3. The ancestors of Jesus
– Matthew 1:1-17 & Luke 3:23-38
Matthew 1:1 “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Genesis 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”
Genesis 13:15-16 “All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring life the dust of the earth, so that if anyone would count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.”
Galatians 3:16 “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ.”
2 Samuel 7:12 “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will rise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.”
Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of his lineage. He was a descendant of Abraham and King David.
Matthew 1:16 “and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”
In all of the previous lineage descriptions, the men were classified by their father. However, when Matthew writes about Jesus, he mentions Joseph as the husband of Mary and not his father. Joseph is only legally in Jesus’ lineage. Jesus was not conceived by human inception. Jesus also already had a father in heaven when he came to the earth.
Luke 3:37 “… the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”
In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus’ lineage is brought back all the way to Adam. It shows how Jesus is related to all human beings. Just like us, Jesus’ fleshly body was created from dust. Jesus was fully human just like you and me.
