To John and Judy and all,
The bloodline of significance to this discussion is the one containing the Seed promised to Eve in the garden. I would like to point out that Jesus did not come through Ishmael but Isaac. The Ishmael comment is irrelevant to the subject at hand; he has nothing to do with the truthfulness of our premise. There is only one bloodline leading from Eve to Jesus. It is the Seed promised to Eve, again to Abraham, through Isaac and Jacob and Judah, then David and on through the ages to and through Mary to Jesus. Gentiles are included in that blood through our common heritage in Adam through Eve, the giver of life. This is why Jesus can be the Kinsmen Redeemer, because we are related to him by our common blood. When the covenant was cut with Abraham, he slept. It was a unilateral covenant, in other words, the fulfillment being dependant upon God's faithfulness to his promise concerning the Seed, and not upon Abraham's obedience or any of the rest of ours. Sure there are consequences for disobedience, just like blessings for obedience, but the covenant stood because God was faithful to his promise in and through his Son, the Jew Jesus Christ; its fulfillment being made in him. In other words, Jesus stood in for the sleeping Abraham as his substitute and his representative. Being the God-man, Jesus fulfills the entire covenant.
Before discounting what I say, why don't you all trace the bloodline. You will find that the Seed passes unsevered through the entire OT. God included the whole human race in his promise to Eve precisely by narrowing its fulfillment down to but one representative man, his Son Jesus Christ.
Bill
Your first sentence is the most important here, I had kind of forgotten that. Good point.
John
