Davidic Line - Genealogy of Jesus

Genealogy of Jesus

Main article: Genealogy of Jesus See also: Christ the King and Christ in Majesty

The Gospels, Acts of the Apostles and Pauline epistles refer to Jesus of Nazareth as a descendant of David. The Gospels give two separate genealogies for Jesus. Christian faith regards Jesus as having been born of a virgin, Mary, and consequently as not having natural human father. Nevertheless, he is considered to be a prince of Judah, as though Mary's husband Joseph were in fact his father.

Matthew 1 uses the format: "A was the father of B, B was the father of C", etc. Luke 3:23-38, on the other hand, uses a word that can mean either "biological son" or "descendant", in the form "C was the son of B, who was the son of A". Matthew traces the lineage from David through Solomon, while Luke traces the lineage through Nathan, Solomon's brother. An explanation traditionally offered by Christian apologists is that Matthew is stating Joseph's line and Luke is stating Mary's line. Under the Lucan text, Jesus would be a biological descendant of David through his mother. It is often this descent that is depicted in the Tree of Jesse subject in art, which usually shows Mary but rarely Joseph.

Another solution to the problem of two genealogies was offered by Africanus and repeated by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History. Under the Torah, a widowed woman could marry her late husband's brother, the children of the union being reckoned as the sons of the deceased. Thus the Gospel of Matthew is held to record Jesus' lineage by birth while Luke's by law, this distinction being defended by Luke's use of the phrase "Joseph son of Eli, as was supposed." According to Matthew Henry, the Gospels emphasize a trinitarian aspect of Davidic lineage. Jesus outlines that, if he was to be a mere man, who would not exist till many ages after David's death, his forefather would not call him Lord. It means that Jesus is the Son of God and David's Lord equally with God the Father (in other words, God manifested in the flesh is the Son of man and the Son of David, as Jesus teaches).