Luke 3:23-38 Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. Jesus was the son (so it was thought) of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Malaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (EHV)

Did you make it through this section? I would guess that if you were to read through the book of Luke, this section is one which you would either skip or, at best, speed read. So many names, and most of them are of people about whom we know nothing except that they were ancestors of Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus. It's hard to get through the list when there are 76 “son of” sections. It can take a long time to read through them all! In biblical genealogies, “son of” actually has more of an idea of “male descendent of.” This means that this list actually covers more than 76 generations! If you start to add up the approximate length of these lifetimes on this earth, each person passing on from one generation to the next the promise that a Savior would be coming, you can begin to appreciate how long the wait was. Starting toward the end of the list, Adam told Seth, who had to wait. Seth told Enos, who had to wait. Enos told Cainan, who had to wait. He told Malaleel. More waiting. He told Jared. Even more waiting. He told Enoch, who told Methuselah, who told Lamech, who told Noah, who told Shem. And for God's people, the telling, and the waiting, went on and on.

Now look back to the first verse of this section, saying that Jesus was about 30 years old when he began his ministry. Joseph isn't mentioned any more after Luke chapter 2 with the account of the 12-year-old Jesus. While it is possible that he was too busy with his carpenter work, or physically unable to travel with Mary when we later see her with Jesus, it is likely he had died by this time. If that is so, he had to wait after Jesus' birth at least 12 years to see the fulfillment of the promise of the Savior, and still wouldn't have seen it finished. And Mary had to wait for 30 years for Jesus to start his ministry, and then the approximate 3 years of his ministry, to see the plan of salvation accomplished. That's a long time to wait!

So what does this section of Scripture have to say to us, as Christian parents of children with extraordinary challenges living two millennia later? First, and most importantly, is the message that through all that waiting, God was faithful and kept his promise to send a Savior who would bring forgiveness of sins. Yes, forgiveness for every time we have been imperfect parents, and not just “failed” at something, but actually sinned in the process. Forgiveness for our children every time they acted on their sinful natures.

Second, we don't know much about most of the people in this list except that they were someone's child, and also someone's parent. God could have had Luke write, “Jesus was the son (so it was thought) of Joseph, descendent of David, descendent of Abraham, descendent of Noah, descendent of Adam.” Instead, God deemed the role of these other people as parents important enough to include them in the Bible. So when you feel like “only a parent,” think back to this section!

I see a third, less direct message of comfort for us as well. God sees situations in a different way that we tend to. From the first promise of a Savior to his arrival thousands of years later, God saw where his plan for his Son was heading. And he sees his plans for your child as well. It might seem like it's taking so long for a child to master a certain task, or get through a difficult hurdle! And we might never see it happen in our lifetime. But don't get discouraged. God is still seeing where your child is heading. And he's using you here and now as one part of that journey—even if it seems like it means a lot of waiting. And maybe someday, you might need to do your own telling to someone else who will be taking over the caregiving of your child, expressing your hopes and dreams for your child and recalling how you have seen God's caregiving as you have waited to see all that God will bring about in their life.

God's people—the parents—in this genealogy needed to wait and trust. Parents, keep trusting that with God at the side of you and your child, the end result will be worth the wait.

Heavenly Father, sometimes my child’s progress seems to take so long! Help me remember that your sense of time is different from mine, and that you can see the final result of the process. Give me strength as I continue to be a part of my child's life, even with its challenges. Lead me to show my love for you and my child every day, day after day. Amen.

by Paul Mose