I have a confession to make. Reading through the lists of genealogies in the Bible can be less than scintillating for me. I know. Sure, they’re important. They help trace and verify a person’s roots. And they often provide essential background information as to why a story or person in the Bible is so relevant and remarkable. But, if you’re like me, simply reading a list of names doesn’t stir the soul (especially the ones I can’t pronounce).

The New Testament Gospels record the genealogy of Jesus twice. Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38 trace His lineage all the way back to Abraham and King David—showing He was the promised Messiah.

The Bible also records another reference to Jesus’ ancestry that we can easily gloss over—missing its significance. On many occasions, Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of man.” And there’s a lot of meaning packed into that description. In part, it was a term He used to refer to His own humanity. Jesus was the God-man—fully God and also fully human. “Son of man” was also a phrase intended to show us the kind of humans we are meant to be as well as to point us to the hope that, through Him—the second Adam—we can become as He is (1 Corinthians 15:47-49).

When the disciples saw Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, they caught a glimpse of all He is (Luke 9:28-36). He was the same Jesus they knew and loved—only more so.

Reading about Jesus helps us view our ultimate destiny. He’s the type of person we are in the process of becoming—one day we’ll be like Him fully even as we see Him face to face (1 John 3:2).