As Jesus Walked: Christ Revealed in the Synoptic Gospels, #1 - Introductions and Genealogies

 

Over the past few years, as my life transitioned from caregiving for a spouse with dementia to being a widow to marrying an amazing, Gospel-centered man, my writing and Bible study has looked very different. I've been in a season of rest, recovery, and renewal - and that has been reflected in hours spent outside just hearing the voice of my Shepherd and letting His Word bring healing and hope to my heart. Throughout this season, though, my heart kept being drawn over and over to the Synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke. I knew I wanted to study them in-depth, but it wasn't until He gave me a word and verse for this year that I grasped the emphasis He wanted me to have: Learning to walk as Jesus did.

As a teacher, I find that I must be a student first, and that my learning is not complete until I share it with others. And so, my goal will be to periodically share what I am learning for anyone who might wish to join me on this journey. As always, my heart is to help increase Biblical literacy by minimizing outside resources and letting Scripture speak for itself. My study presupposes the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture; if you have broader questions about Scripture, please see my Bible 101 series.

Introduction and Genealogies (Luke 1:1-4; Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-28)

For starters, let's learn what the "synoptic" Gospels even are! "Synoptic" simply means "seeing together"; it's a word we use to say that Matthew, Mark, and Luke have a lot in common, as opposed to John which is quite distinct. Of the 161 stories in the Gospels, 25 are unique to John, and his emphasis on the deity of Christ is also notable from the first lines of his Gospel. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, by contrast, focus more on the person and work of Jesus in His humanity. While also noting His deity, they are more biographical whereas John writes with an obvious theological purpose. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were also written decades before John, which means he did not have to repeat stories that his audience would already know from other written sources. 

Biblical scholars and church historians agree that generally the letters of the New Testament were written first, with stories about Jesus being oral traditions. As more people came to believe in Christ who had not known Him personally in His earthly ministry, and as more of those eyewitnesses went to be with Him in death, a written account of His story became more essential to the church. We see this clearly in Luke's explanation of his purpose: 

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write [it] out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4 NASB95) 

In this introduction, we learn a few crucial things about the Gospels in general, and Luke's Gospel in particular: 

• Many people were compiling accounts of what had happened in the early days of the church.
• These accounts were handed down from those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word "from the beginning."
• Luke decided to investigate everything carefully (unsurprising for a doctor) and record it in consecutive order. (Because of Luke's intentional chronological account, his Gospel becomes the baseline for in-depth study when determining the sequence of events, at least those events recorded in Luke.)
• His purpose was that the reader would "know the exact truth" about what he had been taught. (Luke also wrote Acts, picking up where he leaves off with the ascension of Christ.)

Matthew and Luke both record genealogies of Jesus, which differ in purpose and emphasis that give us clues as to their distinct audiences and purposes in sharing the story of Jesus. Matthew opens with his genealogy "of Jesus the Messiah," indicating off the bat that his audience is Jewish (as Messiah was a Hebrew term for God's promised anointed One). His purpose seems to be to present a legal argument for Jesus to meet the requirements to be the Messiah, being a Jew ("son of Abraham") and in the Davidic line ("son of David"). 

The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:1-17 NASB95) 

After the opening sentence, Matthew's specific genealogy is intriguing for many reasons. First, he unexpectedly includes women in the lineage (emphasized above in red) - and women with scandalous stories at that. 

• Tamar dressed as a prostitute to seduce her former father-in-law, who had failed to uphold the law by providing a son to marry her and give her a child after the death of her husband. 
• Rahab was a Canaanite, a former prostitute who helped the Israelite spies who explored the Promised Land. 
• Ruth was a Moabite, a widow from a country forbidden to enter the temple and yet chosen by God to be King David's great-grandmother. 
• Bathsheba was David's mistress and later wife, whose son was chosen to be king after David even though he was not the oldest or next in the line of secession. 
• Mary was a virgin chosen by God to bear His Son - a story so unbelievable her fiance almost divorced her before receiving a direct word from God that she was telling the truth (but I'm getting ahead of myself here...). 

This inclusion would be shocking to many Jewish readers, not only because women were not accepted as full citizens (their testimony was not allowed for legal purposes, for example) but also because of the nature of the stories included - and perhaps even more for the fact that non-Jews were included in the lineage of their Messiah.

Secondly, Matthew leaves out some connections, selecting instead 14 key "generations" from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the deportation to Babylon, and 14 from the deportation to Jesus. Why 14? Theories abound, and you can certainly research those to your heart's content. However, to stay as closely as possible to what is revealed in Scripture, the simplest answer may simply be that these were the key ancestors in each segment of Israel's history. After all, we are talking about roughly two thousand years from Abraham to Jesus. As an American I don't know all of my family 200 years back, much less 2000 - but even in telling about the history I do know, I give the highlights on each side of the family. Readers of the Old Testament will notice most of these names jumping out as familiar from significant stories (and you can do further research by digging into each one if you are unfamiliar with those stories; just go to www.blueletterbible.com and type in the person's name to find the relevant passages). 

Thirdly, Matthew pointedly does not call Joseph the father of Jesus, but instead, the husband of Mary. He thus underscores the virgin birth, a miraculous event that was part of the Messianic promise.

While Matthew's Gospel is targeted to a Jewish audience, his opening lines signal that this is not a typical Jewish document. As we will see, Matthew often comes across as polemic in the way he challenges Jewish presuppositions and takes on the Jewish leaders of the day. He wants the Jewish people to know and follow Jesus, but he is going to be sure they know Him as He really is, not as they may have preconceived Him to be. 

Luke's genealogy, by contrast, works backward from Jesus to God.  

When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Hesli, the son of Naggai, the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3:23-38 NASB95) 

Much has been made of the differences in the two genealogies. However, it is not that difficult to see the likelihood of one being focused on Mary and one on Joseph. Another strong possibility is that one is royal (focusing on the kings and Jesus' lineage as King of Israel) and the other physical (focusing on Him as being Son of Man as well Son of God).  Also, neither contains enough names to likely include every single ancestor, especially Luke's going all the way back to Adam! Again, there are many theories about these differences and I encourage you to study more fully if this intrigues you. 

I will note one obvious question: The existence of two different names listed for Joseph's father (Jacob in Matthew; Eli in Luke) has breeded questions around inerrancy. However, there were legitimate reasons for a man to have two fathers. The Levirate marriage laws, for example, would give a man a biological father but legally he would be the son of that man's deceased brother. It was also allowable for a man without sons to adopt a man who married his daughter to carry on the family name; this would give the man two genealogies from a legal perspective. I will not make any conclusions about the reason, but I will say that these possibilities put to rest the question of inerrancy for me. There is an explainable reason for the differences, even if I'm not close enough to the cultural situation to understand it. 

The most obvious difference in the two genealogies, however, is not hard to understand at all: Luke takes Jesus' genealogy all the way back to Adam, "the son of God." Since Luke includes Mary's divine conception of Jesus, "son of God" in His genealogy thus has a dual meaning - Adam was the "son of God" by creation, Jesus by miraculous birth (pre-existing as the son of God from eternity, of course). 

Lessons Learned

All of this is interesting historically and factually, but what does it mean? What do I learn from this that makes a difference in my life - that helps me walk as Jesus walked? I am seeking to frame my lessons learned around four questions. 

• What does this story teach me about Jesus and the life He gives? (1 John 1:1-2)
• How does this story about Jesus reveal God to me? (Hebrews 1:1-3)
• What does this story teach me about walking as Jesus walked, being conformed to His image? (2 Cor 3:18; 1 John 2:6)
• How does this story increase my fellowship with God and others? (1 John 1:3-4) 

Your answers may be different than mine, but anytime we study the Bible we must seek to ask "what does it mean for me" so that it doesn't become just words on a page. Our theology must always meet our reality.

What does this story teach me about Jesus and the life He gives? 

The introduction to Luke teaches me that the stories about Jesus are trustworthy. As a doctor, Luke would know how to be meticulous in his research. His goal of ensuring readers know "the exact truth", combined with what I know about the process of determining the canon of Scripture, lets me know that what I am about to read and study is accurate and trustworthy. 

The genealogies tell me the basic things I need to know about Jesus - like a good introduction to a biography of someone I may or may not be familiar with, I now have some foundational information. I know that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God, and that His ancestral lineage, like mine, is colorful in places. When He came to earth, He didn't come into a perfect family - and that is reassuring. 

How does this story about Jesus reveal God to me? 

God's heart is for everyone - not just the Jewish leaders or those who have the Law memorized perfectly. The presence of women, even Gentile women and women with "a past", is immediately heartening to me as a woman. I want to know more about a God who would choose for the Messiah to come through a line that includes a prostitute, a Moabite forbidden from the temple, and even a former mistress to a king! 

What does this story teach me about walking as Jesus walked, being conformed to His image? 

We do not see Jesus at work in these stories, but Luke's words introducing his genealogy "When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph,..." show me that He was undeterred by the "as was supposed" part of the story. He knew who He was, He knew that there was more to the story than what people in Nazareth assumed, and He lived out of the reality of who He truly was as the Son of God. Likewise, I will face times in my life where I have to lean on what I know to be true, not what others might "suppose". 

How does this story increase my fellowship with God and others?

Accepting people from different backgrounds - whether culturally or with different life experiences and struggles than me - is an extension of the heart of God who included these women in Jesus' lineage and didn't whitewash His family tree. I can live more open-handedly toward others when I remember that He knows all about me, too, and didn't write me out of His story.