Part 3 – The genealogy of Jesus:
First, let’s visit two critical verses in the Old Testament that require the Messiah’s genealogy to come to a close with that of a woman.
Genesis 3:15, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.“
When we read the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, we see four important titles ascribed to Jesus of Nazareth. Out of these four titles we get, perhaps, our best understanding of who Jesus of Nazareth truly is.
From Matthew 1:1, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:”
– Jesus is called the Son of David
– Jesus is called the Son of Abraham
From Luke 3:38, “… the son of Adam, the son of God.”
– Jesus is the Son of Adam
– Jesus is the Son of God
Therefore, from these verses, we see the picture of Jesus as a Jewish God-Man King. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, born a Jew from the lineage of Abraham and born into the royal lineage of King David. That’s who Jesus is.
Jesus is a man and has experienced every temptation known to man (Heb. 4:15). He is God and of God (Jn. 14:8-9). He is a Jew who came to fulfill the law of Moses (Mt. 5:17). He is the King of kings (Rev. 19:16). Indeed, Jesus is worthy of all our praise.
I sincerely hope you found some value in this lengthy and rather detailed study of the lineage of Jesus. Thanks for taking the time to study this fascinating topic along with me on.
A side comments: The genealogy of Jesus follows the line from Adam to Seth, not Adam to Cain. I’ve been asked this, before. (see graph below)
The primary source, outside of the Bible, for these lessons was derived from https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/issues/issues-v05-n06/the-genealogy-of-the-messiah/
Photo by Walter Chávez on Unsplash