There are many lessons to be learned from the genealogies of Christ.
1. God treats genealogies as very significant in His plan of salvation, as well as in Bible chronology and the history of the Israelites. Thus we have the books of Chronicles.
2. Genealogies are scattered throughout the Bible, and the genealogies of Christ to a large degree are already embedded in the Old Testament (OT).
3. Christ is (a) the Son of God, (b) the Son of Man, (c) the seed (descendant) of Abraham, and (d) the son (descendant) of David. For the Jews it was important that their Messiah be “the son of David” or the descendant of king David, showing that He was legitimately in the royal line from the tribe of Judah. Jacob had prophesied this on his death bed: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [Christ] come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be. (Gen 49:10) And God has established the throne of David as an eternal throne under Christ.
4. An overview of the genealogy of Christ is as follows: Adam-->Seth-->Noah--> Shem--> Heber--> Abraham--> Isaac--> Jacob--> Judah--> David--> Christ
5. We find numerical perfection within the genealogies, since both the number 10 and the number 14 have spiritual significance:
(a) There are 10 generations between Adam and Noah (both inclusive). The key people are Seth and Noah.
(b) There are 10 generations between Shem and Abraham (both inclusive). The key people are Shem and Abraham, but Eber (Heber) is important because the Hebrews are descendants of Heber.
(c) There are 14 generations between Abraham and David (both inclusive). The key people are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David and the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants are within these generations.
(d) There are 14 generations between Solomon and Jeconiah (both inclusive).
(e) There are 14 generations between Jeconiah and Jesus (both inclusive). Obviously the key person here is Jesus of Nazareth (who was actually born in Bethlehem, the city of David).
6. We also find anomalous information in the genealogies of Christ. Mathew’s genealogy takes note of the fact that four women (who should normally have not entered into the picture) are presented: (a) Tamar (the mother of Pharez, born out of wedlock); (b) Rahab (the mother of Boaz, probably Rahab the harlot); (c) Ruth (the mother of Obed, a Moabitess); and (d) Bathsheba (the mother of Solomon, born out of wedlock). Which tells us that God is no respecter of persons.
7. Both the genealogies in Matthew and Luke were necessary, since the first gives us the lineage of Joseph (the legal foster father of Jesus descended from Solomon, and whose father was Jacob), and the second gives us the lineage of Mary (who descended from Nathan with Joseph her husband shown as the “son” of Heli, Mary's father). As we see in Scripture, the Jews regarded Jesus as the son of Joseph the carpenter. As we also see, Hebrew genealogies went from father to son.
8. When comparing the names in the Old Testament with those in the New, one will find discrepancies in the spellings. The reason for that is that the King James translators did not translate the names from the Greek but simply transliterated them (as seen in the Greek). For example, in Luke 3:36 we have Sem (Σὴμ) for Shem and Noe (Νῶε) for Noah. It would have been preferable to translate them for the sake of consistency.
9. Luke’s genealogy for Christ is unique in several respects:
(a) It takes Christ’s genealogy back to God but in reverse, since it starts with Jesus (the last in the line). (Adam was a “son” of God in the sense that he was a direct creation of God, just like the angels, who are also called “sons of God” in the OT). On the other hand the genealogies in the OT and in Matthew follow the normal order with the oldest ancestor first.
(b) It adds “Cainan” between Arphaxad and Sala (Shelah).
(d) Since it is in fact Mary’s genealogy, it starts with Nathan after David, and shows the line of Nathan.
(e) It shows Neri as the father of Salathiel, whereas the OT and Matthew show Jechoniah as his father. There is some question as to whether Levirate marriage entered into the picture.
(f) While there are 13 generations between Salathiel and Jesus in Matthew, there are 22 generations in Luke for that period. It could be that some of the ancestors did not live very long.
(g) It is noteworthy that after Nathan, several ancestors are named after the tribes of Israel. Thus we have 4 Josephs, 2 Judahs, 2 Levis, and 1 Simeon.
In view of all this we can understand why Christ is called "the last Adam", "the seed of Abraham", "the son of David", and "the lion of the tribe of Judah".
1. God treats genealogies as very significant in His plan of salvation, as well as in Bible chronology and the history of the Israelites. Thus we have the books of Chronicles.
2. Genealogies are scattered throughout the Bible, and the genealogies of Christ to a large degree are already embedded in the Old Testament (OT).
3. Christ is (a) the Son of God, (b) the Son of Man, (c) the seed (descendant) of Abraham, and (d) the son (descendant) of David. For the Jews it was important that their Messiah be “the son of David” or the descendant of king David, showing that He was legitimately in the royal line from the tribe of Judah. Jacob had prophesied this on his death bed: The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh [Christ] come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be. (Gen 49:10) And God has established the throne of David as an eternal throne under Christ.
4. An overview of the genealogy of Christ is as follows: Adam-->Seth-->Noah--> Shem--> Heber--> Abraham--> Isaac--> Jacob--> Judah--> David--> Christ
5. We find numerical perfection within the genealogies, since both the number 10 and the number 14 have spiritual significance:
(a) There are 10 generations between Adam and Noah (both inclusive). The key people are Seth and Noah.
(b) There are 10 generations between Shem and Abraham (both inclusive). The key people are Shem and Abraham, but Eber (Heber) is important because the Hebrews are descendants of Heber.
(c) There are 14 generations between Abraham and David (both inclusive). The key people are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and David and the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants are within these generations.
(d) There are 14 generations between Solomon and Jeconiah (both inclusive).
(e) There are 14 generations between Jeconiah and Jesus (both inclusive). Obviously the key person here is Jesus of Nazareth (who was actually born in Bethlehem, the city of David).
6. We also find anomalous information in the genealogies of Christ. Mathew’s genealogy takes note of the fact that four women (who should normally have not entered into the picture) are presented: (a) Tamar (the mother of Pharez, born out of wedlock); (b) Rahab (the mother of Boaz, probably Rahab the harlot); (c) Ruth (the mother of Obed, a Moabitess); and (d) Bathsheba (the mother of Solomon, born out of wedlock). Which tells us that God is no respecter of persons.
7. Both the genealogies in Matthew and Luke were necessary, since the first gives us the lineage of Joseph (the legal foster father of Jesus descended from Solomon, and whose father was Jacob), and the second gives us the lineage of Mary (who descended from Nathan with Joseph her husband shown as the “son” of Heli, Mary's father). As we see in Scripture, the Jews regarded Jesus as the son of Joseph the carpenter. As we also see, Hebrew genealogies went from father to son.
8. When comparing the names in the Old Testament with those in the New, one will find discrepancies in the spellings. The reason for that is that the King James translators did not translate the names from the Greek but simply transliterated them (as seen in the Greek). For example, in Luke 3:36 we have Sem (Σὴμ) for Shem and Noe (Νῶε) for Noah. It would have been preferable to translate them for the sake of consistency.
9. Luke’s genealogy for Christ is unique in several respects:
(a) It takes Christ’s genealogy back to God but in reverse, since it starts with Jesus (the last in the line). (Adam was a “son” of God in the sense that he was a direct creation of God, just like the angels, who are also called “sons of God” in the OT). On the other hand the genealogies in the OT and in Matthew follow the normal order with the oldest ancestor first.
(b) It adds “Cainan” between Arphaxad and Sala (Shelah).
(d) Since it is in fact Mary’s genealogy, it starts with Nathan after David, and shows the line of Nathan.
(e) It shows Neri as the father of Salathiel, whereas the OT and Matthew show Jechoniah as his father. There is some question as to whether Levirate marriage entered into the picture.
(f) While there are 13 generations between Salathiel and Jesus in Matthew, there are 22 generations in Luke for that period. It could be that some of the ancestors did not live very long.
(g) It is noteworthy that after Nathan, several ancestors are named after the tribes of Israel. Thus we have 4 Josephs, 2 Judahs, 2 Levis, and 1 Simeon.
In view of all this we can understand why Christ is called "the last Adam", "the seed of Abraham", "the son of David", and "the lion of the tribe of Judah".
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