Two core points in Jesus’ genealogy are important for redemptive history: Jesus Christ who came as “the son of David, son of Abraham” and Jesus Christ who came as the seed of the woman.
1. The Son of David, the Son of Abraham
The very opening words of the New Testament are “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1). Why does the New Testament introduce Jesus as the son of Abraham and the son of David?
First, it testifies that Jesus Christ is the Messiah who was promised through Abraham and David. The Jews took more pride in Abraham and David than in any other patriarch because Abraham was regarded as the father of the Jews and David as the king who firmly established the royal lineage.
God had promised that through Abraham’s “offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen 22:18) and through David He promised, “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body…I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam 7:12–13). These are covenants which promise that the Messiah will come as a descendant of Abraham and David.
Therefore, more than anyone else, the Jews eagerly awaited the fulfillment of the promise that the Messiah would come as a descendant of Abraham and David. By opening the genealogy of Jesus Christ with the introduction, “Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” Matthew is emphatically proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the Messiah that was prophesied to Abraham and David.
Second, it testifies of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling the covenants. Abraham was born in 2166 BC. The first time that God established a covenant with Abraham was in 2091 BC when he was 75 years old. At that time, God said, “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12:3 NIV). The phrase, “through you” is
The promise of the Messiah who would come as Abraham’s offspring was fulfilled 2,087 years later through Jesus Christ, who was born in 4 BC. By doing this, God proclaimed his faithfulness in fulfilling His covenants.
Furthermore, in 1003 BC, which was after David had finished the seven years and six months of reign in Hebron and started his reign in Jerusalem, God promised in the Davidic Covenant that the Messiah would come as David’s descendant. Then, God fulfilled that promise through Jesus Christ about 1,000 years later.
Thus, Matthew’s genealogical account explains the Christ-centered administration of redemptive history from the perspective of the establishment and the fulfillment of the covenants with Abraham and David.
2. The Seed of the Woman
After the fall of Adam, the first promise of the coming of the Messiah is the promise of the seed of the woman. Genesis 3:15 says that “he shall bruise the head of the serpent” which actually means that he will completely destroy the serpent’s head. Therefore, Genesis 3:15 is the Proto-gospel which promises that Jesus Christ will defeat Satan and be victorious (Rev 12:9).
The genealogy of Matthew 1 does not merely lay out the physical blood lineage or ancestry of Jesus, but shows how the seed of the woman came to this world through the lineage of faith in the history of redemption. To accomplish this end, God had to put on human form and come into this world. It was not done through the union of a man and a woman, but only through the body of a virgin (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23). Indeed, Jesus was the seed of the woman conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:18; Luke 1:35).
As the seed of the woman, Jesus essentially does not have a human father. Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit, not through sexual relations; He was born of a virgin body. Although He was of the same nature as we are, He was the sinless God-man who became our Savior. All human beings other than Jesus Christ are seeds of men. In other words, they are from and of men (Matt 1:1–17; 1 Cor 11:8). All seeds of men are sinners (Rom 3:10); they have been born into this world through natural reproductive means. However, Jesus is the seed of the woman, conceived by the Holy Spirit and is by no means a seed of man.8
Throughout the long history of Israel, God had established covenants in various forms, and He ceaselessly continued the providence for redemption in order to fulfill the covenants. Eventually, Jesus Christ was born through the body of a woman when the fullness of the time came (Gal 4:4).
In reality, Jesus Christ came at the apex of history just as the Bible had promised. Accordingly, He brought the work of Satan to an end by destroying sin and death (Heb 2:14; 1 Jn 3:5; Jude 1:6), thereby redeeming mankind. God saves His people based on the covenants. God has faithfully kept those covenants and has continually advanced His work of salvation without ceasing even until today.
The promises made by an imperfect human being can always be changed or canceled. However, the covenants made by the perfect sovereign God, can never be changed, for God invariably fulfills all that He has promised. Indeed our God is unlike man for He cannot lie (Heb 6:18), nor does He revoke His promises. Moreover, He will certainly fulfill the covenants He has spoken when the time comes (Num 23:19; Deut 8:18). God’s covenant is not altered due to human circumstances or to the passage of time, nor is it ever revoked or terminated in mid-course; it will certainly bear fruit (Isa 55:11). Truly, heaven and earth may pass away but not the smallest letter or stroke of God’s Word will pass until all is accomplished (Matt 5:18).
Therefore, if we firmly hold on to the authority of the scepter of the Word, then we will be able to overcome any obstacle and find resolution to our problems. Since the One who promised is faithful, we must also be unmoved in the hope of our faith and continue to hold firmly onto the promise of God as we move forward.
CHAPTER 5
The Structure of Jesus Christ’s Genealogy
The genealogy of Jesus Christ is the genealogy of God’s covenant and grace. It is the fulfillment of the Triune God’s plan and providence, which was established before all ages for the redemption of mankind.
Jesus’ genealogy is recorded twice: once in Matthew 1 and again in Luke 3. The genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew continues through David’s son Solomon (Matt 1:6) whereas Luke’s genealogy continues through Nathan (2 Sam 5:14; 1 Chr 3:5; 14:4), Solomon’s full brother (Luke 3:31). Even though the genealogies in Matthew and Luke go through different lines after David, both are true genealogies of Jesus Christ based on historical facts.
Luke, in writing his Gospel, reveals that it was based on “the things that have been accomplished among us” (Luke 1:1), and introduces himself as one who has undertaken to compile a narrative “as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us” (Luke 1:2). As such, not only did Luke write his narrative based on the facts of history, but “having followed all things closely for some time past,” he wrote “an orderly account”
1. Comparison of the Genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3
The genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt 1:1–17) is recorded in the prologue of the book. The genealogy in the Gospel of Luke is placed in between two events: the baptism of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:21–22) and the devil’s three temptations (Luke 4:1–13). In the Gospel of Luke, the author specifically introduces the genealogy of Jesus Christ with the words, “Jesus, when He began His ministry, was about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23). In Greek, the expression “when He began His ministry” is just one word,
The