23andme (Unknown)

Introduction: Today we are going to conclude our series “23andme” . We've learned a great deal about the family of Jesus the last several weeks. We’ve seen how the stories in Jesus' family began to lay the groundwork for Jesus' gospel. Today we will be looking at one last group of people that make up the family Jesus. In order to help us understand these family members, I want to compare them to another group of people.

ILLUSTRATION: Who is familiar with the Indiana Jones movie series? So you recognize the name Harrison Ford? Do you recognize Sean Connery? Do you recognize Stephen Spielberg? Do you recognize the name John Williams?

Do you recognize the name Deborah Nadoolman? She designed the costumes. Do you recognize the name Pat McDermott? He was a make-up designer. What about

Anytime you watch a movie and the credits roll, some of the names you will recognize, many of them you won’t. However the movie never happens if they, or someone like them isn’t part of the production.

The genealogy of Jesus works the same way. In Matthew 1:12-16.

Matthew lists all of Jesus' ancestors from the time after Judah’s exile to Babylon, and to the point Jesus was born. This would have covered a span of 450-500 years. In this list there are a slew of names. However we have NO IDEA who most of these people are. Obscure would be a generous word used to describe them. Here are the ancestors of Jesus following the Babylon deportation

English Standard Version (Chapter 1)

Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph

The most famous of these people is a guy named Zerubbabel, and we honestly don’t know a ton about him. We know Zerubbabel was credited with helping rebuild Jerusalem after its destruction. Ezra mentions him helping rebuild the temple, and Nehemiah mentions him helping rebuild Jerusalem's walls. That’s really all we know, everyone in the list is obscure and unknown. Because of this, today we are going to talk about the unknown and obscure people in the family line of Jesus.

You might be wondering. How in the world are you going to preach about people you know nothing about? Fortunately we aren’t really going to be talking about the people themselves, instead we are going to talk about the group they represent, the obscure and unknown people in Jesus' family. This group of people is extremely important to us. Because we find ourselves in this group. If you were to list all the names of the people who are currently in this church, and the names of the faithful before us in this church, we’d know those names well. They would be more than names, they would be faces, stories, personalities.

However, if you were to take this list, and show it to people 300 years from now, I doubt there are going to be many household names. Perhaps Larry and Sharron will still be known for their sign creativity, otherwise our names would be obscure and unknown. Why? Because people wouldn’t know our stories, personalities, or faces. We’d simply be names on a page, just like the people at the end of Jesus' genealogy.

Some of the names in Jesus' genealogy might be obscure and unknown to us. Jesus however, knows exactly who they are, what their story is, and he knows the condition of their heart. Jesus knows the story of Azor, and he knows his heart. Jesus understands what doubts a person like Zadok had. Jesus understands how hard Zerubabble worked to rebuild Jerusalem. Jesus knows his family. This principle doesn’t just apply to Jesus' family listed in Matthew chapter 1. This principle includes everyone in Jesus' family. Lists of Christians in various times and locations in the world may be obscure to Christians in other eras and parts of the world, but they aren’t obscure and unknown to Jesus. The list of everyone in Central Church in 2023 may be obscure and unknown to people 300 years from now, but not to Jesus. Because Jesus knows his family. This isn’t just something that sounds nice, it’s a truth the scripture testifies as true trustworthy

We are his family. This is something we focused on to great lengths last week. The sinful nature of Jesus' family line is a microcosm for the rest of humanity. Jesus when Jesus took our sins to the cross, he showed we belong to his family. John 15:5-8 tell us us this

John 15:5–8 ESV

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

Romans 11 confirms this promise isn’t just for Jews, but Gentiles as well READ Romans:11:17-18

Romans 11:17–18 ESV

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.

Jesus is our support. He is that perfect family member who covers over the failures and sins of the rest of his family.

Jesus understands his family: Last week we briefly talked about Hebrews 4:14-16 when the writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus is able to empathize and understand our struggle with sin. 1st John 3:19-23 reminds us that Christ knows everything.

1 John 3:19–23 ESV

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.

Unfortunately we often look at this negatively, because it means he understands every sin ever. However it also means he understands our anxieties, our troubles, our pain, our fears, the unknowns, the anger, the frustration. Even in the midst of all of these, we are not condemned, because we have a savior who is greater. We have a savior who understands his family.

Jesus cares for his family In John 17 we see the famous high priestly prayer of Jesus. Jesus prays for his disciples, his friends, and his family. In verse 20 we are told this John 17:20-21

John 17:20–21 ESV

“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Jesus prayed for us. Jesus prayed that we’d be a unified family, just as he and the father are unified.

We are not unknown or obscure to Jesus. He understands us, yet still gives us grace. Christ understands, and he prayed for us, because he understands and knows we need prayer.

As series 23andme draws to a close, I think we can safely conclude this. The list of Jesus' family doesn’t end in Matthew chapter 1. The family line of Jesus still continues with us. The 23 chromosomes that make up the identity of our spirits undeniably say it’s the blood of Jesus which saves us, and bestows upon us grace. In his blood, we are all united as family. Some of us are grafted into the family like Rahab and Ruth, who were Gentiles. Some of us have been faithful for years, but we’ve made major mistakes, like Abraham, David, and Solomon. Some of us were rough and seemingly beyond redemption like the evil kings. Other people are still unknown to us. Jesus knows them all. Jesus knows Abraham and David as well as he does Zadok, Zerubabble, and the Christian who has been faithful in their church for 40 years. Because Jesus knows his family.