Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

Last page from the Genealogy of Matthew depicting the Virgin Mary, Joseph, and Christ, illuminated manuscript:  From The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor, 1300-1307, painter Toros of Taron, p 35 (full manuscript)

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Elezar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.  

* * *

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

'Prepare the way of the LORD;

Make His paths straight.'"

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

 

- Matthew (1:1–17) 3:1–6 

 

  The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Elezar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.   Today the lectionary begins readings in the Gospel of Matthew, and that Gospel begins with this genealogy for Jesus Christ.  My study Bible comments that Jesus means "O Lord, save," which refers to His role as Savior.  Christ means "Anointed One," the Messiah, the One who is filled with the Holy Spirit (see John 1:33).  Although the Son alone became a human being, God the Father and teh Holy Spirit work in Jesus Christ to save us.  We note as we begin Matthew's Gospel, that it is understood to have an orientation toward a Jewish audience, and clearly from Christ's lineage we know that He became a human being as a Jew, from the lineage of Abraham, the father of all Jews, and of David, Israel's greatest king and the prototype of the royal Messiah.  My study Bible explains that this genealogy reveals that the Son of God so identifies with the human condition that God the Son takes it all on Himself and becomes part of it.  It is very important to note that Christ's ancestry given here includes both righteous and wicked people, faithful kings and murderers, Jews and Gentiles, kings and peasants.  If we compare to Luke's genealogy (which runs from Jesus back to Adam (Luke 3:23-38), Matthew's list makes clear Jesus' descent from Abraham, with whom God established the Old Covenant of circumcision, to Jesus, the author of the New Covenant.  My study Bible notes that God promised to bless all the tribes of the earth in Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 28:14), and this promise is fulfilled in Abraham's greatest son, who is Jesus Christ.  While Jewish genealogical lists would normally include men only, the mention here of women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba) is unusual.  Each one was either a Gentile or a sinner:  the inclusion of these women, my study Bible comments, declares God's graciousness and prefigures the calling of the Gentiles into the Church.  Also, it underscores powerfully the role of women in the plan of salvation by God, and especially anticipates the special place of the Virgin Mary in that place.  David was made king through anointing by Samuel -- but through his psalms, David was revealed as a great prophet.  Therefore, David foreshadows both the royal and the prophetic nature of Jesus Christ (Psalm 110).  David was also an adulterer and murderer, and so he also functions as a type for all repentant sinners.  Joseph is named here as Jesus' immediate predecessor as Old Testament marriage laws confer hereditary rights on adopted as well as biological sons.  The church fathers teach that Mary also was descended from David.  In the original Greek language of the text, "of whom" (in of whom Jesus who is called Christ) is feminine, which refers to only Mary.  therefore Jesus is shown to be born of Mary, but not begotten of Joseph.  My study Bible also notes for us that Christ's ancestors are arranged in three groups of fourteen generations.  Fourteen is the numerical equivalent of the consonants in the name David, which underlines Jesus' descent from David.  It also shows the division of the leadership of the Jews, being under judges until David, under kings until Babylon, and under priests until Christ.  

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight.'"  My study Bible comments that the wilderness of Judea is the barren region which descends from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.  The preparation for the ministry of Christ begins with the call of John the Baptist, to repent.  Repentance accompanies faith, and it indicates a total about-face, my study Bible says.  The word in Greek for repentance (μετανοια/metanoia) means literally to change on'e mind, or more generally to turn around.  Repentance is, in the words of my study Bible, a radical change of one's spirit, mind, thought, and heart, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life.  It is the necessary first step in the way of the LORD.  It is accompanied by the confession of sins and the act of baptism (Matthew 3:6), and followed by a life filled with fruits which are worthy of this change (Matthew 3:8).

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  The text gives us a hint about John's ascetic life, which was conformed to that of the Jewish sects such as the Essenes, who lived in the wilderness and whose devoted purpose was to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God.  John's clothing sends us "signals" regarding his role as prophet, as it is typical of a prophet, and specifically that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8).  My study Bible comments that the monastic movement in the early Church was patterned after John's manner of life.  This also gives us clues about the significance of John the Baptist in the arc of the story of salvation.

 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.  My study Bible says that confession of sins is essential to baptism under both the Old Covenant and the New.  But John's baptism was a sign of repentence and the forgiveness of sins alone; it did not confer total regeneration or adoption as a child of God, as does Christian baptism (Matthew 3:11).

 

 One important thing we learn from today's reading is all about God's hand acting throughout history to reveal and manifest the plan of salvation, especially through the human history of those who bore faith into the world.  From Abraham, through David, to Christ, Matthew's genealogy gives us the depiction of salvation history, working in and through human beings as God's spirit calls each one.  In this genealogy are both sinners and saints, Jews and Gentiles, and as my study Bible points out, those from all manner of life in the context of the society, including peasants and kings, men and women.  There is a continuity through history in this depiction, with humankind as the locus of a kind of battleground for the world.  We really can't lose that perspective (which a modern world all too often either forgets or represents as some sort of political or cultural battle), because it is truly the background for all spiritual struggle as depicted in Scripture, whether we are talking about pagan gods and idol worship to the present day.  This battleground takes place within human beings, but is basically spiritual in nature, and that is why we must take care in learning to read the Gospels and the Old Testament on which all is based, the context into which the New Covenant was born.  Therefore to read the genealogy of Jesus is to understand the entire arc of the spiritual manifestation of Jesus as human being, both God and Man.  This is because Jesus depicts for us the reality of God's work in the world, ultimately born as human being in order to live among us and fully experience human life, to give us an icon or image of what and who God is, and to call us all to the transformation within that image.  In so doing, Christ "conquered death by death" as the Orthodox Paschal hymn tells us, befitting today's reading so soon after the celebration of Easter.  Death, in this context, means not only the physical death of human beings, but also the realm of evil, synonymous with death, and personified in the devil.  As we begin the Gospel of Matthew, we are taken to chapter 3, the beginning of Christ's earthly ministry -- which, just as the genealogy of Christ reflects an entire history which prepared for the birth of Christ, we understand is also "birthed" through the baptism of John the Baptist, and his role as the last and greatest of all of the Old Testament prophets.  Without John, we could ask, would there be a ministry of Jesus?  We, of course, leave that answer up to God, with whom, Jesus tells us, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).  But the story of salvation works through human beings, as we understand from today's reading, and we cannot leave out the specific significance of John and John's role in this story, the one who would become the model for monasticism, as he was devoted to the Kingdom of God and its coming through Christ.  We are meant to understand the incredible significance of human beings, and their specific roles in the coming of the coming of the Kingdom of God, and in the ways in which God manifests God's work in the world, in and through God's creatures and creation.  We are not simply decreed a Kingdom from on high through celestial messengers, neither are human beings simply slaves of the divine, but there is quite a different economy going on here.  We are the center of the struggle for the world, as we human beings become the bearers of its "good news" or those who reject and participate on the "other side," so to speak.  The great spiritual battleground for the world and the cosmos, even the whole created order, is in the center of human beings, for we are the ones who participate in its reality or choose to reject it for ourselves, a constant struggle going on in the midst of our lives at any moment in time.  So, here we are, in what might be thought of as the center of human history, the moment we await Christ's Baptism in the Jordan at the hands of John the Baptist, the one who announces the preparation for Christ to the world.  Are you ready?  For that center is always within us, to receive and to prepare, to repent and to look toward Christ, to become "like Him" as He images for us what it is to be a bearer of the kingdom of heaven.

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight"

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and all his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shaltiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

* * * 

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the LORD;
Make His paths straight.'"
Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.  Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 

- Matt. 1:1-17, 3:1-6

In the last reading and commentary (on Tuesday of Easter Week), we read the final verses of Mark's Gospel:  When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  So, then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:  My study bible notes for us that Jesus means "O Lord, save," which refers to Christ's role as Savior.  Christ means "Anointed One," the true title for the Messiah, the One who is filled with the Holy Spirit (see John 1:33).   Although only the Son became Man, God the Father and the Holy Spirit work in Jesus Christ to save us.  As the genealogy indicates, Jesus became a human being as a Jew, from the lineage of Abraham, the father of all Jews, and of David, who was Israel's greatest king and the prototype of the royal Messiah.  The genealogy which follows reveals that the Son of God so identifies with the human condition that He takes all of it on Himself and becomes a part of it.  Jesus' ancestry includes both righteous and wicked people, my study bible notes, as well as faithful kings and murderers, Jews and Gentiles, and both kings and peasants.

Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. My study bible comments that Luke's genealogy runs from Jesus back to Adam (Luke 3:23-38), but here Matthew's list descends from Abraham, with whom God established the Old Covenant of circumcision, to Jesus, author of the New Covenant.  It notes that God promised to bless all the tribes of the earth in Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 28:14), and this promise is fulfilled in the greatest Son of Abraham, who is Jesus Christ.

 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.  Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.  Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  While Jewish genealogical lists normally would have included only men, Matthew gives of woman also in his genealogy.  The mention of women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba - her who had been the wife of Uriah) is unusual.  Each woman was either a Gentile or a sinner.  My study bible adds that the inclusion of these women declares God's graciousness and prefigures the calling of Gentiles into the Church.  It also underscores the role of women in God's plan of salvation and anticipates the special place of the Virgin Mary in that plan.   Moreover, through anointing by Samuel, David was made king.  Through his psalms, David was revealed as a great prophet, my study bible adds.  Therefore, David foreshadows both the royal and prophetic nature of Christ (Psalm 110).  And, let us note that as adulterer and murderer, David also functions as a type for all repentant sinners.

Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.  Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.  Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.  Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.  Josiah begot Jeconiah and all his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shaltiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.  Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.  Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.  And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.   My study bible explains that Joseph can be named as Jesus' immediate predecessor as Old Testament marriage laws confer hereditary rights on adopted equally to biological sons, giving us a deeper understanding of the power of covenant.  The church fathers teach, according to my study bible, that Mary also was descended from David.  Of whom (in this last verse cited here) is feminine in Greek, and therefore refers only to Mary.  Therefore, Jesus is shown to be born of Mary, and not begotten of Joseph.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.  My study bible points out that Christ's ancestors are arranged in three groups of fourteen generations.  Fourteen, it says, is the numerical equivalent of the consonants in the name David, which underscores Jesus' descent from David.  Moreover it shows the division of the leadership of the Jews, being under judges until David, under kings until Babylon, and under priests until Christ.

Today's lectionary reading does not include Matthew 1:18-25 and Matthew 2.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"  For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness:  'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight.'"  The wilderness of Judea includes the barren region which descends from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.  As we read from this beginning of chapter 3 in Matthew's Gospel, the preparation for Jesus' ministry begins with the call of John the Baptist for people to repent.  My study bible says that repentance accompanies faith, and is a total about-face.  In Greek the word literally means simply to change one's mind.  More generally, to turn around.  My study bible characterizes repentance as a radical change of one's spirit, mind, though, and heart -- that is, a complete reorientation of the whole of one's life.  It says it is the necessary first step in the way of the LORD.  It is accompanied by confession of sins and the act of baptism (see the final verse in today's reading), and is followed by a life filled with fruits worthy of this change (3:8).

Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.   My study bible notes here that John's ascetic life conformed to that of the Jewish sects such as the Essenes, who lived in the wilderness and who were dedicated to preparation for the coming Kingdom of God.  John's clothing is typical of and signifies that of a prophet (2 Kings 1:8).  My study bible adds that the monastic movement in the early Church was patterned after John's manner of life.

Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.  Confession of sins is necessary to baptism under both the Old Covenant and the New.  But John's baptism was a sign only of repentance and the forgiveness of sins -- it did not confer the power of total regeneration nor adoption as a child of God, as does Christian baptism.

There we have it, in today's reading -- the beginning (or genealogy, really) of Jesus Christ, and the beginning of Jesus' ministry, which also has as its genealogy the work and ministry of John the Baptist.  In these terms of "beginning," it must stun us how much preparation really went into the advent of the Messiah in this world.  Possibly, when we consider it, we are meant to see all that came before as necessary to the coming of the Lord.  Certainly the Church has always viewed Mary, the Mother of God, in this particular way.  She was not simply an empty vessel chosen to carry a child at random.  Her particular human nature, as His mother, was chosen to become His.  In the Christian (and Jewish) sense, this isn't merely some sort of flesh or matter alone, but the fullness of what it means to be human.  One wonders how much of Christ's tenderness toward women, His compassion toward His fellow human beings, His psychological understanding revealed in His dealings with people, came partially from His mother.  We cannot possibly know this, but we can get some glimpses from the Gospels of how close they were.  If those who are referred to in the Gospels as Jesus' "brothers and sisters" are really step-siblings through an earlier marriage of Joseph, then we can, in our own human experience of families, begin to understand the closeness of mother and Son. Moreover, we read in John's Gospel (he, of all the Evangelists, being closest to Mary) the story of the wedding at Cana, and the first sign that takes place in his Gospel (see John 2:1-11).   John lays out very carefully the actions of the Mother of God leading to this first sign or miracle -- see John 2:3-5.  In this reporting there is no doubt of the closeness of Mother and Son; and so, throughout the history of the Church, the importance of Mary as intercessor, and one from whom we request prayers, bears itself out from this story.  Furthermore, as Mary is present even at the Crucifixion, the Gospels bear witness of her steady and full faith in her Son as the Christ.  Therefore, we know her as Mother and as one who displays extraordinary faith through all things.  In this light, let us consider the importance of preparation, and how choices matter in our lives.  We may think that simply because God is all-powerful, creating something out of nothing (the entire cosmos and everything in it), that God will act to create anything God wants, such as an imperious emperor or a person with huge amounts of wealth drunk with their own power.  But truly, that is to mistake the character of God, and God's love of human beings.  For we are included somehow in this entire story, just as Matthew includes the genealogy of Jesus from the beginning of the lineage of the Jews and Father Abraham.  Choices are made, preparation comes through the fruits of faith, and a faithful and pure-hearted woman is chosen to be His mother, whom the Church sees as the greatest of the saints and chief intercessor for all.  Not for nothing have generations experienced her love and compassion as one who has suffered, sacrificed, and known tremendous loss and pain  -- and she is called one who turns no one away.  Let us consider in this light the foundations upon which our Church is built.  It does not simply appear only through the work of God alone (although, of course, nothing would be possible without God).  Rather, we understand God as gracious and loving, including and expecting God's children to participate in this birth, just as in each generation we are called as faithful to do the same.  God waits for us and counts on us and includes us in this great work of faith -- and that is the elevation of human beings in this great and ongoing endeavor indeed.  St. Paul writes that all of creation groans in this great work of redemption and salvation.  It did not begin and end on one day by fiat, but carries on through us and in us, a work of synergy and faith between God and God's people, the faithful -- and we still look forward, in an unshakeable hope, to the future through mindfulness of the work at hand.  We still need to prepare, every day.  Let us heed the words of the Baptist and the Gospel.  That voice still cries in the wilderness to us all, each generation.