I have a tendency to read through these genealogies with speed rather than with focus on who is listed in them, which means that I will occasionally miss people of great import. Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah during the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem by Nehemiah and the beginning of the construction of the temple under the supervision of Ezra. While we tend to read the books of Ezra and Nehemiah with the focus on the actions of their authors, we can all too easily forget that without the consent of Zerubbabel those two building campaigns, so pivotal to the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, would never have occurred. (Admittedly, the governor received a hard push from the prophet Haggai as well.)
Zerubbabel was a descendant of King David, and his rise to power as the initial leader of the returning exiles brought them hope. Because they had one of David’s descendants leading their return, the Israelites saw a possibility of the fulfillment of the Messianic expectation that had begun during the prophetic ministry of Isaiah. They saw in him a possibility for the promised freedom from the rule of outside powers, which was the most common understanding of the manner in which the Messiah would exemplify kingship. Instead, under Zerubbabel’s leadership Jerusalem gained a level of protection through the rebuilding of its walls and a spiritual centering through the beginning of the rebuilding of the temple.
The presence of Zerubbabel in the genealogy of Jesus is a reminder that just as with the sixteen generations between King David and Zerubbabel, we now continue in a time of expectation looking toward Jesus’ return. As we can see the groundwork for the rebuilding of the Israelite people under Zerubbabel’s leadership, we can see the ways in which Jesus’ actions continue in the world today, leading us towards the great restoration that will occur in the culmination of the Kingdom of God.