Why is Jesus' Genealogy Different in Matthew and Luke

In this video, I explain why Jesus' family tree is different in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke. The main difference has to do with Matthew.

[maretcaplan]

THE ANSWER: There's a youtube video by Michael Rood that says according to Hebrew original language used in Matthew 1 the man Joseph was not referred to as husband but as FATHER. So the Joseph in Matthew genealogy was Mary's father making Mary  the 13th generation, then Jesus the 14th generation. He said this was just discovered few years ago. This sounds like the perfect answer...In Luke, it explains Joseph's genealogy as emphasized from the very beginning but the difference is that while Matthew showed lineage through Solomon, in Luke it showed lineage THROUGH ANOTHER SON OF DAVID whose name was Nathan and was BORN before Solomon ( 2 Samuel 5:14 ). Luke being a Gentile used modern genealogy by putting every name while Matthew ( being a Jew and a Levi - his name was really Levi ) used ancient genealogy emphasizing significant characters in the genealogy dynastic timeline instead of all of the above like what Luke did....Matthew being from a Levi tribe also had an access to the records of families of Jewish genealogy kept inside the Temple which were all BURNT during the destruction of the Temple by Titus in 70 A.D...Today only the New Testament has existing record of Jewish genealogy of the Messiah, whose name is Yeshua ( Jesus ), and none of the Jews today or in the future will be able to prove a Davidic line because all the records were destroyed in 70 AD but the New Testament have authentic records of Jesus as descendant of King David through Solomon under Mary's lineage and through Nathan - another son of David - under Joseph's lineage.

[leostmark]

Thanks, well done. This had been a puzzle for me for many years, but it makes sense now that I realise that some names are simply missed. Hence 'Jacob fathered Joseph' is correct but there were one or more generations in between them.

[larrypolk]

Based on the principle of Isaiah 28:10, a prophecy of (4) certain families mourning at Christ's crucifixion in Zechariah 12:12 - 13, I believe identifies the parental lineages of Jesus the Christ. The 'House of David' & the 'House of Nathan' (from the Matthew & Luke genealogies) would be of Joseph's father & mother, respectively; and The 'House of Levi' & the 'family of Shimei" would be of Mary's father & mother, respectively.

[johnbreitmeier]

There are huge problems you avoided totally.
1) IF Luke is giving Mary's linage, why does Luke give her father's name as Eli or Heli when tradition says it was Joachim or Jacob which is what Matthew says Jesus' Grandfather was called?
2) Even if they Both skipped a few generations here and there, then why not say so. And Don't say "That's they way the ancients did genealogies, because that simply is not true elsewhere in the bible and Matthew was very Jewish.
3) Josephs linage would be worthless for proving a genetic inheritance from David. If you are trying to prove the right to a throne you cannot skip generations at all.
4) If Either Mary or Joseph were the direct lineal heir of ANY Davidic line, wouldn't they be pretty well known in the Jewish community, especially id it was the direct ROYAL line??? Wouldn't even the Romans know that??
5) Both Luke and Matthew trace The line through Salathiel and Zorobbable But Salathiel has a different father in each list and Zorobbable has a different son and neither of those sons match Z's sons in I Chron 3:16-24. If you are going to skip some generations for a list numbe, that is a real odd place to skip since the sons of Z are the last definite names we have in that line either on the OT or in josephus.
6) If you deliberately skip some names to get to a "sacred number" thaen that number was clearly not there in the first place and Matthew is lying to make a false point. I'd frankly rather he was just wrong and forgot a few.

[joey_outdoors]

All this tells me is that nothing is as it seems. Which weakens my faith in what I’ve read.

[rickandrygel]

One possibility is that in Matthew is the genealogy that begat Joseph, while Luke has the genealogy for his legal father.

Perhaps Eli married then died without having a son, so his brother would have married her and the first he begat would be the son of Eli.

So they would have had different father's if one was born then his father died, so the mother would have been able to marry outside her husband's family.

[jameshanks]

It’s either you believe Jesus is the messiah, God, etc or you don’t! That’s a choice you have to make....you can believe the genealogy or are gonna hate no matter you Jesus for saving me! You are the Messiah, son of God and my Lord and Savior!

[rossharris]

2 TIM.3:16, 17 & MT.4:4 EVERY SCRIPTURE GOD INSPIRED IS PROFITABLE. . .TO COMPLETE AND THOROUGHLY FIT FOR EVERY GOOD WORK. TO LIVE BY EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDED OUT OF HIS MOUTH - ISAIAH 55:11. DUE TO TRANSLATION ERROR, AND THE FACT EVERY WORD IN THE BIBLE IS NOT THE FATHER'S. FAITH CERTAINLY IS A "KEY" ELEMENT NEEDED TO ARRIVE AT, WHAT IS TRUTH. ISAIAH 46:10, GOD KNOWETH THE END, FROM THE BEGINNING. PROV.15:3 / MATT6:8 AND BEHOLDING ALL PEOPLES AND EVENTS, IS AWARE OF WHAT IS NEEDED. HEBREWS 11:6 - WITHOUT FAITH OR TRUST IN HIM WHO IS INVISIBLE - 1 TIM.1:17. WE ARE NOT PLEASING TO HIM. WHY HAVE ALL THE GENEALOGY ? TO CONFUSE US ? TRICK US ? SO WE WOULD FOLLOW TEMPORARILY ? LATER TO DISCOVER, AND WALK AWAY ? LUCIFER PUT DOUBT INTO EVE'S MIND, BY PUTTING HIS GOD IN A "BAD LIGHT." AS THO GOD WERE WITH-HOLDING FROM THEM. SATAN "PAINTED" GOD WITH HIS OWN COLOR, AS IT WERE. POSSIBLY THE SO - CALLED, DISCREPANCY BETWEEN GOSPEL ACCOUNTS. IS ACTUALLY REVEALING THE WHOLE TRUTH ? WHERE IS IT WRITTEN THAT THE DISCIPLES REPORTS WERE TO BE IDENTICLE IN CONTEXT. THE PROPHETS OF OLD SPEAK OF THE SAME PROMISED ONE. BUT IN DIFFERENT DESCRIPTIVE SYMBOLS, AND PHRASEOLOGY. YOU KNOW, IT IS A MAPLE TREE; BUT EVERY LEAF IS DIFFERENT MAKING UP THE WHOLE* TREE. TREE OF LIFE. JOSEPH IS OF ROYAL LINEAGE. BY MARRIAGE, THE CHOSEN VIRGIN OF ISA.7; BECOMES ROYAL FAMILY. SO THAT HER PROMISED MIRACULOUS "SEED"- GEN.22:18/GAL.3:16. IS GUARANTEED A KING. KING OF THE JEWS, AND THE REST OF US, BY FAITH. FAITH/TRUST IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR, THE CONVICTION OF THINGS YET UNSEEN - 1 JOHN 3:2 AND JUDE 24. AND GOD WILL AWAKEN THE MULTITUDE THAT SLEEP IN THE DUST OF THE EARTH SOMETIME FUTURE DANIEL 12:2; SO THOSE WHO DID NOT YET, HEAR THE GLAD-TIDINGS WHICH SHALL BE UNTO (*ALL*) PEOPLE. CAN HEAR IT AND FROM JESUS - JOHN 5:28 & ACTS 3:22. IT IS GOD BEING TRUE TO HIS WORD, GLAD-TIDINGS instead of the t.v. news THAT SHALL BE UNTO ALL*** PEOPLE. HE UNDERSTANDS, THAT DOUBTS ASSAIL US. SATAN DOES NOT WANT ANY TO COME TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH. SO CONTINUE ON MY GOOD NEIGHBORS, PURSUE TO KNOW AND TO DO JAMES 1:22, 25. AMEN.

[thabongwepe]

Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.

[mider]

You can’t trace the genealogy through Nathan or Mary....how can you establish Jesus tribal lineage that way and it must go though Solomon.

[zatoichiable]

If you can fabricate a man to be a son of God you can fabricate anything.

[elestir]

The answer to the question why there are two different genealogies of Jesus is that there were two different Jesus children (as well as two Josephs and Marys). Compare Matthew and Luke more thoroughly and you will realize there are many more differences. Pretty much all of them can be explained by this answer. More elaborate explanation can be found in the lectures of Rudolf Steiner on the Luke's gospel.

[povoq]

I just found the answer 10 days ago. We are all misleaded thinking that Luc is a genealogy. It is not. The greek doesn't even say "son of", it just lists the names. Thinking about what it could be, i looked at the context. It's about the holy Ghost coming down on Jesus. Why, because Joseph just died of course. It's the spiritual heritage. From God blown into Adam and now coming on Jesus. Just like with the spirit going from Elijah to Elisha. God bless you all. Jesus blew his spirit on us when he left, that's why he had to leave.

[byronrhodes]

Why in Matthew’s genealogy do you have a space between David and Solomon? Seems you should have lined up Solomon from Mathew’s and Nathan from Luke’s. Thoughts?

[mixperso]

Thank you so much, it was much easier to understand and remember and most importantly appreciate genealogy which was really hard to just have a look :)

[defenestratefalsehoods]

Why do one book have jesus born before 4BC and the other book have him born after 6 AD?

[jewishmessiahyeshua]

This may shock your world but ancient church elders and Roman historians have testified that the original book of Mathew called the Gospel of the Hebrews did not have any geaneology or virgin birth narrative or shepherds or wise men. These were later added in the 2nd century ad by the beginnings of Catholocism

[nsp]

if they are both from joseph not Mary. Then why they have different ancestor from David's son?
the other one starts with Solomon (Matthew) son of David and the other (Luke)starts with Nathan son of David

[ewcraigs]

Enjoyed the video but the music distracted me. Thanks for the video.

[skeeterburke]

One genealogy through Miriam. The other through Yosef, the HUSBAND NOT FATHER of Miriam. Mistranslation. Pretty simple. No need to spiritualize anything away. Miriam's father and her husband were both named Yosef. Very common name