Lineage of Jesus

Introduction

Old Testament ==> New Testament

We have been looking into some of the revelations of God pointing to an Anointed One (Messiah, Christ) that will come and redeem mankind.

Those living in Israel during the duration of the OT were continually waiting for this deliverer that God was revealing to them.

We looked at 7 different passages revealing from God the Messiah that he was promising to come.

In Genesis 3:15

He is Seed of the Woman

He will Crush the head of the serpent and redeem mankind.

In Genesis 12:1-3

He is of the line of Abraham

He will bring a blessing to all families of the world.

In Genesis 49:8-12

He will be from the tribe of Judah.

He will be a ruler with authority.

In Deut 18:15-22

Messiah will be a Prophet proclaiming the words of God.

We are to listen to Him

In Psalm 110

Messiah will be a Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

He will be the Mediator between God and Man.

In 2 Sam 7:1-16

Messiah will be an eternal King in the line of David.

He will rule in God’s eternal Kingdom.

Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12)

He will look ordinary, but accomplish the amazing.

He will suffer not for his guilty, but for ours

His suffering will accomplish the will of God and provide righteousness.

New Testament - Fulfillment

The NT writings are showing the fulfillments of God’s promises to the Jews in the OT through the anointed one Jesus.

Apostles are commissioned by Jesus to reveal this truth and the Gospel.

John 16:12–15 ESV

12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Matthew’s Gospel

Apostle of Jesus

Purpose of His Gospel

To convince Jews that Jesus is the Messiah that the OT scriptures revealed.

They need to trust in Him as their Messiah.

He starts with Jesus Genealogy

Matthew 1:1–17 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Purpose of Genealogies

Definition

“Genealogies are records of a person’s or a group’s descent from an ancestor or ancestors. Outside of Israel, genealogies appear only rarely in ancient Near Eastern literature and are attested primarily in Mesopotamian king lists and in 2d-millennium texts dealing with the political organization and history of the Amorites. However, the OT contains about 25 genealogies of varying complexity, a fact which suggests that genealogy played an important role in Israelite life and thought.” (Wilson, Robert R. “Genealogy, Genealogies.” Ed. David Noel Freedman. The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary 1992 : 929–930. Print.)

Types of Genealogies in the Bible

Linear, where the genealogy records one individual for each generation (e.g., Gen 5)

Segmented, where the genealogy divides across multiple individuals through some or all of the generations it records (e.g., Gen 10) (Shields, Martin A. “Genealogy.” Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016 : n. pag. Print.)

“Telescoping - Genealogies are rarely included in biblical narrative purely to preserve objective historical data. They are thus not always comprehensive, omitting some generations because they were either superfluous to the author’s aim or disrupted the literary format the author was using. Omitting generations in a genealogy is known as “telescoping” and is evident in a number of biblical genealogies, including 1 Chr 5:3–14 and Ezra 7:1–5.” (Shields, Martin A. “Genealogy.” Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016 : n. pag. Print.).

Function of Genealogies in Bible

“Some demonstrate both kinship and distinction between Israel and neighboring peoples.” (Shields, Martin A. “Genealogy.” Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016 : n. pag. Print.)

“In contrast to the multiple functions of segmented genealogies, linear genealogies have only one: to ground a claim to power, status, rank, office, or inheritance in an earlier ancestor. Such genealogies are often used by rulers to justify their right to rule and by office-holders of all types to support their claims.” (Wilson, Robert R. “Genealogy, Genealogies.” Ed. David Noel Freedman. The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary 1992 : 931. Print.)

“This has special importance for the priesthood, as the law required that priests be descendants of Levi. It is also the primary purpose of the genealogical information for Jesus included in the Gospels: they demonstrate that Jesus possesses the characteristics of the promised Messiah.” (Shields, Martin A. “Genealogy.” Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016 : n. pag. Print.)

Levites worked in and with the tabernacle/temple and priest.

Priest were of the line of Aaron.

“Comparative anthropology has shown that “in most non-urban societies, a person’s status, his rights and obligations, are determined by virtue of his kinship ties that link him to other members of his community. In tribal societies, kinship is often expressed in terms of lineage, represented by genealogies” (Levin, “Understanding Biblical Genealogies,” 18). “ (Shields, Martin A. “Genealogy.” Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016 : n. pag. Print.)

“Finally, there is often a geographical element to the biblical genealogies: They refer not merely to people but to clans and families together with their geographic diffusion. This is reflected, for example, in the fact that the southern tribes (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah) were all children of one of Jacob’s wives.” (Shields, Martin A. “Genealogy.” Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016 : n. pag. Print.)

Land inheritance by clan and family (Joshua)

Structure in Jesus Genealogy

Structure

Jesus, Abraham, David (vs. 1)

The Lay Ancestors: Abraham to David (vs. 2-6a)

The Royal, or Crowned, Ancestors: David to Josiah. (vs. 6b-11)

The Lay Ancestors: Jeconiah to Christ. (vs. 12-16)

Jesus, Abraham, David (vs. 17)

(Bullinger, Ethelbert W. The Companion Bible: Being the Authorized Version of 1611 with the Structures and Notes, Critical, Explanatory and Suggestive and with 198 Appendixes. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2018. Print.)

3 main characters and 3 main sections

Jesus, Abraham, and David

Abraham to David, David to Josiah, Jeconiah to Christ

14 Generations each

“Telescoping - Genealogies are rarely included in biblical narrative purely to preserve objective historical data. They are thus not always comprehensive, omitting some generations because they were either superfluous to the author’s aim or disrupted the literary format the author was using...In the New Testament, telescoping may account for the fact that Matt 1:12–17 only records 11 generations from Zerubbabel to Jesus, whereas Luke 3:23–27 lists 20 generations (Rendsburg, “Internal Consistency,” 201).” (Shields, Martin A. “Genealogy.” Ed. John D. Barry et al. The Lexham Bible Dictionary 2016 : n. pag. Print.).

“Matthew clearly omitted some names from this genealogy. Probably, he did this to give a systematic summary of three periods in Israel’s history, each with fourteen generations. The numerical value of the Hebrew letters for “David” equals fourteen. Matthew probably used this approach as a memory aid to help his readers remember this difficult list.” (Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996. Print.)

Women in the Genealogy

Showing women in a genealogy was unheard of. Genealogies only followed the male ancestors.

Tamar (Gen 38)

Presumed Canaanite daughter-in-law of Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. Wife of Judah’s sons Er and Onan.

Tricked Judah into having her child.

Rahab (Joshua 2)

An ancestor of Jesus, mother of Boaz, and survivor of the battle of Jericho.

Ruth (Ruth)

A Moabite woman who leaves her homeland with her Israelite mother-in-law and comes to live in Bethlehem as a resident alien, eventually becoming the great-grandmother of King David.

Bathsheba (2 Sam 11-12)

Daughter of Eliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite

Identified as “the wife of Uriah”

Mary (Matt 1, Luke 1-2)

Mother of Jesus

Importance of Jesus Lineage

Lineage back to Abraham

“Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”” (Genesis 12:1–3, ESV)

God was promising to Abraham that through his decedent this promised blessing would come.

Paul gives us a clear understanding that this offspring is Jesus.

Galatians 3:1–18(ESV)

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Matthew is purposely bringing his Genealogy back to Abraham because of this Promise of God to Him.

Royal line

One of the Purposes of the Genealogy is to show the kingly line of Jesus.

Judah

Matthew 1:2–4 ESV

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,

Genesis 49:9–10 ESV

9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 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.

King David

Matthew 1:5–6 ESV

5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

2 Samuel 7:11–13 ESV

11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 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. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

(vs. 6-11) looking at the Line of kings after David.

Matthew’s purpose in writing the Gospel was to show the Jews that Jesus is the messiah that God has promised to their forefathers through the OT Scriptures. He starts with a genealogy that shows that Jesus is of the line that starts with Abraham through Judah, and through the kingly line of David.

Takeaway

Jesus’s lineage shows that he is a decedent of Abraham, Judah, and David the lines that God promised would bring the Messiah.

“Jesus’ ancestors were humans with all of the foibles, yet potentials, of everyday people. God worked through them to bring about his salvation. There is no pattern of righteousness in the lineage of Jesus. We find adulterers, harlots, heroes, and Gentiles. Wicked Rehoboam was the father of wicked Abijah, who was the father of good King Asa. Asa was the father of the good King Jehoshaphat (v. 8), who was the father of wicked King Joram. God was working throughout the generations, both good and evil, to bring about his purposes. Matthew shows that God can use anyone-however marginalized or despised-to bring about his purposes. These are the very types of people Jesus came to save.” (ZIBBC)