"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; and Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; and Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; and Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias; and Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; and Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; and Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; and Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias; and Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: and after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel; and Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor; and Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations." (Matthew 1:1-17)

"And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge, which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er, which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim, which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David, which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson, which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor, which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala, which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech, which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God." (Luke 3:23-38)

Biblical genealogies, as a rule, do not receive a lot of attention. To most people genealogies are uninteresting and not all that important. Besides, the names are usually difficult to pronounce, and it can be embarrassing when required to read them out loud. However, the fact that genealogies are recorded in Scripture tells us that they are important and are there for a purpose, for "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness . . ." (2 Tim. 3:16).

There are a number of genealogies in the Bible, but for this article we will focus primarily upon the genealogies of Christ as they appear at the beginning of this article, as well as any other that might have a direct bearing.

So, what is the purpose of the genealogies of Christ? There are a number of answers that can be given, all of which have to do with God fulfilling His covenant of grace. As we discuss various aspects of the above genealogies, that central fact must always be in the forefront. There are a number of peculiarities or differences between Matthew and Luke's genealogies. Without going into great detail, these can be explained as follows:

Perhaps the most notable difference is where the two genealogies end up: Matthew with Abraham and Luke with Adam. Both are summarizing the history of the covenant which embraces the entire economy of God's sovereign grace. Luke traces Jesus' descent back to Adam, indicating that the whole of man's history from the very beginning has been, and continues, under the sovereign rule and control of God and that, from the very beginning, God had promised that He would divide humanity into two groups: the redeemed, who love God, and the reprobate, who love self and Satan. God says to the serpent (Satan): "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen. 3:15). This division finds its ultimate fulfillment in the triumph of Christ as the second Adam, and those united with Him, over the power of sin, death and Satan (cf. Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Cor. 15:20-23, 45-49).

Matthew traces Jesus' descent back only to Abraham, to emphasize that Jesus is the goal and climax of the covenant of salvation by grace as formally established with Abraham as the spiritual father of all believers (cf. Rom. 4:11,12; Gal. 3:28, 29).

Matthew also organizes Christ's genealogy into three groups of fourteen (cf. 17), perhaps for graphic effect, but most certainly to show the history of the covenant people. The historical periods are from Abraham to David, from David to the Captivity, and from the Captivity to Jesus. These periods involve the origin, the rise to power, the decay and downfall of the house of David into its eternal establishment through David's greater Son and Lord, Jesus Christ: "And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever" (2 Sam. 7:16; cf. Mk. 12:35-37; Acts 2:34-36).

Luke, on the other hand, is more concerned to list names from the beginning of the world to show that covenant community that Jesus, as the Second Adam, came to save.

Another difference or peculiarity is the name of Joseph's father, who is, according to some, Jacob in Matthew 1:16 and Heli in Luke 3:23. How is this to be explained? Is this a glaring contradiction or is Joseph, in some sense, a son of both Jacob and Heli? Luke 3:23 states: "And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli." One explanation of the parenthetical phrase, "as was supposed," is as follows: Jesus was thought to be, by the uninformed, the biological son of Joseph, but was, in fact, only the biological son of Mary. Thus Joseph was the son-in-law of Heli who was actually Mary's father. Another explanation of the above is that the Greek text represents Jesus as being "the son of Heli, and not, as was supposed, the son of Joseph." Biologically, this makes Jesus the grand-son of Heli through His mother, Mary.

This leads to a consideration of the intent of each of the genealogies. Whereas Matthew gives the legal Davidic lineage through Joseph, Luke gives the blood (fleshly) lineage through Mary. While Joseph is explicitly declared to have been a descendant of David, Mary is not so described; but as implied by the following references, she too was of Davidic lineage. "Concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Rom. 1:3); "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised according to my gospel" (2 Tim. 2:8); "Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn an oath to him [David], that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne" (Acts 2:30); Why is this blood or fleshly lineage important: I refer you to the Heidelberg Catechism:

Q35. What is the meaning of "conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary"? "That the eternal Son of God, who is and continues true and eternal God, took upon Himself the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the Virgin Mary, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, so that He might also be the true seed of David, like unto His brethren in all things, sin excepted."

Q16. Why must be he a true and righteous man? "Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature which has sinned should make satisfaction for sin, but one who is himself a sinner, cannot satisfy for others."

The legal Davidic lineage through Joseph is also important because it gave Jesus official claim to the Davidic throne. Jesus was the legitimate heir to become King. In addition, Matthew's genealogy through Joseph, meets the slander that Jesus was the illegitimate offspring of Mary. Joseph, in light of all the facts concerning the origin of Jesus (cf. Matt. 1:18-25), marries Mary and gives her the protection of his good name as well as royal lineage.

Another notable difference between the two genealogies is the inclusion of the names of women by Matthew, not all of whom were of noble character and would be considered serious blots in the family history of the Davidic house. For example, of the five women included, three were quite ignoble. Tamar reminds us of Judah's failure to follow through on his promise to give Tamar her dead husband's younger brother to raise up family seed and her subsequent deceptive seduction of Judah, her father-in-law, resulting in the birth of Pharez, whom we will consider later (cf. Gen. 38:6-30). Rahab, who harbored the spies sent by Joshua to explore the city of Jericho, was a prostitute (cf. Josh. 2:1-24). Bath-sheba, the wife of Uriah, one of David's mighty men, was a seductress and committed adultery with David (cf. 2 Sam. 11:1-27). Ruth, although of noble character, was a Moabitess, not of the covenant line, but of a lascivious and incestuous relationship between Lot and one of his daughters (cf. Gen. 19:29-38). Of all the women, only Mary is of Davidic descent, and because she finds favor with the Lord, is chosen to become the mother of Jesus. Why are the names of these women included? Mary, we can understand. But what about the other four? Surely it is to convey to us that God is no respecter of persons or nations and that, from the beginning to the end of the world, He will gather His people from out of the whole human race (cf. H.C. #54). These women, including Mary, also remind us that we are part of a chosen sinful community whom Jesus came to save and thus have nothing of which to boast (cf. Luke 1:46-48; Eph. 2:8,9).

The Book of Ruth is of special significance in the genealogy of Christ and provides a crucial, indispensable link between God's covenant promise and its fulfillment. To understand this, we must begin with the blessing (and prophecy, cf. 2 Sam. 7:16) that Jacob pronounces upon his son, Judah: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be" (Gen. 49:10). However, when Jacob uttered this prophecy, Judah had most likely already disqualified his descendants from ruling. For that, we must go to Gen. 38 and the illegitimate child of Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar, who was named Pharez. Decades later, during the life of Ruth, the evil consequences of Judah's act were exposed by a law that seemed to cut off all hope of Judah's heirs ever holding royal office: "A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord" (Deut. 23:3). To "enter into the congregation of the Lord" did not mean that illegitimates were prohibited from attending church, but that they were prohibited from holding office in the commonwealth of Israel. The Book of Ruth closes with the genealogy of Pharez, who, centuries in the past, through no fault of his own, happened to be a bastard son, yet in the royal line. Yet this law of God prevented Judah's heirs from holding any office for ten generations. And that is why the name Pharez comes up at the end of the book of Ruth as the people sing to Boaz, the husband of Ruth: "And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman" (Ruth 4:12). And now look at the genealogy of Pharez: "Pharez begat Hezron, Hezron begat Ram, Ram begat Amminadab, Amminadab begat Nashon, Nahshon begat Salmon, Salmon begat Boaz, Boaz begat Obed, Obed begat Jesse, Jesse begat David" (Ruth 4:18-22). Count them. David was Judah's tenth descendant! The first descendant in Judah's line to become King was also the first descendant who was legally eligible!

Ultimately, of course, this points to Jesus Christ. As the angel Gabriel said to Mary: "And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:31-33).