Reconciling the Gospel Genealogies

There are generally two reactions I hear to this in Sunday School classes and church pews–it’s either fascination, as if the genealogies make or break the Bible or complete indifference, as in “who cares?”

Both reactions miss the point.  Matthew and Luke are each making a point, and they are making it in a way that their early readers probably understood fairly well, though there is disagreement on the meaning in some quite early literature.

There’s a great article on the genealogies and their meaning on the Christianity Today web site.  I think this presentation illustrates the importance of not reconciling texts before we understand what they’re trying to say as they are.  Many treatments of this issue simply list possible resolutions of the differences, which misses the message that each evangelist was trying to convey.

Grant Osborne, the author, says:

Examining each genealogy closely reveals the authors’ different purposes.

Just so.  Go, read and enjoy!