Luke 3:23 And He, Jesus...the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, (24) The son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi... Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Christ as the wonderful center of the Bible is all-inclusive, having many aspects. The New Testament at its beginning presents four biographies to portray the four main aspects of this all-inclusive Christ. The Gospel of Matthew testifies that He is the King, the Christ of God according to the prophecies of the Old Testament, the One who brings the kingdom of the heavens to earth. The Gospel of Mark presents Him as the Slave of God, the One who labors for God faithfully. Mark's account is most simple, for a slave does not need a detailed record. The Gospel of Luke presents a full picture of Christ as the only proper and normal man who ever lived on earth, and thus the Savior of mankind. The Gospel of John unveils Him as the Son of God, the very God Himself, to be life to God's people. Among the four Gospels, Matthew and Luke have a record of genealogies; Mark and John do not. To testify that Jesus is the King, the Christ of God prophesied in the Old Testament, Matthew needs to show us the antecedents and status of this King, proving that He is the proper successor to the throne of David. To prove that Jesus is a proper and normal Man, Luke needs to show the generations of this Man, attesting that He is qualified to be the Savior of mankind. For the record of a slave, Mark does not need to tell us His origin. To unveil that Jesus is the very God, neither does John need to give us a human genealogy. Rather, John declares that as the Word of God He is the very God in the beginning.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 73-74. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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