Awaiting the King: Advent’s Promise and Fulfillment
December 17, 2024 - Tuesday of the Third Week of Advent
Genesis 49:2, 8-10; 72:1-2, 3-4ab, 7-8, 17; Matt. 1:1-17
The Advent season is divided into two parts. The first part begins with the First Sunday of Advent and lasts until December 16. It focuses our attention on the Second Coming of Christ, for which the whole Church eagerly waits. The second part begins today, on December 17, and continues until Christmas. This period revisits the drama surrounding the first coming of Christ and helps us prepare to celebrate Christmas.
One promise from the Old Testament speaks of an ideal king who will be given to God’s people. This king would come from the tribe of Judah (see Isaiah 11:1), fulfilling the prophecy in today’s first reading. The aged Jacob foretells the exaltation of Judah, proclaiming, “The scepter shall never depart from Judah” and “he receives the people’s homage” (Gen. 49:10). The psalmist prays for the coming of this ideal king in Psalm 72, envisioning a reign marked by justice, care for the afflicted, and universal peace. His rule would extend over the whole world, last forever, and bring blessings to all nations (see Psalm 72:8, 17). After several hundred years, this prayer was answered with the arrival of the ideal king, whose genealogy we hear today in the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus places our Lord within the history of salvation. He traces three major periods: from Abraham to David, spanning about 700–800 years; from David to the Babylonian exile, around 400 years; and from the exile to Jesus’ birth, approximately 600 years. The generations numbering fourteen in each period are likely symbolic rather than literal, as the meaning of “fourteen” remains unclear. Some suggest it refers symbolically to David, whose name in Hebrew carries a numerical value of fourteen.
In Jesus’ lineage, two significant turning points appear: the reign of David, when Israel reached its historical peak, and the Babylonian exile, when the nation lost everything due to its sins. Afterward, Israel awaited the Messiah who would restore its former glory.
The genealogy of Jesus includes four Gentile women—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba (the mother of King Solomon). This detail foreshadows the end of the Gospel, where the risen Lord sends his disciples to all nations. The section from David to the exile includes a selection of the kings who ruled up to the exile, among them King Manasseh, who is portrayed in the Old Testament as exceptionally sinful. Interestingly, Matthew omits some of the “better” kings but retains Manasseh, whose cruelty and sinfulness were unmatched. Perhaps this is because, as recorded in the Book of Chronicles, Manasseh repented—highlighting the Gospel’s call to repentance.
The ancient Greek Old Testament includes the “Prayer of Manasseh,” which declares that God did not ordain repentance for the righteous but for sinners. King Manasseh acknowledged his terrible sins yet trusted that God would show him mercy, calling Him “the God of those who repent.” This is the message of the Gospel: Jesus’ genealogy includes foreigners and sinners, for he came to save the whole world.