Genealogy of Jesus, from Luke 3

One would think that everybody who prepares a family tree would arrive at the same result. But the Luke and Matthew accounts of the genealogy of Jesus seem strikingly different. Though both find Jesus related to Abraham and David, the Lukan record goes much farther back in time.

In fact, that is one major difference between the two records. Matthew starts with Abraham and progresses through time arriving finally with the birth of Jesus. Luke, on the other hand, begins with Christ and works backwards until arriving at the most ancient father of Jesus, God Himself (v. 38)

• Jesus was the son of David (v. 31)
• Jesus was the son of Abraham (v. 34).
• Jesus was the son of God (v. 38).
• Matthew showed us that Jesus was a Jew with rights to the throne; Luke shows us that Jesus is the Son of Man-a true Son of Adam. Why would this be so significant, as all men are men, unless there were the need to explain how the Son of God and Son of a Man could be one and the same?
• Note the “as was supposed” in v 23. We cannot be held liable for what others may falsely believe; but we can be sure to point out such error of conclusion as necessary.

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