| Matthew 1:1 The book of the
generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; 3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; 4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; 6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; 14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. |
Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself
began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of
Joseph, which was the son of Heli, 24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, 25 Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, 26 Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, 27 Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, 28 Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, 29 Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, 30 Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, 31 Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, 32 Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, 33 Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, 34 Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, 35 Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, 36 Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, 37 Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, 38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. |
There are two versions of the genealogy of Jesus, confusing at first sight because the two lists are entirely different from David forward. The confusion is easily resolved, though; what is actually presented in Luke is the genealogy of Mary, which also traces from David. The word used to refer to Joseph as the son of Matthat more accurately translates, in our usage, as son-in-law. In the case of both genealogies, though, Jesus was not a descendent by blood, but by adoption. Though Mary did give birth to him, he was God's son, implanted in her womb by the Holy Ghost. Joseph is clearly an adoptive father, symbolic of the fact that we, as God's children, are also adopted into his family.
One thing that's easy to miss here is the amazing symmetry so often apparent in God's plan, a pattern that defies all attempts to make it random. The passage in Matthew divides the ancestry of Christ through his adopted father into three groups of fourteen generations, centered around key people and events. The number three itself is a sacred number, representing as it does the Trinity, while seven, half of fourteen, is the number of completeness and perfection. It is also important to note that if any one link in the chain were broken over the 42 generations recorded, God's plan would not have developed as he intended. His providence is gloriously apparent in the entire record of human lives given here, both for Joseph and for Mary.
It is interesting to note that God used a wide variety of people to carry on his plan, from Adam to Christ. Adam himself was the original sinner, with his wife, Eve, and we all of our sin problem to his rebellion. Noah was the first recorded drunkard, and Abraham was a liar in the court of Pharaoh, and a man whose lack of faith in waiting on God led directly to the modern conflict between Arabs and Jews. Judah was one of those who sold his brother, Joseph, into slavery, while Salmon married a prostitute of Canaan, Rahab. Ruth, the wife of Boaz, was from Moab, a nation born out of incest. David was an adulterer and a murder, and Solomon was an idolater. Yet, while we can easily focus on the human flaws of the patriarchs, God was able to use them in his plan, for all of their imperfections, and we remember them best, not for their failures, but for the great things that God was able to do through them. Noah was the only true servant of God in a wicked and fallen world, and God saved mankind from his wrath through Noah's faithfulness. Abraham stands as our prime example of faith in the Old Testament, because he trusted God even when the son of promise, Isaac, was demanded of him. Rahab helped insure the defeat of Jericho, because she chose to cast her lot with God's people rather than the heathen idolaters around her. God used Ruth, who left her homeland out of love, to illustrate, in her relationship to Boaz, the role of the Kinsman Redeemer, a type of Christ. David was a man after God's own heart, and his kingship was so important that even Jesus himself claimed his right as Messiah to the fact that he was the Son of David promised in prophecy. We remember Solomon, most of all, as an example of someone who was blessed with godly wisdom.
Our heritage is important, but our most important heritage is that, as believers, we are counted as sons of God, his adopted children. Like the men and women in the heritage of Christ, we make mistakes and commit sins, but that doesn't change our relationship with God or rob us of the promised inheritance. What God sees and remembers in us is what we do through faith in his son. He doesn't bemoan our failures; he celebrates our successes.