After Jesus' baptism, the gospel writer Luke reports a genealogy (Luke 3:23-38). The ancestors of Jesus are traced through adoptive father Joseph. Many otherwise unknown names are there, but familiar ones include David (royal lineage), Judah ("a star will rise from Judah"), the patriarchs Jacob-Isaac-Abraham (promise of blessing all nations), Noah, Seth (third son of Adam and Eve), and Adam, who is called son of God. Thus Luke validates Jesus' prophetic credentials (the Messiah is to come from the tribe of Judah and the line of David) and his connection with all humanity. This Jewish Messiah is destined to be the savior of all humankind.

Our culture likes the idea of the brotherhood and sisterhood of all people because all are descended from a common ancestor and all are created by God and equal in God's sight. And Christianity accepts this biological relatedness. But the New Testament distinguishes another kind of relationship from the general inherited one. This second sense of being a child of God comes from the second birth and is entirely the work of God, not of human parents. John's prologue describes it: "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God..." (John 1:12).

The good news is not an appeal to people to wake up and realize their common humanity. It is a revelation of what God has done to remove obstacles between erring humans and a holy divinity. It is an invitation to receive, believe, and become beloved children of God in a way that meets our deep needs for identity, belonging, approval, and purpose. It restores us to intimate relationship with the God who created and loves us.