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The Genealogy Of Christ

The following article was written by David Padfield, preacher for the Zion church of Christ in Zion, Illinois. In his article, Brother Padfield lists five beneficial truths found in the genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38):

1) It proves Christ is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Through the fleshly seed of Abraham, all nations of the earth were going to be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3; cf. Gal. 3:15-29).

The Messiah was not just to be a descendant of Abraham, but would also be a descendant of Isaac (Genesis 21:12); Jacob (Genesis 28:13-14); Judah (Genesis 49:10); Jesse (Isaiah 11:1,10), and David (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Matthew starts off his record by giving us “the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1).

2) It proves Christ’s right to sit on the throne of David. Jacob said, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes” (Genesis 49:10). Shiloh, “the bringer of peace,” is none other than Jesus.

The angel Gabriel told Mary, “the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:32). In the first gospel sermon, Peter referred to David and said, “being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne” (Acts 2:30). Christ has been raised from the grave and now sits on the throne of His Father (Revelation 3:21).

3) It proves Christ’s throne would not be on this earth. When God pronounced a curse upon Jeconiah (also known as Coniah), He said “none of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David and ruling anymore in Judah” (Jeremiah 22:30). Since Christ is a descendant of Jeconiah (Matthew 1:12), He cannot rule in the land of Judah. The throne of Christ is in heaven (Hebrews 8:1). Christ is also a priest on His throne (Zechariah 6:13; Hebrews 7:17).

4) It shows the importance of the Gentiles. In Matthew 1:5 we read, “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth.” Rahab had been a heathen prostitute in Jericho (Joshua 2:1). Ruth was a heathen woman from Moab; she became an ancestor of King David and Jesus.

5) It proves there can never be another Messiah. At the destruction of Jerusalem, the Roman army destroyed all of the birth records of the Jewish people. Since the genealogy of the Messiah would be needed to prove His right to sit on the throne of David, there can never be another Messiah.

Simeon was a just man who “waited for the Consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:26). When Mary and Joseph brought our Lord into the temple after His birth, Simeon picked up Jesus and said, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:29-32).