“You will conceive and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end…the power of the Most High will overshadow you and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:31-35
Genealogy Apologetics
Luke and Matthew are the only two gospels to contain the birth story of Jesus. They are also the only two that contain genealogies. Both Matthew and Luke say that genealogies were important to establishing the identity of Jesus. As one comic jests, “If there is no God, then who was Jesus’ daddy?” When it boils down to it that is a legitimate question. Gabriel tells Mary in the above verse that Jesus will be called the Messiah due to his lineage. If Jesus’ lineage is in question then so is His kingship. Where, on the one hand, His kingdom is not “flesh and blood” nor “of this world,” on the other, all of God’s promises have their fulfillment. One of those promises stated that the Messiah would come from David’s bloodline.
Christian apologetics is the study defending the legitimacy of Christianity. Two of the Gospel writers saw it as valid and potent to use Genealogy as a defense of Jesus’ identity as the Christ. This blog section will be dedicated to defending Biblical Christianity in terms of Genealogies and its related categories. Articles and studies will include: The Matthew-Luke “conflict”, Jewish expectation of the Messiah, Historicity of Genealogies, and “Sonship.” If you have any questions, additions, or suggestions just send a message.
Understanding Genealogies
Although today’s society does not stress heritage by names, genealogies have been an invaluable resource for ancient cultures and historians. Heritage is familiar to us when we want to boast of some famous ancestor or nationality or show oppression of some kind. Even then the phrase is usually “my Great great grandfather” or “one of my ancestors.” Can you recall any of your great grandparents? How about a generation before that? Attention to detail in this subject field requires particular interest. As it concerns Biblical content, genealogies are an important part of the literature we call inspired scripture. I suggest that the average Christian ought to have at least a preliminary knowledge of Biblical Genealogies.
This series of articles is dedicated to the literature style and functionality of Biblical Genealogies. This will include subjects like Numbers in Genealogies (years and numbers), Names in Genealogies, and Skipping Generations.
Genealogy Apologetics
Sonship: Part One
Although there are core values of children that extend to all cultures, the idea of 'sonship' is a cultural issue that changes over time. By 'sonship' we mean one person being the child of another. Responsibilities...
Sonship: Part Two
Let us consider the difference between Jesus’ identity as the son of God and the saints’ identity as sons of God. What boundaries separate between the two? What rules say that Jesus’ authority as the Son of God...
With the End in Sight
One of the things we may not appreciate about Biblical Genealogies is the end view of the author. We read through those portions of scripture and sometimes get stumped by all the names. Our conclusion...
Historicity of Genealogies
Historicity is an important topic for establishing credibility. If the data within the scriptures are reliable, we must know what to expect in terms of its historical accuracy. Historicity is the field of study that targets...
Melchizedek: the Genealogical Phenomenon
“Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.” We know little about the...
Endless Genealogies
1 Timothy 1:3-4 "As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and...
Understanding Genealogies
Religious Purpose of Genealogies
The purpose of Genealogies in the Bible may not be (and I argue that they are not) the same as either modern genealogies or many other ancient genealogies. Today, genealogies or brief heritage records serve...
Literary Purpose of Genealogies
If the purpose of genealogies was solely religious or social, then why do we find them recorded for us? There are other sources that include this kind of historical data that likely have a more...
Overview of Names in Genealogies
Names are perhaps the first things most people notice when coming to a genealogy. Most people can’t get past the names and their pronunciations. Perhaps more people would be inclined to study genealogies if all...
Numbers in Genealogies
Numbers play a significant literary role throughout the Bible, so it makes sense that they would find their way into Genealogies. If we can make an argument that not all numbers in the Bible have...
Genealogical Gaps
Gaps within genealogies is one of the more practical studies among genealogical discussions. The principles in this study affect many other topics. Many references to this topic have already been made in these articles without...
Women in Genealogies
One might tend to glance over women and the use of women throughout Genealogies. One reason might be because they are not very prominent. Another could be due to negligence. One more might be due...
Matthew’s King Skips
“Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, who fathered Joram. Joram was the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah was the father of Jotham.” Matthew 1:8 has been the cause of much deliberation. For those of us...
Samuel’s Genealogy
As you read through your Old Testament, you will come across a rather curious genealogy at the beginning of 1 Samuel. We are well familiar with Samuel as God’s prophet and pupil of Eli the...
The Matthew-Luke Discrepancy
The Matthew-Luke Discrepancy: Recognizing Differences
This discussion is perhaps the peak of all genealogical studies. It directly impacts Christians and has many resolutions with many supporters. It uses many of the concepts and considerations so far studied in other articles. To...
Matthew-Luke Discrepancy: Understanding Differences
Before examining resolutions, there are a few more subtle differences that can impact the end conclusion. First is the consideration of Matthew and Luke’s individual use of the Old Testament history. Both Matthew and Luke...
The Matthew-Luke Discrepancy: The Mary Solution
One popular resolution to the Matthew-Luke genealogy difference is that Matthew presents the full line of Joseph and Luke presents the full line of Mary. This view can be found as early as Hilary of...
The Matthew-Luke Discrepancy: The Joseph Solution
Rather than say that different people’s genealogies are being traced from the beginning, some prefer to stick with the most apparent meaning of the texts: that both lines do in fact go through Joseph. Counter...
The Matthew-Luke Discrepancy: The Levirate and Historicity Solution
So far, we have considered a Mary solution and a Joseph solution which have been proposed throughout the millennia. Another ancient argument dates to Africanus, who argues for a levirate law situation. A different article on...
The Matthew-Luke Discrepancy: Expectations for the Messiah
This discussion is valuable here because Luke and Matthew were writing to an audience who had either heard about the Messiah or were still expecting the Messiah. Expectations of where he would come from influence...
The Matthew-Luke Discrepancy: Conclusions
Having considered all the previously stated views, I will attempt to arrive at a sound conclusion of how to treat the Matthew-Luke discrepancy of the genealogy of Jesus. Above all, there are multiple possible explanations....
Genesis 11 Chronology
Genesis 11 Chronology – Introduction
A particularly concerning issue within Biblical genealogies is the chronology issues in Genesis 5 and 11. The consensus for many years within the historical academic arena is that numbers within these genealogies present a timeframe...
Genesis 11 Chronology: Genesis Data
The first goal in settling disputes is to clearly see both presentations. To that end we will begin by observing the data within Genesis 5 and 11. There are three sets of years which are...
Genesis 11 Chronology: Egyptian Data
Technically Egyptology is not the sole ancient culture to review. The Sumerians are believed to have predated the Egyptians. The difference is that we have no evidence about the ancient Sumerians other than pottery, building...
Genesis 11 Chronology – Solution One
Conform Egyptology to match Biblical records So what can we make of this contradiction of historical timeframes? First we must ask the question: are the same standards of historicity being applied to the Bible and...
Genesis 11 Chronology – Solution Two
Conform Biblical Timeline to Egyptology We must be willing to apply the same standards of historicity to the Biblical data as the Egyptian data. We must consider the possibility that the traditional understanding may not be...
Genesis 11 Chronology: Conclusions
If Egyptology and Biblical data were mutually exclusive, then I would have to side with Biblical historical accuracy. There is enough fluidity in both scientific dating and Egyptology that I have no worries about upsetting...