The Genealogies of Jesus
My twelve year old grandson was given a question to answer for his homework. This was,
“Discuss the differences between the genealogies in Matthew and Luke and the introduction to John’s gospel?”
The short biographies of Jesus given in Matthew and Luke have similar perspectives which is why the first three gospels are called ‘Synoptic’ or having the same view. They were written to convince the readers that Jesus really is the Messiah (Hebrew word) or Christ (Greek word) for ‘God’s chosen king’ that the Old Testament repeatedly said was going to come to earth. There are over three hundred and thirty prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament. Amongst the details given is his birthplace,
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2
He would die to take the sins of many people but would then come back to life,
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all like sheep have go be astray and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. . . He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death . . . After the suffering of his soul he will see the light of life and be satisfied. . . by knowledge of him my righteous servant will justify many.” Isaiah 53:4-12
Pedigree of the Messiah
This is a major aspect of these Old Testament prophecies cocerning God’s Messiah. He will be a descendent of Adam. God gave this first prophecy to the serpent who had deceived Adam and Eve,
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heal.” Genesis 3:1
Abraham was also told that the Messiah for all people would be one of his direct descendants.
“ . . . all people of the earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:1
“Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be’” Genesis 15:5
A major problem was that Sarah, Abraham’s wife, was sterile. Abraham had a son, ‘Ishmael’ with Hagar, Sarah’s servant but God made it clear that he was not to be the means by which a Saviour would come. Then Sarah bore a son Isaac who was to become the ancestor of both King David and eventually of God’s chosen King, Jesus. This is why Jesus is called Jesus Christ, Jesus ‘God’s chosen King’.
The Bible then continues to trace the line through which the Messiah would come as a baby, Isaac had two sons Jacob and Esau but it was Jacob who God blessed even though he was a cheat! Jacob was renamed Israel and he had twelve sons. One of these was picked out to be the ancestor of Jesus, Judah. When Jacob blessed Judah, he said that from his descendants God’s ruler would come.
“Thee sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations shall be his.” Genesis 49:1
There are four strange stories in the Old Testament that should make people wonder why they are given such prominence. The first is the sordid story of Tamar, told in Genesis 38. She pretended to be a prostitute and Judah, her father in law who had mistreated her, got her pregnant. She had twins, Perez and Zerah. Why is this story about Tamar given a whole chapter in the book of Genesis? Another is the story of Rahab, a prostitute in the city of Jericho when it was attacked by Joshua’s troops (told in Joshua 2). She had protected two of Joshua’s spies and so was given immunity. She subsequently married one of the commanders of Joshua’s army, Salmon, and they had a son called Boaz. Why is this so important? Another strange story is that of Ruth who, although she was a Midianite woman, has a whole book about her in the Old Testament! Her significance is that she became faithful to the Lord and subsequently married a farmer named Boaz. They had a son called Obed and he had a son called Jesse whose son was King David and his descendant would be Jesus, the Messiah.
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him . . . Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash round his waist.” Isaiah 11:1-5
Jesse was the father of King David. King David lived around 1000 BC. It was from David’s line that the Messiah would come. Isaiah, writing around 750 BC makes this clear,
“In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it – one from the house of David – one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.” Isaiah 16:5
Another prophet, Jeremiah, who lived around 600 BC also spoke about the future Messiah’s pedigree,
“‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD our righteousness’” Jeremiah 23:5-6
This is astounding to Jewish ears – how can a man also be the LORD God?
The fourth remarkable story is the account of how King David seduced Bathsheba, and then arranged for the murder of her husband of Uriah the Hittite. Their first son died but their second, Solomon became king after David.
Matthew’s Gospel
Matthew wrote his gospel primarily for Jewish readers so it was essential for him to show that Jesus did fulfil all these Old Testament prophecies so he begins his book with the known genealogy of Jesus. It is in two sections with King David being emphasised in the centre. He starts with Abraham, the Father of the Jews, mentions Judah and interestingly stresses the four women already discussed:
“. . . Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, . .” Matthew 1:2-3
“Salmon, the father of Boas, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and David the father of King David.” Matthew 1:5-6
After this comes the royal line of Kings including Solomon, Hezekiah and Josiah. The genealogy reads,
“David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” Matthew 1:6
So scandalous was that story that Bathsheba’s name is not even mentioned. There was no glory in these notorious Old Testament stories so they must be included for another reason. Why are no other mothers mentioned until Mary is described as the mother of Jesus?
This is extraordinary as the question must be asked how these Old Testament authors, writing centuries before Jesus, knew that God would precisely fulfil his promises about giving a Messiah with this pedigree. How did these authors know that these four women whose stories are highlighted in the Old Testament would all be ancestors of the Messiah. The end of the genealogy reads,
“. . . and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” Matthew 1:16
Matthew does not say that Joseph was the Father of Jesus but only that he was Mary’s husband. This is important as the gospel writers were adamant that Jesus had a virgin birth.
Matthew is therefore emphasising the royal pedigree that Jesus was born into, that legally he was in line to be Israel’s king and yet his ancestry included these four highlighted women.
Luke’s gospel
Luke, a Gentile, wrote his gospel for non-Jews. He gives the genealogy in reverse order and goes back to Adam, so showing Jesus’ relationship to the whole human race. This was Luke’s emphasis, Jesus came for people from every nation. Thus when Simeon praised God for the baby Jesus he included,
“For my eyes have seen you salvation which you have prepared for all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke 2:30-32
From Abraham to David the genealogies of Matthew and Luke are virtually the same but they differ from David onwards. It is likely that Luke is tracing back the genealogy of Mary. Although this was unusual, so was a virgin birth! Luke makes it clear that Joseph was not Jesus’ father by writing at the beginning of the genealogy,
“He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph.” Luke 3:23
Luke had previously emphasised the supernatural virgin birth of Jesus in chapter one. Luke’s gospel goes on to show that Jesus was the Messiah by emphasising the miracles he did alongside his teaching. He stresses also that people must believe and follow Jesus if they are to be acceptable to God. After Jesus’ resurrection Luke, the Gentile, also emphasised the importance of the Jewish Scriptures, our Old Testament, by quoting Jesus as saying,
“Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Luke 24:47
John’s Gospel
John probably wrote his gospel after the other three, so he supplements what the others have said. He also stresses that Jesus is divine, equal to God the Father and that it is only by accepting him as our Lord and Saviour that we can be saved. He doesn’t include a genealogy but emphasises that Jesus has come directly from God. He calls Jesus, ‘The Word’, God’s communication with mankind, and so starts his gospel or ‘good news’ with this introduction:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the life of men.” John 1:1-4
This ‘life’ is a great theme in John’s gospel, being mentioned thirty six times. His message is that eternal life is only given to those who believe in Jesus and receive him as their Lord. He writes,
“He came to that which was his own (the Jews), but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God.” John 1:11-12
John finishes this prologue to his book with this fundamental message about who Jesus is, God come in the flesh:
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
Conclusion
All four gospel writers are clear about the nature of Jesus, he is the divine embodiment of God. Yet as they were writing primarily for different audiences their emphases do differ, even thought their essential message is the same - Jesus is the Christ, he is the incarnation of Jahweh, he is Lord of all.
BVP
February 2023
