Jesus and the Jews

By Michael Griego on December 8, 2023 • ( 2 )

Jesus was Jewish, right? Two different Jesus genealogies are presented in the New Testament writings of Matthew and Luke. Is this still relevant for Jews (and Gentiles) today? Yes! ◊

The very opening lines of the Book of Matthew (written by a Jewish disciple) lay out the genealogy of Jesus Christ down through Mary’s Jewish husband, Joseph of Nazareth.

Matthew presents the line of Jewish descendants including all the big names from the Old Testament:

The genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David (i.e., a descendent of), the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, the father of Jacob, the father of Judah… Boaz (by Rahab), Obed (by Ruth), Jesse, the father of David the king, the father of Solomon, the father of Rehoboam… Jehoshaphat… Hezekiah…Manasseh…Josiah…Zerubbabel…[and eventually] Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:1-16)

The historian and doctor Luke (a non-Jewish gentile), goes the other direction when laying out the backwards genealogy in chapter 3 of the Book of Luke.

In his case, he starts with Mary’s Jewish father, Heli, who would be considered as father of his daughter’s husband Joseph to conform with the Jewish legal custom:

He [Jesus] was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki…Jannai…Joseph…Mattathias. Amos…Nahum…Esli, Naggai, Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Josek, Joda, Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, Shealthiel, Neri, Melki, Addi, Cosam, Elmadam, Er, Joshua, Eliezer, Jorim, Matthat, Levi, Simeon, Judah, Joseph, Jonam, Eliakim, Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David, Jesse, Obed, Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon, Amminadab, Ram, Hezron, Perez, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, Serug, Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah, Sainan, Arphazad, Shem, Noah, Lamech, Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalelel, Kenan, Enosh, Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. (Luke 3:23-38)

It’s interesting that Luke goes past Abraham all the day back to Adam.

Why Does This Matter?
The Bible documents the history of mankind from the original man, Adam, in Genesis chapter 2, to the original Jew, Abraham, in Genesis chapter 12.

What follows from Genesis 12 through the entire Old Testament is the story of the Jewish/Hebrew people (circa 2000 BC) through the advent of Jesus, the Christ, whose birthdate is the foundation of our modern global calendar/dating system.

The entire New Testament is about Jesus and the New Way (Christianity) He founded for ALL mankind, both Jews and Gentiles.

Reading through the very real genealogies of Joseph and Mary brings a very practical element to the origins of Jesus: the merging of the natural and historic with the supernatural and spiritual.

Though many disregard or try to ignore it, no one can escape confronting this historic reality: the human parents of Jesus were selected by God; and Jesus, the God-Man, born of Mary, was fathered by the Holy Spirit of God:

And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

Wishing this were not true or simply denying the historicity of Christ is a weak or tenuous position to take. The Bible, when actually read and studied, does not give one a serious path of ignorance or escape.

The Jewish Problem
And so, non-Christians (non-Christ followers) have the same problem that non-Christ-following Jewish people have always had:

How do you solve a problem like Jesus?

You can’t.

The Jews throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament have justifiably been confused at times, but God Himself and His Word have been revealed to them. They’ve often just missed or ignored it. They resisted the love, protection, instruction, and direction of Almighty God who promised a Savior/Redeemer, a Messiah, a King of Kings (Jesus), for them and all of mankind across the nations (see Genesis 12:2-3). He also promised them a land for them to live in and be a Godly light to surrounding nations and the world. And God kept and fulfilled all of His promises.

But Israel thought it was just about them. It was actually about everyone.

After Moses, Joshua, and David, their corrupted human leaders led them to great loss and tragedy by steering them to disobedience against God and the worshiping of pagan idols and other gods. They split among themselves to the north and to the south. The north collapsed first and the 10 tribes of Israel were obliterated by the Assyrians in 722 BC. The south with the remaining 2 tribes of Judah and Benjamin collapsed later in 586 BC when decimated by the Babylonians.

But God did promise throughout these calamities (through major and minor Old Testament prophets) to restore His people back to Himself, as least a remnant. God very clearly returned a remnant of Jews to their homeland, as predicted specifically by the Old Testament prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel. This prophecy was fulfilled after their 70 years of Babylonian captivity and the people returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple, the walls, and the city as noted in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The Jewish people clearly repented and were restored in the 5th century BC. It was the prophet Daniel, living during the 70-year captivity, who foretold of the coming Messiah (the “Anointed One” – see Daniel 9:25) after a period of almost 5 centuries.

And then Jesus, the Anointed One, was born. But when Jesus, the promised Son of God, was living in their midst in 30 AD, the Jewish leaders and the people rejected and killed Him. Though they had copies of the Torah, the first 5 books of the Old Testament, and copies of scrolls of Isaiah and Daniel, they misread the Scriptures about the coming Messiah, or actually misunderstood their Old Testament prophets and were steered by corrupt religious leaders.

In His own time, Jesus knew it and saw it coming as He lamented the coming destruction of that generation of disbelievers in Jerusalem. He predicted as much in Matthew 24 when God would return in final judgment against that generation of disobedient Israel. The Old Jewish Coventant would end superceded by the New Covenant of Christ.

The final hammer came down in AD 70 when the Romans wiped out Jerusalem and left no stone unturned in the great Temple.

Yes, Jesus nailed His final prophecy.

And So It Goes On
Today, we have the entire Old Testament Scriptures and the New Testmament writings about the life and teaching of Christ and detailed explanations of Christ’s purpose, meaning, and application for all the world of Jews and Gentiles.

There is less room for excuses.

It always come back to Jesus. Even today, very secular Israel and gentile nations are still rejecting Jesus. The solution to all of our problems is always the same. We were born in sin and remain so regardless of our bloodlines.

Jesus is the answer. It’s His blood that counts, not long-lost nations and mixed generations and land disputes. Not anymore. It’s for all of us now. As Paul writes:

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

So another Christmas season reminds us of His lineage and His birth. Don’t be like many who will only pay lip service to that so-called good religious teacher who was born in a manger. The story of Jesus and the Jews is so much richer than that and worthy of a deeper dive.

Do you really understand Jesus and the Jews?
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Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph… – Luke 3:23