RTNT 2021. Genealogies. I can’t trace my genealogy back any further than one set of great-grandparents on my mother’s side. But evidently it was important to the Old Testament Jews who were looking for their Messiah. So it’s not surprising that Luke (the historian) has a full line of Jesus’ ancestors, 35 more generations than Matthew. I commented below on items that I noticed two years ago. Today was one different item, “…as was supposed” in verse 23. Both the ESV and the NASB have that phrase set off from the rest of the sentence by commas (NASB) and by parentheses (ESV). Luke wrote of the virgin birth (Luke 1:34) so he knew that Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father. But presumably the townspeople in Nazareth did not know the full story and saw Joseph as Jesus’ father when the family returned to Nazareth. So they “supposed” Joseph to be the father.
I keep reading and hearing about Matthew tracing Jesus’ lineage through Joseph while Luke traces his ancestors through Mary. But in verse 23 Luke clearly names Joseph as the “supposed” father. I don’t know how Biblical scholars can make that Mary-ancestry argument.
See also: January 21 / Luke 3:21-22; John 1:29-34; January 22 / Luke 3:23-38
This effort to trace Jesus’ lineage creates a greater problem for me. Luke lists some 75 generations. Let’s say each generation was 75 years on average. That accounts for 5,625 years. Inasmuch as the first Homo Sapiens, our species, made their presence known some 100,000 years ago, how do we limit man’s genealogy to 5,625 years?
Well, I think you have a point there, Tom. I have always thought that the biblical truth nonetheless is consistent with scientific discoveries of later eras. For example, the biblical truth here is that Jesus’ lineage (whether through his legal/supposed father or through Mary) was of the House of David, thus fulfilling the prophesies. The actual litany of lineage does not have to be perfectly accurate to establish that. The more important truth is that Jesus was descended from David.
Tom, I am thinking that the farther back the genealogy goes, the more it includes only some of the highlights, not every single person.
There are a variety of theories and arguments regarding the Biblical record vs. science. Some attempt to reconcile the two while others strive to disprove the Bible with the obvious aim of destroying Christianity. On one end of the spectrum we have the hardline literal interpreters of Genesis insisting on a 6,000 year old earth. On the other we have those who insist that science proves the earth is billions of years old and that, therefore, the Bible is — at best — just myth and full of errors and not to be trusted in the slightest. I don’t find either of those extremes to be intellectually satisfying (let alone spiritually satisfying). I don’t think God ever intended the Bible to be a scientific textbook; science is not its focus. On the other hand, I think the Bible is far more scientifically accurate than many would ever admit. (I am reminded that, once upon a time, folks debunked the Bible because there was no archeological evidence for the Hittites. That is, “science” declared the Bible wrong. But now, of course, there is plenty of such archeological evidence, making the Bible right after all.) In the end, I trust the Bible as conveying real, essential truth, even if a strict literal interpretation is hard to reconcile with current scientific theories.
That is not to say that we should ignore such questions or run from them. Christianity is not a blind or irrational faith, and it can withstand scrutiny. Nevertheless, I would admonish all of us to heed Paul’s warnings in 1 Timothy 1:3,4 and Titus 3:9 — don’t get sidetracked by genealogies, controversies, speculations, dissensions, etc., but focus on the core truth.
People lived a very long time shortly after the Fall but before the flood. Methuselah lived to be 969, Jared 962, Noah 950 years for example! Now that’s some generation! Seems The Lord grew tired of “contending” with man and after the flood the life span went down? The environment was surely changed dramatically after all that water came down. Sin has piled up on all of creation since that great washing and everything groans to be made new. Just a thought, sun, moon and stars weren’t created till the 4th day. Man uses them to mark time and time was created for man since God lives outside of it. I have no idea the exact age of the earth and I can’t help but doubt people who do but I do know the Word of the Lord stands forever and science just hasn’t caught up yet.
My Bible study pointed out for Luke 3:23 that Jesus was 30 when he started his ministry. Apparently, 30 is the prescribed age for priests to begin their ministry, according to Numbers 4:3. God’s perfect timing! How often I want to jump ahead and do what I think is right rather than waiting for His perfect timing!