At first blush the genealogies of Matthew and Luke appear to be
contradictory. In reality the genealogies are ingeniously
constructed to highlight different aspects of the person and
work of Jesus Christ. Matthew, writing to a primarily Jewish
audience, emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the seed of Abraham
and the legal heir of David, the long–awaited King of Israel who
would ultimately restore his people from exile. As such, Matthew
records fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen
from David to the exile and fourteen from the exile to the
Christ (Matthew 1:17). Matthew, a former tax collector,
skillfully organizes the genealogy of Jesus into three groups of
fourteen, the numerical equivalent of the Hebrew letters in King
David’s name (4+6+4 =s+u+s). Thus Matthew’s genealogy
simultaneously highlights the most significant names in the
lineage of Jesus and artistically emphasizes our Lord’s identity
as Messiah who would forever sit upon the throne of David.
Furthermore, Luke, writing to a primarily Ge