It takes the moon 28 days to orbit the earth. In that time, it moves through various phases of light.
The Hebrew people pay close attention to the moon because the Jewish calendar is based on lunar cycles. At the beginning of the moon’s cycle, the moon appears as a thin crescent. The first light of this thin crescent signals a new month on the Jewish calendar. The light increases more and more until the moon is full, but then it wanes until the light cannot be seen. The moon becomes invisible. Shortly thereafter, its thin crescent reappears and, at the re-emergence of light, the cycle begins again.
Here’s what the phases look like against a Western calendar. In the example below it is January 2016, but it might as well be any month of any year.
With this in mind, let’s pivot our thoughts to the first page of the New Testament. Matthew begins his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1). Starting with Abraham, Matthew moves through the genealogy name by name until he arrives at Jesus 42 generations later. In verse 17, he summarizes the list by saying, “So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon 14 generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ 14 generations.” Did you catch it?
The Gospel of Matthew wants us to understand that Jesus is King. Calling Him the son of David is not just a historical fact but also a reference to Jesus’ right to the throne. When Matthew, a Jew, writes this note about 14 generations, the number 14 jumps out at him because in Hebrew the name David equals 14.
Let’s take another look at the lunar phases, this time seeing the cycle as a progression in kingship...
Using January 2016 as a base example, January 10th shows the first sliver of light as to comes into view. This is the time of Abraham.
We jump 14 days to January 24th, when the moon is full. This is the time of King David (14 generations after Abraham).
Advancing 14 days from the full moon, we travel half the orbit and reach a New Moon, something equivalent to January 9th. At this time, the light is withdrawn; the moon is completely dark. This is the time of the deportation to Babylon (14 generations after David).
Another 14 days pass and again the light is full. We’re reminded of King David, except this time it’s the Son of David who has come into view. It is the time of Jesus Christ (14 generations after the deportation to Babylon). Praying to God in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of Passover, Jesus our King is clothed in the light of the full moon.
To recap:
14 days (or generations) later...
14 days (or generations) later...
14 days (or generations) later...
The moon is all the time rehearsing Jesus’ genealogy as it recounts the history of God’s People.
