There is No One Like Jesus (1 Chronicles 1:1–4)

Adam, Seth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth.
-1 Chronicles 1:1–4

1 Chronicles 1:1–4, I could keep going on and on in 1 Chronicles, chapter one and chapter two, just reading different names. And these are chapters in the Bible that we oftentimes come to, if you are reading through the Bible, and you just skip through them. And yes, to be sure, there’s not a lot of excitement and all these different names, many of which you don’t know the stories behind those names, or you can’t even pronounce some of them.

There is no one like Jesus who lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death on the cross, rose from the dead, defeating the grave, and offers eternal life to everyone who trusts in Him.

1 Chronicles 1:1–4 Points Us to The Big Picture

But as you come to places like this in the Bible, and think specifically about 1 Chronicles, chapter one and two, this is the story from the very beginning of creation. The first word in First Chronicles, one, first name is Adam. This story goes all the way back to the beginning of creation. And then all these names flow specifically here in 1 Chronicles, to the line of David, which ultimately leads to the line of King Jesus.

When you read these names, you see a genealogy like this, you get a glimpse of the big picture story of the Bible and the part that each of these people has to play in it. And you start to think about your life. And start to think about your name and the part that God has given you and me to play in a story that is much bigger than ourselves.

1 Chronicles 1:1–4 Reminds Us Who the World Revolves Around

When we come to the Bible we’re confronted with a lot of realities. And one of those realities that we need to be confronted with daily in God’s word is that the world does not center around us. The world doesn’t center around you. It doesn’t center around me. The world centers around God who is writing one overarching story from creation to new creation, for a people who have turned against Him, who have rebelled in sinfulness before Him.

It Leads to Jesus

And He has purposed to redeem by sending His Son from the very beginning of creation, traced all the way through the Old Testament, to the coming of Jesus in the New Testament, where we start again with the genealogy in the book of Matthew. Where we see that God has the purpose to send His son in the line of David with continuity to all that’s come before, but unlike any other name. Unlike any other person who has come or will ever come.

There is no one like Jesus who lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death on the cross, rose from the dead, defeating the grave, and offers eternal life to everyone who trusts in Him. To everyone who trusts in Him, He gives the opportunity to be a part of His line, of his family, not just now but for all of eternity. What a picture, what a story in the Bible, and what a reality that you and I are a part of this story.

1 Chronicles 1:1–4 Teaches Us to Trust in Jesus

What a reality that every single person who trusts in Jesus is a part of this big picture story, brought into the family of God. And here are our lives on the pages of human history. And so we pray that God would use our lives, in this time, in this place in which He has put us, to the fullest for His glory and for the advancement of His kingdom.

So let’s pray accordingly. God, we praise You as the Lord over all history, as the One who spoke and set creation in place by your word. As the One who breathed life into the first people and every single person since then. Every single person, with every single name, in the history of the world, created by You, including each one of us. God, we praise You for the life we have today. And God, we praise You.

And at the center of it all, Jesus, we exalt You. You are the Lord over all history. You are the center overall history. All of history before You pointed to You. All of history since You came points back to You and forward to Your coming again. And Jesus, we praise You for the privilege of our names being counted in the number flowing from You. By faith in You, we praise You for the privilege of being a part of Your family in this big picture story.

1 Chronicles 1:1–4 Leads Us to Glorify God

And so we pray in our lives today, help us to play our part in bringing You glory. Help us to play our part in pointing people to You. God, we pray that today You would use us to share the gospel with other people, to share the good news of the Lord of History who came to save us from our sins, who came to make a way for us to have eternal life in You. God, help us to proclaim that good news today.

Prayer For the Eseago Brahim People of India

We know we pray all the time on this podcast, knowing that this story will ultimately lead to people from every nation and tribe and tongue, gathered around Your throne, singing the praises of Jesus. So bring it about, we pray. We pray today for the Eseago Brahmin people of India, zero followers of Jesus among them. God, we pray that that would change. We pray that You would bring them into Your family. We pray for the Eseago Brahmin, all of these Hindu men and women and children. Bring them to know You as the one, true God, to enjoy and exalt You, Jesus, as the Lord overall.

Use our lives and our churches as a part of the story to make Your glory known among the Eseago Brahmin and thousands of other people groups like them. God, we lay our lives before You in a fresh way today. Each of our names is on the pages of history and we pray that You would send us, lead us, guide us, however, You desire, maximally for the glory of Your name in history. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.