Jesus's Genealogy (Luke 3:23-28)
This is the bit that people either skip or get all up in arms about. It either doesn’t matter and is boring or it is all that matters and is a huge sticking point. It probably shouldn’t be either. The genealogy of Jesus grounds Him in history in a way that the ancient audiences deeply cared about. We still care a little bit about family trees these days, but mostly just to see if we are related to anyone famous, or to see if we have any married cousins in our lineage. (Spoilers, you likely have both!)
Today, some people are very bothered by the differences between Luke and Matthew’s records. Some have tried to explain it by speculating that these are Joseph and Mary’s lines. Others have suggested that Joseph was himself adopted. It could be that there were two lineages being used by Joseph. The fact is that we don’t know.
One thing we do know is that we are too far removed from the time to really understand what produced the two lines. Sometimes it boils down to different questions being answered. For example, I have a lengthy family tree leading back to generations in Central Europe, specifically Germany. However, when both an uncle and a nephew of mine recently did one of those DNA tests, it revealed that we have nearly no “German blood.” It turns out we are mostly Scandinavian. So, who do we trust? The family historical records or the scientific DNA? The answer is both. One set of data is telling us where we lived and the other is telling us our genetic origins. They are actually both right. Our family immigrated to central Europe at some point in the distant past and then lived in Germany among other similar people for hundreds of years.
The question Luke is answering here is, where did Jesus come from? He is tied in, historically and through the records His family had, to David and to Adam. He is of human and royal descent. He is of the line prophesied to bring about the Christ. And He is ultimately the Son of God.
Today, some people are very bothered by the differences between Luke and Matthew’s records. Some have tried to explain it by speculating that these are Joseph and Mary’s lines. Others have suggested that Joseph was himself adopted. It could be that there were two lineages being used by Joseph. The fact is that we don’t know.
One thing we do know is that we are too far removed from the time to really understand what produced the two lines. Sometimes it boils down to different questions being answered. For example, I have a lengthy family tree leading back to generations in Central Europe, specifically Germany. However, when both an uncle and a nephew of mine recently did one of those DNA tests, it revealed that we have nearly no “German blood.” It turns out we are mostly Scandinavian. So, who do we trust? The family historical records or the scientific DNA? The answer is both. One set of data is telling us where we lived and the other is telling us our genetic origins. They are actually both right. Our family immigrated to central Europe at some point in the distant past and then lived in Germany among other similar people for hundreds of years.
The question Luke is answering here is, where did Jesus come from? He is tied in, historically and through the records His family had, to David and to Adam. He is of human and royal descent. He is of the line prophesied to bring about the Christ. And He is ultimately the Son of God.
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