Jesus is the Son of David. Matt. 1:1,6,17
Sunday we begin the Advent season with a series called, who is Jesus? What is your first thought, the first image that comes to mind, when you hear the name Jesus Christ? What if you only knew of Him as the one to come, the Savior promised in the ancient texts of the Old Testament? The inspired disciple Matthew makes that connection identifying that Jesus is the promised King. In Matthew 1:1 he writes, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ”. “Christ” is not Jesus’s last name. “Christ,” is a title. It’s the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” which means “anointed one.” The Old Testament foretells of a coming Messiah—a King who would be anointed with the Holy Spirit to accomplish God’s mission. The Messiah would come from the line of David. He’d be born in David’s city and sit on David’s throne.
When Matthew writes his gospel, Israel had been without a legitimate king for hundreds of years. Now, Matthew declares, “a king has finally come to sit on David’s throne. It’s Jesus!” Matthew then hammers this truth home by citing ten specific Old Testament promises. The promised King, the Son
Of David, has come.
Question: Why is the genealogy of Jesus given by Matthew differ from the list given by Luke?
Answer: It has long been suggested that Luke gives the biological ancestry of Mary and Matthew gives the biological ancestry of Joseph. Many scholars believe a more accurate explanation is that both genealogies are Joseph’s with the difference being that Matthew’s list is the biological ancestors and Luke’s list gives the legal genealogy. (Where the brother dies before having a child and his brother marries the widow but the child is legally known as the child of the deceased brother.)
