Adam Pikin, God Son

Ask your grandpapa or grandmama where your family come from, and dem fit give you long answer. Names. Places. Stories. Luke also give di family story of Jesus. But e no stop for grandparents. E just dey go back, back, back, until e reach di very first man.

Di baby of Bethlehem don grow. Jesus don come River Jordan, where John dey baptise, and dem don baptise am too. As e dey pray, heaven open, di Holy Spirit come down on top am like dove, and one voice from heaven talk say, you be my Son wey I love; I dey happy with you well well. And right there, before Jesus begin to preach, Luke stop di story. E want make we know whose son dis one be. So e open one long list of names.

Jesus imself begin im work when e reach about thirty years, Luke write, and people think say e be di son of Joseph. Dat small phrase, people think say, na Luke gentle way to remind us of wetin e don already tell us: say di true Father of Jesus na God. Then di names begin. Joseph, son of Heli. Son of Matthat. Son of Levi. Ordinary names, most of dem na people wey we no know anything else about. Craftsmen, farmers, fathers. Generation after generation of people wey live, work, pray, and wait.

Then names wey we sabi begin show. Zerubbabel, wey lead di people come back home from exile for Babylon. Nathan, son of David. David imself, di shepherd king. Jesse, im papa. Boaz, wey marry Ruth. Judah. Jacob. Isaac. Abraham, di man wey God call comot from Ur with promise say through im family, all di nations go dey blessed. If Luke stop there, we go know say Jesus na true son of Israel. But Luke no stop.

E still dey go back, pass Abraham. Terah. Shem. Noah, wey build di ark. Lamech. Methuselah, di man wey old pass for di Bible. Enoch, wey waka with God. Seth. And then di last two names. Wey be son of Adam, wey be son of God. You see wetin Luke dey talk? Jesus no belong to only one nation. E belong to di whole human family. Every person wey don ever live na pikin of Adam. And Jesus don come as one of us, pikin of Adam, to bring all di children of Adam come back home to God.

Matthew Gospel also give di family tree of Jesus, but e different. Matthew start from Abraham and come forward reach Jesus. Luke start from Jesus and go back reach Adam. And from King David come down, di two lists follow different line: Matthew pass through Solomon, son of David, but Luke pass through another son, Nathan. Since old time, Christians don give different explanations, but di two Gospels agree say Jesus na son of David and son of Abraham.

Adam Pikin, God Son. You go find am for Luke chapter three, verse twenty-three to thirty-eight. Di pikin wey dem born for Christmas belong to every family for di whole earth. So see one question wey you go carry dey go. If Jesus come for di whole human family, who you fit dey leave out?