Jesus and Genealogies

Day 78: Luke 3:23-38

“Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli…” - Luke 3:23 ESV

Luke is the only gospel writer to record at what age Jesus started his earthly ministry. This was the age the Levites began to serve (Numbers 4:47), and it was held as the time when a man became fully mature in Jewish culture. Most young adults want their ideal job and salary by the time they're 30. I wonder how much different our culture would be if we had the same understanding.

If you are a genealogy nerd (like me), you'll notice that Luke's record of Jesus' line differs in places from Matthew's. Why? There are four possibilities, but the most probable is that Matthew records Joseph's legal line, and Luke records his actual line through Mary's descent. It was very uncommon to do what Luke did in the first century, but he was the only biblical writer that was non-Jewish, so we have come to expect him to do things differently.

Still bored as you chew through mind-numbingly boring genealogies in the Bible? The following quote from Eugene Peterson is a great way to end today's post:

"Lists of names continue to turn up in various forms and for a variety of purposes throughout the Hebrew Bible. One scholar, a specialist in this genre, counts ‘about 25 genealogies.’ And when Matthew and Luke sit down to write their account of Jesus, they both use the idiom of genealogy that was introduced in Moses. Some complain about the long lists of names that they encounter in their reading of Scripture, and impatiently treat them as deadfalls in the forest impeding their passage. But if I found my name in the list, would I be offended or bored?" (Taken from “The Jesus Way”)

Jesus knows and cares about your name as well. Aren't you thankful it is written in the Book of Life?

"And all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain." - Revelation 13:8