Apparent Discrepancies Are Made Clear: The Genealogies of Christ Fill Us with Hope and Encouragement

From Which of David’s Sons Is Christ Descended: Solomon or Nathan?

When we compare the two genealogies of Christ, it becomes clear that one traces the line of Mary, Jesus’ mother, while the other represents the line of Joseph, her husband. Witness Lee expounds on this distinction:

The genealogy in Matthew says that David begot Solomon, but the genealogy in Luke says that Nathan was the son of David (Luke 3:31). First Chronicles 3:5 tells us that Nathan and Solomon were two different persons. Luke’s record is the genealogy of David’s son Nathan, who was Mary’s forefather, whereas Matthew’s record is the genealogy of David’s son Solomon, who was Joseph’s forefather. One genealogy is the line of Mary, the line of the wife; the other is the line of Joseph, the line of the husband. Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David. Under God’s sovereignty they were joined together by marriage, so that through Mary, Joseph was indirectly associated with Christ. Christ can be counted as a descendant of David through either Solomon or Nathan. Hence, He has two genealogies.

Strictly, Solomon was not a direct forefather of Christ. His relationship with Christ was indirect, through the marriage of Joseph, his descendant, to Mary, of whom Christ was born (v. 16). The Old Testament did not say that Christ would be Solomon’s descendant, but it prophesied repeatedly that Christ would be a descendant of David (2 Sam. 7:13-14; Jer. 23:5). Although Christ was not a direct descendant of Solomon, the Old Testament prophesies concerning Christ as a descendant of David were nevertheless fulfilled. (Footnotes 8)

[Matthew] [Luke] [Jesus’ grandfather] [David’s son]
[Chart] [We’re related] [He is everything]

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