DAY 137

IDENTITY

1 Chronicles 1, 2 & 3 and John 5:25-46

Today we begin a new Old Testament Book. Before I get to the genealogies, let’s just get a sense of what it is about. 1 and 2 Chronicles, originally one book, is thought to be written after Judah began to return from Babylonian exile around 538 BC. We just read about how they were exiled, and we will be reading about the return of some of the people. It focuses primarily on the history of the southern kingdom, Judah.

With that short introduction, your mind might get a little numb from the genealogies, but you also might notices that they focus down on David’s line. In many ways Chronicles goal is thought to be one that is meant to reassure the returned exiles of God’s faithfulness. I ended yesterday’s blog with the question of what was God’s plan; how would He be faithful? This question is one that certainly would be on the minds of those, the remnant, who are returning. Chronicles therefore opens by setting the stage…in essence saying, “OK, let’s just remember who we are.” Genealogies do that; they can serve to ground us in our identity.

Jesus in the New Testament is sharing His identity. Let’s just set the stage. He is in Jerusalem. He has healed a man by a pool who could not walk. He of course did it on the Sabbath.

I think Jesus healed lots of people on the other six days of the week and they are not recorded. It seems that because the Sabbath healings caused the most controversy, they then gave Jesus the opportunity to teach. Jesus healings flowed from His compassion, but they certainly have a larger point – to teach the world a few things. First, look who He heals; it seems to be all who come to him (not just the elite or those with the right genealogy). Second, He heals in order to reveal who He is; His identity.

The text today is about Him sharing this identity. He certainly connects himself to the Father, but he also connects himself to Moses. In the closing verse for today’s reading Jesus says, “For if you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote of me.” People are having trouble believing Jesus is who He is claiming to be, in part because He threatens how they think about God, and in part because for some He will challenge the power systems which they control.

The question you might ponder today is “who are you?” How do you identify yourself? Are you a mom or dad; son or daughter; aunt or uncle; employee or boss? How about hobbies: a sailor, a gardener, a car enthusiast, a musician, a woodworker…? We all wear many hats.

I want you to go deeper. What is you deepest identity, your core? Some of us stop with our earthly genealogy. Some of us allow our parents, our education, our ethnicity, our...you fill in the blank - to define us. Jesus has come into the world so that you will know that at your core you are made in God's image (Genesis) and that you are a son or daughter of Almighty God Jesus has come into this world so that you will know the One whom He calls Father – you can call Father. God has proclaimed this: we are not just “His people”, we are also His family (2 Corinthians 6:18).