THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS CHRIST

INTRODUCTION

Discuss the different genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3.

He was Joseph’s child legally because if you were adopted into a family, you were the legal child with all the rights and privileges.  He was Mary’s child lineally and by blood.  And so every way possible Jesus Christ had the right to rule.  The father was the one who granted the royal line.  The mother was the one who granted the royal blood to Jesus.

It is both interesting and significant that since the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70 no genealogies exist that can trace the ancestry of any Jew now living. The primary significance of that fact is that, for those Jews who still look for the Messiah, his lineage to David could never be established. Jesus Christ is the last verifiable claimant to the throne of David, and therefore to the messianic line.

Mention the fact that this is not an exhaustive list of His genealogy.

Almost certainly the careful emphasis on the number 14 would prompt Jewish readers to remember that the numerical value of David’s name in Hebrew was 14. In Hebrew, each letter has a numeric value. When you add up the letters of David, they equal 14.

It Proves that Jesus is the Promised Messiah

Genesis 22:18 “and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.””

Genesis 49:10 “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.”

2 Samuel 7:12-13 “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”

It Shows God’s Faithfulness

Psalm 89:34-36 “I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.”

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

It had been roughly 2000 years since God had made His promises to Abraham. It had been roughly 1000 years since He made His promises to David. The Lord ALWAYS keeps His word.

2 Chronicles 21:7 “Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.”

It Proves that the Wicked Can’t Stop God’s Plans

Job 42:2 ““I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.”

Joram (verse 8) murdered all of his brothers. He married wicked king Ahab’s daughter. He made high places to worship false gods and led the kingdom to forsake the Lord. After him, his son Ahaziah became king. He continued to do evil like his father had done. His mother, who was wicked king Ahab’s daughter, counseled him to forsake the Lord. He only reigned 1 year, before he was killed because of his wickedness. When he was killed, his mother Athaliah ordered all of the royal family to be killed, so she could take over the kingdom. All of the king’s sons were killed except one. King Ahaziah’s sister rescued Joash and hid him from Athaliah. He was only about a year old. They hid him until he was 7.

King Ahaz (verse 9) made metal images for the Baals and he burned some of his sons as an offering to his false gods.

Manasseh rebuilt the the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down. He worshipped Baal, the Asheroth, and worshipped the host of heaven. He put altars to for the host of heaven in the temple of the living God. He burned his sons as an offering and turned to fortune telling, omens, sorcery, and dealt with mediums and necromancers. He was more wicked than the nations that the Lord drove out for Israel.

Because of the wickedness of Jeconiah (also known as Jehoiachin or Coniah), the Lord had promised that none of his descendents would sit on the throne of David as king (Jeremiah 22:30). That curse would have precluded Jesus’ right to kingship had He been the natural son of Joseph, who was in Jeconiah’s line. Jesus’ legal descent from David, which was always traced through the father, came through Jeconiah to Joseph. But His blood descent, and His human right to rule, came through Mary, who was not in Jeconiah’s lineage. Thus the curse on Jeconiah’s offspring was circumvented, while still maintaining the royal privilege.

It Shows that God Can Work Through Sinful and Imperfect People

Discuss Abraham, David and Bathsheba, Judah and Tamar, and Rahab.

It Reminds Us that God Knows Us All By Name

Zerubbabel is the last one in the list that we have details about in Scripture.

Hebrews 6:10 “For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.”

It Shows that Christ is the Savior for All People

Mention Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. There are Jews and Gentiles and men and women listed here.

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Galatians 3:26-29 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”