THE GENEALOGIES OF JESUS

 

THE GENEALOGIES OF JESUS

            If you come to Mass on December 17 you will hear Saint Matthew’s account of the genealogy of Christ.  It also is read at the Vigil Mass of Christmas Eve unless the celebrant opts for the shorter version.  Luke also recorded a genealogy of Christ.  It is read at Mass only on January 6, and only when the Solemnity of the Epiphany is celebrated that year on Sunday, January 7 or 8.  And even then, it is optional!  

            This “pastoral” approach which is meant to spare a congregation from the long recitation of unfamiliar names should not be interpreted as meaning that the genealogies have nothing to say.  Biblical scholars have long viewed them as reflective of what each evangelist stresses in his writing about the nature and mission of Jesus.  Their pedagogical purpose may account in part for the fact that the two lists of ancestors vary from each other.  Clearly, each one used a different source or sources to compile their list.  Some scholars speculate that Matthew follows Joseph’s family tree while Luke follows Mary’s family tree.  Others have noted that it was not uncommon for Jews in Jesus’ day to be known by more than one name – for example, in the Gospels the apostle Bartholomew is also called Nathaniel, and Peter is called Cephas and Simon as well.  It should be noted that both genealogies include the most important personages in the history of Jesus’ family, including Abraham and David.  Also, they both signal Joseph as Jesus’ stepfather and Mary as his mother. 

            Matthew presents three groups of fourteen generations each, beginning with Abraham.  A main concern of Matthew is to show that in Jesus the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled.  One of the most important of these is what the Prophet Nathan said to David: “Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever” (2 Sam 7:16).  Jews consequently believed that the Messiah must come from the House of David.  By Jesus’ day no legitimate heir had sat on the Davidic throne for generations.  In his genealogy Matthew shows that Jesus, who lives forever, is the rightful heir to the throne. 

            Matthew opens his Gospel with the genealogy.  Luke provides it at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.  “Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi…the son of David, the son of Jesse…the son of the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God” (Lk 3:23-38).  Matthew begins his genealogy with Abraham and ends with the birth of Jesus from Mary, indicating a straight hereditary line from Abraham, to David, to Jesus.  Luke counts backward, tracing Jesus’ family tree back to Adam.  Luke reveals Jesus as Son of God by nature in his account of the Annunciation, whereas Adam is son of God as the first man.  The angel says to Mary, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1:35).  Adam’s inclusion in Jesus’ family tree stresses that Jesus is one with humanity.  He is the Son of God and also a son of Adam.  Interestingly, Saint Paul, with whom Luke closely collaborated, refers to Jesus in two of his epistles as the new Adam.           

            So much more could be said.  But let me conclude by considering the four women besides Mary included in Matthew’s listing.  None of them are Jewish, and three of them have a checkered past.  Tamar tricked her father-in-law Judah to have relations with her after her husband died and Judah delayed in marrying her to someone else.  Their tryst resulted in Perez, who continued the line from Abraham.  Rahab was a harlot of the city of Jericho who hid two of Joshua’s spies when the Israelites invaded Canaan.  She is praised in the Book of Hebrews and the Epistle of James, and is listed by Matthew as the mother of Boaz, an ancestor of David.  Ruth was a Moabitess who embraced the faith of Israel and was eventually married to the great-great-grandfather of David.  Solomon was the fruit of the union of David and the wife of Uriah.  David had committed adultery with her and then had her husband placed in battle where he would be killed (Solomon was conceived after their marriage).  The inclusion of foreign women in the ancestry of Jesus speaks to Christ’s intention to save not only the Jews but also the Gentiles.  The Gospel of Matthew ends with the Great Commission: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…” (Mat 28:19).  Finally, by including known sinners in Jesus’ family tree, Matthew reveals the power of God to overcome evil, and even to bring good out of it.  This is the logic of the Cross.