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Transcript 136C — The Two Genealogies of Christ [Mt 1 & Lu 3]
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Yes. In Matthew 1 and in Luke 3 we have two different accounts of the ancestors of Christ. And I'd like to know why they are different, and also, if the one in Luke is complete. It seems like kind of a short span of time. And I'd like to know if it is complete or not, and the comparison between the two, why they are different.
HC: Okay. Your question deals with the differences that exist between the two genealogies we find in the Bible concerning Jesus. We find one in Matthew 1, that begins with Abraham and goes down through to Joseph. And the other one begins with Adam (that's found in Luke 3), and goes all the way through to Helih, who is not Joseph.
Now when you study these two genealogies, you will find that they are identical from Abraham to David. You'll find the same names. But from David on, you will find a radical departure. In Matthew's genealogy, it goes through Solomon, through Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, all of the kings of Judah, right through to Jeconiah, and then from Jeconiah through some other names, all the way through Joseph.
Now in Luke's genealogy, it goes to David. And then it doesn't name another king. It goes to Nathan, who was a brother of Solomon, and goes right on through the whole series of other names, coming to Helih. And so this is the genealogy, in Luke 3, of Mary. The one in Matthew is the genealogy of Joseph, who was not the father of Jesus.
CALLER: The one in Luke goes all the way back to Adam.
HC: Yes. Because it is the genealogy of Jesus, and it relates Jesus to Adam. It carries all the way through the whole human race. It really begins with God, because it speaks of Adam, the son of God, and goes all the way through. Now it doesn't mean that every single name in the genealogical line-up has been named. There are one or two or three that are absent, as we compare with other Scriptures. And I think there may be several reasons for this. But one of the reasons is that in so doing you end up with exactly 77 names in that genealogical table. And seven is the number of the perfection of God's plan. And therefore I think, in that sense, it was contrived. That is, the names are named, and enough have been left out to end up with 77, to emphasize that number seven in that context.
And also, incidentally, Jesus was born at the end of the eleventh millennium. There were 11,000 years before Christ, and it was right at that time that Christ was born. And so you find the number eleven featured and the number seven featured in the number 77.
CALLER: Thank you. Good night.
HC: You're welcome. Good night.