The Genealogy of Mary

Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
^{Thursday May 23, 2024}

Luke 3:23-38

Father, anticipating our “but what about Mary’s genealogy” question after we read Matthew’s lineage of Joseph, You inspired Luke to include Mary’s family tree in Luke 3:23-38. Some scholars have concluded that Heli was the father-in-law of Joseph, not his father . This would make Heli the father of Mary. Unlike Matthew, Luke included no women in his genealogy.

The genealogies of both Joseph and Mary are identical from David to Abraham. However, Mary’s lineage in this passage goes all the way back to Adam, fulfilling Your promise to Adam in Genesis 3:15 that Adam’s seed (descendent, Jesus Christ) will crush the head of the serpent (Satan) . The future Jesus was identified as the Savior long before You called Abraham to form a family (Israelites) dedicated to Him. Therefore, Jesus is truly the Savior of the world and not just of the Jews.

Jesus is the Son of David legally from his adopted father’s side (Joseph) and biologically from His mother Mary’s side. The generations of Joseph and Mary between David and the birth of Jesus are quite different, suggesting two entirely different families over the last thousand years. Mary’s genealogy goes backwards from Heli to Adam whereas Joseph’s genealogy goes forward from Abraham to Jacob, Joseph’s father.

Father, the genealogies of Matthew and Luke serve an additional purpose - they inform us that Jesus was a real human being. While the names in this genealogy mean little to us in the 21st century, they were quite relevant to the people of the 1st century. In a world without printed paper or the Internet, stories of ancestors were passed down orally through the generations as families conversed while eating dinner over the sound of a crackling fire. The names in these genealogies had been discussed not only inside homes but also in synagogues and in the marketplace. Many people heard names in this list and said, “that person is in my genealogy as well”. It would be quite easy to prove in the 1st century that Jesus did not belong to a person in either of these genealogies. History has not recorded any such disputes. This affirmed that Jesus was not a fictitious character. He was a real man with a real ancestry.

Father, this passage in Luke tells us that Jesus began His ministry when He was around thirty years old. Why 30? Why not 20? Why not 40? We know that Your timing is perfect and the timing of the beginning of Jesus ministry was perfect as well. However, we do read in Numbers 4:2-3 that the minimum age for a priest to work in the tent of meeting was 30 years of age. Hebrews 4:14 describes Jesus as the great High Priest, suggesting that the minimum age that Jesus Christ could begin His ministry was the age of 30.

Father, it is impossible to believe that the Bible is the product of a vast conspiracy of over three dozen men, born hundreds, if not thousands of years apart, who wrote a lie so intricate and so detailed that the core message of this conspiracy, the gospel of Jesus Christ, is interwoven even between the lines of people’s names in two lists of genealogies. No, I believe that these genealogies prove that You inspired each and every syllable in the Word of God.

It is also amazing to think that You knew the people associated with each of the names on this list just like You know me. You formed each of them in the womb. You gave each of them the breath of life. You provided for them. You protected them. You directed and guided them. You made sure they had descendants who would one day give birth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. These are not mere names on a list to You. They are real people with disabilities, diseases, desires, hopes, dreams, problems, and relationships. You are the God who loves generations of people in centuries past, in our present day, and in generations yet to be born. Thank You for Your love for all of us. Amen.