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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
April 7, 2013
The Lineage of Jesus
Matthew 1:1-17 & Luke 3:23-38
Introduction
In my sermon last week I emphasized the point that people can claim anything they want, but that does not make it true. There must be evidence that what they claim is true. One evidence that a person is telling the truth is that he is able and does what he claims. If a person cannot fulfill his promises, then he is not truthful. In Matthew 16:21, Jesus told His disciples that when they arrived in Jerusalem, he would “suffer many things from the elders and chief priest and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.” If Jesus did not rise from the dead on the third day, then He would be either a liar or a lunatic and none of His claims or promises should be believed. He would not be a good teacher or a good man and should not be followed. If He did rise from the dead, then He is true to His word and should be believed and followed. Last Sunday we celebrated the fact that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. All the evidence backs up that claim and the arguments made against it are shown to be the foolishness for God had done just what He said. Jesus is Lord. (See: An Empty Cross and An Empty Tomb)
Another important area of evidence that Jesus is who He claims to be is the fulfillment of prophecy. In fact, this is a crucial area of evidence because in order to be the promised Messiah who would redeem mankind from sin, Jesus would have to fulfill many specific prophecies. Many of those prophecies are not things which He could have any control over unless He is indeed the Son of God, the second person of the eternal Godhead, and God the Father brought about everything He had promised hundreds of years earlier. Two weeks ago I pointed out one of those in the fulfillment of Micah 5:2. The Messiah would have to be born in Bethlehem Ephrathah in Judah. God used the pagan Caesar Augustus who required everyone to return to their home town for his census to ensure that Joseph and Mary would be in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. (See: The Birth of Messiah).
This morning we are going to examine the lineage of Jesus. In order for Jesus to be the Messiah, His lineage had to include three distinct and specific requirements. He had to be the Son of God, a physical descendent of King David, and also have the right of inheritance to the throne of King David and yet avoid the curse on Jeconiah in Jeremiah 22:30. We have already talked about Jesus being the Son of God in the sermon given from John 1:1-18 last Christmas (See: The Incarnation) and the sermon from Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-39 two weeks ago on Jesus’ birth. This morning we are going to examine Jesus’ genealogy through Joseph in Matthew 1:1-17 and through Mary in Luke 3:23-38 to see how these other two requirements were fulfilled.
Physical Genealogy Through Mary – Luke 3:23-38
Luke makes an emphasis throughout his gospel account that Jesus is the Son of God, and that emphasis is seen in his tracing Jesus’ physical genealogy through Mary all the way back to Adam who was created by God and so “son of God.” Let me quickly read this passage, then I will come back and point out a few things about it.
(I realize that genealogical records are not that interesting to most people, especially if they are of someone else, yet these genealogies are extremely important. I also realize that reading a list of 78 names, many of which are very unusual to our ears, might not be that interesting. However, consider that every single name is an individual known by and used by God to bring about His eternal plan. God, the creator of the universe, pays attention even to the details of individual people and uses them to bring about glory for Himself. He cares about you in the same way and can use you for His glory as a vessel of mercy if you will let Him).
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.
Luke starts the genealogy by pointing out that Jesus was presumed to be the son of Joseph which is then followed by a list of names in descending order. Only in the listing of Jesus to Joseph is the article “the” (tou / tou) absent and the term “son” ( uioV /huios) used in describing the relationship. In this way Luke makes an emphasis that Jesus is not the actual son of Joseph. Throughout the rest of the lineage only the article is used without a specific term of relationship leaving it to be assumed. This gives us a partial answer to the question of why Luke does not mention Mary if this is her genealogy. The simple answer is that genealogical lines were normally traced through the man, not the woman, so the woman’s name would not be listed in a direct lineage. Instead, her husband’s name would be listed with her father listed next. Mary’s father was Eli and Joseph was his son-in-law. The use of only the article without a specific term designating the relationship between Joseph and Eli leaves this as a possibility. How do we know this is what Luke is doing and not giving a genealogy of Joseph? Several reasons.
First, Joseph’s genealogy is given in Matthew 1 and his father is Jacob, not Eli. Second, a genealogy of Mary fits the context in Luke while a genealogy of Joseph would not. Matthew is concerned about documenting that Jesus is the rightful Messiah and so documents that Jesus has the right to David’s throne through Joseph. Luke concentrates on the miraculous birth of Jesus through the virgin Mary according to what the angel had de
clared. Matthew gives little attention to Mary while Luke has her as a key figure in the first couple of chapters of his narrative. Luke hardly mentions Joseph except as the man to whom Mary was betrothed (1:27) and who took Mary to Bethlehem where Jesus was born (2:4,16). It would make little sense for Luke to suddenly give this much information about Joseph’s lineage, but it makes a lot of sense for him to trace Mary’s line back to Adam and so show Jesus to be both “Son of Man” and “Son of God.”
As the physical descendant of Mary, Jesus fulfills several prophecies. The Messiah would have to have the correct bloodline. Any deviation from the requirements set forth in the prophecies would disqualify the person from having a legitimate claim to be the Messiah. If Jesus’ bloodline did not meet these prophetic requirements, He would not be Messiah.
The first goes all the way back to Genesis 3:15 and the promise given to Eve that one day “her seed” would “bruise” or “crush” the serpent’s head. This prophecy makes two requirements. First, the Messiah would have to be human. An angel or some other creature could not accomplish it. This is one reason why from the very beginning animal sacrifices would not be sufficient. The blood of bulls and goats could neither take away sin (Isaiah 1:11; Hebrews 10:4) nor defeat man’s enemy, Satan. Second, this would require a virgin to give birth so that her son was truly “her seed” and not that of a man otherwise he would be the offspring of “his seed.” Jesus was born of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit and so is both son of God and therefore deity, and also fully human as the physical son of Mary.
The second prophetic requirement also goes back to Genesis. The promised Messiah could not just be any descendant of Adam, but had to be from a very specific blood line. The Old Testament traces this through Adam’s son, Seth, then down through Noah and his son, Shem, then to Abram for in Genesis 12:3 God told him, “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (See also Genesis 18:18 & 22:18) The genealogy in Luke 3 records that Jesus is a physical descendant of Abraham.
There have been millions and millions of descendants of Abraham. The Islamic world even claims this promise for themselves through Ishmael, but being a descendant of Abraham is not enough. Genesis 17:19 states, “But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” The promise of God’s covenant with Abraham must go through Isaac and not Ishmael. (See also: Genesis 17:19, 21; 21:12; 26:2-5) Because Mohammed is not of the required lineage, he cannot be the prophet who would bring this blessing to the world. Jesus, however, is of the correct lineage as a physical descendant of Isaac.
There have also been multiple millions of descendants of Isaac through his sons, Jacob and Esau. Genesis 28:14 and 35:9-12 both record that God’s covenant with Abraham was established with Jacob, and not Esau. In addition, Numbers 24:17 records the prophecy that the future ruler would arise from Jacob. Messiah would have to be Jewish. Again, Luke records that Jesus is the physical descendant of Jacob.
There have been millions of descendants of Jacob over the years, but being Jewish is not enough. The promised Messiah also had to be from a very specific tribe of Israel. Israel’s blessings on his children in Genesis 49:10 includes the statement that “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him [shall be] the obedience of the peoples.” Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah and Luke 3:34 records that Jesus is a descendant of Judah.
There have also been a lot of people that have been of the tribe of Judah, but that would not be enough either. Isaiah 11:1 makes the prophecy that the Messiah would “spring from the stem of Jesse,” which is a particular family of the tribe of Judah. The Messiah had to be from the family of Jesse, and Luke 3:32 records that Jesus is.
Finally, the Messiah would have to be a physical descendant of King David. God told David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13 that He would raise one of his descendants and establish the throne of His kingdom forever. Isaiah later prophesied concerning the coming Messiah, 6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
“There will be no end to the increase of [His] government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9:6-7). Luke 3:32 records that Jesus is the physical descendant of David through Mary. It was just as the angel Gabriel had told Mary in Luke 1:32-33 concerning the child she was going to bear, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end.”
Jesus’ genealogy through Mary also solves a severe problem. The Messiah had to be a physical descendant of King David, yet the Messiah could not be from the blood line of David’s descendant, King Jeconiah. Jeremiah 22:13-23 reveals the wickedness of Shallum (Jehoahaz) and his brother Jehoiakim. Jeremiah 22:24 picks up the story of Jehoiakim’s son who in that passage is called Coniah. The same man is also known as Jehoiachin (2 Kings) and Jeconiah (Matthew 1:11-12). Jeremiah prophecies that Nebuchadnezzar would conquer him and take him to Babylon. Then a curse is given against him starting in verse 28 “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known? O land, land, land, Hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the LORD, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.'”
Jeremiah’s prophecy is that no descendant of Coniah (Jeconiah) would sit on David’s throne or rule again in Judah. Yet, the right to the throne passes through him and he is in the direct lineage of Christ according to Matthew’s genealogy. If that genealogy was the record of Jesus’ blood line, then Jesus would not meet the prophetic requirements of the Messiah. Jesus would not be the Christ. However, the genealogy in Matthew is that of Joseph and not Jesus’ blood line. Jesus is not a descendant of Coniah. The genealogy in Luke is Jesus’ physical blood line and He is a physical descendant of Abraham through Isaac through Jacob through Judah through Jesse through King David, but not through Coniah. Mary’s genealogy traces through David’s son, Nathan, instead of the royal line of Solomon.
One last thing to note about the genealogy that Luke presents is that he is true to his purpose in trying to give Theophilus the “exact truth about the things” which he had been taught (Luke 1:3-4). Luke is a careful historian and so includes more names than occur in other genealogies which have a different purpose as we shall see in Matthew. Luke states that his gospel account was based on careful investigation of eyewitness accounts. It is possible that Luke could have received this genealogy from Mary herself or one of her other sons or daughters. While it might seem strange to some in American culture that anyone would know their genealogy to such an extensive degree, it is not all that uncommon in other cultures. I am amazed at how much some of my aunts know about family history and relations through just oral histo
ry. In cultures where genealogy is more important, there would be even more memorized.
Something I found interesting about the genealogy Luke presents is that it is mathematically reasonable to believe that he includes every generation. Luke does not state that or demand that since genealogies often skip generations if they only highlight key figures in the lineage or are arranged to make memorization easier. The genealogy in Matthew does that. But mathematically it does work out that Luke may well have included every generation. Jesus is born about 4,100 years after the creation of Adam and Luke lists 78 generations. Since Genesis records the age of the father when the son in the lineage was born, we can calculate the generational time span. The first 22 generations cover a period of 2,100 years (Adam to Jacob). The remaining 56 generations occur over a period of 2,000 years or about 34 years between generations. A very reasonable figure when it is taken into account that the person named in the lineage is not always the first born. David, for example, was the seventh son. It is common for men even in our time to be siring children well into their 30’s and often into their 40’s and some even into their 50’s.
Legal Genealogy Through Joseph – Matthew 1:1-17
Luke’s purpose was to present Jesus as the son of God through a careful investigation of Jesus’ life through eyewitnesses. Matthews’ purpose and method are different. Matthew is an eyewitness of Jesus’ life and his goal was to present to Jewish people the evidence that Jesus is the promised Messiah. This begins by Matthew establishing the genealogy of Jesus. By doing this, Matthew provides a transition between the Old and New Testaments, shows that Jesus has the correct lineage to be the Christ, the son of the promise as the son of Abraham and son of David with a legal right to David’s throne. This was extremely important to the Jews for they knew the prophecies that Messiah had to fulfill including being a direct descendant of King David with a right to his throne.
Follow along as I read through Matthew 1:1-17 after which I will come back to remark about key points in various particular verses.
1:1 (NASB) The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 To Abraham was born Isaac; and to Isaac, Jacob; and to Jacob, Judah and his brothers; 3 and to Judah were born Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and to Perez was born Hezron; and to Hezron, Ram; 4 and to Ram was born Amminadab; and to Amminadab, Nahshon; and to Nahshon, Salmon; 5 and to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab; and to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse; 6 and to Jesse was born David the king. And to David was born Solomon by her [who had been the wife] of Uriah; 7 and to Solomon was born Rehoboam; and to Rehoboam, Abijah; and to Abijah, Asa; 8 and to Asa was born Jehoshaphat; and to Jehoshaphat, Joram; and to Joram, Uzziah; 9 and to Uzziah was born Jotham; and to Jotham, Ahaz; and to Ahaz, Hezekiah; 10 and to Hezekiah was born Manasseh; and to Manasseh, Amon; and to Amon, Josiah; 11 and to Josiah were born Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon, to Jeconiah was born Shealtiel; and to Shealtiel, Zerubbabel; 13 and to Zerubbabel was born Abihud; and to Abihud, Eliakim; and to Eliakim, Azor; 14 and to Azor was born Zadok; and to Zadok, Achim; and to Achim, Eliud; 15 and to Eliud was born Eleazar; and to Eleazar, Matthan; and to Matthan, Jacob; 16 and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to [the time of] Christ fourteen generations.
This genealogy provides a transition between the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) and the Greek Scriptures (the New Testament) by showing the link between the two in Jesus whom Matthew points out in verse 1 is the Christ. The term “Christ” means “the anointed one” and is simply the Greek term for Messiah, the one promised long ago that would come to save Israel from her sins. Matthew also emphasizes Jesus’ link back into the Hebrew scriptures by pointing out that he is both son of David and son of Abraham. Notice that Matthew puts being the son of David before being the son of Abraham. That would be redundant if both of those phrases did not have some specific meaning behind them for any descendent of David would of necessity also be a son of Abraham since David is a descendant of Abraham.
The term “son David” is a Messianic reference going back to the covenant God made with David in 2 Samuel 7:8-17 that I mentioned earlier. This descendant of David would be the Messiah that would reign on his throne forever. In Matthew 12 we find that the Pharisees were antagonized when the crowds began to wonder if Jesus was the Son of David. When Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the crowds were shouting out, “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Matthew 21:9). Matthew begins his genealogy of Jesus by linking His identity as the Christ with being the son of David.
Matthew’s use of the term “son of Abraham” certainly includes the idea that Jesus is a descendant of Abraham, but again, that is redundant since Jesus is also a descendant of David. In this context Matthew is making reference back to the Abrahamic covenant and the particular descendant through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:18).
Matthew presents Jesus’ genealogy in three groups of 14. He starts with Abraham and traces the lineage through Isaac, not Ishmael, then Jacob, not Esau, then Judah, not any of his brothers, then all the way to Jesse and then David. As already pointed out, there are prophecies concerning each of these individuals that the promised Messiah would come through them. Jesus has the correct lineage from Abraham to David, and David is the central figure in the genealogy. Notice in verse 17 that Matthew says that from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah is fourteen generations. 14 + 14 + 14 = 42 generations, but there are only 41 names. Matthew breaks the genealogy into three groups of 14, but David is repeated twice. Matthew lists fourteen generations from Abraham to David, and then fourteen generations following the royal line from David to Josiah, the last king before invasions by Babylon. Matthew concludes with fourteen generations from Jeconiah, the king that was captured and deported to Babylon, to the Christ. The stress is upon Jesus being the Son of David, and this genealogy follows the royal line of who would have a right to David’s throne.
The genealogy Matthew presents is not all inclusive as is the one presented by Luke for there are known omissions including Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, and Eliakim/Jehoiakim. However, omissions in Biblical genealogies is not unique to this case and the Jews are known to have done this freely as a memory aide. This is apparently what Matthew has done while stressing the centrality of David in Jesus’ genealogy. Possibly the Davidic emphasis is further enhanced by the number fourteen in that it is the sum of the numerical value of the Hebrew letters in the name David. To us this might seem overly subtle, but to the ancient Semitic mind to whom Matthew was writing it would have been obvious.
The genealogy in Matthew is that of Joseph. Notice in Matthew 1:16 that the genealogy traces to “Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ.” In English it seems ambiguous whether the “by whom Jesus was born” is referring to Joseph or Mary, but it is clear in Greek. The term “whom” is ½ò / h s which is feminine an
d therefore must refer to Mary. Therefore verse 16 states that Joseph was the husband of Mary and it was by Mary that Jesus was born. Joseph then is not Jesus’ biological father as is also explained in Matthew 1:18-25, but Joseph is Jesus’ legal father. This allows Jesus to avoid the curse on Jeconiah while still gaining a legal claim to David’s throne through Joseph’s royal lineage tracing back to king David and Abraham. This fits Matthew’s emphasis that Jesus is the Messiah.
The two different genealogies in Matthew and Luke explain how God fulfilled all the necessary prophetic requirements of the Messiah in Jesus. Through Mary, Jesus has a physical bloodline that traces back to all the necessary people while avoiding the curse on Jeconiah. Through Mary, Jesus is the physical descendant of King David, Jesse, Judah, Jacob, Isaac and Abraham and then all the way back to Adam and finally to God. Jesus is both Son of Man and Son of God. Jesus inherits the legal right to David’s throne through His legal father, Joseph, who has the necessary royal lineage tracing back through the cursed Jeconiah and to King David.
God’s Graciousness to All Nations
I want to make one additional point from the genealogy in Matthew by looking briefly at the four women that he mentions in addition to Mary. All four of these women were outcasts and their inclusion demonstrates the graciousness of God that in Jesus all nations would be blessed as stated as part of the Abrahamic covenant.
The first is Tamar in verse 3. Tamar was the Canaanite daughter-in-law of Judah whose sordid story is in Genesis 38. God had taken the lives of her first husband Er and the next brother Onan because of their wickedness. According to Biblical custom, Tamar was to be given to the third son, Shelah, by whom she was to raise up children in Er’s name. However, Judah continually delayed and would not keep the promise. To make a long story short, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and tricks Judah into having sexual relations with her resulting in twin sons, Perez and Zerah. God’s mercy and grace fell on all of them despite the lying, deceitfulness, incest and prostitution. Judah, Tamar and Perez are all in the bloodline of the Messiah.
The second woman is mentioned in verse 5, “And to Salmon was born Boaz by Rahab.” Her story is found in Joshua 2 & 6. Rahab was also a prostitute, but unlike Tamar, it was her profession. She was also a Canaanite and resided in the doomed city of Jericho for her people were under God’s curse for complete destruction. Because Rahab helped hide the Hebrew spies when they came to Jericho, she and her family were granted safety when the army of Israel utterly destroyed that city. God then extended to her great grace in bringing her into the Messianic line through her marriage to Salmon. Rahab is the great, great-grandmother of King David.
The third woman mentioned is also in verse 5, “And to Boaz was born Obed by Ruth; and to Obed, Jesse.” Ruth the Moabites was the daughter-in-law of Naomi and came to Israel when Naomi returned to Bethlehem after the death of her husband and two sons in Moab. Ruth’s was upright in character which was demonstrated by her deeds and willingness to follow the God of Israel. Her people worshiped Ashtar-Chemosh, and they were specifically excluded from taking part in the assembly of Israel. Deuteronomy 23:3,4 says, “No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord; none of their [descendants,] even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the Lord, 4 because they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.” Yet God in His grace not only allowed her into Israel, but through Boaz she was brought into the Royal line. She was the great-grandmother of King David.
The fourth woman is not mentioned by name but by relationship in verse 6, “And to David was born Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.” This is Bath-sheba with whom David committed adultery and then arranged to have her husband killed in battle. The child of that union died, but David then married her and the next child was Solomon. Luke’s genealogy goes through Nathan instead of Solomon, but according to 2 Samuel 5:14 (1 Chronicles 3:5; 14:4), Nathan was also the son of David and Bath-sheba. Again we see God’s graciousness and mercy extended to men.
This was why Messiah was to come. He did not come for just the Jews. That was never the intent even in the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12 as already mentioned. Messiah would come to be a blessing to all peoples. Within Jesus’ veins flowed Gentile as well as Jewish blood. Jesus came to redeem all mankind – Gentile and Jewish; men and women; slave and free; you and I.
Jesus’ genealogy qualifies Him to claim that He was Messiah, but His death, burial and resurrection from the dead prove the claim.
I pray you have recognized Jesus, the Messiah, the King, and have given your life to Him. If not, then do it today and find peace with God. Talk with myself or any of our church leaders and we would be happy to show you the way.
Hallelujah! What a Savior is Jesus Christ our Lord
KIDS CORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help.
Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how many times the word “Messiah” is mentioned. Talk with your parents about how Jesus’ genealogies qualify Him to be the Messiah.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Why is it critical that Jesus rose from the dead? What would it mean if He remained in the grave past the third day? How do we know that Jesus is the Son of God and not just a man? Why are genealogies boring to most people? Why are they so important? What is the purpose of the genealogy in Luke 3? What is the evidence that the genealogy in Luke 3 is that of Mary and not of Joseph? Why is it important that Jesus have a blood line that traces through the following people: Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Jesse and David? Give supporting Scriptures if you can. Why was it necessary that the Messiah not be a physical descendant of the bloodline from Jeconiah (Coniah)? What is the evidence that Luke gives a complete genealogy from Adam to Jesus? How many years between generations if it is complete? (Remember that the length of time for first 22 generations (Adam to Jacob) is fixed in the chronology of Genesis). What is the purpose of the genealogy in Matthew 1? How do we know this is the genealogy of Jacob and not Mary? How does this genealogy link the Old Testament to the New Testament? What is the meaning of the term “Christ”? What is the meaning of the term “Son of God”? What is the meaning of the term “Son of Abraham” in this context? What is the significance of Matthew breaking the genealogy into three groups of fourteen? Why then are there only 41 names? Does the term “by whom” in verse 16 refer to Joseph or Mary? How do we know with certainty which one? How do the two genealogies demonstrate that Jesus is qualified to be the Messiah? What is the significance of Matthew including references to Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba in his genealogy? What two sons of Bathsheba are including in the two genealogies? How is Jesus a fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham that from his seed would come one who would be a blessing to all nations?< /p>
Sermon Notes – 4/7/2013
The Lineage of Jesus – Matthew 1:1-17 & Luke 3:23-38
Introduction
Truth claims must be backed up by _______________-
If Jesus did not rise from the dead on the third day, He was a _____or lunatic. But He did, so He is ____
Fulfilled ______________ is another area of evidence backing up Jesus’ claim to be the Messiah
Jesus was born in ________________ Ephrathah in Judea and fulfilled the prophecy of Micah 5:2
The Messiah had to be the son of God, yet have a _________blood line to King David, yet avoid Coniah
Matt. 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-39 & John 1:1-18 show Jesus is the Son of God conceived by the ___________
Physical Genealogy Through Mary – Luke 3:23-38
Every name is an individual _____________ and used by God to accomplish His eternal plan
vs. 23 – Jesus is the ______________ son of Joseph, not the actual son of Joseph
Joseph is the son-in-law of Eli, ______________ father.
Joseph’s father is ____________ – Matthew 1:16
A genealogy of Mary fits the ____________ of Luke while a genealogy of Joseph would not
Luke focuses on the miraculous birth of Jesus through the virgin _____, and Joseph is hardly mentioned
This genealogy traces Mary’s _____________back to Adam so that Jesus is son of man and Son of God
Without the correct bloodline, there could not be a legitimate __________ to be the Messiah
The Messiah had to be “the seed of a woman” (Gen. 3:15) – the physical son of a ________but not a man
The Messiah had to be a physical descendant of ____________ (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18)
The Messiah had to be a physical descendant of ______, not Ishmael (Genesis 17:19, 21; 21:12; 26:2-5)
The Messiah had to be a physical descendant of ________, not Esau (Gen. 28:14; 35-9-12; Num. 24:17)
The Messiah had to be the physical descendant of _________ (Genesis 49:9-10; Psalm 60:7; Micah 5:2)
The Messiah had to be a physical descendant of __________ (Isaiah 11:1, 10)
The Messiah had to be a physical descendant of King _________ (2 Samuel 7:12-13; Isaiah 9:6-7)
The Messiah could _________ be a physical descendant of King Coniah (Jeconiah) – Jeremiah 22:28-30
Luke is a ______________ historian and may have received this genealogy from Mary
It is mathematically plausible with 22 Generations in 2,100 years and 56 in 2,000 (_____ per generation)
Legal Genealogy Through Joseph – Matthew 1:1-17
A transition between the Old & New Testaments showing Jesus to be the _______heir to David’s throne.
Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the anointed one, promised to come and __________ Israel from her sins
Son of David = ______________ title with reference to the prophecy in 2 Samuel 7:8-17
Son of Abraham = in this context, a title of the one who fulfills the Abrahamic covenant to __________
1st group: Abraham Isaac Jacob Judah Jesse _________
2nd group: __________ Josiah (Last king before Babylon invades)
3rd group: Jeconiah Joseph, ________of Mary by whom Jesus is born
This genealogy has omissions so that it is symmetric (14-14-14) as an aide to __________& stress David
This is ______________ genealogy as the husband of Mary, Jesus’ mother (“by whom” is feminine)
Jesus has the proper bloodline & ________right to David’s throne while avoiding the curse on Jeconiah
God’s Graciousness to All Nations
_________, a Canaanite daughter-in-law to Judah, who bears Perez by Judah – the bloodline of Messiah
Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute who is spared in Jericho, becomes Salmon’s wife & bears ____________
__________, a Moabitess, follows Naomi to Israel, marries Boaz & becomes David’s great-grandmother
Bathsheba: David commits adultery with her, murders her husband, marries her and she bears both Solomon and ____________ – the legal line and the blood line to the Messiah.
Messiah came to be a blessing to ___________(Gen. 12:3) – Jew & Gentile, men & women, slave & free
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