The genealogy of Jesus, our family tree.

Luke 3:23-38 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible (link available on links page)

Genealogy of Jesus

²³ When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, ²⁴ the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, ²⁵ the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, ²⁶ the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, ²⁷ the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, ²⁸ the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, ²⁹ the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, ³⁰ the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, ³¹ the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, ³² the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, ³³ the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, ³⁴ the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, ³⁵ the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, ³⁶ the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, ³⁷ the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, ³⁸ the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

The genealogy of Jesus from Matthew 1: 

The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah,the son of David,the son of Abraham:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. ³ Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. ⁴ Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. ⁵ Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. ⁶ Jesse was the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. ⁷ Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. ⁸ Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. ⁹ Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. ¹⁰ Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. ¹¹ Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

¹² After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. ¹³ Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. ¹⁴ Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. ¹⁵ Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. ¹⁶ Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷ So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

As we read these two genealogies tracing the family line of Jesus we see some very obvious differences . First Matthew only list the names from Abraham to Jesus while Luke goes all the way back to Adam. Second they are presented in reverse order from each other,  Matthew using the father  of lineage while Luke uses the son of. Keeping in mind that Matthew only traces the line from Abraham, to whom the original promise of the nation of Israel was given, we can see in both accounts that the names from Abraham to David are the same. The purpose of these genealogical records was to establish that Jesus was truly born through the line of David and so He had the legal qualification for the throne and He also fulfilled the prophetic scriptural requirements to be the Messiah. Jesus is both Savior and King.

Doubters and critics of the Bible will point to the differences in the names from David to Jesus as an indication of the inaccuracy of the Bible. This of course is not the actual case. There are many detailed books and resources explaining the difference in these two records. I have included a brief summary of the explanation found on the site gotQuestions?.org.

Most conservative Bible scholars today take a different view, namely, that Luke is recording Mary’s genealogy and Matthew is recording Joseph’s. Matthew is following the line of Joseph (Jesus’ legal father), through David’s son Solomon, while Luke is following the line of Mary (Jesus’ blood relative), though David’s son Nathan. Since there was no Greek word for “son-in-law,” Joseph was called the “son of Heli” by marriage to Mary, Heli’s daughter. Through either Mary’s or Joseph’s line, Jesus is a descendant of David and therefore eligible to be the Messiah. Tracing a genealogy through the mother’s side is unusual, but so was the virgin birth. Luke’s explanation is that Jesus was the son of Joseph, “so it was thought” (Luke 3:23).

Recommended Resources: Jesus: The Greatest Life of All by Charles Swindoll and Logos Bible Software.


Read more: http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-genealogy.html#ixzz3Up9EEeno

So Jesus line of qualification is through both Joseph and Mary. This is not surprising as the custom of the Jewish people is  or at least was to marry within clans. The fact that the line goes through Joseph important because even though he was not Jesus biological father, it was through Joseph that Jesus earthly legal rights were reckoned. Mary's lineage then traces the actual bloodline, establishing Jesus right to the throne by blood. Notice too, that Luke then begins with Adam the son of God and carries it through to Jesus the Son of God.

This is the line we are adopted into through Christ. In Him we have come into all the promises given to God's chosen people and all the benefits, rights and authority of God's children. The line of Christ also includes tremendous examples of redemption.  Matthew's record which documents the legal right to the throne is carried through David's son Solomon, who succeeded David on the throne, who also was the son born to David and Bathsheba. David and Bathsheba began their relationship in adultery. Jesus line following through  their son Solomon indicates the power of redemption found in Christ. Their are countless other shortcomings, failures and sins which can be seen through the lives of the line of Christ all the way back to Adam and the original sin. The blood of Jesus, traced through Mary from Son of God to Son of God is enough to redeem every sin, from the sin of Adam to my sin and yours.

As adopted children of God we have been redeemed and we have all the rights, the privileges and authority of rulers in God's kingdom. We also have the responsibility to walk in a manner worthy of that high calling. No matter what failure lies in your past, whether yours or your family's history. That is not who you are. In Christ we are made new. We no longer claim or concern ourselves with the failures of the past. We are redeemed and our heritage begins and ends with Jesus Christ and God the Father.

Thank You heavenly Father that Your plan of redemption covers every sin of man, even mine. Thank You Jesus Christ, Son of God the legal and blood King of kings and my Savior and Lord. In You and through the finished work of the cross I no longer live under the curse of past failure. My heritage is in You. Holy Spirit empower me today and every day to walk in the fullness of the rights, privileges, authority and responsibility of a child of the King. I yield to You. Amen