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© L.D. Underwood 2011
  
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== The Genealogies==
  
 
Before looking at the subject of the genealogies, we should observe that each of the four gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, begin in a different way.  But let me suggest that Matthew introduces his Gospel with a genealogy.  It has a genealogical introduction—it goes back to Abraham the father of the Hebrew nation.  That genealogy fits the Jewish nature of Matthew’s Gospel.  On the other hand we have Mark who presents no formal introduction.  He just begins with a very blunt statement which in reality is the title for this Gospel: “The beginning of the evangel of the good news of Jesus Christ”—The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That brevity, that conciseness, that lack of introduction in a formal way is certainly characteristic of the account of Mark’s gospel.
 
Before looking at the subject of the genealogies, we should observe that each of the four gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, begin in a different way.  But let me suggest that Matthew introduces his Gospel with a genealogy.  It has a genealogical introduction—it goes back to Abraham the father of the Hebrew nation.  That genealogy fits the Jewish nature of Matthew’s Gospel.  On the other hand we have Mark who presents no formal introduction.  He just begins with a very blunt statement which in reality is the title for this Gospel: “The beginning of the evangel of the good news of Jesus Christ”—The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  That brevity, that conciseness, that lack of introduction in a formal way is certainly characteristic of the account of Mark’s gospel.
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Matthew’s purpose in writing was no doubt pneumonic. What do we mean by that?  Matthew’s record is particularly noteworthy because of the careful arrangement of the names. Three groups of names, fourteen names in each group which would indicate some editing on the part of the Gospel writer.  This was put into these columns of fourteen names into each group because this was to help in aiding memory.  Helping you to remember and memorize those names.  Hebrews did not possess any separate signs for numbers, therefore letters of the alphabet would have to serve the same function as numbers.  For example the Hebrew first four letters of the alphabet, aleph, bet, gimel, daleth,  and the first four letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, would be the equivalent of one, two, three, four, and so forth.  There would be special letters for ten and other numbers down the line; but succinctly, these letters of the alphabet would serve dual purpose of being numbers as well.   
 
Matthew’s purpose in writing was no doubt pneumonic. What do we mean by that?  Matthew’s record is particularly noteworthy because of the careful arrangement of the names. Three groups of names, fourteen names in each group which would indicate some editing on the part of the Gospel writer.  This was put into these columns of fourteen names into each group because this was to help in aiding memory.  Helping you to remember and memorize those names.  Hebrews did not possess any separate signs for numbers, therefore letters of the alphabet would have to serve the same function as numbers.  For example the Hebrew first four letters of the alphabet, aleph, bet, gimel, daleth,  and the first four letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, would be the equivalent of one, two, three, four, and so forth.  There would be special letters for ten and other numbers down the line; but succinctly, these letters of the alphabet would serve dual purpose of being numbers as well.   
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The Hebrew language at that time did not have vowels.  All it consisted of were consonants. That is one reason for example, we don’t know whether to pronounce the name of God as being “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” because without the vowels, we don’t know what combination those consonants in for sure.  The name for David would be written D-V-D or the ‘V’ and ‘W’ would sometimes be interchangeable, so it would be daleth, wah (or vav), daleth, in the Hebrew language, ‘V’ or ‘W’ and ‘D’ written from right to left.  Those letters would stand for numbers, the ‘D’s would be equal to four, being the fourth letter, and ‘V’ or ‘W’ would be added up to six, so we would have 4 + 6 + 4 = 14. Therefore this genealogy is meant to prove that Jesus was the son of David.  It was arranged in such a way that as it would be an ease to memorize in association with David’s name where the numerical value of the consonants equaled fourteen.  So, the first list of fourteen go from Abraham to David.  This is where we have the promise of God’s purpose and design. The promise of God’s purpose from Abraham to David.  The second group goes from David, mentioned the Second time, David to Josiah, taking it through to the Babylonian captivity and showing the failure of man.  Then the third group of fourteen would go from Jaconiah to Jesus where we have fulfillment of God’s purposes.  So, from Abraham to David the promise and perspective of God’s purpose; and David to Josiah brining it into the place of Babylonian captivity; and from Jaconiah to Jesus bringing it to a place of fulfillment. We can see there was a lot of meaning behind these particular names given in Matthew’s account since again he is writing to Jews.  Matthew would get this information from the Jewish archives of his day.  That is, these names did not come to him by revelation from God, but they would come from the Jewish archives where records were kept of one’s ancestry.   
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The Hebrew language at that time did not have vowels.  All it consisted of were consonants. That is one reason for example, we don’t know whether to pronounce the name of God as being “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” because without the vowels, we don’t know what combination those consonants in for sure.  The name for David would be written D-V-D or the ‘V’ and ‘W’ would sometimes be interchangeable, so it would be daleth, wah (or vav), daleth, in the Hebrew language, ‘V’ or ‘W’ and ‘D’ written from right to left.  Those letters would stand for numbers, the ‘D’s would be equal to four, being the fourth letter, and ‘V’ or ‘W’ would be added up to six, so we would have 4 + 6 + 4 = 14. Therefore this genealogy is meant to prove that Jesus was the son of David.  It was arranged in such a way as to be easy to memorize in association with David’s name where the numerical value of the consonants equaled fourteen.  So, the first list of fourteen go from Abraham to David.  This is where we have the promise of God’s purpose and design. The promise of God’s purpose from Abraham to David.  The second group goes from David, mentioned the Second time, David to Josiah, taking it through to the Babylonian captivity and showing the failure of man.  Then the third group of fourteen would go from Jaconiah to Jesus where we have fulfillment of God’s purposes.  So, from Abraham to David the promise and perspective of God’s purpose; and David to Josiah brining it into the place of Babylonian captivity; and from Jaconiah to Jesus bringing it to a place of fulfillment. We can see there was a lot of meaning behind these particular names given in Matthew’s account since again he is writing to Jews.  Matthew would get this information from the Jewish archives of his day.  That is, these names did not come to him by revelation from God, but they would come from the Jewish archives where records were kept of one’s ancestry.   
  
 
If we look for a moment at Matthew 1:1, it says in the opening verse that the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of Abraham the book of the generations of the book of the genealogy of.”  There is a lot of debate as to whether that heading covers the whole gospel of Matthew; whether its only dealing with the first couple of chapters of the book; or whether its dealing with all of chapter one or just the first seventeen verses where we have the genealogy. It is a very significant statement because the book of Genesis has the same expression, “toledoth” –the book of the generations of, or the book of the genealogies of.  So Matthew is continuing the historic treatment of those patriarchs that are mentioned in the book of Genesis as a division or a heading for different sections of the book of Genesis.  Now this is the book of the genealogies, or the generations of Jesus Christ.
 
If we look for a moment at Matthew 1:1, it says in the opening verse that the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of Abraham the book of the generations of the book of the genealogy of.”  There is a lot of debate as to whether that heading covers the whole gospel of Matthew; whether its only dealing with the first couple of chapters of the book; or whether its dealing with all of chapter one or just the first seventeen verses where we have the genealogy. It is a very significant statement because the book of Genesis has the same expression, “toledoth” –the book of the generations of, or the book of the genealogies of.  So Matthew is continuing the historic treatment of those patriarchs that are mentioned in the book of Genesis as a division or a heading for different sections of the book of Genesis.  Now this is the book of the genealogies, or the generations of Jesus Christ.
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I mention this because Joseph could not be the natural Father of Jesus and at the same time sit upon the throne of David.  The reason for that is because of this man Jeconiah, who also sometimes goes by the name of Coniah.  We read about Jeconiah or Coniah in Jeremiah 22:24-30.  Because of his misdeeds, there was a curse placed upon that line, so that Jesus would have the legal right through Joseph, but he would be morally disqualified to sit upon the throne because of this curse against Jeconiah and those who would follow in his line.  
 
I mention this because Joseph could not be the natural Father of Jesus and at the same time sit upon the throne of David.  The reason for that is because of this man Jeconiah, who also sometimes goes by the name of Coniah.  We read about Jeconiah or Coniah in Jeremiah 22:24-30.  Because of his misdeeds, there was a curse placed upon that line, so that Jesus would have the legal right through Joseph, but he would be morally disqualified to sit upon the throne because of this curse against Jeconiah and those who would follow in his line.  
 
   
 
   
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Mary on the other hand was not in the royal line, because the kingdom was established through Solomon and not through Nathan.  Therefore she had the moral right, but she was legally disqualified.  Therefore the only solution was for Mary to marry Joseph after the conception of the Holy Spirit, but before the actual birth of Jesus.  For Jesus to have both the legal right to the throne and the moral right to the throne, there had to be this union and Jesus had to be begotten of the Holy Spirit but at the same time come through these two lines of Mary and Joseph. So by coming through Joseph he has the legal right, even though Joseph was not morally proper, and Mary though she was morally proper did not have the legal right but by the two joining together at the birth of Christ, it gives him both the legal and the moral right to the throne of David. 
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Mary on the other hand was not in the royal line, because the kingdom was established through Solomon and not through Nathan.  Therefore she had the moral right, but she was legally disqualified.  Therefore the only solution was for Mary to marry Joseph after the conception of the Holy Spirit, but before the actual birth of Jesus.  For Jesus to have both the legal right to the throne and the moral right to the throne, there had to be this union and Jesus had to be begotten of the Holy Spirit but at the same time come through these two lines of Mary and Joseph. So by coming through Joseph he has the legal right, even though Joseph was not morally proper, and Mary though she was morally proper did not have the legal right but by the two joining together at the birth of Christ, it gives him both the legal and the moral right to the throne of David.
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== The Annunciation==
 
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Unlike religious leaders, who claimed to come from God or to be gods, or to have messages from God, Jesus in contrast to these others was expected.  That is to say, there were preannouncements which would judge the validity of such claims. No one for example foretold the coming of Buddah or the birth of Confucius or the origin of Mohammed.  But because of the Old Testament prophecies, because of the gentile anticipations that we talked about earlier, Christ’s coming was not unexpected. 
 
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I think another distinguishing fact is that once he appeared, Jesus Christ struck history with such impact, that he split it in two, dividing it into two periods, B.C., that is before Christ and A.D. which does not mean after his death as some people falsely say, but A.D. is anno Domini–meaning in the year of our Lord.  A third fact separating Christ from other religious leaders is this:  That every other person who ever came into this world came into it to live.  Jesus by way of contrast came to die.  His death, his cross, was first and primary, his life was last.  His coming is called an incarnation; literally his enfleshment.  In the taking of human flesh, God the father prepared it; God the Spirit formed it; and God the Son assumed it.  He who had eternal generation in the bosom of the Father, now experienced temporal generation in time and space.  When Jesus became man, he did not gain one perfection more by becoming man; nor did he lose anything of what he possessed as God.  Here is the mystery of God manifested in the flesh.  The union of two natures in one single person. 
 
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Christ’s birth is also referred to as an advent; the word ‘advent’ meaning a coming—a coming or an arrival.  We say that of his first advent or his second advent or coming that his life did not begin like that of other men, that he came into the world from a preexistent state on a special mission—as we see John chapter 1, the opening verses.  With those facts before us, we look at the three announcements which heralded the coming of Christ at his first advent.  The first of these is the appearance of the Angel to Zechariahs recorded in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke.  Zechariahs of course would be the Greek way of writing it coming from the name ‘Zechariah’, the Hebrew equivalent in the Old Testament.  Either Zechariah, or Zechariahs means “Yahweh remembers” or “God remembers.”  He was an elderly priest from the tribe of Levi, one of the sincere righteous minority looking for the messiah.  Keep in mind that every direct descendent of Aaron, was automatically a priest—meaning that for all ordinary purposes there were far too many priests. So they had to be divided into twenty four sections.  We read about his in 1 Chronicles 24.  Those twenty-four sections were each composed of anywhere from four to nine families each.  Luke tells us that Zecharias was of the course or the division known as Abia, or the Old Testament name, Abijah, number eight in the list.  Only at Passover, Pentecost, and tabernacles which were the three major feasts of the Jewish calendar: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles; only at those three occasions did all of the priests serve.  It is estimated that there were in this time roughly eighteen to twenty thousand priests who would serve during these three great festivals. But for the rest of the year, each course would serve one week, twice a year.  They would have eight days of duty, from Sabbath to Sabbath.  And the godly priests certainly looked forward to this service as the highlight of their lives.
 
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Something else by way of background that may be of some help is that a priest could only marry a woman of pure Jewish lineage.  The wife had to be able to trace back her ancestry at least five generations.  But in Zechariahs’ case his wife Elizabeth was the daughter of a priest and therefore was a descendant of Aaron as well.  Also, notice that the name ‘Elizabeth’ means God’s oath; or God’s covenant. It is an interesting combination of Zechariahs and Elizabeth. God is remembering his oath.  Luke stresses their piety, their spirituality; they were obedient to God’s command; they were blameless in his requirements; they went beyond merely external or legal righteousness. 
 
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Within the priestly sections, all duties were allocated by lot, some form of chance selection.  Every morning and evening sacrifice would be made for the whole nation.  Before the morning the sacrifice and after the evening sacrifice, incense would be burnt upon the alter so that the sacrifices would go up to God in an envelope of sweet smelling incense. This was a once in a lifetime experience for any priest and the greatest day of Zechariahs’ life, he must have been jubilant to have that opportunity to be at the alter of incense. 
 
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There was a domestic problem, however.  Elizabeth was sterile.  To have children was a sign of blessing in that day.  She was barren and both of them of course were old in age. And really barrenness was a triple tragedy for any Jewish woman.  First of all it shriveled up the hope any kind of posterity—any kind of children.  Secondly, it sparked taunts form other women in the village when they would go to the village well, for example, and the women would get together and talk. Someone who did not have children might be scorned and made the object of jokes. Thirdly, by not having a child, it signified what they believes was her sin.  An indication that she was out of favor with God because when God blessed, he gave children, so to be barren was to be in some way sinful.  So childlessness was even a valid ground for divorce at that time. 
 
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Well Luke tells us it was about the time of the morning sacrifice, that would about nine o’clock in the morning, he entered the Holy place alone, a moment of intense expectation and as the cloud began to rise, a symbol of prayers being accepted by God, all of sudden the angel Gabriel appears on the right side of the alter where the priests were said not to tread.  Gabriel’s message was the first recorded word from heaven for over four hundred years.  By way of introduction, Gabriel told Zechariahs not to fear that his petition had been heard, and we wonder was that a petition for a son; was that a petition for the salvation of Israel?; was it perhaps a petition for both?  We don’t know, but his prayer had been heard.  Then Gabriel announced several things: first a son was to be born and he would be born to them even though they are in their old age.  Secondly, his name was to be John; John’s name means God is Gracious.  His birth would bring personal joy to this family as well as universal blessing to the whole nation and to the whole world.  He would have unusual privileges; particularly the privilege of being great in the eyes of God.  He would have unusual power; that means he would be filled with the Spirit from his mother’s womb.  In other words, prenatal sanctification.  He would also have unusual preaching ability.  Many would turn back to the Lord as a result of his preaching.  He would operate in the Spirit and the power of Elijah as Malachi 4 predicted.  Tremendous statements of fact predicted by and promised by Gabriel.  Yet after years of unanswered praying, Zechariahs doubted and he asked for a sign. In response he received a rebuke with the punishment of dumbness, the inability to speak.  So upon his exit to the waiting people outside, he should have led them in a great prayer, but all he could do was make signs to them.  And they marveled at his long delay within as well as his dumbness as he came out.  So in wordless daze of joy, sentenced to nine months of silence, he finished his week’s duties and went home.
 
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There are numerous practical lessons that we can draw from that incident in scripture.  First, God’s message came to Zaharias while he was doing ordinary work in the house of God—he was carrying on his duty, his assigned duty, God spoke to him.  It is very difficult to turn a car wheel unless the car is moving.  There are a lot of people who get an idea that if they just go out in the woods someplace and wait on God, that somehow God is going to give them all the plans for the future and lay it right in front of them and He will speak in that way; but in many cases, in most cases, God speaks to us in the midst of ordinary routine life as we are being faithful in what He has called upon us to do and He gives us the next words of instruction. 
 
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We also notice the prayer was answered unexpectantly, not in the way the Zechariahs had anticipated.  Unbelief fettered his tongue of testimony. Contact with the Lord will also make men marvel.  Often time will cause us to forget the clock when we are in the presence of God.  A sermon could be preached on that.  But notice the significance of this announcement to Zechariahs: heaven’s silence is broken; and yet it is met with unbelief.  Yet messiah is going to come at the set time. 
 
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The second announcement comes to Mary the mother of our Lord.  This is recorded in Luke the first chapter beginning with verse 26.  The time of this announcement is about six months after the announcement we’ve just been talking about to Zechariahs.  The place is Nazareth.  Again the Angelic messenger is Gabriel.  The Bible tells us that Mary was betrothed or espoused to Joseph at this time.  We must understand the significance of that statement in the light of the fact there were three phases to Jewish marriage at that time.  First of all, there was the engagement period that could be made by the Parents in most cases, or by a professional match maker.  It could be made even when the couple were in infancy.  Normally it was made even before they had seen each other.  Marriage was considered too serious a step to be left to the human dictates of human love and passion. 
 
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Secondly, there was a betrothal period which was the ratification of the engagement into which this couple had previously entered, or been entered.  The ratification of that engagement.  That could not take place until that couple had come of age, that meant that the girl came of age at the year twelve, plus one day.  At that stage she could refuse to accept the young man.  By the way, this consecration of the bride to her husband could be rendered valid in one of three ways.  Either by a symbolic sale, in which the bridegroom handed the bride some article of value.  Perhaps corresponding to today’s practice of giving a ring. Or it could be by written agreement; or it could be by cohabitation, intercourse, which was considered disgraceful in the eyes of Jews at that time.  But once that betrothal was entered into, it was binding.  It could not be broken except by divorce.  Normally there was a twelve month’s waiting period which would intervene to demonstrate the purity of the virgin to be wed.  If it was a widow who was remarrying, then it would a one month period of intervening—but normally a twelve month period for a virgin. 
 
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During this time of one year, they would be known as man and wife. In fact a girl whose fiancé had died, lets say during that year, would be called a virgin who is a widow.  Then the third step would be the wedding itself, which was a tremendously great day of celebration in any Jewish community and nothing less than a religious duty to attend.  Usually autumn was the favored time of year to get married.  The reason for that of course was that the grain and grape harvest were gathered in, there was more time for relaxation and rejoicing in the autumn. 
 
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Virgins were generally married on Thursdays, and widows on Fridays.  There was no honeymoon as we know it, but after the supper, the couple would stay at home in the home of their parents and for a week they were treated like king and queen in joyous festivities and then they would settle down to the routine of home life and the rearing of a family. So, when it says that Mary was betrothed or espoused to Joseph at this time, this is the ratification stage of the marriage, not the consummation of the marriage, but simply that ratification of that earlier engagement made by the parents on each side. 
 
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Gabriel’s message to Mary, was in this wise.  First of all, Mary is to bear a son and she is to call his name “Jesus”  the meaning of Jesus is what?  Savior.  The Lord saves, or the salvation of the Lord.  Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.  Not only that, but he will be the son of the highest, that is the Son of God.  He will reign on David’s throne; he will reign over the whole house of Jacob forever.  His birth will be conceived by the Holy Spirit and Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth also with child, is about six months along at this particular time.
 
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Notice Mary’s beautiful kind of response.  It seems that her response was simply an act of faith, she asks simply in faith for an explanation.  She willingly submitted as the Lord’s servant.  She illustrates how to be ready for anything.  You know what that tells us? That tells us God always prepares us for any of His invasions into our lives.  We have this angelic announcement that comes to Mary, rather than leaving her in the dark about strange internal feelings and changes. 
 
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Secondly, we have to be prepared to be prepared. We have to ready to receive the angels that God sends into our lives and respond much the same way Mary did.  Also, we receive power from the God who is present in the time of preparation.  It is interesting isn’t it, there is no argumentation on her part; there is no need for further elaborate explanations; it was simply his presence that overshadows her and us, and makes us adequate to face those new challenges that come our way. 
 
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So to Mary was granted the blessedness of being the receptacle through whom the Lord Jesus would be born and this tremendous extraordinary privilege and blessedness, this highlight experience was also going to be something that would be a sword to break her heart, because someday she would see him hanging on a cross. And that tells us that to be chosen of the Lord often times will mean both a crown as well as a cross.
 
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Here is a woman who is highly favored.  Not the dispenser of grace, but the recipient of grace.  Highly favored of God, full of grace, that is greatly endowed with grace.  Tradition tells us that Mary’s parents were named Joachim of Nazareth and Anna of Bethlehem.  And she was somewhere in her teenage years at this time.  It wasn’t uncommon for girls to marry in the east anywhere after the age of thirteen.  So, somewhere in the middle teenage years, or in the later teenage years, this experience is coming to Mary. 
 
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On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius the IX went so far as to declare that Mary was conceived without sin.  And this is a Roman Catholic doctrine known as the immaculate conception—referring not to Jesus but referring to Mary—saying that she had been conceived without sin.  We hear a great deal about the “Hail Mary’s” which actually comes from the scripture when he addresses her with the Ava Maria, or Hail, was simply a greeting an ordinary mode of salutation in that time.  It has been perverted in some places, but that was its original form.  It is probably true that most of us would tend to devalue Mary even as there are some Christians who over exalt her and make her more than what scripture claims her to be. Without going into detail, there have been books written even as late as 1960 and maybe even books since that time, that imply very clearly and state rather explicitly that Mary is practically the equivalent of part of the Godhead.  So rather than a trinity or tri-unity, we have a quartet. She is called by a lot of exalted titles: co-redemptress and co-creator and similar kinds of expressions in trying to exalt this marvelous lady of the first century.
 
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Protestants on the other hand have tended to devalue her because Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians have exalted her—they (protestants) tend to go the other direction and hardly speak about her at all, but when we begin to see the kind of responsiveness she has toward the Spirit of God, her openness, her lack of asking for a sign like Zechariahs did; her willingness to receive that truth from in such a startling fashion, makes her a woman highly to be praised and to be honored and revered even while at the same time, she should not be worshipped.
 
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Roman Catholic theology there are different stages of worship that are taught within the Roman Catholic church.  There is, for example, adoration—given to God alone; there is veneration of the Saints; and then there is an expression called ''hyperdulia'' which is the worship afforded to Mary.  Part of Roman Catholic logic is deductive logic, which means starting with a major premise and going to a minor premise, and then coming to a conclusion.  Deductive reasoning is going from a major premise to a minor premise to a conclusion.  The way in which that is done within Roman Catholic thinking is to say that Jesus is God—that is the primary statement.  The secondary statement is to say that Mary is the mother of Jesus and therefore the logical conclusion is to say that Mary is the mother of God. 
 
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Now the fallacy there logically is what is called a fallacy of equivocation. The problem is that first statement.  It is true, Jesus is God, but he is also man.  With that left out of the equation, it distorts the final conclusion. 
 
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I’ll come back to Mary in just a moment, but now the third annunciation is to Joseph as found in the first chapter of Matthew’s gospel.  This of course was to clarify to Joseph by divine intervention that Jesus was to have a human mother, but there was to be no human father.  The Bible tells us he was a just man.  That he conscientiously lived by what was right.  And that he adhere to the law.  The time of this announcement was after it was obvious and apparent that Mary was pregnant, and this announcement was basically redemptive in nature,  indicating Jesus to be the Savior and to be a Emanuel, or God with us.  There’s a lot of ways we could treat this account to Joseph, but let me suggest that Joseph is the forgotten man at Christmas.  We know very little about him.  Oh the genealogical table given in Matthew records that fact that this carpenter had royal blood, because David had been among his ancestors.  But that is an interesting fact obviously, but hardly an important fact for a little mathematics would show how many ancestors a person had twenty-five generations ago.  What seems to be great about this village carpenter is capsulized in that sentence “That he who has never profoundly doubted, has never profoundly believed.” 
 
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Certainly Joseph doubted profoundly.  That was partly due to the circumstances, partly due to his nature.  That is only what it might be expected to be for a man who worked with his hands. Joseph’s mind took a practical matter-of-fact turn.  I guess in modern terminology we would call him a realist.  He could never have composed a magnificat, like Mary did.  He didn’t have visions or ecstasies. His mind was trained to trust things that could be seen, measures, footrules, weights.  He knew what could and could not be done with certain materials; and he adjusted his plans accordingly.  His approach to life was similar.  Mysticism and poetry were suspect to a man like Joseph.  Only with solid unimaginative prose could he feel safe. 
 
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Here is the kind of man who is called upon to believe the most unbelievable story ever told.  It is shocking enough in all good conscience that Mary, who he held in such high esteem and whose reputation had been spotless should now confess herself to be pregnant.  And didn’t her explanation just add insult to injury?  How could she expect him to be so gullible, so naïve?  Doubtless many women in comparable situation have drawn freely upon their imaginations.  It is very plain from the biblical narrative that he didn’t believe Mary’s story of an angelic announcement.  Who expect him to?  Would any of us if confronted with the same situation?  The only questions was, what should he do about this tension?  That tension is expressed in the sentence that Matthew records pulling him in two directions when it says, “Being a just man” and at the same time, “unwilling to put her to shame.”  Here he was a dutiful son of the law, he knew the prescribed punishment for the violation of God’s moral standard, she deserved to be stoned to death and yet he loved here, and he pledged his lifelong affection and loyalty to her.  He couldn’t bear to think of such a terrible fate falling upon her no matter what she had done. 
 
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But then he would hear little voices whispering in his ear, proclaim your own virtue by making a public condemnation of your fiancé’s faithless conduct.  Because unless you do, people are going to conclude that you were responsible for her condition, and that you were too much of a coward to face up to the consequences.  And then the judgment of the community will be upon you even more than upon her.  Even though he was sure Mary had sinned, he wanted to protect her from the result of her own folly and to shield her as far as possible from the vicious gossip of the village. 
 
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So after sleepless nights, his conclusion was reached.  The Bible tells us he resolved to divorce her privately.  He would make no bid for public sympathy.  No show of his own virtue, he would at least salvage part of his own dignity by privately divorcing her.  Yet that decision was not according to the plans of God, and so, as a result Joseph found his plans overturned just when he thought he’d found a satisfactory escape from this painful dilemma.  Exhausted by the struggle he had weighed in his heart and contented with the solution he’d found, he finally fell asleep. In that sleep and divine messenger came to him with the words, “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost” (Mt. 1:20).
 
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Here is the most stupendous fact in all recorded history announced to Joseph as reason why he should carry out his marriage plans.  This disproportion is incomprehensible unless the historical accuracy of the story is accepted, because only that kind of an earth shattering explosion could have shattered the doubts of Joseph.  But the doubts were shattered.  The man who profoundly doubted now became the man who profoundly believed.  In fact, there are few persons whom we meet in the record of our Lord’s earthly life who held to such strong faith under such adverse circumstances. 
 
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It is true he had an angelic vision in a dream, but those are rather fragile.  How does that withstand the long wear and tear of years of inescapable doubting?  How brief a dream, how long the years of testing, especially for a practical man like Joseph,  can one build a marriage successfully upon a dream?  How could he ever be certain that this vision was not just the feverish fulfillment of his own wishes and desires?  The self delusion of one who in spite of all the evidence still loved his fiancé.  We can be sure those plaguing doubts must have recurred time and time again during his working hours when his hands were busy working and his mind was free to think.  The doubts would probably occur during the long nights, the very presence of Jesus later in contrast to his other children, must have prodded his mind with doubts.  I wonder, was that midnight word, “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, that she was conceived of the Holy Spirit,” can that really be depended upon?  Or should he believe the sly whisperings and lifted eyebrows of the villagers.  We could be sure that there was gossip.  That doesn’t rest simply on the fact that human nature hasn’t changed and tongues then just as now do not obey the laws of love, but also upon hints that are indirectly given here in the biblical account.  It is not hard to read between the lines actually.  Some of the bitter words of controversy recorded in John’s gospel when certain Jews were in the presence of Christ said to him, “We were not born of fornication” implying “as you were.” “We have one father, not a real one, a legal one like you had.”
 
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We can further speculate that Mary had to listen to those same whispers.  They must have cut deeply into her sensitive spirit.  But one difference is that Mary knew the accusations were untrue.  No matter how unreasonable the criticism, she would at least know the facts.  She had that assurance that her husband could not share.  But Joseph could never know.  He had to build his married life upon trust.  Trust in this startling story of Mary.  Trust in her character, trust in the dream from this angelic visitor.  He could not even talk it over with somebody else.  He couldn’t talk it over with the villagers who showed so clearly that they regarded him as a sentimental fool.  He couldn’t talk it over with Mary because how could he do that without showing as having doubts about the love relationship?  Probably no one else has really had to face Joseph’s problem exactly.  So we have no knowledge drawn from experience as to the way he meted. We can’t how he fed his faith and how he starved his doubts, but we can be sure of the fact that in the midst of that profound doubt, he believed profoundly.  Joseph has something to say to our generation.  Where the great symbol is the question mark of doubt. Saying that in the midst of all the skeptical things around us there can still be that kind of trust and confidence which he expressed and experienced. 
 
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Something else we need to look at is the advent hymns found in Luke’s gospel.  It is appropriate in light of the chapel message that we should talk about the hymns of Luke chapter 1 and 2, all dealing with the advent of Christ. In Luke 1:28 for example, we have the Ave Maria—or the “Hail Mary.”  In Luke 1:42ff we have the song of Elizabeth.  Then later in verse 46 and following Mary’s Magnificat.  Then in verses 68 and following of that same first chapter the Benedictus of Zechariahs.  Then the Glory in ''Excelsis'' in Chapter 2 of Luke, the Song of the Angels.  Finally Simeon’s ''Nunc Dimittis'' beginning with chapter 2 and going from verse 29-32. 
 
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When we examine these various hymns given these latter Latin names, we find in form as well as in content, they very clearly resemble the Psalms of Israel.  The same kind of diction, the same kind of beat and accent and parallelism that we find in the Old Testament Psalms.  They express the same messianic expectation as Israel’s prophets expressed in the Old Testament.  So, even thought they appear here in the New Testament cannon, they are couched in Old Testament prophetic language. 
 
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The Magnificat, as one example of these, title comes from the fact that within the vulgate in the—Latin Translation of Scripture—the opening word is ‘Magnificat’, meaning “my soul doeth magnify the Lord.”  We must not think of this as a written composition, bur rather as an original utterance; a prophecy in the presence of a spontaneous bubbling up under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit by Mary in response to Elizabeth.
 
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It is interesting that Mary was not an unwilling or passive instrument in the hand of God like Balaam in the Old Testament, or Saul in the Old Testament.  The Spirit uses natural will, her natural knowledge her imagination, her emotions all of her life, just as he used the Psalmist and the Prophets in the same way in times past.  For one thing, this Magnificat shows the wonderful knowledge that Mary as a teenage girl would have of the scriptures.  Because if we look at it carefully, it is just steeped with Old Testament phraseology.  In fact there are four direct quotations from the Old Testament, primarily from the Psalms.  The whole song breaths the atmosphere and echoes the language of the Old Testament.  Someone who has looked at it carefully and has noticed of the 102 words of the Greek New Testament making up this song, 61 that is 60 percent is borrowed phrases from the Old Testament.  Apparently, she had hidden God’s word in her heart as a child, and the spirit uses this.  In fact, there are quotations from all three parts of the Old Testament.  The Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.  And we can clearly associate this with some other Magnificats in Scripture.
 

Latest revision as of 15:55, 5 July 2020

© L.D. Underwood 2011

The Genealogies

Before looking at the subject of the genealogies, we should observe that each of the four gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, begin in a different way. But let me suggest that Matthew introduces his Gospel with a genealogy. It has a genealogical introduction—it goes back to Abraham the father of the Hebrew nation. That genealogy fits the Jewish nature of Matthew’s Gospel. On the other hand we have Mark who presents no formal introduction. He just begins with a very blunt statement which in reality is the title for this Gospel: “The beginning of the evangel of the good news of Jesus Christ”—The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That brevity, that conciseness, that lack of introduction in a formal way is certainly characteristic of the account of Mark’s gospel.

Luke we saw had a classic beginning which we might call “historical”—a historical introduction, where he describes his method of historical research. Certainly the character of both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts bear witness to Luke’s accuracy.

So Matthew’s introduction is primarily genealogical; Mark has no formal introduction; Luke is historical; and John’s prologue theological in nature. His is the most comprehensive of all going back beyond creation to the relationship of the God the Father and Jesus Christ the Word as members of the Holy Trinity. So, each begins in a different manner.

Looking at the genealogies of Christ, they could be called highways leading to the Messiah. It might be wise to begin by addressing the nature of genealogies which we inevitably associate with the endless begets: So and so, beget so and so. Actually genealogy comes from two words: we have the word logos, or ‘word’, which we have already come across, and another word which means the study of one’s family decent—the study of one’s pedigree. Our generation has very few roots. We are primarily concerned with the present and preoccupied with the future. Therefore, our sense of history had been largely dulled. Most of us would find it impossible even to name our great Grandfather. That is not the case with the first century Jew. Jews had a consuming interest in their ancestry. They could climb up and down their family tree with ease.

What is the importance of these genealogies? These long list of names are usually regarded as being quite dry and irrelevant to the average reader of scripture. Most of us tend to skip over those portions of scripture because at first glance they seem to be most ungenial beginnings to a gospel. Yet they are of vital importance and should not be skipped over in our reading because, for one reason, one value is that the genealogies show God’s interest in people as individuals. He knows us by name. Even though it is not our name printed there, we should still be interested in what it is saying. Secondly, it seems to me, they give a sense of identity, a sense of continuity. And they also are of particular value I think because they establish the pure lineage of Messiah.

Obviously to us, it seems like a very strange way to begin a book, but to the Jews, the process of wading through a long list of names was natural and absolutely essential. For example Josephus, the historian when writing his own autobiography, began with his own pedigree and listed his own ancestors as far back as he could trace it.

One might ask, “Well why so much emphasis? Why so much stress upon genealogies?” The emphasis is placed upon the purity of one’s lineage. If there was the slightest mixture of foreign blood, you basically lost the right to be called a Jew. For example, priests had to produce an unbroken record of pedigree all the way back to Aaron. If they married, their wife had document her ancestral records back at least five generations. Those records of one’s ancestry were kept and guarded by the Sanhedrin. Perhaps it is understandable that one reason that Herod the Great was so hated was the fact that he was part Edomite—an Edomian. Therefore he had his official registers destroyed so that there would be no proof of his impure ancestry. For example, in AD 70 when Titus destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, all the genealogical records were destroyed pertaining to the Jews. So the only living person today who can trace his genealogy directly from David, is Jesus of Nazareth. So, the genealogies proved who a person was; whose he was; and why he was a Jew. But obviously the purpose of this record was to show the regal decent of Jesus from David as well as to show his wider human relation to the whole race of humankind. There are two of these genealogies we are looking at in the Gospels: one found in the first chapter of Matthew, the other found in the third chapter of the Gospel of Luke. We could question why Mark doesn’t trace Jesus’ genealogy, but remember he is dealing with Jesus the Servant and we are not interested in the pedigree of a slave, we are interested in whether he can work hard. John, on the other hand, doesn’t trace back the ancestry of Christ because he goes back into eternity past to his preexistence. This is why Matthew and Luke are the only ones to record a genealogy.

There are certain outstanding features of these genealogies. First of all, there are some major differences between these two records of genealogies. Matthew is writing for Jews, as indicated before. So he descends forward from Abraham to show Jesus as the seat of Abraham and the heir to the promises of God; he starts with Abraham and descends forward through David and up to Joseph the Carpenter. And he shows the legal line, or the royal line of Christ.

Luke on the other hand descends backward from Mary all the way back to Adam. Luke is writing to the Greeks he said, he is trying to show Christ as the ideal son of man, to which we have made reference. Luke seems to trace the line through Mary, the mother of Jesus, showing the moral or the biological line of Christ. Each has a different emphasis; one going to Abraham through Joseph to Jesus; the other one going back through Mary back to Adam.

These genealogies are intended to be summaries and not exhaustive accounts. That is, Matthew has roughly forty-one names; Luke has about seventy-four names; and there are about nineteen names in common between these two lists. But we will find that there are omissions of certain names in the list—certain gaps. For example if we look at 1 Chronicles 3:11-12, and we compare it here in Matthew 1:8-9, we find that certain names like Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, are omitted between Joram and Uzziah. That is, this is not an exhaustive list but certain names are omitted. The reason for that is not just an inadvertent error, rather it is deliberate, probably by intention, because edited history was a very common practice among the Jews; but it was not thought of as being inaccurate to leave out certain names according to the Hebrew custom of writing genealogies. We will also find that there are differences in the spelling of the names when we compare some of these names with their Old Testament counterpart names. We have to realize this is because the Gospel writers either wrote these genealogical records from earlier records written in Greek, or else they translated them from Aramaic into Greek—whereas the names had originally been written from the Hebrew. So if we want names that will correspond to their Old Testament counterparts, we need to read a revised version where such modern versions will conform to the spelling that we have in our English Old Testaments to show those similarities.

Matthew’s purpose in writing was no doubt pneumonic. What do we mean by that? Matthew’s record is particularly noteworthy because of the careful arrangement of the names. Three groups of names, fourteen names in each group which would indicate some editing on the part of the Gospel writer. This was put into these columns of fourteen names into each group because this was to help in aiding memory. Helping you to remember and memorize those names. Hebrews did not possess any separate signs for numbers, therefore letters of the alphabet would have to serve the same function as numbers. For example the Hebrew first four letters of the alphabet, aleph, bet, gimel, daleth, and the first four letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha, beta, gamma, delta, would be the equivalent of one, two, three, four, and so forth. There would be special letters for ten and other numbers down the line; but succinctly, these letters of the alphabet would serve dual purpose of being numbers as well. The Hebrew language at that time did not have vowels. All it consisted of were consonants. That is one reason for example, we don’t know whether to pronounce the name of God as being “Jehovah” or “Yahweh” because without the vowels, we don’t know what combination those consonants in for sure. The name for David would be written D-V-D or the ‘V’ and ‘W’ would sometimes be interchangeable, so it would be daleth, wah (or vav), daleth, in the Hebrew language, ‘V’ or ‘W’ and ‘D’ written from right to left. Those letters would stand for numbers, the ‘D’s would be equal to four, being the fourth letter, and ‘V’ or ‘W’ would be added up to six, so we would have 4 + 6 + 4 = 14. Therefore this genealogy is meant to prove that Jesus was the son of David. It was arranged in such a way as to be easy to memorize in association with David’s name where the numerical value of the consonants equaled fourteen. So, the first list of fourteen go from Abraham to David. This is where we have the promise of God’s purpose and design. The promise of God’s purpose from Abraham to David. The second group goes from David, mentioned the Second time, David to Josiah, taking it through to the Babylonian captivity and showing the failure of man. Then the third group of fourteen would go from Jaconiah to Jesus where we have fulfillment of God’s purposes. So, from Abraham to David the promise and perspective of God’s purpose; and David to Josiah brining it into the place of Babylonian captivity; and from Jaconiah to Jesus bringing it to a place of fulfillment. We can see there was a lot of meaning behind these particular names given in Matthew’s account since again he is writing to Jews. Matthew would get this information from the Jewish archives of his day. That is, these names did not come to him by revelation from God, but they would come from the Jewish archives where records were kept of one’s ancestry.

If we look for a moment at Matthew 1:1, it says in the opening verse that the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the Son of Abraham the book of the generations of the book of the genealogy of.” There is a lot of debate as to whether that heading covers the whole gospel of Matthew; whether its only dealing with the first couple of chapters of the book; or whether its dealing with all of chapter one or just the first seventeen verses where we have the genealogy. It is a very significant statement because the book of Genesis has the same expression, “toledoth” –the book of the generations of, or the book of the genealogies of. So Matthew is continuing the historic treatment of those patriarchs that are mentioned in the book of Genesis as a division or a heading for different sections of the book of Genesis. Now this is the book of the genealogies, or the generations of Jesus Christ.

Also, notice the change in the manner of expression in verse 16 all the way through we have so and so begat so and so or, if looking at the Revised Standard Version it says, “So and so was the father of the next person’s name.” But then in verse 16 it says, “And Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who was called ‘Christ’” (Mt 1:16). There is a very significant change in wording there in verse 16 and we’ll come back to see some of the significance of that later. It seems Matthew’s design was basically for memorizing purposes to find this kind of specialized structure that we find in his addition to the genealogy.

Both of these genealogies, the one in Matthew and the one in Luke, stress two very important facts. First of all it stresses the fact that Jesus was the son of David. As such he was the heir to the throne. We could spend a lot of time looking at the Old Testament in books like 2 Samuel the seventh chapter; or 1 Chronicles the seventeenth chapter; or Psalm 89 where it stresses very frequently that Messiah, the Son of David was to be the heir to the throne. That is not only true in the Old Testament, we will find it in the sermon of Peter on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2; we will find it frequently just all through the New Testament. For example, to many their favorite book of the Bible, the book of Romans the first chapter and the third verse, where it says, “the Gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of Holiness” (Rm 1:4). The stress, John does the same thing in Revelation all the way through the Gospel accounts does the same thing Jesus is the Son of David there is continuity to God’s rule through His people in the Old Testament. The second fact they underscore is the fact that Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy. The fulfillment of prophecy from the Old Testament.

But one of the things that is most intriguing about the genealogies is the unprecedented inclusion of four women into Matthew’s account. In other words Jesus’ genealogy was not an untainted line of thoroughbreds. His pedigree was “smudged” as it were. The most important thing about this list of names is the inclusion of four women; because remember again, women had no legal rights—they were merely the possession of their fathers or of their husbands, and therefore would not be treated as persons, but would be treated as things. Just to have an idea, in the regular form of morning prayers, the Jews thanked God everyday that He had not made him a gentile, a slave, or a woman. So it is actually quite extraordinary for women to even be mentioned in ancestral records. It is even more amazing when we consider the sort of women included. For example we have Rahab mentioned in the book of Joshua the second chapter who was the Harlot of Jericho. We have Ruth, who was a Moabite maiden; and there was a command or a law in Deuteronomy 23:3 that said no Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord even to the tenth generation. None belonging to them shall enter the assembly of the Lord forever. There is a Moabitess. Then there is Tamar, mentioned in Genesis chapter 38 who was a deliberate seducer and adulteress. Finally there is an unnamed woman who we no to be Bathsheba the mother of Solomon whom David seduced from Uriah.

One might suppose that if Matthew had ransacked the pages of the Old Testament for more improbable candidates, he couldn’t have discovered any more incredible ancestors for Christ than these four women. But it is extremely important in that it shows that the essence of the Gospel breaks down barriers. It breaks down barriers between Jews and gentile. Rahab of Jericho and Ruth of Moab both find their place in Christ. There is no longer a barrier between male and female, the old contempt is gone. Men and women stand equally near and dear to God. We find both saints and sinners. Here is another example of the all embracing love of God. God can find his servants among those who respectable orthodox people would shudder in horror, because in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, neither male nor female for we are all one in Christ. We as Christians have our own sacred genealogy. We haven’t said the last word when we say our name is ‘Jones’ or ‘Smith’ or whatever. Even when we trace our family tree to the old country, because our lineage goes back to Jesus Christ. Just one further explanation of the genealogy, which may be of some help. Perhaps we could best diagram it in this fashion: We would start with the ‘Word’—the Logos in eternity passed—and end with Jesus as the fulfillment. Then there would be two lines that would be moving toward Jesus Christ—we would have Adam at some point along this line; we would have Abraham where there is this juncture and then we would have Solomon on this line with David and Nathan and then this would be John’s treatment of Jesus who is traced back to the “Word” the “Logos.”

This would be Matthew’s account at the top and this as we said was the Royal line or the legal line. There is one name we should know here on this list, Jeconiah, to whom I will make some reference a little bit later. Then the line through Matthew brings us through Joseph to Jesus. In the biological line of Luke we have Nathan all the way through to Mary and Jesus comes through that line.

I mention this because Joseph could not be the natural Father of Jesus and at the same time sit upon the throne of David. The reason for that is because of this man Jeconiah, who also sometimes goes by the name of Coniah. We read about Jeconiah or Coniah in Jeremiah 22:24-30. Because of his misdeeds, there was a curse placed upon that line, so that Jesus would have the legal right through Joseph, but he would be morally disqualified to sit upon the throne because of this curse against Jeconiah and those who would follow in his line.

Mary on the other hand was not in the royal line, because the kingdom was established through Solomon and not through Nathan. Therefore she had the moral right, but she was legally disqualified. Therefore the only solution was for Mary to marry Joseph after the conception of the Holy Spirit, but before the actual birth of Jesus. For Jesus to have both the legal right to the throne and the moral right to the throne, there had to be this union and Jesus had to be begotten of the Holy Spirit but at the same time come through these two lines of Mary and Joseph. So by coming through Joseph he has the legal right, even though Joseph was not morally proper, and Mary though she was morally proper did not have the legal right but by the two joining together at the birth of Christ, it gives him both the legal and the moral right to the throne of David.

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