Gospel in Art: The ancestry of Jesus Christ, the son of David

Genealogy of Christ from Thare to Zaram, Peter of Poitiers, Compendium Historiae in Genealogia Christi Early 13th C © The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore / Creative Commons

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 17 December 2022
Matthew 1:1-17

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah, Tamar being their mother,

Perez was the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

Ram was the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Salmon was the father of Boaz, Rahab being his mother,

Boaz was the father of Obed, Ruth being his mother,

Obed was the father of Jesse;

and Jesse was the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife,

Solomon was the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,

Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,

Joram the father of Azariah,

Azariah was the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah;

and Josiah was the father of Jechoniah and his brothers.

Then the deportation to Babylon took place.

After the deportation to Babylon:

Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud,

Abiud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

Azor was the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Achim,

Achim the father of Eliud,

Eliud was the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob;

and Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary;

of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.

The sum of generations is therefore: fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to Christ.

Reflection on the Medieval Manuscript Page

Someone recently told me that today's reading is her favourite reading. I was somewhat surprised because these initial verses of the Gospel of Matthew can come across as just a rather dry account of genealogy. However, this genealogy does span the whole history of salvation, from Abraham on, through David, in six groups of seven names (with seven being the perfect number for Hebrews). Jesus is the culmination of the story. This birth in just over a week's time, Matthew is saying, is what Israel has been waiting for, for two thousand years!

So the reading shows us that Jesus is the fulfilment of all God's promises and that everything has been carefully planned for a long time. The lineage presented here in Matthew also shows that not everyone in Jesus' lineage was perfect. God worked his plan of salvation through flawed people as well. This is why today's reading should be an immense source of hope and joy for us all.

Our early 13th century manuscript page depicts the genealogy of Christ from Thare to Zaram. This manuscript was created in the early thirteenth century soon after the death of its author, Peter of Poitiers, theologian and Chancellor of the University of Paris from 1193 to 1205. It is an early copy of his text, the Compendium Historiae in Genealogia Christi. The book was intended as a visual teaching aid. The pages in this book comprise roundels where all the figures of the lineage are depicted, accompanied by explanatory text.

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/

Today's reflection: www.indcatholicnews.com/news/46127