The thoughts of Dr. Jakubinyi György Archbishop Emeritus
Friday 17 December
Mt 1,1-17: The genealogy of Jesus Christ
The words of the Blessed Virgin Mary, summing up the essence of her life, were spoken at the time of the greeting of the angel: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word." Then, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she conceived the Son of God and her own Son. She became the Mother of God while she remained a virgin for ever. The genealogy of the Lord Jesus at the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew derives from St. Joseph. He is the foster-father of the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus inherits from St. Joseph the messianic title, that of the Son of David and the royal descent. The Gospel points out that the genealogy has 3x14 members, because the Hebrew letters of the name of David has a numerical value of 14. The Davidic descent of the Lord Jesus is three times true! The bodily birth of the Lord Jesus proves that the incarnation is real, that the Lord Jesus is true God and true man, and that salvation is a fundamental teaching of our faith.
