King of the Jews: A curve ball named Zelophehad- Part 4

Matthew gives the genealogy of David’s royal line, establishing Jesus as the legal heir to David’s throne. Jesus fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us:

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace,

On the throne of David and over his kingdom,

To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness

From then on and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7 (NASB 95)

Jesus is it. Heir to the throne of David. Full stop.

But here’s the curve ball. Have you every noticed how Isaiah seems to repeat himself? Look at verse 6 above.

A child will be born to us.

A son will be given to us.

Isaiah wasn’t being redundant. The dual construction shows us beautiful nuances of meaning. The child born to us is the son of Mary. The son given to us is the heir to to the throne of David.

Though legally Joseph was Jesus’s father, he didn’t “beget” Jesus.

And yet, Jesus was a biological descendant of David. How? through Mary. In contrast to Matthew’s genealogy (Matthew 1:1-16), the patrilineal line of inheritance, Luke’s genealogy (Luke 3:23-38) shows Jesus’s human ancestry. Look closely. Joseph is mentioned in both, but he has different fathers.

Why? Cue Zelophehad, stage right.

We learn about Zelophehad in the book of Numbers. In Israel, inheritance goes through the male line. Poor Zelophehad had five daughters and no sons. In Numbers 36, the Lord commanded that the daughters of Zelophehad marry within the tribe. Their husbands would then get Zelophehad’s portion. Legally, the daughter’s husband becomes her father’s son. Clear as mud?

Scholars believe Mary’s father was Eli. If Eli had no sons, when Joseph married Mary, Eli would adopt him according to Zelophehad’s precedent. Thus, Joseph shows up on both sides of Jesus’s family tree.

Luke’s genealogy traces Jesus’s line from a younger son of David, Solomon’s little brother Nathan. Mary is a descendant of David through Nathan’s line.

Don’t you love how God worked that out? He neatly cut Jesus out of Jeconiah’s gene pool.