There are many reasons biblical genealogy is important. First, why does anyone study genealogy? It gives the family history. In the case of the Bible, it records the history of mankind. Who were our first parents? How long ago did they live? What experiences did they have? Who were their children? God “has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). In Genesis 5, we get a connected history of the first 1656 years of human history through genealogy.
As a side point, science has confirmed we all came from the same mother. The mitochondria DNA in the cell is only passed down from mother to daughter and all women have the same mitochondrial DNA. The science community calls this female ancestor “mitochondrial Eve.” DNA-sequencing of the human Y-gene which is passed down only from father to son also points to one common ancestor for men also. The science community calls this male ancestor “Y-gene Adam.”
Secondly, we can trace the faith line of Mary and Joseph and see that Jesus is the promised Messiah. Luke 3:23-38 records the genealogy of over 4,000 years from Jesus to Adam. God honored Abraham as the father of the faithful, and he was told through his posterity all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 22:17-18). The faith line of the Messiah was narrowed down to the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:9, 10). Several centuries later the faith line was narrowed down to a family. David was promised that the Messiah would be one of his descendants. (1 Chronicles 17:11-14) That’s why Jews kept an accurate family history.
Both Mary and Joseph were descendants of David. They were traveling to Bethlehem to register for taxes. “And Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea unto the city of David which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and lineage of David” (Luke 2:4) Before Jesus’ conception Mary was told, “He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.” (Luke 1:32) David was one of Jesus’ ancestors.
God keeps his promises. The promises made to Abraham, Judah and David are fulfilled in Jesus, the world’s redeemer. In verse 33, the angel gave Mary another promise about her baby. It was “he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” We are yet waiting for its fulfillment.
Additional Resource:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1312: “How Do We Know Jesus Is the Promised Messiah? (Part I)”
Jewish skepticism and key Old Testament identifiers of the Messiah
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes
Related Questions
July 30th 2014 | 40993 views Is there any positive proof that our Lord Jesus was born on Christmas Day, December 25th, and if so, where can it be found?
July 31st 2014 | 39626 views In the Tabernacle in the wilderness and in other scriptures, God uses "fives" many times. Why five?
May 11th 2017 | 40121 views According to Revelation 20:6 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16, will the Millennium be before or after the coming of Christ?
August 01st 2014 | 39413 views I find in Matthew and Luke what purport to be the genealogies of Christ. Matthew gives his ancestry back to Abraham; Luke goes back to Adam. Between Christ and David, Matthew gives 27 generations, and Luke gives 42; and none of the names in these two lists are the same. Will you please explain this seeming genealogy discrepancy?
July 31st 2014 | 39664 views How does the manner of reckoning time in the age in which Moses lived compare with the chronological methods now in use, and if there is any difference would it not account for the great age of Methuselah as given in the Scriptures?
August 01st 2014 | 39304 views Please give the Scripture evidence for the statement that the seventh creative "day" is a period of 7,000 years. Harmonize with the fourth commandment.
July 30th 2014 | 39500 views God said to Adam, "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." How can you harmonize this with the record that "all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died?"-- Genesis 2:17, Genesis 5:5
July 30th 2014 | 39597 views