The Family Tree of Jesus

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,  and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations (Matthew 1:1-17).

If we are familiar with the gospel of Matthew, then we should also be familiar with the opening verses of scripture- the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-16). Matthew’s list is both extensive and intriguing. His list does differ greatly from the list that is found in Luke’s gospel (Luke 3:23-38). Let’s look at those differences starting first with Matthew’s version.

The first thing that I find intriguing is that there are four particular women found in Matthew’s list: Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah, v.6), Rahab, Ruth, and Tamar. First is Bathsheba. What makes her so intriguing in this list was that she was an adulteress. As we may remember, she too had relations with David and conceived while Uriah was at battle. She was just as guilty of adultery as David was for taking her (2 Samuel 11). Second is Rahab. She was a prostitute in a pagan land. She also hid spies from Israel who were spying on Jericho from the townspeople who were looking to capture them. The spies were successfully hidden and allowed to return to their people unharmed. Third is Ruth. She was a Moabite woman who had no ties to the chosen Israelites. She came from a nation of idolatry and no knowledge (or relationship) to Yahweh. Then we have Tamar. She, while grieving over the death of her husband(s) (who were the sons of Judah), decided to cover herself with a veil and approach Judah, her father-in-law. Judah had mistaken her to be a prostitute and they had “relations” and she conceived. What an interesting gal, that Tamar! What is interesting is what became of these women. The adulteress Bathsheba married David and eventually gave birth to Solomon and continued the royal line to the Messiah. She was forgiven her sin, and our long-suffering God did not destroy her for her sin. The immoral pagan prostitute Rahab and her family was spared death during the overtaking of Jericho because she helped out the spies. “But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”(Joshua 6:25, ESV). Her offspring were also part of the lineage of the Savior. What became of Ruth other than having a book written about her? She, being a widow without a future, was “redeemed” by her husband Boaz, who married her and produced children into the Davidic line that leads to Christ. She had a choice to return home to her Moabite idols, but Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). She was not just devoted and loyal to her mother-in-law, but also to Naomi’s God. She sought the God of Israel. Speaking of in-laws, what about Tamar who had a “thing” with her father-in-law? Her twins (particularly Perez) are part of that line of descendants to Jesus. The key word here is “redemption”. Bathsheba, Tamar, and Rahab were all forgiven their sins, and Ruth was forgiven her idolatrous background. They all were “grafted in” to the Israelite family and had a part in what the people were chosen for (see Romans 11:11-24). I believe this was a shadow of the grafting in of the Gentiles as God’s people (through Christ) and that was Matthew’s intent.

Both versions do include David, thus showing that Christ has a right to claim David’s throne. They also include Abraham, thus showing that Christ was also a Jew and not a Gentile and possibly showing the Jews that He is their promised Messiah through lineage.


The key differences are of course the names. “Matthew is following the line of Joseph (Jesus’ legal father), through David’s son Solomon, while Luke is following the line of Mary (Jesus’ blood relative), though David’s son Nathan. Through either line, Jesus is a descendant of David and therefore eligible to be the Messiah” (http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-genealogy.html).

David and God's Heart

A few years ago I spent the summer working with a man through a local temp service. He was pretty much a part of every job that I did. He attended church once in a blue moon, and he knew of God and some of the Bible. However, this man wasn’t saved and struggled with much sin in his life. We spent a lot of time talking about God, theology, church, and the Bible. This fellow told me many times over that his favorite character in the Bible was David. Because David was a lot like him. He struggled with sin and wasn’t perfect just like my friend was. However, through all of his imperfections, David was “a man after God’s heart”. He was this man’s “role model”.

One thing that we need to remember is that Biblical characters (especially those of the Old Testament) shouldn’t be looked at as role models, but as examples of God’s work and will. “God has not given us the Bible with the intention that we put the heroes of the faith up on pedestals at awe and reverence…the stories of the heroes of the Bible…are part of God’s story. People are the bit players, God is the focus.” (Walton and Hill 2004, 200-201). If we focus on David and his life as our example, then we may become too tied up in his weaknesses and excuse our own weaknesses. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means…” (Romans 6:1-2a). From talking with this fellow, it seemed almost like he could relate to David’s sin as an excuse for his own sinning, yet all the while still being after God’s heart. But the question is “How could David sin so much, yet still be considered a man after God’s heart?”

If the word “after” translates to “like”, then how can David be like God’s heart? David had made many mistakes, however, his most infamous sin was his adultery with Bathsheba and the “set up” of having her husband Uriah killed in battle to cover up the affair and pregnancy. As a matter of fact, it was this act that set the sword against David’s house. “David’s tragic punishment was a lingering one… the house of David would be continually plagued by violence. David had done evil to another man’s family. Therefore, he would receive evil in his own family.” (MacArthur, 439). This evil includes his son Amnon raping his sister Tamar, his other son Absalom murdering Amnon, Absalom rebelling against David and then eventually being killed. Not to mention the child that David fathered with Bathsheba in this affair died.

So the question remains: How can David be a man after (like, in the midst of) God’s heart? “David’s life was a portrait of success and failure, and it highlights the fact that he was far from perfect. But what made David a cut above the rest was that his heart was pointed toward God.” (http://www.gotquestions.org/man-after-God-heart.html). After the prophet Nathan rebuked David for his affair with Bathsheba, David penned these words in Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart (vv. 1-6).

David’s faith in God saw him defeating Goliath. It saw him defeating many of Israel’s enemies. It saw him being protected by the jealous King Saul. It saw him through pursuits by other kings and even his own son, Absalom. However, his flesh saw him lying to a priest over bread for himself and his men, working for the Philistines, and killing Uriah over his affair with Uriah’s wife. When he sinned, his heart was grieved as he repented and sought forgiveness and restoration from God. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

David had faith in God throughout his life. David loved God’s laws and commandments and sought to honor them. David was thankful (as we can see in the Psalms). Above all, David was repentant. He recognized his sins and cried out to God for forgiveness every time. He kept his eyes on God, no matter that ups and downs in his life. Even when his enemies pursued him, he kept his faith in God and cried out. “David demonstrated his faith seemingly on a daily basis which pleased the Lord. Throughout his life his faith would be tested on a grand scale and in the final analysis he passed most of the tests.” (http://www.gotquestions.org/man-after-God-heart.html). The point isn’t how David could be a man after God’s heart if he sinned so much and made so many mistakes, but that David recognized his sins and bowed before a holy God in repentance.

Should we try to be like David, like my friend believed? No. But David is our example in the Christian walk. When we sin, we should repent. We should follow Christ’s commandments. We should thank God and keep the faith no matter what blessing, or trial, that we face. David isn’t perfect and neither are we. David was a man who sought to have a heart like God and repented before Him when sin grieved his own heart. We too should seek to have a heart like this.

Love In Christ!

 

References:

John H. Walton and Andrew E. Hill, Old Testament Today (Zondervan, 2004), 200-201.

MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible, English Standard Version (Commentaries). Crossway, 2010. Pg. 439.

Houdmann, S. Michael. “How could David be considered a man after God's own heart?"
Last accessed February 26th, 2014. http://www.gotquestions.org/man-after-God-heart.html.