Following the Lord Jesus Christ: #3 On Down the Line

Browsing through a small bookstore in Portland, Maine, I found an old book about the ministry of Jesus and asked the clerk, James, how much it cost. That started us on a conversation about the Bible and he said that he believed it was a book full of errors and inconsistencies. I maintained that the Bible was the Word of God without error or apparent contradictions when properly interpreted.

An Interesting Challenge

He asked me to prove it. So I said, “Give me an example of a contradiction and I will show you how it should be interpreted to understand it without error.” Now please understand that I am not usually so audacious or so brassy as to think that I could explain any and all apparent discrepancies in the Bible! I was actually surprised at my own claim and began to wonder how I would get out of this one.

But by God’s wonderful and forgiving mercy, James mentioned a subject I had most recently studied (thank you, Lord!), the lineage of Christ from the gospel of Matthew.

Click here to see the full lineage.

Matthew 1:1,2,6,11,16,17:
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren…
And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias…
And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon…
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

There are three sets of fourteen generations: 1) Abraham to David; 2) David to Jechonias and the carrying away into Babylon; 3) Jechonias to Christ. The trouble, he said, was that in the third set, Jechonias to Christ, there were only thirteen generations.

A Simple Solution

I was able to explain that the word for “husband” in Matthew 1:16 is the Greek word anēr, and can mean any adult man. And here in relationship to Mary, it must refer to either her husband or her father. In this case, it must mean “father,” not only because it reconciles the “fourteen” problem by adding Mary to the line, but also the lineage of Jesus as recorded in Luke.

The line of Jesus here in Luke clearly relates to Joseph, the husband of Mary and the father, “as was supposed,” of Jesus.

Luke 3:23,31,34,38:
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli…
Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David…
Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor…
Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

This genealogical line is different from the one in Matthew which shows Jesus’ line through Mary. Notice that Joseph’s line in Luke goes from David through his son Nathan (Luke 3:31), while Mary’s line in Matthew goes from David through his son Solomon (Matthew 1:6).

My new friend James conceded that I might be right, but he had so many other problems with the Bible that he was just not ready to receive it as the Word of God. Well, I was happy to have planted a seed, and who but God knows what fruit may have come of it? For those of us who do believe that the Bible is the Word of God (as originally revealed to its writers by God, its Author), we can learn a great deal from Jesus’ recorded lineage in each of the four gospels.

Matthew: David’s Righteous Branch

In the Old Testament, we can see certain signposts in the scriptures pointing us in the right direction on our journey to discover more about our beloved Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Five scriptures include the Hebrew word ssemah, which is translated “branch” and means a sprout, bud, or branch. The basic root is a “springing up,” and these “branches” refer directly to Jesus Christ in each of the four gospels.

In Matthew, Jesus Christ is David’s Branch. Jeremiah has two verses about the Messiah, the future “righteous Branch” and “king” out of the house of David who would execute judgment and justice in the earth. Matthew shows that Jesus was God’s chosen king, whose reign will be fulfilled completely in the future as revealed in the book of Revelation.

Jeremiah 23:5:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Jeremiah 33:14,15:
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.
In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

The lineage in Matthew declares Jesus was descended genetically through his mother, Mary, from the royal blood line of David. He could rightfully and legally inherit his own place as King. As is appropriate for royalty, Jesus’ line is listed forward from Abraham through David to Christ.

Mark: God’s Servant, the Branch

The book of Zechariah offers this regarding the “branch,” the chosen one of Israel as God’s servant.

Zechariah 3:8:
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.

The gospel of Mark presents us with Jesus Christ as the servant. There are no earthly beginnings or reference to parentage required because a servant needs no pedigree and has no certain bloodline.  Mark simply puts Jesus in perspective as “the Son of God,” chosen by God to become the lowliest of servants to redeem mankind.

Mark 1:1:
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Luke: God’s Man, the Branch

Luke provides the legal aspect of Jesus’ heritage in the house of David through Joseph in much the same way that we do today in the United States. My last name at birth was my father’s last name. And if I am adopted, my last name is in most cases legally changed to my adopted father’s last name. My surname indicates who is taking legal responsibility for me.

This is a commoner’s lineage, not like the royal genealogy in Matthew. In Luke, Jesus’ predecessors are listed in reverse order from Jesus all the way back to the beginning, to the first man Adam, who was created by God.

The gospel of Luke portrays the Messiah as a man, full of life, passionate, fearless, and bold, yet at other times, gentle and peaceful. He was the man sent by God to save all mankind by enduring those who rejected his sacrifice, and the shame of death on a cross.

Hebrews 12:2,3:
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Zechariah prophesied of the “branch” who would be a man to build the temple of the Lord.

Zechariah 6:12:
And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord.

Remember that Luke shows Jesus’ legal blood line because Joseph was his stepfather, not Jesus’ literal father. To find his true Father, we’ll go to the gospel of John.

John: The Lord’s Branch

The fourth gospel, John, completes the picture of Jesus Christ’s beginning.

John 1:14,17,18
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

From the moment of conception, Jesus Christ was, is, and ever will be the only begotten Son of God. Today, we can believe on the name of Jesus Christ and receive power to become sons of God (John 1:12), but we are not physically begotten of God. How could Jesus literally be begotten of God? When Mary, a virgin, was told that she would conceive in her womb and bear a son, she asked that very question. Let’s see the answer she received.

Luke 1:34,35 [NKJV]:
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Whatever “the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you” means, the result was that Mary conceived when she was still a virgin and later brought forth a son. And the Word of God tells us that her son was the “only begotten of the Father,” the Son of God. He was literally “of the Lord.”

Isaiah 4:2:
In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

The “branch of the Lord” is God’s Son, whose glory is as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And it’s by God’s grace that we make our way down this glorious path, discovering more of God’s truth regarding His Son. Let’s keep going, for I’m learning so much about my Lord Jesus Christ, I can’t help but love him more!

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