Who was Jesus?  Luke had already written that the angel Gabriel said He would be 'the Son of the Most High' (Luke 1:32) and 'Son of God' (Luke 1:35).  Elizabeth prophesied that Jesus would be 'Lord' (Luke 1:43) and the shepherds heard the angel naming Him 'Messiah (Christ) the Lord' (Luke 2:11).  Then, at age twelve, Jesus identified God, and not Joseph, as His Father (Luke 2:48-49).  So, Luke was clear that Jesus is God the Son.  Yet before Luke started to unfold the story of Jesus' ministry, he paused to write a long list of 77 ancestors.  This is the human genealogy from which Jesus was descended (the list, from Luke 3:24-38, is too long to be copied here, so do look it up in the Bible or follow the link).

Luke wanted his readers to understand that Jesus is not only fully God in a human body, but that He is also a man under God's law (Galatians 4:4).  As a descendent of King David, He also has the right and responsibility to rule His people.  In fact, there are two lines of descent from David to Jesus (the other is in Matthew 1:1-17): a double witness was required under Jewish law for a serious matter to be established.  For more information about the two genealogies click http://tinyurl.com/2geneal.

But why does Luke's genealogy go back to Adam and then God?  Jesus is fully God and fully human, sinless like Adam before the Fall.  Not only is He God's anointed King, Jesus is also the 'last Adam' (1 Corinthians 15:45).  He was different from the first Adam.  He was the only human being who lived a perfect life and completely fulfilled Father God's law.  He lived among all the corruption of the world but was not corrupted; He was tempted by the devil but never fell into sin.  Therefore, He understands us and can represent us in the court of heaven (Hebrews 4:14-16).  He is uniquely qualified to be the Son of God who was all that Adam failed to be.  He is the only possible redeemer of sinful humanity and restorer of God's family.

So, before writing a historical account of Christ's ministry, Luke explained who Jesus is: God and man; King of the universe and subject to Father God’s authority; Master of the world but not mastered by it.  Today, people desperately need this information.  Even believers need to refresh their view of how great Jesus is.  When He is popularly downgraded to a 'good teacher', 'prophet' or 'one religious leader among many' - Christians need to have a new confidence in the unique person of Christ.  If we share our faith, without explaining who Jesus is, we rob the gospel of its power.  Then how can our friends believe in Him if they are confused about His identity?