A Bible Study by Jack Kelley

In the time after their sin and expulsion from the Garden Adam and Eve must have felt incredible despair. They had experienced life both before and after the curse, the only ones to do so, and had first hand knowledge of the difference. And what a difference it was. Even the part of it we can relate to had to have been devastating.

For example suppose that one day you were the resident manager of the world’s richest and most luxurious estate, with all of its comforts and privileges, and the next you were a poor hardscrabble farmer, at the opposite end of the economic and social structure. And that was just the beginning. How about no longer being immortal, no longer one with Him in spirit.

The Seed Of The Woman
To keep them from becoming exceedingly despondent, God had promised them a redeemer. In Genesis 3:15 we read,

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring (seed) and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

He was speaking to the one indwelling the serpent and in Hebrew the promise contains a biological impossibility. Seed comes from the male. It’s the Bible’s first hint of a virgin birth. An offspring of the woman’s would destroy Satan and reverse the consequences of the act he had manipulated, redeeming mankind from its bondage to sin.

Two chapters later in Genesis 5 the Bible gives us another hint of this. The Hebrew root words of the names of the 10 patriarchs listed there form a sentence. In English it reads like this.

“Man is appointed mortal sorrow, but the blessed God will come down teaching that His death will bring the despairing rest.”  (For detail click here)

It’s a prophecy that God Himself would come to Earth as the Seed of the Woman, and man’s redeemer.

Centuries later, this was confirmed by the Prophet Isaiah.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)

As New Testament believers we can see that the five names listed here describe all three members of the Trinity. Wonderful is the name by which The Angel of the Lord identified Himself while visiting Samson’s parents. (Judges 13:18) When the phrase “The Angel of the Lord” appears in the Old testament, it’s in conjunction with a pre-incarnate visit by the Lord Jesus. That He’s being referenced here is confirmed by the title, Prince of Peace. Jesus called the Holy spirit the Counselor in John 14:26, and Mighty God and everlasting Father can only refer to God.

A Descendant Of Abraham
In Genesis 12:1-3 the origin of this redeemer becomes clearer. There God promised Abraham that all the nations of Earth would be blessed through him, and in Genesis 22 had Abraham act this out with the sacrifice of Isaac, Abraham’s “only son” on Mt. Moriah. 2000 years later another Father would offer His only Son as a sacrifice for sin in that same place. Abraham knew this and named the place Jehovah Jireh, saying, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Gen. 22:14).

The Lion Of Judah
Later, as Abraham’s grandson Jacob neared death, he narrowed it down still more by saying that all of Israel’s kings including the ultimate one, “the one to whom it belongs”, would come from among the descendants of one of his sons, Judah, (Gen. 49:10) giving birth to the title “Lion of Judah” as a Messianic reference.

The Son Of David
In 2 Samuel 7:12-15 we read that David longed to build a Temple for God, but God refused him, saying that it would take a man of peace to build a house for Him. He said that David’s son Solomon would be that man, and during Solomon’s reign Israel experienced peace as never before or since. But to ease David’s disappointment God promised to build him a “house” and the Davidic Dynasty was founded. Hence forth there would always be a direct descendant of David’s on the throne of Israel. It was an everlasting promise made in about 1000 BC, and Solomon would be the first fulfillment. But since neither Solomon nor any other Davidic King was flogged by men for “doing wrong” (2 Sam. 7:14) there’s a lot more going on here than meets the eye.  The wording casts shadows of the Messiah.

So through God’s progressive revelation we’ve narrowed things down from learning that the redeemer would be a son of Eve’s, which would exclude no one, to the family of Abraham, then Judah, then David. But we’re not finished yet. Over the next 400 years the Davidic Kings went from bad to worse with few exceptions. Finally, in the time of the Prophet Jeremiah God had had enough and pronounced a blood curse on the Davidic line, saying that no son of then King Jehoiachin would ever rule over Israel. (Jere. 22:30) The Davidic line, begun with Solomon, was seemingly ended and God’s promise to David broken.

The Branch
However, before the nation was taken to Babylon, while a Davidic King still sat on the throne, God had Ezekiel announce that the line was being suspended and wouldn’t be restored until “He comes to whom it rightfully belongs.” (Ezekiel 21:27) recalling Jacob’s prophecy to mind. In 519 BC, after the Jews had returned from the Babylonian captivity, God said that a man He called The Branch would be that one, and that He would hold the priesthood as well, combining the two. (Zechariah 6:12). There are four references to The Branch in the old testament and all point to the Messiah.

Born Of a Virgin, Born In Bethlehem
But how was God going to get around the blood curse? For the answer to that, we have to back up to about 750 BC. In that time two of the most specific Messianic prophecies ever given narrowed the field down to just one possibility. In Isaiah 7:14 the Lord proclaimed that the Messiah would be born of a virgin, and in Micah 5:2 that he would be born in Bethlehem, the City of David.

In order to legally qualify for a seat on David’s throne, the Messiah King would have to be of the house and lineage of David. To be from the house of David means being a biological descendant of David’s. Being of David’s lineage means belonging to the Royal Line. How can this be?

When we read the Lord’s genealogies in Matt. 1 and Luke 3, we can see differences beginning at the time of David. Matthew’s genealogy runs through Solomon, the cursed royal line. But Luke’s goes through Solomon’s brother Nathan. Nathan’s line wasn’t cursed, but neither were they kings. Further study reveals that Matthew is actually giving us Joseph’s genealogy while Luke shows us Mary’s. Both were descended from David, and in addition Joseph was one of many who were heir to David’s throne but unable to claim it because of the curse on his line.

So through His mother Mary, Jesus was a biological descendant of David’s. When Mary and Joseph became husband and wife, Jesus also became Joseph’s legal son and heir to David’s Throne.  But not being biologically related to Joseph, He didn’t have the blood curse. He was of both the house and lineage of David.   To this day He’s the only man born in Israel since 600BC with a legitimate claim to David’s throne. The angel Gabriel confirmed this to Mary when he told her that although a virgin, she would soon give birth to the Son of God, who would occupy it forever. (Luke 1:32-33) Isaiah 9:7 had revealed the same fact centuries earlier. God’s promise to David stands.

Daniel And The Magi
200 years after Micah identified Bethlehem as the Messiah’s birthplace, The Lord told Daniel the time of His death. It would be 483 years after the decree to rebuild and restore Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity, but before an enemy army came to destroy it again. (Daniel 9:24-27) This places the Messiah’s death somewhere between 32 and 70 AD according to our reckoning of time.

Daniel formed a group of Persian Priests to pass this information down from father to son, and according to tradition set aside the bulk of his personal wealth as a gift for them to present to the Messiah when the time came for His birth. He apparently also gave them a confirming sign to look for from Numbers 24:17, later known as the Star of Bethlehem. By recreating the ancient skies through computer modeling, scientists have recently announced the discovery of this star, actually a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus, that next to the moon was the brightest light in the middle eastern sky at the time of the Lord’s birth.

The descendants of these priests, now a very influential political force in Parthia (as Persia came to be known), remained true to Daniel’s commission, and upon seeing the star set out for Jerusalem. Arriving there they sought an audience with King Herod, asking for the whereabouts of the one born to be King of Israel. Summoning the chief priests, Herod repeated the question and was referred to Micah 5:2 where Bethlehem is identified. The Parthian priests, or Magi as we call them, went there and found the baby Jesus.

The field of candidates for Redeemer of Mankind, the Seed of the Woman, the Descendant of Abraham, the Lion of Judah, the Son of David, the Messiah of Israel, had been narrowed down to one. His name is Jesus.

Faith In Action
By faith, with nothing more than Daniel’s word to their ancestors, the Magi mounted up and undertook a dangerous 800 mile trip into enemy territory to meet the Messiah. (The Parthians and Romans were technically at war.) With 4000 years of fulfilled prophetic scripture in their hands, the chief priests, who no longer took it literally, refused to join them for the last 5 miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to see if God’s Word really was true. In so doing, the leaders of the people He came to save missed out on the central event in human history, consigning themselves to eternal separation from the very God they had been seeking.

If history repeats itself like they say it does, then when He comes back many of today’s religious experts, who also don’t take the prophecies literally, will make the same mistake. As you recall the Reason for the Season, take time to thank Him for making you like the Magi instead of like them. Merry Christmas 12-26-09

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Does the Bible say the Messiah has to be just from David? Would someone from the line of Nathan be just as legitimate for the title as someone from the line of Solomon? Or is this guy correct that the Bible says that the Messiah has to be biologically descended from Solomon?

from http://delveintojesus.com/Questions/93/Question-Regarding-Christs-Genealogy.aspx

In Luke’s Gospel, we are given a genealogy of Jesus through Mary’s ancestors, while in Matthew we are given the genealogy through Joseph. The genealogy in Luke (whose audience was primarily gentiles and Greeks) was not intended to show Jesus as the heir to the throne of David, but rather to show his continuity with humanity. The genealogy in Matthew is the more important of the two as far as showing that Jesus was of the line of David (through Solomon) and thus fulfilled all the necessary ancestral requirements of the Messiah.

“Matthew writes for Christians of Jewish descent and they (especially those who could not yet understand the fact of the virgin birth) would have liked to know whether the man who was known as the father of Jesus was really of Davidic descent. With a view to the ministering to unbelieving Jews who before their conversion would naturally not attach any credence to Jesus’ conception by the Holy Ghost, it was particularly necessary that Matthew should draw attention to the fact that Joseph, Jesus’ legal father, was himself of Davidic descent…. But since Luke writes for Romans and Greeks with whom the Davidic origin of Jesus was no matter of topical interest, it was unnecessary for him to reproduce the genealogical table of Joseph.” Geldenhuys, Luke, NICNT

The fact that Joseph is not Jesus’ biological child in no way invalidated His claim to the throne of David. Joshua Moss writes,

“Some have raised the question: “If, as the New Testament declares, Y’shua was born of Mary while she was still a virgin, how could he inherit the Davidic line from Joseph, who was not his physical father?” The answer is that in every legal sense of Jewish life, Joseph was Y’shua’s father. Kiddushin 4:1 states that a man and wife who live together are presumed to produce legitimate children without the necessity of proof of parentage. Since Joseph and Mary were legally married at the time of Y’shua’s birth (and since Joseph had not brought charges of adultery against Mary because of her pregnancy), Y’shua was presumed to be Joseph’s legitimate sonnot his adopted son.” – http://jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/1985_12/08_Genealogy_Messiah

Chad Smith writes,

“To the Jewish culture at the time, adoption was more of a permanently binding relationship than physical birth. That’s why “the adoption of sons” is just a widely used theme in the New Testament. The fact that Christians are adopted sons of God illustrates our security in Christ. Once a child is adopted – they cannot be disinherited or disowned by the father. It is a legally binding arrangement for life. Jesus would be viewed legally as Joseph’s oldest son, even though He was adopted. He would then receive the double-portion, and would be the one to take the throne in His earthly father’s death. Notice, Joseph was not alive at the time of Jesus’ death. Otherwise, he would have been there – and Jesus would not have needed to ask John to take care of His mother. Legally, Jesus was heir to the throne of David.”

Do the verses in 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Chronicles make it necessary for the Messiah to come from Solomon? There is no widespread agreement. Some feel that it’s important, but one commentator in particular notes that,

“(a) God provided an ‘escape clause’ in 1 Chron 28:5-7 and 2 Chron 7.17  and more importantly, (b) the dynasty is always referred to as “of David” and never “of Solomon” in the prophetic books.”
- http://www.christian-thinktank.com/fabprof4.html

In any case, the genealogy through Joseph is the important one as far as the Davidic line is concerned, so this issue is irrelevant.

One problem that has been raised with the genealogy in Matthew is the inclusion of Jeconiah, of whom Jeremiah writes, “Write this man down as childless, a man who will not prosper in his days, for no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah.” (Jeremiah 22:30)

There are several reasons that the “Jeconiah curse” would not apply to Jesus. First, the wording highly suggests the curse applies only to his immediate descendants. Glenn M Miller explains:

“1. The phrase ‘in his lifetime’ (lit. “in his days”- yom) focuses the passage on the immediate future; 2. the “for” word connects the ‘no man of his descendants’ with the ‘in his lifetime’–the strong casual relationship between not-prospering-now and his descendants is strong evidence for an immediate future context; 3. the ‘again’ word (‘od) is not the “big” FOREVER word: ad-olam or le-olam. 4. Immediately after this passage, Jeremiah relays a promise by Yahweh to raise up ‘a righteous branch to David’ –a promise of the continuing line of David! Could Jeremiah have been so blind as to not notice such a contradiction (if the preceding passage referred to the ‘end of the Davidic line’?!) It looks much more likely that this is a deposing of Jeconiah, and a promise of a better king from the stock of David (maybe even from non-immediate/non-physical descendants of Jeconiah?).”
- http://www.christian-thinktank.com/fabprof4.html

Next, there are Biblical and Jewish extra-biblical sources which tell us the curse was rescinded.

“Jehoiachin’s name appears in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus Christ (1:11, 12), and some contend this contradicts Jeremiah’s oracle of judgment against the king’s descendants (Jer 22:30). Yet it is possible to understand Haggai’s blessing of Zerubabbel (2:2024) as the rescission of Jeremiah’s curse and the reinstatement of Jehoiachin’s line on the Davidic (and ultimately Messianic) throne (cf. Is 56:35).” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible..

“for no man of his seed shall prosper -In this, too, no man of his seed shall prosper, namely that no one will occupy the throne of David nor rule in Judah. Although we find that Zerubbabel, his great grandson, did rule over Judah upon the return of the exiles, the Rabbis (Pesikta /’Rav Kahana p. 163a) state that this : ‘was because Jehoiachin repented in prison. They state further: Repentance is great, for it nullifies a person’s sentence, as it is stated: inscribe this man childless.’ But since he repented, his sentence was revoked and turned to the good, and he said to him, “I will take you, Zerubbabel, and I will make you a signet” (Haggai 2:23). They state further: Said Rabbi Johanan: Exile expiates all sins, as it is said: Inscribe this man childless,” and after he was exiled, it IS written: ‘(I Chron. 3:17) And the sons of Jeconiah, Assir, Shealtiel his son–Redak” Judaica Books of the Prophets, in loc

See http://jewsforjesus.org/answers/prophecy/jeconiah for more sources.

For a complete overview of this issue, see http://www.christian-thinktank.com/fabprof4.html

Finally, for further reading, I recommend Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Messianic Prophecy Objections, ISBN 0801064236

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from http://jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/1985_12/08_Genealogy_Messiah

As we open the pages of the New Testament, the very first words we read deal with the genealogy of Y’shua. Matthew begins: “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The Apostle goes on to present a lengthy record that spans the generations from Patriarch Abraham through King David all the way to Y’shua through his “adoptive” father Joseph. Matthew’s purpose is clear. He intends to demonstrate that Y’shua is, indeed, ben-David, a descendant of David, and therefore eligible to be the promised Messiah. In addition, the Book of Luke confirms this qualification for the messiahship by tracing Y’shua’s genealogy once again to King David, this time through the family line of his mother Miriam (Mary).

In 20th century America, where often we cannot recite our ancestries beyond that of our great-grandparents, the presentation of two complete and detailed genealogies might seem rather mind-boggling. Besides, one who is not yet convinced of the inerrancy of the Scriptures might question the authenticity of those ancient records. Aside from the total credibility of the Scriptures, which is a separate topic, there are several practical reasons for regarding the records in Matthew and Luke as being accurate.

The first reason is that genealogies held great practical significance for Jews living in the days of the second Temple—the time of Y’shua’s birth. The Talmud bears out this fact in the Mishnaic tractate Kiddushin, which deals with betrothals. Chapter 4 of Kiddushin discusses the question of who may contract a betrothal with whom.

Because the Law of Moses forbade the marriage of Jews of legitimate birth to those of illegitimate birth, every Jew would have desired to keep a complete genealogical record. One who could not demonstrate his or her ancestry was legally “neither fish nor fowl.” That person could not marry either a known legitimate Israelite or a known mamzer (one of illegitimate birth). The marriage option for such a person was limited to only another person of equally doubtful ancestry.

As crucial as the matter of genealogy was for the common Israelite, it was even more crucial for the kohenim (priests). The purity of God’s priesthood was guarded most strictly. A kohen who could not conclusively demonstrate a clear line of ancestry would be presumed to be of “polluted stock,” and would be excluded from all of the priestly functions.

Going now to the specific matter of the accuracy of Y’shua’s genealogy, we note from Luke 1:5 that Mary’s cousin Elisabeth was married to an officiating priest named Zacharias. Kiddushin 4:1 indicates that a Jew who is not of known descent cannot marry a kohen, one of the priestly line. Therefore we must presume that Mary’s family genealogy, which included Elisabeth’s, had indeed been preserved, and that Luke’s account of that lineage is accurate, having been based on those careful family records.

Since, as demonstrated, Mary was obviously of known and pure Israelite descent, we can assume that Joseph, too, was of pure and known Israelite descent. Otherwise he could not have been betrothed to Mary, because Kiddushin 4:3 indicates that a Jew who cannot demonstrate his or her genealogy cannot marry a Jew of known and pure descent.

Some have raised the question: “If, as the New Testament declares, Y’shua was born of Mary while she was still a virgin, how could he inherit the Davidic line from Joseph, who was not his physical father?”

The answer is that in every legal sense of Jewish life, Joseph was Y’shua’s father. Kiddushin 4:1 states that a man and wife who live together are presumed to produce legitimate children without the necessity of proof of parentage. Since Joseph and Mary were legally married at the time of Y’shua’s birth (and since Joseph had not brought charges of adultery against Mary because of her pregnancy), Y’shua was presumed to be Joseph’s legitimate son—not his adopted son.

Of course if Joseph had not been open to God’s revelation, the problem of the “mysterious” pregnancy could have held severe consequences for Mary. She might have faced the stigma of being called an adulteress and even risked being stoned, if Joseph had not understood the uniqueness of their situation. But Joseph, being a godly man, did come to understand when the angel told him, “…fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Thus, Y’shua, the virgin-born Son of God, became the son of Joseph in the messianic line of King David.