Read: Matthew 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–38
“See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed.”
Revelation 5:5
It’s fairly popular these days to get online and trace our family roots. In previous years, we relied on the public records, libraries, and graveyards of our parents’ and grandparents’ hometowns. Now, we can simply go to a website like ancestry.com and pool information from others who are seeking the same answers. We can also send off a blood sample for genetic analysis and find out what nationalities are indicated by our DNA.
The Bible is full of genealogies that contain strange names of people long ago. In the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, the authors list the genealogy of Jesus for their readers. It is important to prove that Jesus is who He says He is. The only similarity between the two genealogies is the portion of the lineage from Abraham to David.
Biblical genealogies can differ depending on their function and are created for religious, legal, or domestic reasons. Names are sometimes left out to highlight the connection of a descendant to a particular ancestor. So, let’s look more closely at these two genealogies of Jesus.
Through Old Testament prophecies going all the way back to the book of Genesis, we know that God would bless the nations through Abraham. The Son of God would be from the tribe of Judah and also from the royal line of King David.
Luke records the family line starting with Jesus and going backwards all the way through David, the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), and Adam to God Himself—77 names in all. Matthew’s list goes from past to present, starting with Abraham and ending with Jesus—41 names in all, spanning 2,000 years.
Rather than skip over the differences, let’s embrace that they are there and try to figure out why. Matthew was targeting a Jewish audience, and he clearly drives this point home in the first verse of his Gospel. He is proving that Jesus is the prophesied Messiah descended from Abraham and David. Luke, on the other hand, writes to Gentiles as a historian and is seeking to be as thorough as possible in proving that Jesus is the Son of God.
It is also interesting to note that Matthew’s account goes back to a time before Jews even existed as a race. He also mentions four wives—at least three of whom are Gentiles. Why does he do this? Some speculate this is done to show that Jesus has come for all people, not just the Jews.
Among the differences, why do Matthew and Luke trace Jesus’ lineage through different sons of David? Matthew shows the line going through Solomon, while Luke’s account goes through Nathan. The most logical explanation I have found is that Luke appears to be tracing through Mary, while Matthew goes through Joseph. Both parents belong to the tribe of Judah, just to different families within the tribe. And while Joseph isn’t Jesus’ physical father, he is in a legal sense.
As we celebrate the birth of our Savior, we can rest in the surety that God sent His Son, this newborn King, through a very specific and prophesied lineage. We are also now a part of this lineage. And one day, this descendant of Judah and David will triumph forever!
