Luke 3: 23 – 38
All In The Family
23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
I can hear the grumbling. ‘You got to be kidding us, a study on a genealogy? Man, is this going to be one boring study.’
I believe that you are going to be blessed as we look into this portion of our Lord’s Wonderful Word. You are going to be blessed when you see some of the great truths our Precious Holy Spirit has within these verses.
Are you aware that not one Jewish person today can fulfill the requirement of being able to prove that he is a descendant of king David. So, it is either our Lord Jesus Christ who through His disciple Matthew and now here through Luke are proving that He Is a direct descendent of King David. The bible says in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 19 we see that at least two witnesses are needed to establish a matter, “15 “One witness shall not rise against a man concerning any iniquity or any sin that he commits; by the mouth of two or three witnesses the matter shall be established.’
So, we now begin to understand when our Lord Jesus began His ministry. He was thirty years of age when He starts.
23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Thirty is a significant number. Priests begin their ministry at this age as the book of Numbers chapter 4 teaches us, “ 1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 “Take a census of the sons of Kohath from among the children of Levi, by their families, by their fathers’ house, 3 from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting.”
We read this is the book of Genesis chapter 44 and that is that Joseph was 30 years of age when he was promoted to second in command of Egypt, “42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. 43 And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. 44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” 45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. 46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.”
And since we are studying the genealogy of our Lord Jesus as a descendent of king David, guess how old David was when he began to rule? Yes, it is also 30 years of age. We read in the book of 2 Samuel chapter 5 this information, “ 1 Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. 2 Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the LORD said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’” 3 Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD. And they anointed David king over Israel. 4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. 5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.”
Now, back to the Gospel of Luke and verse 23 again. Luke had to correct a misconception that was being circulated. Look again with me at verse 23, “23 Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,”
Do you see the point Luke is addressing? What do you think the words, ‘being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli’, mean? People assumed that the Lord Jesus was the physical son of Joseph. Luke here is stating for all readers to understand that our Lord Jesus Christ Was not the physical son of Joseph. He used the womb of a human, Mary to come into the world as a child. He was not conceived by Joseph and Mary’s physical union.
Now, here is a great point that needs to explain the roles of Joseph and Mary. In the Gospel of Matthew we read of Joseph’s ancestors. Here in Luke we read of Mary’s ancestors.
I do not know if you are aware of this, but you see, Joseph, although the rightful heir of David was forbidden to sit on the throne of David because of a curse leveled by El Shaddai – God Almighty.
In the book of 2 kings we read the reason why this came about, “24 “As I live,” says the LORD, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; 25 and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return. 28 “ Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol— A vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, and cast into a land which they do not know? 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD! 30 Thus says the LORD: ‘ Write this man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, sitting on the throne of David, and ruling anymore in Judah.’”
This guy upset the Lord so much that He pronounced a curse of this guys lineage. No longer, could a son of David’s bloodline through Solomon sit as a rightful king. Satan thought he had finally come up with a victory. Ah, not too fast fallen one. You see in our Holy Majestic God’s Wisdom He had that problem already figured out.
By a blood line through Solomon which led to Joseph the official kingly line could not be fulfilled. However, there was another son of David by the name of Nathan as verse 31 points out, ‘31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David.
24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Janna, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathiah, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathiah, the son of Semei, the son of Joseph, the son of Judah, 27 the son of Joannas, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmodam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Jose, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonan, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menan, the son of Mattathah, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Let me try to put it all together for us. Hopefully, I am able to properly present this awesome description of our Lord’s total and perfect wisdom.
Joseph is the legal heir to sit on David’s Throne. Yet, he cannot because a blood curse had been put on it by Jehovah Elyon – The Lord Most High. Here we have a guy who should be king working a blue collar job as a carpenter.
Joseph’s son is legally entitled to be the king yet he cannot be his physical son because of the curse. You see, our Lord Jesus perfectly fits the position. He Is the legal heir and Is not part of the curse. He is Joseph’s son by being adopted as his son which entitles him to the same inheritance as a blood born son. Yet, He Is also free of the curse since He Is not in the blood line of Solomon. In addition, He Is also entitled to be a king because He Is from the lineage of David, not through Solomon, but through Nathan, which is a descendent of Mary. Problem solved. Chalk another victory for our Holy God.
Before we end this study, let us look at one last thing. You will note that in Mary’s genealogy the lineage goes all the way back to the first created human – Adam.
I believe Luke’s intention was to depict our Lord Jesus as the ‘last Adam’. He Is the fulfillment of what the first Adam should have been and a contrast with the one whom God was not well pleased. Our Precious Adoni Yehweh sent His replacement, our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom our Father spoke from Heaven, ‘In Him I AM well pleased.’ We read in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 15 this, “45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”
Let us all find our ancestral lineage in the Second Adam – our Blessed forever Master, Lord, Savior, and King – our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!
