texas lady juanita

FOR EASTER, I have a treat for my friends. There are thousands of wonderful details in the Bible to be discovered by the serious study of God’s Word. The Old Testament and New Testament do become one when the thousands of details are shown to be interwoven together. Jesus was descended from the royal line of David through Mary and Joseph. That in itself is fascinating. The following is an excerpt from a book (referenced at the end) regarding Jesus heritage. It doesn’t take very long to read (2.5 pages), but you will feel rewarded for having read this . . .

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“THE DESIGN OF THE GOSPELS

“The first thing to notice about the Gospels is they are skillfully designed. Matthew was a Jew, a Levite; he presents Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel. Mark (really, Peter’s Gospel) presents Him as the suffering servant. Luke, a doctor, presents him as the Son of God. Every detail of each Gospel is tailored to suit its specific perspective.

“For example, let’s start with the genealogies. Matthew was a Jew so he started his genealogy, as any Jew would, with Abraham. He presented the legal family tree of Jesus. Mark is the only Gospel that doesn’t have a genealogy. Why? Because we aren’t concerned about the pedigree of a servant. Luke’s genealogy started with Adam because, being a physician, he focused on the fact that Jesus was the Son of Man. In John’s Gospel, the first three verses are the genealogy of the preexistent one, the one who had no beginning or end.

“SIDE NOTE:

In the Old Testament, we see Christ in prophecy.

In the Gospels, we see Christ in history.

In Acts, we see Christ in the Church.

In the Epistles, we see Christ in our experience.

In the Apocalypse, we see Christ in His coming glory.

“A MYSTERY IN THE GENEALOGIES

“We know that the Messiah was to come from the royal line of David. But by the time of Jeconiah, God was so fed up with the degeneration of the kings of Judah that He pronounced a blood curse on the line!”

“Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah. (Jeremiah 22:30)”

“Again, I suspect that when God declared this blood curse, there must have been a celebration in the councils of Satan. Satan surely must have thought, “Boy, God has shot Himself in the foot on this one because on the one hand He has committed Himself to producing the Messiah from the family of David, yet now there is a curse on the royal family tree of David.” But then I also imagine God turning to the angels saying, “Watch this one!”

“From Abraham to David the two genealogies in Matthew and Luke are identical. But when they get to David, the two genealogies diverge. Matthew went through the first surviving son of Bathsheba, Solomon; through Rehoboam and on to Jehoiachin whose son, Jeconiah, was the subject of this blood curse. It finally ends with Joseph, who is the legal father of Jesus but not the blood father. The curse of Jeconiah was on the blood line. But Jesus is not of the bloodline of Joseph. He is merely the legal son of Joseph.

“THE HOUSE OF DAVID

(MATTHEW)                 (LUKE)

DAVID                         DAVID

Solomon                      Nathan

Rehoboam                   Mattatha

Abijah                         Menan

Asa                             Melea

Jehoshaphat                Eliakim

Jehoram                      Jonan

Ahaziah                       Joseph

Joash                          Juda

Amaziah                      Simeon

Uzziah                         Levi

Jotham                        Matthat
Ahaz                           Jorim

Hezekiah                     Eliezer

Manasseh                    Jose

Amon                           Er

Josiah                          Elmodam

Jehoiakim                    Cosam

Jehoiachin                    Addi

Salathiel                      Melchi

Zerubbabel                  Neri

Abiud                          Salathiel

Eliakim                       Zerubbabel

Azor                            Rhesa

Sadoc                         Joanna

Achim                          Judah

Eliud                            Joseph

Eleazer                        Semei

Matthan                       Mattathias

Jacob                           Maath

Joseph                         Nagge

……………………………….Esli

……………………………….Naum

………………………………Amos

………………………………Mattathias

………………………………Joseph

………………………………Janna

………………………………Melchi

………………………………Levi

………………………………Matthat

………………………………Heli

……………………………….Mary

“When Luke got to David he took a left turn and went through Nathan, the second surviving son of Bathsheba, and on through to Heli, who was the father of Mary and the father-in-law of Joseph. The genealogy of Mary is in Luke. The Virgin Birth, which was hinted in the Garden of Eden and prophesied by Isaiah, was also an “end run” on the blood curse of Jeconiah.

“Every verse, every detail in the Scripture is there by design, and once you make that discovery, it will change your whole approach to understanding the Bible.”

The preceding between the quotes is from a book I gave many people I knew for Christmas in 2002 or 2003 (time flies). It is a wonderful short study of the Bible titled; Learn the Bible in 24 Hours, by Dr. Chuck Missler. I gave this gift to those who knew their Bibles well, as well as those that did not. It is a wonderful read no matter where you are in your journey with God’s word.

Here is a link to Dr. Chuck Missler on “Why the Four Gospels.” It is short,  (under 7 minutes), but an enjoyable lesson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=EgfQgcYOoXg

I hope you have all had a blessed Easter, Juanita