By: Justin Angelos | June 1, 2022
Is there a contradiction between Luke’s and Matthew’s genealogies of Jesus Christ? The fast answer is no.
The Nature of Eyewitness Testimony
Former homicide detective and Christian apologist J Warner Wallace says there is always going to be differences in the way an eyewitness tells a story about what happened.[1] These apparent contradictions are easily resolved. Matthew writes to a Jewish audience and beings his genealogy with characters familiar to a Jewish audience like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Matthew also seems to connect Jesus with Jewish history leading up to the New Testament and Luke seems to be more interested in tracing Jesus’ genealogy through Mary instead of Joseph. Luke traces Jesus back through David’s son Nathan, and Matthew traces Jesus through David’s son Solomon.[2]
Two Different Lineages
Dr. Norman Geisler explains in an interview why there seems to be a contradiction between Matthew’s and Luke’s gospel concerning the genealogy. People have not looked at the two genealogies careful enough, if we examine the genealogies careful enough, they trace Jesus through two different lines. A mother and a father, one genealogy traces Jesus through His legal official father (Joseph). Jesus was also from the lineage of David; Jesus was genetically connected to David though His mother.[3] It should not seem strange that there are two different genealogies, this would be normal for doing genealogy for anyone.
My mother loves doing family genealogy and when she did my grandfather’s genealogy there were two different accounts for my grandfather and that is because she did the genealogy on my grandfather’s mother’s side and his father’s side. It would be strange to have an exact account of one person if you’re doing genealogy on both sides of a person’s mother and father. For a more comprehensive answer on this question, please check out Dr. Norman Geisler’s book “Systematic Theology.” or James Warner Wallace.
About the Author
Seattle native Justin Angelos brings a passion for evangelism and discipleship along with theology and apologetics. He has studied at Biola University and Liberty University. Justin focuses on providing help for those who suffer from emotional and anxiety issues.
Notes
[1] Wallace, J Warner, “How Can We Trust the Gospels When the Genealogies are so Different?” (9/21/16) https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/how-can-we-trust-the-gospels-when-the-genealogies-are-so-different/
[2] Wallace, J Warner and Jimmy Wallace “Why the Differences in the Gospel Accounts Make Them More Reliable.” YouTube, June 30, 2017. https://youtu.be/jp-cn6rVFO8
[3] How Do You Reconcile Luke’s Genealogy … – Youtube.com?” Accessed April 12, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq_9fYXzHyw.
Copyright, 2022. Bellator Christi.
