Specifically

If you were a MOPAR nut in the late 60s, you had enough new-car options to make your head spin. In just the Coronet line, there was the Coronet R/T, which cribbed some Charger panache and an optional 426 Hemi (the 440 Magnum was standard), available as a two-door hardtop or convertible. Or the Coronet Super Bee, also available with the 426 Hemi or 440 Magnum (the 383 was standard), available as a two-door hardtop or pillared coupe. 

Dodge already had its Charger, plus the rare Charger Daytona and Dart GTS, and eventually the Challenger R/T. In today’s muscle-deprived times, where Ford offers exactly one car and most automakers use V8s in pick-up trucks only, all this variety seems unusual or even unnecessary. But it wasn’t unnecessary in the 60s. It was business.

Between 1968 and 1970, Dodge sold about 30,000 Coronet R/Ts and 60,000 of the cheaper Coronet Super Bees. Today, if you’re a MOPAR nut with a checkbook, all these options mean you can pick exactly what flavor of MOPAR fits your exact taste – maybe a Super Bee hardtop with the 440 and a four-speed stick – and a variety of auction houses would be happy to do business with you.

Of course, if American muscle cars aren’t your thing, these cars all start to look alike after awhile, and the specificity just makes you dizzy. Which is kind of how a lot of people view certain parts of the Bible, specifically the genealogies. 

Ah yes, the genealogies. You know, the passages with all the “begats” and confusing names. No wise preacher would deliver a sermon on these texts after a carb-rich pancake breakfast. Too much snoring in the pews. But if you dig into these passages with the enthusiasm of a car collector, the specificity becomes fascinating. 

The genealogy in Matthew (Matthew 1:1-17) begins with Abraham and concludes with Joseph and Mary, while Luke’s genealogy (Luke 3:23-38) begins with Joseph and works backward all the way to Adam. Matthew was writing to Jews, who were practically obsessed with being Abraham’s progeny, so he began with Abraham to show how Jesus’ lineage correctly followed the path outlined through Old Testament prophecy. Luke wrote primarily to Gentiles, who were generally more concerned with the origin of humanity. Establishing Jesus’ human nature and connection to the birth of humanity in the Garden of Eden would have had profound symbolism of God being so intertwined in humankind.

Matthew also included Rahab and Tamar, and the inclusion of these women shows how God deeply values people that most of the rest of the world found unimportant or unmentionable. He specifically called out David’s affair with Uriah’s wife, for the same effect, and also to show that even these Biblical legends have their flaws. 

These records are still important to us today. Each of the names in these lists belongs to real people who lived and died hoping for salvation through a redeemer and messiah. We can relate to their longing, their flaws, their inclusion in a grand plan despite their worldly insignificance, and their individual stories. They can seem insignificant in the same way you may consider yourself insignificant, but that denies the colossal importance and specificity in which God crafted their lives – and yours – into his plan. They can seem legendary in the same way you may consider yourself legendary, but that ignores the ultimate failure of their earthly lives – and yours – to ascribe meaning, purpose, and significance that can only come when we surrender our self-importance to God. 

History and continuity were colossally important to people in the ancient Middle East. The numerology of the New Testament genealogies expresses completion and perfection while tying Jesus’ birth to a specific history that reflects God’s specific plan from the beginning – a plan that Jesus made you part of. It’s sort of like how Dodge’s muscle cars in recent years have paid homage to their past. Super Bee, R/T, Demon… If it seems confusing, get to know the past. It shows the purpose, the precision, the glory.