Over the past 10 years I have preached several different Christmas messages. Some of these previous sermon titles were “The Nativity Story”, “The Wise Men”, “The Virgin Birth”, “An Old Testament Christmas”, “The Star of Bethlehem”, and “The Meaning of Hanukkah”. This year I wanted to focus on something different, yet closely connected to the Christmas passages found in Matthew and Luke.
That said, I decided to speak about the genealogies found in both gospels. These family trees are an integral part of the gospel story, as they set the stage for Jesus’ glorious coming. Here is a brief comparison of the 2 different genealogies.
MATTHEW’S GENEALOGY (Matthew 1:1-17)
Matthew was a Jew, wrote from a Jewish perspective, and directed his gospel to a Jewish audience. As such, he was very familiar with Old Testament prophecy and wanted to tell his brethren how these prophecies were fulfilled in Christ. His purpose in recording Christ’s genealogy was to show that Jesus was a Jew, born of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and more specifically that He was a descendant of the royal line of King David, a paramount requirement for the Messiah.
With this lineage as a prerequisite for everything else, Matthew began his gospel with it. Apart from establishing Jesus’ lineage, no Jew would even entertain the possibility that He was the long-awaited Christ.
To this end, Matthew’s genealogy focused on Jesus’ paternal ancestry, as the right to become king was bestowed through the father. He established that Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was a direct descendant of David. Therefore, Joseph’s son, Jesus, was legally qualified to be king and could rightly be called the son of David.
Matthew’s genealogy starts with Abraham and moves forward in time, from generation to generation, until it reaches Jesus. It is divided into almost equal sections, each said to consist of 14 generations (though 1 only has 13). These sections are described as spanning from Abraham to David, David to the Deportation, and the Deportation to Jesus.
The sections broadly summarize different time periods in Jewish history. In order to make them equal, Matthew purposely skipped several generations. This is a common practice in Biblical genealogies. Thus, when he referred to some as the father of someone else, he did so in a general sense - they might in fact be a grandfather or even great grandfather.
LUKE’S GENEALOGY (Luke 3:23-28)
Luke was a Gentile, wrote from a Gentile perspective, and directed his gospel to a Gentile audience. As such, his primary purpose was to contrast Jesus, the sinless son of God, with the first man Adam, through whom sin came upon all mankind. Luke wanted to prove the identity of Christ by establishing His moral righteousness and superiority over Adam. He wanted to connect Jesus to Adam, and then declare how Jesus had made a way to atone for Adam’s sin.
Thus, Luke recorded his genealogy between his account of Jesus’ baptism and His temptation in the wilderness. Unlike Adam, who was enticed by Satan to sin, Jesus resisted the Devil’s temptations and did not sin.
Because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Joseph was not his biological father. Joseph was more like a stepfather or adoptive father, but Jesus’ human genetics came exclusively through Mary. To that end, Luke’s genealogy focuses on Jesus’ maternal and biological ancestry. It emphasizes His humanity as a descendant of Adam.
Luke’s genealogy begins with Jesus and moves backwards in time, from generation to generation, until it reaches Adam (the son of God). It consists of 72 generations and is not divided into any sections. It is intended to be as precise and possible and does not intentionally skip generations. Therefore, it includes several more names and is quite a bit longer than the listing in Matthew.
Because Luke’s genealogy only includes men’s names, but actually details Mary’s ancestry, it refers to Joseph's father-in-law as his father. By doing so, it transitions to her side of the family tree. The original Greek language does not explicitly distinguish between blood relatives and in-laws. Thus, Jesus’ maternal grandfather is, in actuality, His closest biological male ancestor.
CONCLUSION
Jesus was divine - the Son of God - born miraculously of a virgin. But He was also a man, descended biologically from the line of Adam through His mother Mary. As such, He was uniquely qualified to be the Savior of mankind. In His deity, Jesus lived a sinless life and was an unblemished sacrifice acceptable to God. In His humanity, Jesus was one of us - a suitable substitute to make atonement for the sin of man.
Jesus also fulfilled ancient prophecy. He was a Jew - a descendant of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. He was born from the line of David. Thus, He was legally entitled to the crown through his father Joseph. He is the eternal King of kings who reigns upon the throne of David.
This Christmas, as we celebrate together with our families, may we consider Jesus’ family - His ancestors dating all the way back to the Garden of Eden. With each generation, and every associated story, the Bible leads us to and culminates in Jesus. Hallelujah!
That said, I decided to speak about the genealogies found in both gospels. These family trees are an integral part of the gospel story, as they set the stage for Jesus’ glorious coming. Here is a brief comparison of the 2 different genealogies.
MATTHEW’S GENEALOGY (Matthew 1:1-17)
Matthew was a Jew, wrote from a Jewish perspective, and directed his gospel to a Jewish audience. As such, he was very familiar with Old Testament prophecy and wanted to tell his brethren how these prophecies were fulfilled in Christ. His purpose in recording Christ’s genealogy was to show that Jesus was a Jew, born of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and more specifically that He was a descendant of the royal line of King David, a paramount requirement for the Messiah.
With this lineage as a prerequisite for everything else, Matthew began his gospel with it. Apart from establishing Jesus’ lineage, no Jew would even entertain the possibility that He was the long-awaited Christ.
To this end, Matthew’s genealogy focused on Jesus’ paternal ancestry, as the right to become king was bestowed through the father. He established that Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was a direct descendant of David. Therefore, Joseph’s son, Jesus, was legally qualified to be king and could rightly be called the son of David.
Matthew’s genealogy starts with Abraham and moves forward in time, from generation to generation, until it reaches Jesus. It is divided into almost equal sections, each said to consist of 14 generations (though 1 only has 13). These sections are described as spanning from Abraham to David, David to the Deportation, and the Deportation to Jesus.
The sections broadly summarize different time periods in Jewish history. In order to make them equal, Matthew purposely skipped several generations. This is a common practice in Biblical genealogies. Thus, when he referred to some as the father of someone else, he did so in a general sense - they might in fact be a grandfather or even great grandfather.
LUKE’S GENEALOGY (Luke 3:23-28)
Luke was a Gentile, wrote from a Gentile perspective, and directed his gospel to a Gentile audience. As such, his primary purpose was to contrast Jesus, the sinless son of God, with the first man Adam, through whom sin came upon all mankind. Luke wanted to prove the identity of Christ by establishing His moral righteousness and superiority over Adam. He wanted to connect Jesus to Adam, and then declare how Jesus had made a way to atone for Adam’s sin.
Thus, Luke recorded his genealogy between his account of Jesus’ baptism and His temptation in the wilderness. Unlike Adam, who was enticed by Satan to sin, Jesus resisted the Devil’s temptations and did not sin.
Because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, Joseph was not his biological father. Joseph was more like a stepfather or adoptive father, but Jesus’ human genetics came exclusively through Mary. To that end, Luke’s genealogy focuses on Jesus’ maternal and biological ancestry. It emphasizes His humanity as a descendant of Adam.
Luke’s genealogy begins with Jesus and moves backwards in time, from generation to generation, until it reaches Adam (the son of God). It consists of 72 generations and is not divided into any sections. It is intended to be as precise and possible and does not intentionally skip generations. Therefore, it includes several more names and is quite a bit longer than the listing in Matthew.
Because Luke’s genealogy only includes men’s names, but actually details Mary’s ancestry, it refers to Joseph's father-in-law as his father. By doing so, it transitions to her side of the family tree. The original Greek language does not explicitly distinguish between blood relatives and in-laws. Thus, Jesus’ maternal grandfather is, in actuality, His closest biological male ancestor.
CONCLUSION
Jesus was divine - the Son of God - born miraculously of a virgin. But He was also a man, descended biologically from the line of Adam through His mother Mary. As such, He was uniquely qualified to be the Savior of mankind. In His deity, Jesus lived a sinless life and was an unblemished sacrifice acceptable to God. In His humanity, Jesus was one of us - a suitable substitute to make atonement for the sin of man.
Jesus also fulfilled ancient prophecy. He was a Jew - a descendant of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. He was born from the line of David. Thus, He was legally entitled to the crown through his father Joseph. He is the eternal King of kings who reigns upon the throne of David.
This Christmas, as we celebrate together with our families, may we consider Jesus’ family - His ancestors dating all the way back to the Garden of Eden. With each generation, and every associated story, the Bible leads us to and culminates in Jesus. Hallelujah!