Sunday, March 1, 2020

The prophecies concerning Jesus’ birth are numerous, and many of them refer to Jesus’ lineage. Old Testament prophecies tell of the promised Messiah being born from the seed of a woman (Gen. 3:15); from the seed of Abraham (Gen. 22:18), Isaac (Gen. 21:12), and Jacob (Num. 24:17); from the tribe of Judah (Micah 5:2); from the line of Jesse (Isa. 11:1); and from the house of David (Jer. 23:5). The prophecies said He would be born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14) and would be the Son of God (1 Chron. 17:13-14; Ps. 2:7). Jesus fulfilled all of these prophecies.

In Bible times, Jews took great care to record family genealogies accurately. The family a person belonged to was directly linked to property rights. Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 both chronicle the genealogy of Jesus. The account in Matthew presents Jesus as the king of the Jews—the legal heir to the throne of David. The account in Luke was written to Greek Christians and focuses on Jesus’ descent from Adam.

Jesus was born as a baby in Bethlehem. He had earthly parents—Mary and Joseph—but His true Father is God. Jesus is fully God and fully man.

As fully God, “the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ” (Col. 2:9). As fully man, Jesus has a human body, human mind, and human emotions. (See Luke 2:7,52; Matt. 26:38.) He is our sinless representative (2 Cor. 5:21), sympathetic high priest (Heb. 4:15), and substitute sacrifice (1 John 4:10).

Use this Bible story to review Jesus’ ancestors and their stories in the Old Testament. Help your kids recognize that God had been working out His plan to send Jesus over hundreds of years—through Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Rahab, Ruth, David, and others. God sent His Son to earth to save people from their sins.

Jesus came to earth as a human. Jesus had earthly parents, Mary and Joseph, but His true Father is God. Through Jesus, God kept His promises to Abraham and David. Jesus saves people from their sins and adopts them into God’s family.

Check this session’s Activity Page for ways to interact with the Bible content this week.

FAMILY STARTING POINTS 

  • ● Babies and Toddlers
    • ○ Jesus rescues us and makes us part of God’s family.
    • ○ There is no one like Jesus.
    • ○ God promised to send Jesus to earth.
    • ○ Jesus is God’s Son, and Jesus is a man.
    • ○ God sent Jesus like He promised.
  • ● Preschool
    • ○ Jesus had a family.
    • ○ Is Jesus God or a human? Jesus is both fully God and fully human.
  • ● Kids
    • ○ Jesus’ family line proved He is the Messiah. 
    • ○ Is Jesus God or a human? As the Son of God, Jesus is both fully God and fully human.
  • UNIT KEY PASSAGE
  • ● John 1:1-2 (Preschool: John 1:1)
  • NEXT WEEK 
  • ● “John Was Born” (Luke 1)