Advent - Day 6

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. (Luke 2:26-27 ESV)

We return to the birth announcement again today to see an incredible revelation that points us even further to the great gift of grace God has provided for us in His Son, our Savior. Notice that Luke recalls for us that Joseph, Mary’s soon to be husband and step-father to Jesus, was “of the house and lineage of David.” Genealogy has become more important to the western culture. It was very important in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ time. It should also be important to us as it declares the freedom God has now given us. To really understand this principle we need to look at the end of Matthew’s genealogy. He writes the summary statement: So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:17 ESV). There are three divisions that Matthew recalls. Each of them comprises three segments of fourteen years, or six sevens. The birth of Jesus begins the seventh of seven years. This would have been the beginning of the forty-ninth year in the Jewish calendar. At the completion of this year, the “Year of Jubilee” would begin (cf. Leviticus 25). The Year of the Jubilee involved a year of release from indebtedness (Leviticus 25:23-28) and all types of bondage (Leviticus 25:39-55). All prisoners and captives were set free, all slaves were released, all debts were forgiven, and all property was returned to its original owners. In addition, all labor was to cease for one year, and those bound by labor contracts were released from them. One of the benefits of the Jubilee was that both the land and the people were able to rest. So, Jesus is the Redeemer who came to set free those who are slaves and prisoners to sin (cf. Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:1, 3:22). The debt of sin we owe to God was paid on the cross as Jesus died on our behalf and we are forgiven the debt forever. We are no longer in bondage, no longer slaves to sin, having been freed by Christ, and we can truly enter the rest God provides as we cease laboring to make ourselves acceptable to God by our own works. This is the heart of the gospel. It is the hope that brings us peace and joy! It is exactly what we celebrate!