Jesus Christ

The son of David, the son of Abraham, the Son of God

Place in the genealogy

Matthew · name 43 · Abraham forward to JesusFrom the exile to Christ: the returnMatthew 1:16Every line in the list has been travelling toward this name.
Luke · name 1 · Jesus back to AdamFrom Jesus back to ZerubbabelLuke 3:23'Began to be about thirty years of age', at his baptism.

Where Scripture records this person

Matthew 1:1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew 1:16-25Born of Mary, named Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.
Luke 3:23-38The ascending list, ending at Adam, which was the son of God.
Galatians 4:4Made of a woman, made under the law, in the fulness of the time.
Romans 1:3-4Of the seed of David according to the flesh, declared the Son of God by the resurrection.
Revelation 22:16I am the root and the offspring of David.

Who this person is in Scripture

Both genealogies exist for one purpose: to say who this man is. Matthew calls him the son of David and the son of Abraham in his first sentence, and then proves the claim through the . Luke runs the other way, back past Abraham to Adam, and ends with the words which was the , so that Jesus stands connected to the whole human race and not to Israel alone.

The two lists differ in shape, in length and in most of the names between David and Joseph. Christians have offered several explanations, and Scripture does not tell us which is right. What both lists agree on is the claim: the promises made to Abraham and to David arrive in Jesus.

Family, as Scripture gives it

Father: Joseph by legal descent; Luke 3:23 says as was supposed
Mother: Mary

Matthew 1:16 breaks the pattern of the whole list at this point, and Matthew 1:18-23 explains why.

How Scripture connects this person to Christ

The genealogy is not a picture of Christ; it is the record of his descent. Every earlier promise in it is aimed here.

Read in the Bible

Back to the genealogy of Jesus