Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38 (The Genealogy of Jesus)

Rachel Workman: I don’t really have a comment today. I do like that Adam was named the son of God. We are all his sons and daughters.

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John Burnett:  There are some interesting contrasts between these two genealogies.  Matthew begins in the past and starts at Abraham and the purpose of this has to be the realization that Jesus would be the means by which God would fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant, and how God would bless all the nations.

In Luke, the genealogy starts at the present at Jesus and goes back all the way to Adam.  Adam’s sin caused the curse to be put into place and started disease and death.  Jesus rose from the dead, conquering sin and death and providing a way for us to be reconciled to God.

Both list show God’s providence in how he used both Jews and Gentiles in Jesus’s ancestry to bring about salvation from the curse of sin and death.  It is also proof that God will keep his promises like he did for Abraham.

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Krista Cook:  - interesting how Matthew goes from Abraham up to Jesus and how Luke chooses to go from Jesus down to Adam.  I always like looking at those in the genealogy of Jesus b/c I am reminded of their life stories and the part they played in the life of Jesus.  Thankful for each one.

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Mike Grimm:  I don’t have a lot to say on these readings. It appears that Matthew is following the genealogy of Joseph and Luke is following the genealogy of Mary. It was confusing with Matthew starting with Abraham and going to Jesus, and Luke starting with Jesus and working back to God. Not to mention that according to Luke, Adam is the son of God and Jesus is the son of Joseph.

I found many websites with many different explanations concerning the differences between Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38. There seems to be a general consensus but even that is vague.

Concerning the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew, it proves that our Lord Jesus is of the nation and family out of which the Messiah was to arise. The promise of the blessing was made to Abraham and his seed; of the dominion, to David and his seed. It was promised to Abraham that Christ should descend from David in Genesis 12:3; 22:18; and to David that he should descend from him in 2 Samuel 7:12; Psalm 89:3, & 132:11; and, therefore, unless Jesus is a son of David, and a son of Abraham, he is not the Messiah. Now this has been proved from well-known records.