From Family Ties to Eternal Promise: A Look at Jesus' Lineage

When I was a kid my mom spent time researching our family history. The Kletzings immigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in 1833. Hannah arrived with five children. Her husband died either just before boarding the ship or at sea. The youngest was a baby, and he’s the one from whom I am descended. We made interesting discoveries. At one time there was a Kletzing College in Iowa. But does a study of our family genealogy change the way I live today? Not that I’m aware.

There are, however, some genealogies that matter, such as the one that begins in Matthew 1:1 – “The book of the genealogy of Jesu...