezekiah’s cleansing of the Temple (2 Ch. 28:3–19).

I can also get a quick visual overview of these significant people and events using the new Timeline view in Bible Facts. I just click on one of the primary events listed for any person—say, Abraham. Now I am presented with an interactive timeline of the events that led up to Jesus’ birth.

So in just a few minutes, I am able to reacquaint myself with the story of the Old Testament—a story that Matthew’s readers would’ve been very familiar with.

By using the Bible Facts tool, I quickly begin to see that this genealogy is not merely a list of names—it’s a reminder of the Old Testament story. By going all the way back to Abraham, Matthew is stringing together God’s great work of redemption as the context for Jesus’ birth. The arrival of the Messiah, the “son of David” and “son of Abraham,” is what all biblical history has been leading up to.

And this just scratches the surface of what I can learn about Matthew 1:1–17 with the Bible Facts tool alone. If I wanted to explore further, I could answer questions such as:

  • How do God’s covenants with Abraham and David relate to Jesus’ birth?
  • Why does Matthew begin his genealogy with Abraham, whereas Luke begins with Adam?

With the Bible Facts tool, biblical genealogies are more than just names—they’re stories.

You’ll find all the tools we used today in Logos 5 Starter and higher. If you haven’t already, upgrade to Logos 5 and join us as we continue our Christmas Bible study.

Share
Written by
Corey Decker
View all articles

Your email address has been added

Written by Corey Decker
Help us improve Word by Word
This is default text for notification bar