Christ's lineage

[OneAccord]

I'm sure there is an easy explanation for this question out there:

In Matthew 1, the genealogy of Jesus was given from Abraham down to Joseph.

[wordsower]

A freind of mine wrote this:  I think it explains a lot of how the lineage had to be according to prophecy:

Hebrews 6 ends with the wonderful promise that we have our hope anchored "firm and secure" "behind the curtain", where Jesus has gone on our behalf. "He has become a high priest forever in the order of Mechizedek." (v. 20)

Hebrews 7 begins an in-depth discussion of Jesus being a priest in the order of Melchizedek. According to Genesis 14:18, Melchizedek was king of Salem, and his story intersects Abraham's as Abraham returns from a battle.

Nine kings, including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, were fighting each other after years of uneasiness between them. Four kings fought the other five, and the four kings prevailed. The five kings, including the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, fled, and the four kings scooped up all the goods from those cities. During the raid, the kings carried away Lot and all his belongings, because he was living in Sodom.

An escaped prisoner ran and told Abram that his nephew had been captured. Abram immediately mustered the 318 men trained for battle who lived in his household. They pursued the conquering kings, and they defeated them, retrieving Lot and his goods in the process.

When Abram returned from battle, "Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, 'Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.' Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything." (Gen. 14:18-20)

Salem was an ancient city that later became the city of Jerusalem. Melchizedek, it is thought, was priest/king of Salem in the tradition of early pagan priest/kings, but Melchizedek, apparently, had become a follower of the true God. He was unrelated to Abram, and nothing is said about his parentage or heredity. He is unique in that nothing is known of his life and he's not associated with God's chosen people, yet we know Abraham recognizes him as a spiritual leader because he pays tithe to him.

Melchizedek Priesthood Foretold

In 1000 BC, David conquered the city of Jerusalem from the Jebusites. By conquering the city, David and his descendants became inheritors of the royal line of priest/kings who had descended from Melchizedek and who had ruled Jerusalem. David and his sons became the representatives of the rule of God and even assumed some authority over the priests and Levites, although they couldn't perform the duties of the high priests.

After David's victory over Jerusalem, he wrote Psalm 110 which is one of many Messianic prophecies in the Psalms. Psalm 110:4 says, "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek." This verse acknowledges David's new role as king over Jerusalem and the inheritor of Melchizedek's priestly role as leader of that city. But it is more than a statement about David. It's a prophecy about David's descendants and an affirmation of God's promise to David that his descendants would sit a throne forever. This verse finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, the Son of David, who is the eternal king and a high "priest forever in the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 7:17, 21)

Midway between God's covenant with Abraham and its fulfillment in Jesus, God reaffirms that covenant by a promise to David, assuring him that the eternal priest/king would descend from him, a member of the decidedly non-priestly tribe of Judah.

In 519 BC, Zechariah was a prophet in Israel. The nation had returned from its exile in Babylon, and Zechariah was trying to encourage the Israelites to continue rebuilding the temple, the center of their society, the symbol of their covenant with God, and the seat of God's presence.

Zechariah received a vision that, for the first time, literally linked the priesthood with a royal coronation. In Zech. 6:9-15 he recounts his vision. The word of the Lord told him to take silver from three recently returned exiles and to make a crown from it. The Hebrew word for "crown" in this passage does not refer to the high priest's turban. It is a word for a crown of royalty.

Zechariah was to take the crown he fashioned and place it on the head of the high priest Joshua, and he was to tell Joshua: "This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. He it is who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.' "

This event is the first time in scripture that the high priest is also given the role of king. This priest's name, Joshua, is the Hebrew word for Jesus, and this priest foreshadows the royal priesthood of Jesus. Jesus did indeed "build the temple of the Lord"-he built the church, the living temple of God.

Jesus ultimately would be a priest/king in the order of Melchizedek. He would be unique. His parentage would be questioned. He would be eternal. And he would be greater than all the patriarchs.

Greater Than the Priests

The Israelite priests descended from Aaron of the tribe of Levi (Exodus 4:14). The rest of the tribe of Levi God gave to Aaron to serve the temple. The Levites were not originally to do the work of priests; they were to take care of tending the sanctuary and moving it when the nation had to move. (In later years, though, including the time of David's reign, Levites did perform some of the priest's duties.) One of their duties was to pitch their tents in areas that completely surrounded the tabernacle and provided a buffer between the people of Israel and the presence of God.

The Levites served an interesting symbolic function. God declared that all firstborn in the camp of Israel belonged to him, including the firstborn male livestock. When he killed the firstborn in Egypt, he declared in Numbers 3:13, he set apart every firstborn as his own. Instead of demanding that every Israelite woman's firstborn son should be given to God, however, he provided a way to redeem them. The Levites would be the symbolic firstborn.

"The Lord also said to Moses, 'I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, for all the firstborn are mine.' " (Numbers 3:11-13a)

The pagan nations around Israel sacrificed their firstborn children to Molech. God said something that seemed familiar to the Israelites who had so recently been slaves in a pagan nation. He declared that he claimed all firstborn for himself. They belonged to him. But he did not require their death. He did not even require them directly. He required their redemption, and those who redeemed them were to serve God all their lives.

The Levites were the symbolic firstborn, and as such they prefigured Christ. When Jesus was born, he was Mary's firstborn. (Luke 2:6,7)

In Romans 8:29 Paul also calls Jesus the firstborn: "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

In Colossians Paul elaborates further on Jesus' role as firstborn. "And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy." (Col 1:18)

And Hebrews 1:6 says, "And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him' "

As the firstborn, Jesus has supremacy over all creation. The angels worship him. He is the firstborn from the dead, assuring us that we, too, will have new life and will be resurrected. He is the firstborn among the living. He established the church; we who believe in him are his brothers and sisters, and through him we are brothers and sisters with each other as well.

Jesus is the beginning of all; he is the Creator, the Savior, the One who formed the church, the King, the eternal High Priest. He is the firstborn, the one whom God claims, and he is also the Redeemer who takes the place of those whose death God's law required.

While the Levites played an important role in the temple service of Israel, they played an even more important role as a shadow of Christ. They redeemed the Israelite firstborn, taking their place as a living sacrifice to God. They also shielded the Israelites from God's consuming glory by pitching their tents between the tabernacle and the camp of Israel. (Numbers 3:21-37) Their mediating position reflects Jesus' pre-Calvary protection of Israel; he himself shielded sinful people from God's glory, preserving them from death. His protective role was represented by the curtain veiling the Most Holy from all but the high priest. (Hebrews 10:20)

Greater than Levi

The author of Hebrews continues by demonstrating how Melchizedek was greater than Aaron and the Levites. He begins by recounting that the Levites who are priests are expected to collect tithes from their own brothers, their fellow Israelites. Even though their brothers are the chosen people, they still had to pay tithe to the Levites. Tithe was the Levites' inheritance. While the rest of Israel received their share of the land, the Levites had no land. Instead, Israel acknowledged the Levites' service to the nation by paying one-tenth of their income to support the priests and temple staff.

Melchizedek, however, was not a descendant of Levi. His calling was higher than a tribal inheritance. He was a priest BEFORE Levi was even born, and as a priest, he collected tithe from Abraham and blessed him. In a symbolic sense, verse 9 points out, Levi the tithe collector even paid tithe to Melchizedek because he was "still in the body of his ancestor."

Hebrews 7:7 points out that he who blesses someone has greater standing than he who receives the blessing. By blessing Abraham, Melchizedek was asserting his authority even over Abraham, the man of God's promise, the father of Israel's patriarchs.

The priesthood of Melchizedek is in every way superior to that of Aaron and the Levites. Melchizedek foreshadows Jesus. Jesus was not from the tribe of Levi. He became a priest by the sovereign appointment of God. The Levites became priests because of their physical inheritance. Jesus became a priest because of God's choice.

The Levites are dead. Their authority perished with them. Jesus, however, is alive. Descended from the tribe of Judah, not of Levi, Jesus has replaced the levitical priesthood with an eternal, living, once-for-all priesthood. He did not achieve his authority because of his birth. He received it as an act of God.

Jesus is greater than all the shadows that pointed to him. He is greater than the Levites. He is greater than Aaron and his sons. He is greater than Abraham. Jesus is God, and all of us are called to worship him.

[Ovedya]

Following is an excellent footnote from my Recovery Version Bible.

[whatsitmean]

I'm sure there is an easy explanation for this question out there:

In Matthew 1, the genealogy of Jesus was given from Abraham down to Joseph.

[Guest suzie]

My understanding is Mary's ancestral line is recorded in Luke,  while Matthews geneology gives Jesus legal linage through Joseph.

Matthew traced the linage back to Abraham and Matthew was writing to the Jews so Jesus would be shown as a descendant of their father Abraham. Luke wrote to the Gentiles, tracing the linage to Adam, and showing that Jesus was Savior to all people.

[tsth]

Suzie,

Yours was one I was waiting to see, and the easiest to follow.  I have understood that as well.  

In His Love,

Suzanne