Speaking of real people, real places, I’ll never forget the first time I paid attention to Luke’s genealogy. It starts with Jesus and goes backwards:

Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, … (Luke 3.23, 24, ESV)

I thought, “OK, he’s the Son of David, so this will stop with David.” Nope.

…the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,… (Luke 3.31, 32, ESV, emphasis mine)

He blows right through David, and I thought, OK, this is going to go all the way to Abraham. And it does…

the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor,… (Luke 3.33, 34, ESV, emphasis mine)

But it doesn’t stop with Abraham. Noah?

…the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech,… (Luke 3.35, 36, ESV), emphasis mine)

Yep. Right through Noah, all the way to…

…the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3.37, 38, ESV)

Jesus is a real person who came in time and place, and he is descended from real people, even those in the early chapters of Genesis. And Luke, the Gentile, writing to Theophilus, presumably a Gentile, wants us to know that Jesus is for everyone.

Meanwhile, the believers who had been scattered during the persecution after Stephen’s death traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch of Syria. They preached the word of God, but only to Jews. However, some of the believers who went to Antioch from Cyprus and Cyrene began preaching to the Gentiles about the Lord Jesus. The power of the Lord was with them, and a large number of these Gentiles believed and turned to the Lord. (Acts 11.19 – 21, NLT)