Genealogy of Jesus

Each of the Gospels gives us a complementary genealogy for Jesus. Together they give a complete understanding of who He is.

Mark proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God (Mark 1:1). He is the only begotten son. “Begotten” means “one of a kind.” He is of the same substance as God – He is God. All believers are adopted sons and daughters of God but only Jesus is of the same “kind” (genos in Greek) as God. No human genealogy is needed.

The opening of John’s Gospel is familiar to us (John 1:1-3, 14). “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. … And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Jesus is unique. He existed eternally with the Father and was involved in the creation of all things. Jesus is the God in flesh who came to dwell among men, show them how to live according to the words of God and ultimately die for our sins.

Matthew wants to establish Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. Therefore, he begins the genealogy with Abraham – the first Jew. Matthew then follows from Abraham down to David. God had promised David that the Messiah would come through him family. Matthew next follows from Solomon (God’s chosen to be king after David) through to Joseph. It is amazing to realize that Joseph was eligible to be the King! Jeconiah is in the genealogy and was so wicked that God said none of his descendants would ever sit on the throne. Did this break God’s promise to David – no. But the coming Messiah would have to come through another of David’s son. That is why Luke’s genealogy is so important.

Luke traces Jesus human lineage all the way back to Adam. From Abraham to David it is the same as in Matthew’s Gospel. After David, Luke follows the genealogy through Nathan. Luke’s genealogy is the blood line of Mary. Joseph is listed as the “legalized” or adopted son of Eli (the Father of Mary). Jesus was not the physical father of Joseph but was considered to be His legal father. By being adopted into Mary’s family he gets around the prohibition that his descendants could sit on the throne and be the Messiah.

While the accounts in Matthew and Luke are complicated and deal with obscure legal issues. The fact that God navigates these complexities shows the integrity and reliability of the scriptures. Jesus is “Son of God” (fully God) and “Son of man (fully man) that according to the law was eligible to be King. He fulfills God’s promise to David (2 Samuel 7:8-16) that one of his descendants would be both Messiah and King.