READ: Luke 3:23-38: And Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph … the son of Nathan, the son of David … the son of Judah … the son of Adam, the son of God.
Here Luke again gives the register of Jesus’ human ancestors. In doing so, he mentions that Joseph was not Jesus’ actual father, although he was thought to be. Compared with the genealogy in Matt. 1, there are several differences in the ancestors of Jesus that are named.
It has been proposed that these differences can be explained by levirate marriages (Deut. 25:5-10). In that case, one genealogy would name the biological father of the son, who, when his brother had died childless, had fathered a child with his brother’s widow. The other genealogy would then give the name of the deceased legal father, who had been unable to father a child. Yet there are many differences (in Luke, not a single son of David who was a king is mentioned).
Prof. Dr. S. Greijdanus proposes that Matthew’s genealogy should be understood as the line from which Joseph descended, and Luke’s genealogy as the line from which Mary descended.
As proof texts that Mary also descended from David, he points to Luke 1:32 and 1:69. He also points to the connection between David and the birth of Jesus as described in Acts 2:30; Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; and Heb. 7:14. Furthermore, it should be remembered that in genealogies the word ‘son’ can also mean ‘grandson.’
In Matthew 1, Jesus’ ancestry goes back to Abraham, to whom the promise of Christ was given as the Redeemer of all believers throughout the world (Gen. 12:3). In Luke, the genealogy goes back to Adam, ‘the son of God.’ The latter, of course, does not mean that Jesus’ deity comes from Adam. Rather, it points to the relationship of all humanity to God, who created them.
It also means that Jesus is the second Adam. He is the fulfillment of the mother promise (Gen. 3:15). He comes to save all humanity who believe in this promise and thereby accept Him as their Redeemer.
Why are these genealogies included in the Bible?
Sing: Hymn 14:1 (1984) / 18:1 (2014)