Read Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38. There are passages of Scripture that are often skipped while reading the Bible. These often include genealogies. They do not mean as much to those living in modern western culture as they did to readers in Matthew or Luke’s day, the two Gospel writers who included genealogies.
The differences between Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies are significant. There are also some differences if one compares these genealogies with the Old Testament record. But these differences are not mistakes on the part of Matthew or Luke. One must remember that they were following the customs of writing in their day, not ours. While today we would consider it essential to include everyone, to have an unbroken line (father to son, father to son), such was not the case in that day. The statement that a person was the son of someone else could mean the actual son of that person, or it could mean the descendant (a grandson, great-grandson, etc.) of that person. Names were often omitted from a genealogical list for a variety of reasons, the person may not have been important or well known, or the person may have been someone not well respected or liked. Some differences are caused when a person was known by more than one name. In this case, two seemingly different persons are the same individual. Yet even considering all these factors, there are significant differences between Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies in the ancestors between David and our Lord.
1. Matthew traces his genealogy back to whom? Why do you think only to this person?
a. Abraham
b. Matthew’s primary purpose was to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised Christ, the true King of Israel. Therefore he only traces our Lord back to David and Abraham. That he is a descendant of Abraham and a descendant of David is required if He were to be the Messiah, the King.
2. Luke traces his genealogy back to whom? Why do you think to this person?
a. Adam
b. Luke’s main idea was to present Jesus the Messiah as the perfect man. Therefore, he traced our Lord’s ancestry all the way back to Adam, the first human. Note that he also adds that Adam was the son of God, the representative of God on earth. As the Son of God, our Lord fulfills what Adam was to have done but failed when he sinned. Our Lord achieves what man was created to be!
3. Why do you think the genealogies differ in people from David to Christ in Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts?
Luke traces Mary’s line back to David, and Matthew traces Joseph’s line back to David. This makes our Lord’s birth fulfill the Scriptures. Our Lord must be a legal and physical descendant of David to be Messiah. Through Joseph, his father, He receives the legal right to rule, passed from father to son. But Joseph was a descendant of Jeconiah, an evil king of David’s line who came under God’s judgment. In Jeremiah 22:30, God decreed that no descendant of this man would ever sit on the throne of David. Since Jeconiah is in Joseph’s line, our Lord cannot be a physical descendant of Joseph, which He is not because of the virgin birth. Yet He still must be a physical descendant of David, notwithstanding. This He is through Mary, whose line also goes back to David by a different route.
Read Mark 1:1. This verse is the title of the Book of Mark. It is The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
4. Why do you think Mark calls this the BEGINNING of the Good News? Doesn’t this Gospel tell the WHOLE story?
The story of our Lord’s life, death and resurrection is just the beginning of the good news. There is much more yet to come! See 1 John 3:1-2, where we are told it remains to be seen what we shall fully become a son or daughter of God.
Read Luke 1:1-4. Luke’s Gospel is unique in that it was written to an individual rather than a group of people. Acts, also written by Luke, is addressed to the same individual. Both are probably one work divided into two parts. The reason they were divided is to be explained by the fact that manuscripts were written in this day, not in book form as we use today, but in scrolls. Scrolls had a limited size. Luke and Acts would not fit on one scroll; therefore, they were logically divided. He wrote the Gospel first and sent it, then he continued with the story in Acts and sent it to the recipient.
5. To whom was Luke writing?
Theophilus. We know very little about this individual. His name means lover of God.
6. What was his purpose in writing?
To convey the exact truth about the events of our Lord’s life, death and resurrection.
Read John 1:1-13, which is the introduction to his gospel. As has been noted in the introduction, John's Gospel is the non-synoptic Gospel. John wrote his Gospel later than the other three and did not use as much of the oral tradition as did the other writers. He relied more upon his own experiences and recollections of the events.
7. How far back does he put the beginning of our Lord?
The word already was existing at the beginning of our universe. He was existing with God; He was God.
Read Luke 1:5-80. Luke himself seemed to have researched out much of his material, no doubt interviewing Mary, Zacharias and others who were still alive at that time. Compare the response of Zacharias to Gabriel’s announcement to him of John’s conception (verses 18-20) to Mary’s response to Gabriel’s announcement to her of her conception of Jesus (verses 34-38).
8. Why do you think that Zacharias was made speechless in discipline, but not Mary?
Zacharias’ question came from unbelief, Mary’s from lack of understanding.
Read Matthew 1:18-24. Consider the announcements made to Joseph here and to Mary in Luke’s gospel.
9. What do you think it cost Joseph and Mary to be the parents of our Lord?
Much, for both, the social disgrace since most would not believe that Mary was a virgin. This belief could lead to many problems in their culture.
The Applications:
What are the applications of these passages to our lives today? Identify as many as you are able.
1. We can have complete assurance that the Word of God is accurate. Even the minor little prophecies are fulfilled. God doesn’t skip a detail, as shown by the prophecy concerning Jeconiah (Coniah) in connection with our Lord’s birth. If it is so accurate in even these little details, then it will be just as precise in the more significant, major issues. Trust it!
2. We often think we have a pretty good grasp of God’s plan for the ages. After all, we have the New Testament, which completes the picture that started in the Old. But the truth is there is so much about our perfection, the coming Kingdom, and the new heavens and earth that we simply do not know. God has yet to reveal them to us. What we see and know now is just the beginning! We really have no clue of what is coming.
3. God does not reveal everything about our Lord in the Word of God. John tells us that much more could be written. But we have all we need right now. He did not reveal to Mary and Joseph all they would suffer at being the parents of our Lord; He told them all they needed to know. So also in our lives, He doesn’t tell us everything or give us all the answers we seek or reasons why He acted or allowed certain things. We have what we need right now, and He’ll supply the strength we need as life progresses. Besides, many times if we knew what was headed in our direction, we would abandon ship. It is good that our Lord only tells us what we need to know at the time that we need to know it
4. God does not mind or discourage us from asking why if the why is from a lack of understanding. The “why and how” that comes of unbelief is what He hates.