I am a poor representative for the Jesse Tree, but I’ll tell you what I know. The Jesse Tree is a way to count down to Christmas Day with your family, a method of accounting for the larger story that lead to the birth of God as a human baby. I’ve been reading New Way to Be Human by Charlie Peacock and, as result, have thought quite a bit about the larger Story that exists. In the author’s words:

It doesn’t matter whether I’m confused and unsure… a novice spiritual traveler, or someone with a heart full of certainties. If I’m serious about following Jesus as his student, I should know the Story he was sure of. Following means stepping into his controlling, explanatory Story.

Luke’s gospel tells the Story of Jesus and the two disciples on Emmaus Road. Luke 24:27 says, “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he [Jesus] explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Jesus told stories in the context of the larger Story he and his Jewish contemporaries already knew—The Book of Beginnings, the Law, the Prophets, the Wisdom Books, and Songs.

Jesus knew the Story he had stepped into. His follower Matthew knew too. Matthew started his gospel account with, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1). It’s an account of the genesis of Messiah Jesus, his beginnings, his origins. Matthew 1:17 says, “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from Christ to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to Christ.”

Why begin with genealogy? Matthew’s message is: “Get this first. You won’t fully understand what I’m about to tell you unless you have the right starting place. If you really want to understand Jesus, you have to know the Story in which he’s participating (and is in fact the climax of). If you know this, you will know better how to participate, and you’ll be less likely to find yourself inside the wrong story or in an insufficient one.”

Peacock’s book had made quite an impact on me so far. It’s encouraging me to learn more about this family I’ve been adopted into (Romans 11:17) and to relish the rich history of God’s people. I like the Jesse Tree because it acknowledges, to quote Sally Lloyd-Jones’s excellent Jesus Storybook Bible, that “every story whispers his name.”

Full disclosure is called for here. The holidays do not generate crafty feelings within me, which means there is no way I would’ve created a Jesse Tree this year on my own. The other members of the Mom-to-Mom leadership team graciously undertook the HUGE project of creating 30 Jesse Trees for Zion, Grace and Redeemer moms this year. So this cool Jesse Tree banner was a gift—and I am grateful! We’ve enjoyed reading verses that correspond to little ornaments each day, then hanging the small symbols on the felt tree. If you want more info on Jesse Trees, I recommend Googling it.