One of the things that Christians tend to forget is that we share a common history with the Jewish people. Gordon Fee once wrote that, “as Christians the Old Testament is (our) spiritual history. The promises and calling of God to Israel are (our) historical promises and calling (Gal. 3:29).” Hence it is important that we understand what the Bible has to say about the human ancestry of our Lord Jesus Christ. For instance, the apostle Matthew tells us that Jesus is the “son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). Too often we read those words and never consider the implications that they have for our faith.

Matthew’s intention in writing his gospel was to prove to his skeptical countrymen that Jesus was in fact the promised Messiah. He confirms this by showing his readers how Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy. According to Matthew, Jesus is the true son of David (Matt; 1:1), the true Israel (Matt.2:15), the king of the Jews (Matt.2:2), and the focus and intent of the law (Matt. 5:17). At least forty times Matthew directly references Scripture to prove that Jesus is the fulfillment of all that God had promised to His people (cf. 2 Cor. 1:20). Nonetheless, one might say that Matthew’s most important declaration concerning Christ was the fact that Jesus is the son of Abraham (Matt.1:1). Today, we Christians may not need to be assured that Christ is the descendant of Abraham; perhaps we need to be schooled with respect to the significance of that fact.

The apostle Paul elaborates on this theme, going so far as to claim that Jesus is the only true seed of Abraham. He says that the promises which God made to Abraham and his seed were actually made to Abraham and his one (ultimate), offspring who is Jesus Christ (Gal. 3:16). Paul’s point was that one did not need to become a Jew in order to be a Christian. Honestly you might say that one became a Christian in order to be a Jew - a descendant of Abraham. Thus, “if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29).

Now, there’s a bundle of things that are part of being an heir “according to the promise.” Yet in this short article, I want to focus on a single item; God’s unusual behavior when He cut a covenant with Abraham. You see, when a covenant is made between a sovereign and his vassal the participating parities kill animals and cut them into pieces. Then both parties (representing themselves and their countrymen), walk between the parts of the animals and take an oath saying; “may it be done to me and my house as it has been done to these (animals), if I do not uphold this covenant.” However, when God made a covenant with Abraham, only one party to the bond passed between the sacrificial animals; and that one was God (Gen 15:9-21).

In other words, God promised to temporarily uphold Abraham’s part of the agreement, along with His own because He knew that Abraham and his descendants could not do so. Let’s face it, no one can live a perfect life. If Abraham had passed between the pieces of the animals, he would not have lasted a day. It would have been done to him as it had been done to the sacrificial animals and Abraham’s line would have ended along with the covenant agreement. Yet, in order for the covenant to be truly ratified, Abraham - or one of his descendants - had to pass between the animals and then fulfill the covenant stipulations. If that representative did so then Abraham and all of his descendants would be reckoned as legal participants in the covenant as well.

• A View At The "Last Days Church" People pour over the last book in the Bible and try and understand it. The people who are really keen to understand that book buy some of the books that have been published on the subject of the Last Days. In this article we are going to have a little......
• How To Search The Perfect Fitting Jeans? Before you leave the house in your favorite pair of jeans, stop and take a long look in the mirror. Is your backside sagging like a day-old diaper? Are your jeans so acid-washed they look like they should be in an 80's hair band video? If the answer is yes,......
• Why Did Christ Come Into the World? It seems to be a foregone conclusion today that Christ came into this world over 2000 years ago to establish his glorious earthly kingdom in Israel. And since he failed to do that at that time, he must return soon to set it up! This establishment of an earthly kingdom......

• Who is Jesus Christ? In The Third Jesus, bestselling author and spiritual leader Deepak Chopra provides an answer to this question that is both a challenge to current systems of belief and a fresh perspective on what Jesus can teach us all, regardless of our religious background. There is not one Jesus, Chopra writes,......
• Cut Cable TV and Still Watch TV On the Cheap Some folks have trouble making their budget,but insist on keeping the cable for entertainment purposes.  However, if you can’t afford it, you should cut cable TV because you will still be able to keep up with some of your favorite T.V. shows.  The internet, newspapers, and coworkers will keep you......
• The Million Mile Pickup Truck Earlier this week an article appeared on Yahoo featuring a man and his million mile pickup truck. You read that right; the truck actually rolled over one million miles in its seventeen year life. It struck me for a couple reasons. First, I drive a seventeen year old truck myself,......

Thank you for reading this post. You can Leave A Comment (0)