ST-Luke-7 – The Messiah Comes from King David’s Lineage – The Gospel of St. Luke – Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran – Discerning Hearts Podcast

Episode 7 -The Messiah Must Come from King David’s Royal Lineage.  The Genealogy of Jesus Christ: comparing Matthew’s version to Luke’s.

In our last episode, we learned of the head crushing women of the Bible, which raises the question:  are there any head-crushing men in the Bible?  This brings us to the story of David.  We learn in 1 Samuel that through a miraculous conception, Hannah gives birth to Samuel, who she offers back to the Lord for service in the temple.  The Israelites at that time clamor for a king and the Lord appeases them by having Samuel anoint Saul as the first king of Israel.  Under the ineffective Saul, the Israelites are on the verge of being conquered by the Philistines.  Samuel enters the picture once again, and at the Lord’s direction, anoints David.  The spirit of the Lord comes upon the young David, who kills the Philistine giant Goliath with a single rock throw from his sling and then cuts off his head.  The Philistines flee and Israel triumphs.  Blessed be David, another head crusher of the enemy!

Before turning our attention to Luke’s genealogy of Jesus, we spend some time looking at Mary’s lineage.  While scripture does not directly say that Mary was from the line of David, a number of clues are present that would lead us to believe she was.  In response to the Roman census, Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem, which Luke calls the “City of David” indicating the birthplace of the famous king of Israel.  Many of the Church fathers conclude that Mary is from David’s line, including Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr.

We then move to the proclamation of John the Baptist, the new Elijah predicted in Malachi 4.  John also fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”  John preached a baptism of repentance, while Jesus baptizes into the Trinity. John’s purpose was to glorify Jesus, who in turn glorifies the Father.  From Their perfection of love; the Holy Spirit flows as a unique person as well.

We then dig deeper into the genealogies of Luke and Matthew.  How is it that they list different ancestors of Jesus?  The answer is these genealogies are much theological as historical.  Matthew is Jewish, speaks to a Jewish audience and stresses Jewish themes.  He describes three separate groups of 14 generations leading to Jesus:  Abraham to David, David to the Babylonian exile, the end of the exile to the birth of Jesus.  In the Hebrew gematria, David corresponds to the number 14.  In essence, by describing three groups of 14 generations, Matthew is proclaiming “David, David, David.”  Jesus is the new David.

Sharon Doran serves as the teaching director of “Seeking Truth.” An experienced Bible Study teacher, Sharon has a passion for scripture that will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God’s Word and apply His message to your everyday life.

For more in this series visit the Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran Discerning Hearts page

“Seeking Truth” is an in-depth Catholic Bible Study, commissioned by the Archdiocese of Omaha in response to John Paul II’s call to the New Evangelization as well as Pope Benedict XVI’s exhortation for all Catholics to study scripture. To learn more go to:  www.seekingtruth.net

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