Luke 3:23-38

Luke 3:23-38

[23] And  Jesus  himself  began  about  thirty  years of age,  (as  was supposed  ) the son  of Joseph,  which was the son of Heli,  [24] Which was the son of Matthat,  which was the son of Levi,  which was the son of Melchi,  which was the son of Janna,  which was the son of Joseph,  [25] Which was the son of Mattathias,  which was the son of Amos,  which was the son of Naum,  which was the son of Esli,  which was the son of Nagge,  [26] Which was the son of Maath,  which was the son of Mattathias,  which was the son of Semei,  which was the son of Joseph,  [27] Which was the son of Joanna,  which was the son of Rhesa,  which was the son of Zorobabel,  which was the son of Salathiel,  which was the son of Neri,  [28] Which was the son of Melchi,  which was the son of Addi,  which was the son of Cosam,  which was the son of Elmodam,  which was the son of Er,  [29] which was the son of Eliezer,  which was the son of Jorim,  which was the son of Matthat,  which was the son of Levi,  [30] Which was the son of Simeon,  which was the son of Joseph,  which was the son of Jonan,  which was the son of Eliakim,  [31] Which was the son of Melea,  which was the son of Menan,  which was the son of Mattatha,  which was the son of Nathan,  which was the son of David,  [32] Which was the son of Jesse,  which was the son of Obed,  which was the son of Booz,  which was the son of Naasson,  [33] Which was the son of Aminadab,  which was the son of Aram,  which was the son of Esrom,  which was the son of Phares,  [34] Which was the son of Jacob,  which was the son of Isaac,  which was the son of Abraham,  which was the son of Thara,  which was the son of Nachor,  [35] Which was the son of Saruch,  which was the son of Ragau,  which was the son of Phalec,  which was the son of Heber,  which was the son of Sala,  [36] Which was the son of Cainan,  which was the son of Arphaxad,  which was the son of Sem,  which was the son of Noe,  which was the son of Lamech,  [37] Which was the son of Mathusala,  which was the son of Enoch,  which was the son of Jared,  which was the son of Maleleel,  which was the son of Cainan,  [38] Which was the son of Enos,  which was the son of Seth,  which was the son of Adam,  which was the son of God. 

What does Luke 3:23-38 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Why did Luke place his genealogy of Jesus at this point in his Gospel? Probably he did so because this was the beginning of Jesus" public ministry. Matthew recorded Jesus" genealogy to show that He had a legitimate right by birth to occupy the Davidic throne. Consequently he placed his genealogy at the very beginning of his Gospel. Luke wanted to show the ancestry of Jesus, who now began His ministry, as the authenticated Son of God.
There are several other distinct differences between the two genealogies. They proceed in different directions, Matthew"s starting with Abraham and ending in Jesus and Luke"s beginning with Jesus and working back to Adam and God. Matthew"s list stressed Jesus" place in the Jewish race by recording Jesus" ancestry back to Abraham, the father of the Jews. Luke"s perspective is broader tracing Jesus all the way back to Adam and showing Him to be a member of the human race. Matthew grouped his names into three groups of14names each whereas Luke simply listed78 ancestors. It is possible to divide Luke"s list into11groups of7 names each plus God"s name. [1] But Luke did not draw attention to his divisions as Matthew did. Matthew recorded Jesus" descent from Joseph through Song of Solomon , but Luke traced other ancestors from Joseph to David"s other son Nathan. Matthew apparently gives Jesus legal line of descent from David naming the heirs to his throne, but Luke gave another branch of David"s family tree that seems to be Joseph"s bloodline. [2] Matthew mentioned several women in his genealogy, but Luke mentioned none. Finally Luke"s list is considerably longer than Matthew"s.
"That the genealogy is recorded at all shows Him to be a real Prayer of Manasseh , not a demi-god like those in Greek and Roman mythology. That it goes back to David points to an essential element in His messianic qualifications. That it goes back to Adam brings out His kinship not only with Israel but with the whole human race. That it goes back to God relates Him to the Creator of all. He was the Son of God." [3]