The Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Part 1

by John Comer

“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. . . .” These are the opening words in the New Testament. It seems pretty clear that Jesus’ genealogy is intended as a point to be noted. The author of Hebrews, however, approaches the subject differently and emphasizes the genealogy that Jesus did not have. He did not have the Hebrew tribal ancestry to qualify as a priest according to Old Testament standards.

He further convinces us that this actually was an advantage, as the old priesthood couldn’t do what needed to be done anyhow, and that when it came to qualifying as a priest, Jesus was on the order of Melchizedek, who didn’t even have a recorded ancestry. Rather than “on his ancestry,” Jesus qualified as priest “on the basis of the power of an indestructible life.” The genealogy of Jesus was important, but not needed to make him our High Priest.

One of the big challenges in doing modern-day genealogy is to discover the names of female ancestors. History has been largely a male dominated affair, and women’s names have tended to be considered somewhat irrelevant. You’ll have a much easier time locating a record of your male ancestor from 1776 than in finding his wife, especially by her maiden name.

In Jesus’ genealogy, reference is made to five women. Interestingly, depending on how you interpret the evidence, each of them had something potentially damaging in her background. Ruth, for example, was a Gentile with a pagan past. Mary, Jesus’ mother, would have been divorced by Joseph if it had not been for God’s intervention, and we can be confident some people long remembered the suspicion of scandal surrounding the birth. But perhaps we make too strong a case when we highlight the questionable aspects of these women’s lives, because there were enough truly raunchy men in Jesus’ ancestry to more than outweigh the limited questionability of five women.

Knowing that the genealogy of Jesus was populated by sinful people points out how truly human Jesus was. It’s part of the marvel of what God was willing to do for us. A sinful genealogical background is the only kind available on earth, and God used it. Miracle of miracles, the Deity took on the flesh of a fallen race.

“. . . And Jacob [was] the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” (Matthew 1). “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1).