Photo by Zawila@unsplash
Last
Christmas, my daughter gave me one of those DNA genealogy kits.
It was from
a joint project with National Geographic Society
And a
company called Helix.
Their
project aims to show how mankind
Has migrated around the planet.
You send a saliva
sample and they trace your ancestors
Back 140,000 years.
Everyone
traces back to Africa, to that fertile crescent area.
The land of
the Tigris and Euphrates and Nile Rivers.
That’s where
the Bible indicates human life began.
Science
agrees.
And our DNA shows
how our ancestors migrated
From that
common beginning point.
Mine went
from that fertile crescent, up though Turkey and Asia.
And then
into Europe and Northern Europe, and then to America.
The report
they send helps to satisfy our curiosity about our roots.
But it seems
that the project also has some additional goals.
The report stresses
that we all came from the same place.
That we’re
all related.
That we all carry
some trace of ancestors we probably didn’t expect.
When Matthew
reported the Genealogy of Jesus,
He didn’t
have the benefit of DNA analysis.
He had
Jewish Scripture and Jewish History.
His list wasn’t
meant to be a complete and precise physical lineage.
But to show
that Jesus was the culmination
Of a flow of
notable Jewish ancestors—leaders and kings.
Some scholars question whether all those listed by Matthew
In that genealogy
were people who actually existed.
Or were just
names from Jewish Scripture stories.
Names and
stories that weren’t meant to be taken
As historically accurate.
Many even questioned
whether King David was a true historic figure.
Whether he actually
existed 3,000 years ago—1,000 years before Jesus.
There were
no records of him other than in Jewish Scripture.
It wasn’t
until 1993 that archeologists found some confirmation.
A 3,000-year-old
broken stone monument
Erected by a king of Damascus.
It referred
to his ally in battle—the House of David
in Judah.
So now, most
historians accept David as a true historical figure.
Maybe
the genealogy presented by Matthew will someday
Prove to be historically accurate.
Although it disagrees
greatly with the genealogy presented by Luke,
The only other Gospel genealogy.
Some have
tried to reconcile the differences between those two lists.
And there
are interesting, plausible explanations that both are accurate.
The explanations
typically involve requirements of Jewish Law.
Such as the
law that if a married man should die before fathering a son,
The deceased
man’s brother (if he has one) should marry the widow
And father a
son—an heir—for the deceased brother.
One scenario
could be that this is what happened in Joseph’s family.
Joseph’s grandmother may have had two sons who were half-brothers.
Heli the son
of Matthat, and Jacob the son of Matthan.
Jacob
married a woman but died before producing a son.
So Heli
married Jacob’s widow
And together
they produced Joseph—an heir for Jacob.
That
situation would leave two different men
Who could accurately
be called Joseph’s father.
A natural
father Heli, who Luke says begot
Joseph.
And a legal father,
Jacob, who Matthew says was the father
of Joseph.
That would
not be a particularly unusual life situation.
And maybe
something like that does explain the different genealogies.
But the main
point Matthew and Luke were making to their audiences,
And the main
point for us Christians today,
Is that
Jesus was the culmination and fulfillment of Jewish Scripture.
The ultimate
Word in God’s revelations and interactions with His people.
Monday, 3rd Week of Advent
Mt 1:1-17 Read this Scripture @usccb.org
