seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Luke 3:21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph,
the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi, the son of Melki,
the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph,
25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos,
the son of Nahum, the son of Esli,
the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath,
the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein,
the son of Josek, the son of Joda,
27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa,
the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel,
the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melki,
the son of Addi, the son of Cosam,
the son of Elmadam, the son of Er,
29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer,
the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat,
the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon,
the son of Judah, the son of Joseph,
the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim,
31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna,
the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan,
the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse,
the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,
the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon,
33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram,
the son of Hezron, the son of Perez,
the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob,
the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham,
the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,
35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu,
the son of Peleg, the son of Eber,
the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan,
the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem,
the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,
37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch,
the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,
the son of Kenan, 38 the son of Enosh,
the son of Seth, the son of Adam,
the son of God.
So, Luke, the author of this gospel, was a doctor. As a doctor in Jerusalem or Galilee or Nazareth, he kept the genealogical records. The tax man followed the money, the evangelist kept track of the Mission, and now the doctor is laying down the genealogical record.... "Son of God".It says that Jesus was thirty years old when He was Baptized by his cousin John. He had been raised by a carpenter named Joseph, but Jesus was the son of God.
Two things come to me this morning. First of course is the heritage. I got one of those DNA kits to find out where I am from. My dad was French, my mom was Irish. That was established. There was a tad of talk about my Papa [grandad] had some Cherokee too. The biggest surprise to me was the tracing went back to Jerusalem, Israel. I had no idea! I knew we would have gotten off the boat with Noah and the boys. Everyone did. I knew we got off the boat again in Maryland and in North Carolina in the 1400's and the 1500's. I had no idea we could trace our heritage back to Shem or Boaz! I figured Japheth at best. Wow.... what a kit!
The other thing that comes to mind this morning is the dove!
I'm 72 years old now. I've seen a lot of birds. I've even seen a bird poop on my ex-husband's head while he was driving a convertible in Ocean City. That was a hoot. There are hundreds of birds who take shelter in the trees across the street. I have watched them, and heard them, and enjoyed them for my whole life. I even had a couple of birds that my ex-hubby had in a cage [yep to keep them from pooping everywhere]. I definitely don't cage birds anymore. I can enjoy them outside. They hang out in the tree year-round pretty much. My neighbor use to shew the doves away because they get up on the roof and coo in the mornings. She looked like that woman in the video game "Paperboy" with her broom. It was hilariously scary! There must be dozens of doves who reside in my neighborhood, along with dozens of quail and a couple road runners. That's on top of the regular birds like cardinals and black birds. I love uncaged birds.
One thing I've never witnessed in my 72 years is a wild bird landing on a human. They just don't do that! They will swoop if you get to near their nest. Cat birds are notorious for swooping. But I've never seen a wild bird land on a human. Sure, there are tame birds that will hunt with a handler, but a wild bird just doesn't land on a human.
To witness a wild dove landing on a human would be a once in a lifetime experience not many could say they have witnessed. Luke said a dove descended and landed on Jesus. Then God spoke. Yep... a once in a lifetime experience.... just as Jesus came out of the baptismal waters of the Jordan. Amazing!
God used a dove to tell Noah it was safe to come off the boat. God used a dove to tell the world His Son had just been baptized.
On top of that.... God spoke! He said He was proud of His Son!
All that genealogy is not nearly as exciting as the dove!
