On Line Bible Study - For the Week February 1 - 7, 2010
Lesson 425
Luke 3:23-38 [Jesus] was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat ...
The third difference is this: One would expect that Matthew would start where Luke would conclude, given the fact they reverse the chronology. However, that is not the case. Matthew begins with Abraham; Luke moves past Abraham and concludes with the son of Adam, the son of God. Perhaps it was Matthew's intent to link Jesus directly with the promise and covenant made between God and Abraham. Luke's intent is to link Jesus directly to Adam - the first (universal) human being, and through Adam, directly to God. So, in a sense, Luke's genealogy is more far-reaching than Matthew's. Luke acknowledges the royal connection (...the son of David...), the covenant connection with Abraham (...the son of Abraham...), the universal connection to all people (...the son of Adam...).
Scholar Darrell Bock acknowledges there are a number of names in the genealogy of Luke that are unknown to us - we simply don't know who he is referring to. But scholars are in general agreement about this fact: Luke links Jesus to Adam as a way of showing the connection between Christ and all human beings. Jesus is not a minister exclusively to the isolated people of Israel. All human beings need him, and he came to offer salvation to all. This is very much in line with what was stated early in our study of Luke - that one of the four concerns of the gospel has to do with salvation, and how it is that the Gentiles could be considered on an equal basis before God with the Jews.
Along with positing Jesus as "son of God" (although not yet in a way distinct from how Adam was a son of God), we are reminded of the first parent. Jesus comes from God; Jesus comes for all.
Luke wants the reader of his gospel to know this: Jesus came for you!
Luke 3:23-38 [Jesus] was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat ...
There are a number of obvious differences between the genealogy found in Matthew and the one in Luke. The first - and perhaps most obvious is where they occur. Matthew's gospel starts with the genealogy; in Luke it doesn't appear until after Jesus is baptized and we are told that John was put in prison. This suggests the evangelists had different reasons for including the list of names in their telling of Jesus' life.
A second obvious difference is the order of the names, with Matthew beginning in ancient times and concluding with Jesus, while Luke begins with Jesus and concludes in ancient times.
The third difference is this: One would expect that Matthew would start where Luke would conclude, given the fact they reverse the chronology. However, that is not the case. Matthew begins with Abraham; Luke moves past Abraham and concludes with the son of Adam, the son of God. Perhaps it was Matthew's intent to link Jesus directly with the promise and covenant made between God and Abraham. Luke's intent is to link Jesus directly to Adam - the first (universal) human being, and through Adam, directly to God. So, in a sense, Luke's genealogy is more far-reaching than Matthew's. Luke acknowledges the royal connection (...the son of David...), the covenant connection with Abraham (...the son of Abraham...), the universal connection to all people (...the son of Adam...).
Scholar Darrell Bock acknowledges there are a number of names in the genealogy of Luke that are unknown to us - we simply don't know who he is referring to. But scholars are in general agreement about this fact: Luke links Jesus to Adam as a way of showing the connection between Christ and all human beings. Jesus is not a minister exclusively to the isolated people of Israel. All human beings need him, and he came to offer salvation to all. This is very much in line with what was stated early in our study of Luke - that one of the four concerns of the gospel has to do with salvation, and how it is that the Gentiles could be considered on an equal basis before God with the Jews.
Along with positing Jesus as "son of God" (although not yet in a way distinct from how Adam was a son of God), we are reminded of the first parent. Jesus comes from God; Jesus comes for all.
Luke wants the reader of his gospel to know this: Jesus came for you!
posted by Mark D at 1:13 PM
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