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There are two genealogies of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, one at the beginning of Matthew chapter 1, and the other at the end of Luke chapter 3. Comparing the two, it is clear that the line of names between David and Jesus is substantially different. Why?
The short answer is that Matthew's genealogy records the line of Joseph, while Luke's records the line of Mary.
True. Let's lay out the case.
Matthew's purpose in writing his gospel is to show his readers that Jesus is "the King of the Jews." Job one is to show that Jesus is the rightful descendant of David, of the line of the kings of Judah whose lives are detailed back in the books of 1 & 2 Kings. Sure enough, those are the names that Matthew traces, names such as Solomon, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, and Hezekiah. He traces those names all the way to "Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary."
Side note: Matthew also mentions several women in passing — Tamar, Rahab, the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba), and of course, Mary.
Meanwhile, Luke begins by stating that Jesus was supposedly the son of Joseph, the son of Heli (or Eli), the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, etc. We contend that Luke is not saying that Joseph was the son of Heli, but rather that Jesus was the son of Heli. Put another way, if Jesus was divinely conceived, born of Mary (as Luke claims in chapter 1), who was his closest biological male ancestor? That would be Heli, father of Mary.
Why didn't Luke just say that Heli was the father of Mary? Unlike Matthew, Luke follows a pattern of listing male names only. He does indicate that Joseph is only parenthetical to his purpose, being "as was supposed" the father of Jesus.
Speaking of which, what is Luke's purpose in giving us this genealogy? Let's begin by answering a question with a question: what on earth is Luke's genealogy doing at the end of chapter 3?
Jesus was born back in chapter 2. In fact, Luke notes that the expecting couple traveled to Bethlehem because Joseph "was of the house and lineage of David." Why not place the genealogy right there? Matthew did. But Luke didn't, because his genealogy is not the line of Joseph.
Let's keep going. After Jesus was born, his parents brought him to the temple. Then they returned to Nazareth. Later when he was twelve years old, they lost him in Jerusalem. (They recovered him.) Finally, at age 30, he was baptized by John the Baptist. And then Luke gives us his genealogy.
Compare Luke's genealogy to Matthews's. Matthew's is the most Jewish of genealogies. He begins with Abraham. He prominently features King David. He mentions a key event in Israel's history — the deportation to Babylon. In contrast, Luke traces Jesus' line all the way back to Adam. As he goes, he emphasizes no one name over any other name. Abraham is no more important than Noah's grandfather. David is no more important than Matthat. For being a list comprising mostly Jewish names, it is the least Jewish-looking genealogy conceivable.
Luke's purpose then, is to show Jesus' humanity. Jesus is quintessentially human, because he is biologically descended, through Mary, through Heli, and as we all are, back to Adam.
Luke refers to Adam as "Adam, the son of God." In so doing, he draws a connection to the immediately preceding passage — his description of Jesus' baptism, at which Jesus was audibly declared to be the Son of God by the Father, with the Holy Spirit descending. Viewing these two passages as a package, Luke is showing us Jesus' entire family tree. On his Father's side, he is fully divine. On his mother's side, he is fully human. Having firmly established Jesus' pedigree, Luke only now begins to recount Jesus' ministry.
Luke no doubt obtained the record of Mary's line from Mary herself. Twice in chapter 2, Luke mentions that Mary treasured the extraordinary events "in her heart." The only way for Luke to know those details, is because he visited her and talked with her. She undoubtedly also gave him her family tree.
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Written The Book Various & Sundry
Copyright 2025 Jim Swift