SAINT LUKE AND THE VIRGIN BIRTH

Whereas Saint Matthew offers Jesus’ real lineage, since it is based on the ‘father begon son’ principle, Saint Luke offers Jesus’ supposed lineage, since it starts with, “When he began, Jesus was about thirty years old; being the son, as it was thought, of Joseph, son of Heli, son of Mathat..” Saint Luke not only tells us that people thought that Jesus was the son of Joseph, but also that they thought that Joseph was the son of Heli, Heli the son of Mathat, etc. This explains why both genealogies differ from each other. It explains why, for instance, according to Saint Matthew Joseph’s father was Jacob and according to Saint Luke it was Heli.

Christian authorities have assumed that the ‘as it was thought’ in the gospel of Saint Luke and the ‘Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary who gave birth to Jesus’ in the gospel of Saint Matthew are there because Jesus was born of a virgin, but they have never explained in a satisfactory why these genealogies differ so much from each other and, for instance, offer a different father for Joseph.

When we compare Jesus’ real lineage in the gospel of Saint Matthew with Jesus’ supposed lineage in the gospel of Saint Luke, we find that the latter offers an additional generation between Adam and Abraham. Whereas Saint Luke indicates that people thought that Selah was the son of Cainan and that Cainan was the son of Arphaxad*, Genesis says that Arpachshad begat Shelah. This suggests that Arpachshad (we often find different spellings for the same name in the Bible) first had his son Cainan and later, when he became an adult, had Shelah from his daughter-in-law, Cainan’s wife.

Saint Luke offers an additional generation not only between Henoc and Abraham, but also between Abraham and David (14 generations in Matthew as opposed to 15 in Luke). Whereas Saint Luke indicates that people thought that Amminadab was the son of Admin, son of Arni, son of Hezron, Saint Matthew says that Hezron begat Ram and Ram begat Amminadab. This suggests that Aram begat Amminadab from his daughter-in-law, Admin’s wife.

These two examples of father-in-law and daugther-in-law relationships in Jesus’ lineage demonstrate that also Saint Luke knew that Mary had Jesus from her father-in-law Jacob.

 (*Saint Luke must have been familiar with the genealogies in Genesis)