Today we will be looking at the genealogies of Jesus. They are contained in two places… once in the Gospel of Matthew and once in the Gospel of Luke. Take a moment to find these in your Bible and look them over. Many people skip over these texts when they are studying, thinking these are just lists of names with no meaning. But these genealogies are, in fact, quite important.
In the ancient Jewish cultures, a person’s lineage, who they were and where they came from, was very important. It is amazing to me that, in a culture where not all of the generations had reached a point, yet, where there was writing, these lineages were preserved all the way back to the beginning of time. That is quite a feat. That has God’s hand in it.
The genealogy in Matthew begins with Father Abraham and runs all the way, uninterrupted, to Jesus in ascending order. It was common in those days to sometimes skip over people, as is done here in Matthew, but you must remember that when it says ‘begat’ (KJV) or ‘was the father of’ (NIV), that could mean father or grandfather or just ancestor. The genealogy in Luke begins with Jesus and runs all the way, uninterrupted, back to Adam in descending order. Another thing I want you to notice here is that the two genealogies are the same from Abraham to King David. However, from King David to Jesus the names are different. Why is this? It is because Matthew gives us Jesus’ lineage through His father, Joseph, while Luke gives us Jesus’ lineage through His mother, Mary.
There are no mothers mentioned in Luke’s genealogy, just fathers, but four mothers (not including Mary), are mentioned in Matthew’s, in addition to the fathers. They are women we are familiar with from the Old Testament. Matthew 1:3 mentions Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah. Verse 5 mentions Rahab, the harlot in Jericho who helped Joshua’s men scout out the city (Josh 2:1). Verse 5 also mentions Ruth, the great grandmother of King David. And finally, verse 6 mentions Bathsheba (though not by name), who bore King David a son while still married to her previous husband. These four women have something in common… they were all Gentiles. None of them were Jews. The entire lineage, through the fathers, is of course all Jewish. It is important to note that there were non-Jews in Jesus’ heritage since He came to save all mankind, not just the Jews.
Why are these genealogies important? Let’s look at Matt 1:1. Here, we are told that Jesus is the Messiah, He is the son of David, and He is the son of Abraham. The Jews would have known from the Scriptures (Gen 49:10) that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. These genealogies establish that Jesus is, on both sides of the family, from the tribe of Judah. They also would have known from the prophet Isaiah (Isa 9:7) that the Messiah would be from King David’s family line. And finally, the Jews would have known from the Scriptures (Gen 18:18) that the Messiah would be a descendant of Abraham. Jesus’ lineage to both King David and Abraham are established in both genealogies. We can see, then, that Jesus’ lineage traces through Judah, Abraham, and King David on both His mother’s side (blood line) and on His father’s (legal heir). There is no question that Jesus is qualified to be the promised Messiah.
Matthew 1:17 gives us a headcount of the generations in three groups… there are 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David until the exile to Babylon (period of the kings), and 14 from the exile to Babylon until Jesus. The number 14, in Biblical Numerology, symbolizes a double portion of spiritual perfection. It is twice the number seven, which is the Biblical number of perfection. It is also thought to symbolize deliverance and salvation.
Luke’s version, in verse 23, does remind us that Joseph is not the natural father of Jesus.
Responding to God: Consider falling prostrate before God, face down, to worship Him with all the humility and honor He is due. Praise and worship God in His majestic holiness acknowledging who He is and what He does, declaring your love to each member of the Trinity. Ask Him to give you a deep love for His Word and a good understanding as you study. Ask Him for opportunities to share who He is with others.
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