What does the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham say?

Why is Jesus called the Son of David?

In the first verse of the first of the Gospels of the New Testament, Matthew calls Jesus Christ “Son of David,” thereby anticipating the genealogy that he is going to give, and, perhaps, his entire testimony about the Savior. This preamble is followed by a royal genealogy going back from Joseph, the husband of Mary, to David, king over Israel (Compare Matthew 1:1-16). Due to the fact that Joseph is named among the descendants of David, he can also be called the son of David. Joseph treated Jesus as his own son, and to people who did not know about Jesus' divine origin, He was “the son of Joseph” (Luke 3:23), or “the son of carpenters” (Matthew 13:55). Therefore, Jesus can be called the adopted son of Joseph, and he was not his own father. James E. Talmage explains:

“The child who was to appear to Mary was born by her from Elohim, the Eternal Father, not as a result of the violation of natural law, but in accordance with its highest manifestation; and He who was born from such a union of the highest holiness, heavenly male life-creation and pure, albeit mortal, motherhood, had every right to be called the Son of the Most High” (Jesus the Christ. Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1922. 82).

That is why Christ is called the Only Begotten of the Father in the flesh: He had an earthly, mortal mother and an immortal Father. Therefore, in order for He to be considered a direct descendant (in other words, son) of David, Mary must have descended from David. Further J. Talmage says:

“Joseph’s personal genealogy also applied to Mary, since they were first cousins. Matthew calls Joseph the son of Jacob, Luke the son of Eli (English version - Heli); but Jacob and Eli were brothers, so that it appears that one of the two was the father of Joseph, and the other of Mary, and therefore Joseph's father-in-law. That Mary was descended from David is clearly stated in many places in Scripture; for since Jesus had to be born of Mary, not being the child of Joseph, who was supposed, but according to the way of the Jews and the legal father, the blood relationship with David could be transmitted to Jesus only through Mary” (Jesus the Christ. Salt Lake City: Deseret, 1922. 87 ).

So Jesus is the son of David. But since the title “son of David” indicates the origin of Jesus Christ from this man, it must have a deeper meaning. To establish what it is, consider this title. David was a great king over ancient Israel. His reign “was the most brilliant in all the history of the Jews, for (1) he united the tribes into one nation, (2) he secured for himself unquestionable authority over the country, (3) the basis of the mode of government was religion, and the law of Israel was the will of God” (Bible Dictionary: David). Since David was the king of Israel, in accordance with the patriarchal order, all his descendants had the right to the throne. However

“At the time of the birth of the Savior, Israel was under the power of foreign monarchs. The rights of David's royal family were not recognized; and the ruler over the Jews was a protege of Rome. If Judah had been a free and independent people under its own rightful monarch, Joseph the carpenter would have been crowned king, and Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, would have been considered his rightful heir” (Ibid., p. 88).

Perhaps our study will become even more complete if we distinguish between the concepts of “Son of David” (written with a lowercase ‘s’) and “Son of David”, with a capital ‘S.’ The lowercase 's' option refers to any son or descendant of David. This title was borne by Absalom, Amnon, Solomon and others (Compare 2 Kings 13:1, 2 Chronicles 1:1). But the title “Son of David” (with a capital 'S') is reserved for only one being who has ever walked this Earth. Only Jesus of Nazareth was addressed this way, usually telling Him a request to perform a miracle. Here the address “Jesus, the Son of David” indicated the belief of the petitioner that “he was the Messiah of Israel” (Ibid., p. 335). The Aramaic word “Messiah” means “anointed one” (Bible Dictionary: Messiah). In Old Testament times, sovereigns were anointed to rule, and priests, high priests and prophets were anointed to serve (Cf. 1 Kings 10:1, Exodus 40:15, Leviticus 21:10, 1 Kings 19:16). Therefore, the title of Messiah - the Anointed One - is also applicable to Jesus, for He is Prophet, Priest and King. After becoming king of Israel, David was anointed and, as stated above, “united the tribes into one nation, secured for himself undisputed authority over the country... and made the will of God... the law of Israel” (Bible Dictionary: David). In a sense, David was the deliverer of Israel. That is why it is appropriate to say that the Anointed One - the Messiah - “also means the King and Deliverer, whose coming the Jews awaited with great impatience” (Bible Dictionary: Messiah). They were so eagerly awaiting this Deliverer because the Old Testament contains many references, allusions, predictions and prophecies about the coming of the One who could once and for all unite the people of Israel, give them the law of God by which they would live, and bring their lost compatriots to him . This Deliverer was and still remains Jesus Christ, the Son of David.

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What does the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham say?

“Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham. Abraham gave birth to Isaac; Isaac gave birth to Jacob; Jacob gave birth to Judas and his brothers...” In my memory, dear brothers and sisters, my student years come to life, and from the past the images of the viceroy, Archimandrite Theognostus, performing the Liturgy in the Refectory Church, and Protodeacon Vladimir Nazarkin, in his special manner, reading a long list of ancestors, return from the past. the flesh of our Lord. You stand and patiently wait for this list to end and the story of the Nativity of Christ finally begins.

“Judah begat Perez and Zerah by Tamar; Perez begat Hezrom; Hezrom begat Aram; Aram gave birth to Abinadab...” And again returning to the circle of reading the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, I just want to quickly run my eyes over these names, or even omit them altogether. But what do they really mean to me? The Apostle Matthew wrote his Gospels for Jews, for Christians from Palestine. They knew their history well, these names were known to them, they were well aware of what they meant. But for us, people of the 21st century, what do they mean? After all, it seems that “the shadow of the law has passed away, and grace has come.” But one day everything began to be perceived completely differently. Perhaps since this genealogy was heard from the lips of an elderly woman who once served as a cleaner in the Varvarinsky building of the Lavra.

The Lavra choir was singing in the Lavra bell tower. Embarrassed, embarrassed and afraid to disturb this truly action, known to everyone who sang with Father Matthew, she humbly stood at the entrance, waiting for the end of the performance, but the creaking of the floor gave her away. The rehearsal stopped. It seems she brought some washed clothes. “Leave them there,” Father Matthew said casually, and then, after thinking a little, he called her over, put his hand on her shoulder and said: “Come on, Ksenya Mikhailovna, come on - Genealogy of Jesus Christ...” . She slowly crossed herself and, like a diligent schoolgirl, began to recite by heart the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. These names sounded from the lips of a woman who had not even finished school. She pronounced them as if she were talking about her grandfather, father, brother, people she knew and knew. She listed the entire genealogy, the story of the birth of Jesus Christ, and told almost two chapters of the Gospel of Matthew.

Father Matthew stopped her and said: “In the beginning was the word...”. And she also began to recite the Gospel of John in Church Slavonic by heart. Father Matthew stopped her again somewhere in the third chapter of the Gospel and said: “That’s it, go.” And without saying another word he continued to sing. To say that we were shocked is to say nothing. They were shocked not by the fact that they saw a person who knew the Gospel by heart in Church Slavonic, but by the way she spoke about Christ and His ancestors. They were the closest and dearest in her life. This was the best lesson on the New Testament in my life - a lesson of faith, a lesson of love, a lesson of knowledge of God and those people into whose race He was born according to the flesh.

The life of each of us is not so great: “Seventy, if possible, eighty years and multiplying their labor and illness...”. The Holy Scripture, if we love and read it, allows us to see the picture of the world and determine our personal place in its history, in which the Alpha and Omega, the history of meanings, is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham. Jesus is called the son of David, but his son was Solomon. Why does the Apostle Matthew call Christ the son of David? Because Christ acts like Solomon. Because Solomon was an image, an icon of Christ. Solomon built the only temple in those days dedicated to the true God. Christ is creating a Church, which the gates of hell will never overcome. He creates a temple of faith, and no one in the world is able to destroy this faith.

“Son of David, Son of Abraham.” Abraham, from whom David descends, is second in this genealogy. Let us remember the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham was faithful to God to such an extent that he was willing to sacrifice Isaac. An angel then stopped Abraham. And God said that He Himself would find the lamb. This became His Only Begotten Son. “Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world,” John the Baptist testified about Christ at the Jordan. Christ is the new Solomon and the new Isaac.

Genealogy of Jesus Christ. Today we heard women's names in it. But no, these are not the names of the pious Sarah, Leah and Rachel. And there is Tamar, who committed incest with her father-in-law; there is Rahab, the corrupt woman from Jericho; there is the Moabite Ruth: in Deuteronomy it is said that even in the tenth generation the Moabites will not be included in the people of God. This is the adulteress Bathsheba. Each of them is a foremother, a source of life according to the humanity of Christ. Why does Christ perceive humanity and enter into a lineage in which the stream of life is polluted by the complex destinies of these women? Yes, because it began to matter to everyone - and to us, people living today.

The Son of God enters into this genealogy, into the series of lives of these people, to tell us and show that He does not disdain the pollution of each of us, that He came to save not the righteous, but sinners, that the muddy stream of these destinies did not carry away the Mother of God - the Most Honest Cherub and The most glorious without comparison, Seraphim, from whom the Only Begotten Son of God was born according to the flesh.

However, this genealogy is not of Mary, but of Joseph, who had nothing to do with the birth of the Savior: Jacob gave birth to Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom Jesus, called Christ, was born, says the Evangelist Matthew. In those days, a bride was taken only from her own family. Therefore, the genealogy of Joseph indirectly turns out to be the genealogy of the Virgin Mary.

The imaginary father names the Baby Jesus, which means he gives Him the right of his family. The Virgin Mary ascends to King David through Nathan, not Solomon. This means that Joseph, in adopting the Infant Jesus, imparts to Him the fullness of royal dignity. Mary's relative, Elizabeth, is the wife of the priest Zechariah. So in Christ two houses meet: the royal house and the priestly house.

But here's what else is remarkable. The Apostle Matthew divides the genealogy into three parts, in each of which he sees 14 genera. Each part is a special era and a special form of government. The communal-tribal, patriarchal system is replaced by a monarchical one; then comes the era of political pluralism, as we would now say. The Apostle Matthew depreciates all these earthly devices. After all, with the change of government, people continued to sin and did not become better.

And only with the coming of Christ into the world does it become possible to overcome the power of sin, the fear of death and enslavement to the devil. Neither kings, nor presidents, nor the monarchical system, nor the patriarchs, nor the aristocracy, nor autocephaly, as we have just noticed, save. “Do not trust in princes, in the sons of men, for in them there is no salvation.” Only in Christ is salvation possible. This is impossible for people. Everything is possible only to God alone.

How many meanings are hidden in today’s listing of names! And even each name has its own meaning. David means he flourished through brotherly love; Manasseh - He, God, consigned to oblivion the sins of the repentant; Jesus - salvation from God has come. Each name is almost a sentence. The Christians of Palestine read the genealogy, recognized these names, and the whole story of human salvation unfolded before them.

Christians of the 21st century, living in the patristic tradition, are able to make these names their own, family, and see in them great meaning for their lives. If we read the Gospel daily with St. John Chrysostom, St. Ephraim the Syrian, Blessed Augustine, Blessed Jerome, we learn a lot and begin to understand that the Holy Scripture wants to say a lot to each of us.

But especially then it becomes ours when, like the elderly semi-literate woman mentioned today, we open with trust the doors of our hearts for God, we emerge from the world of fear and mistrust created by our fantasies into the endless space of the Creator’s love for His creation. This heart becomes Bethlehem and the manger. Again and again Christ is born in him, coming into the life of each of us in order to make the impossible possible. And we, who live for a very short time in this temporary world, determine our place in history by the Alpha and Omega, the beginning, the meaning and the end, which are the soon-to-be born God-Infant Christ.

//Sermon by the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, Archbishop Ambrose of Vereya, delivered on January 6, 2022 after reading the Gospel at the Divine Liturgy on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers, on Christmas Eve.

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Solomon and the Ark of the Covenant

King David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Mount Zion. God's presence was in Zion, where the Ark of the Covenant was. Solomon fell asleep, and before that he offered a thousand burnt offerings (1 Kings 3:4)

.

God appeared to him in a dream and said: “Ask what to give you.”

Solomon replied, “God, give me wisdom.”

(1 Kings 4:10-13)

And it pleased the Lord, and God said to him: I will give you wisdom, but I will also give you what you have not asked for, wealth like no other king, victory like no other king.

And what?

We know that Solomon was the richest king and the richest man who ever lived on earth. Even the richest man today cannot surpass Solomon because the facts and figures are given in the Bible.

After Solomon woke up from his sleep, God gave him wisdom.

In the two Gospels, one written by Matthew and the other by Luke, we can read the lists of two genealogies of Jesus Christ, directly indicating that He is of royal descent. Both of these genealogies have noticeable differences, but in the end they converge on Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom Christ the Lord was born.

Disputes about “inconsistencies” between these genealogies continue to this day. In particular, these apparent contradictions become a favorite argument of Jewish rabbis who want to renounce the “shameful” history that in any way connects the people of Israel with the name of the well-known Jesus Christ.

Hearing about such contradictions from the lips of Christ’s opponents, Christians who are not confirmed in such matters become confused, and entering into disputes, they fall into the temptation to come to the wrong conclusions in this matter. But many people probably still want to know how everything really happened?

Shouldn’t the devout Jews themselves have explained everything to everyone, because this was their story? The unbelieving Jews renounced Christ, and therefore everything that was connected with Him, and those who believed partly explained it by writing the Gospels. We can only prayerfully delve into the words of Holy Scripture, through which we can eliminate visible contradictions, and then glorify God for His great and wonderful deeds.

Let's start with the fact that the genealogy of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew originates from the forefather Abraham, and the other, transmitted to us by the Evangelist Luke, counts down, starting with Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom Christ was born. Let's turn to the detailed list of names of the genealogies presented to us, but we will reverse the narrative “according to Matthew”, starting reading in the name of Jesus Christ.

Genealogy according to Luke (Luke 3:23-38): “Joseph-Elijah-Matthath-Levi-Melchi-Jannai-Joseph-Mattathiah-Amos-Nahum-Eslim-Naggei-Maath-Mattathiah-Shemei-Joseph-Judas-Johnnan- Risai- Zerubbabel-Salafiel -Neri-Melchi-Addi-Kosam-Elmodam-Ir-Josiah-Eliezer-Jorim-Matphat-Levi-Simeon-Judah-Joseph-Jonan-Eliakim-Meleai-Mainan-Mattathiah-Nathan-David- Jesse- Obed-Boaz-Salmon-Naason-Aminadab-Aram-Ezrom-Perez-Judah-Jacob-Isaac-Abraham -Terrah-Nachor-Serukh-Ragab-Peleg-Ever-Sala-Kainan-Arphaxad-Sim-Noah-Lamech-Methuselah- Enoch-Jared-Maleleel-Kainan-Enos-Seth-Adam”;

Genealogy according to Matthew (Matthew 1:1-16): “Jesus-Joseph-Jacob-Matthan-Eleazar-Eliud-Achim-Zadok-Azor-Eliakim-Abihu-Zerubbabel-Salafiel-Jechoniah-Joachim - Josiah-Amon-Manasseh- Hezekiah-Ahaz-Jotham-Uzziah-Joram-Jehoshaphat-Asa-Abiah-Rehoboam-Solomon-David-Jesse-Ovid- Boaz-Salmon-Naason-Aminadab-Aram-Hezrom-Perez-Judah-Jacob-Isaac-Abraham ."

The list of names leading to the roots of the family tree from King David to Abraham is identical and well known. From King David towards the top of the tree, a division begins into two branches, one of which originates from King Solomon, and the other from the royal son Nathan. As we know from Scripture, David’s son Nathan, although he was a prince, did not receive the throne. We know nothing about the descendants along his line from the books of the Old Testament, but this does not mean that such information was lost. There is no doubt that the family lists were available to the descendants of Nathan himself and were handed down in handwritten form from generation to generation - from fathers to their children. We can read about the great importance of genealogical lists among the ancient Jews from the books of Nehemiah and Ezra:

“And these came out from Tel Melach, Tel Harsha, Cherub-addon and Immer; but they could not show about their generation and about their tribe whether they were from Israel. The sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda—six hundred and forty-two. And of the priests: the sons of Hobaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and began to be called by their name. They sought the genealogy of their record, and it was not found, and were therefore excluded from the priesthood (Neh. 7:61-64)”; (Ezra 2:59-62).

In our particular case, two branches of the royal family converged on Joseph, Mary’s husband, therefore, he should have had two genealogical manuscripts in his hands. At first glance this looks absurd and fraudulent, but it is not so. We will look at how this was possible below.

Some believers who came under pressure from anti-Christ Jews began to believe that the Evangelist Matthew invented the genealogy of Joseph, the father of Jesus Christ, from his own mind in order to emphasize his royal descent through Solomon. But Luke, in their opinion, did the opposite, and, allegedly wanting to bypass the bloodthirsty kings along the line of Solomon, whose hereditary blood he saw as unclean, he came up with a genealogical list to bypass this “shame.” But whoever claims this is simply an ignoramus and a promoter of untruth. If we question even one word from the lists of the genealogies of Jesus Christ, transmitted to us by the evangelists, then we thereby accuse them of lying and call into question all other texts of the New Testament, through which we also renounce the Christ whom these evangelists preached to us.

Other Christian commentators believe that the discrepancies in these two genealogies exist because one of them belongs to Joseph, and the other leads to Mary, the mother of Jesus. But this version is absurd, despite its enormous popularity among modern Christians. None of the genealogies known to us can relate to Mary due to the fact that she was from the tribe of Levi, which Scripture clearly tells us:

“In the days of Herod, king of Judah, there was a priest from the line of Abius, named Zechariah, and his wife from the family of Aaron, her name was Elizabeth.. The angel answered Her and said: The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You; therefore the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Behold your relative Elizabeth, who is called barren, and she conceived a son in her old age, and she is already in her sixth month.. (Luke 1:5-36)”.

From these biblical verses it is clear that the family of Mary could not possibly belong to the royal family, because the Levites (the family of Aaron) were a priestly family.

PROPHECY TO DAVID ABOUT CHRIST

Why is it so important for us to know that the forefather David must certainly be present in the genealogical lists of the Messiah of Israel? Because he was the only person who received prophetic words that it was from his seed that one day there would come a King, whose reign would be forever: “ ..I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever ...”. Who can reign forever if not the Anointed One - Christ? This is the prophecy:

“When your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers, then I will raise up your seed after you, which will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be My son; and if he sins, I will punish him with the rod of men and with the stripes of the sons of men; but I will not take My mercy from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I rejected before you (2 Sam. 7:12).” .

One would think that we are talking here about David’s son Solomon, who instead of the leather tabernacle built the first temple of stone, if not for the following words: “...and you sleep with your fathers, then I will raise up your seed after you... " . From this we can see that in that prophecy we were talking about a distant time, as well as about an unusual person who would be called the Son of God: “...I will be his father, and he will be my son...” . Was Solomon ever called the Son of God? No. And if the one about whom the prophecy spoke was called the Son of God, then how could he sin? As it was said: “..and if he sins...” . The prophet Isaiah foretold about Christ this way:

“But He was wounded for our sins and tormented for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace [was] upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed.. (Isa. 53:5)” .

Everything turned out exactly as it was written by the prophets. The prophecy spoken to David was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, with the only difference that He Himself, Jesus, did not sin, but He took upon Himself the sin of the world, therefore He suffered for the sins of all people as His own: “ ...I will punish him with the rod of men and ... ” But mercy was not taken away from Him, because there was no guilt in Him: “.. but I will not take My mercy from him...” . Further in this prophecy it was said that Christ would build a temple: “..He will build an house for My name...” , which was later fulfilled, although not in the literal sense:

“..I tell you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.. (Matthew 16:18)”;

“Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Cor. 3:16)" .

The Apostle Peter said that the prophecy addressed to King David was fulfilled precisely in Christ Jesus:

“..Men and brethren! let it be allowed to boldly tell you about the forefather David, that he died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being a prophet and knowing that God promised him with an oath from the fruit of his loins to raise up Christ in the flesh and seat him on his throne, He first said about the resurrection of Christ that His soul was not left in hell, and His flesh did not see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, of which we are all witnesses.. (Acts 2:29-32)" .

The Lord Himself testifies about Himself in the book of Revelation like this:

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and descendant of David, the bright and morning star (Rev. 22:16)" .

These words of Christ about Himself testify that He is not only a descendant of King David, but also his root, i.e., He is the One who created, led and preserved King David.

The prophecy to King David was not left alone:

“..However, the Lord did not want to destroy Judah for the sake of David His servant, since He promised to give him a lamp among his children for all time.. (2 Kings 8:16-19)”.

LEVIRATE MARRIAGES

Now let's move on to eliminating the visible contradictions in the two genealogies of Jesus Christ known to us.

In the ancient east, there was a custom to enter into levirate marriages (from the Latin levir - brother of the husband). We are talking about such a practice when the closest relative of the deceased had to take his wife and “restore” the seed to his (childless) brother, i.e., give birth to an heir for him. In this case, the son born from the widow will belong not only to him, but also to his deceased brother, bearing in his genealogical record the name of the deceased, as if his second father (Deut. 25: 5-6). Why was all this done? At a time when mortality due to disease and numerous wars was quite high, this custom was established to preserve the clans of Israel.

Through one biblical story we can see such a marriage in action, when a born son could simultaneously bear the names of two fathers, in this case Boaz and his deceased relative Mahlon:

“And Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, “You are now witnesses that I am buying from Naomi all Elimelech and all Hileon and Mahlon; I also take Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, so that the name of the dead man may remain in his inheritance, and so that the name of the dead man will not perish among his brothers and at the gate of his residence: you are witnesses of this today... And Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her pregnancy, and she gave birth to a son... The neighbors named him and said: “Naomi has born a son,” and they called his name: Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. And this is the family of Perez: Perez begat Hezrom; Hezrom begat Aram; Aram gave birth to Abminadab; Amminadab begat Nahshon; Nahshon begat Salmon; Salmon begat Boaz; Boaz begat Obed; Obed begat Jesse; Jesse begat David (Ruth. 4:19-22)" .

As we see, Obed was listed in the genealogy of his blood father Boaz, and he was also listed in the genealogy of their relative Mahlon, who died childless. Thus, Ovid became the owner of two pedigree records at once.

Now, knowing this, we can see that the two different genealogies of Joseph, the father of Jesus Christ, are not a contradiction, not an error or a forgery, but rather features of the culture of the ancient eastern people.

If we imagine the genealogies of the genealogies we are considering in the form of a tree, then the Sons of David - Solomon and Nathan - gave direction to two branches, which eventually merged on Joseph, Mary’s husband. Several generations earlier, these branches converged in a similar way on Shealtiel and his son Zerubbabel (meaning: born in Babylon). When considering the genealogies of the Jews, we must understand that the family branches have only a visible division among themselves, because all these people are brothers of one great family, branches of a huge tree, the root of which is Abraham, and its trunk is King David.

This is what we have in confirmation of the above from the ancient Christians who lived in the 200-300s. from R.H.:

“According to the oldest version, attributed to Julius Africanus, Joseph was born in a levirate marriage. Thus, Eusebius of Caesarea quotes Julius Africanus: “the names of the clans of Israel were calculated either by nature or by law. By nature, when there was genuine succession of the seed (from father to children); and according to the law, when in the name of a brother who died childless, another (brother) gave birth (to his wife) to children. Since at that time no clear hope of resurrection had yet been given, the future promise was considered one with the resurrection of death, as long as the name of the deceased did not disappear. Because of the persons who were included in the genealogy (Jesus Christ), some truly succeeded their fathers as sons, while others, born from some fathers, were called by others: then (in the Gospels) both are mentioned - and about those born ( from his father), and as if born (from his father). Therefore, neither one nor the other Gospel lies, counting (names) both by nature and by law” [1].

SOME ISSUES RELATED TO LEVIRATE MARRIAGES

How did Jehoiachin, a descendant of King Solomon, and Neri, a descendant of Nathan, be able to give birth to one Salathiel?

Now, knowing the ancient Eastern custom of restoring the seed of a deceased relative (Deut. 25:5-6), it becomes not so difficult to comprehend this. Let us assume that Jeconiah restored the seed of his dead brother Neri, giving birth to Shealtiel. Thus, Salafiel was able to become the owner of two genealogies at once, one of which is from Nathan, the son of David, and the other from Solomon.

How could Joseph, Mary's husband, have two fathers - Elijah and Jacob?

Of course, Joseph could not have two biological fathers. Everything was exactly the same as with Jehoiachin and Neriah, who gave birth to one Salafiel. Let's assume that it was Jacob who restored the seed to his dead brother by giving birth to Joseph, Mary's husband. Now the prophetic words become clearer to us: “...I will raise up after you your seed, which will come from your loins...” , which directly indicates that the descendant promised to David was to be born through a levirate marriage. It does not matter who Joseph's biological father was - Jacob or Elijah. In any case, this does not refute, but on the contrary, it doubly testifies that Joseph, the husband of Mary, was a descendant of King David, and received from God the great honor of becoming the patron, protector and spiritual father (he is called righteous) of the baby Jesus.

The fact about the royal origin of Joseph in connection with loud statements about the coming of the Messiah from his family was undoubtedly very important for the ancient Jews. If there was even one inaccuracy in the documents presented by the evangelists, they would be the first to rebel with exposure, but we don’t see anything like that in history, which means that everything was in order with both genealogies that Joseph had.

WHO IS THE REAL FATHER OF JESUS ​​CHRIST?

In all this we must not forget that Jesus was not born of the seed of the man Joseph, but was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Why then do both human biographies leading from the forefather David relate to Him? At first glance, it seems that there is no direct way. Is it not from this that the version arose among Christians that Christ has a direct blood connection with David through Mary, His mother? After all, some people want to interpret Bible prophecies literally! But to think so is a mistake, and not only because Mary was not from the royal family, but also because the Jews never traced their genealogies through the female line, which means that not a single woman could be recorded in similar genealogical manuscripts, including the one known to us, Mary, the mother of Jesus.

So how then was the prophecy once given by God to King David fulfilled in Christ Jesus? Moving away from earthly kinship and emphasizing His supernatural origin, Jesus said these words:

“...as they say that Christ is the Son of David, and David himself says in the book of Psalms: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit on My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool? So David calls Him Lord; how is He his Son? (Luke 20:41-44)" .

The prophecy given by God to King David was fulfilled, but not in the way the ancient Jews imagined it, expecting that any royal offspring would conceive and give birth to a son. Further, this son of his will become a king, with the only difference that it will be an unusual king, but a messiah king, like Samson, who has supernatural powers, or like the brave Gideon, who will throw off the Roman yoke from the neck of Israel. In those days, Christ with His teaching about physical non-resistance to evil did not fit into the ideas and plans of the ancient Jews, for this reason they rejected Him, closing their eyes to all the miracles He performed. For this reason, many of them did not believe in Christ then and were not saved. Many Jews, following the example of their fathers, do not believe in Him even now. We, Christians, know Who that Christ was, Who He is to this day, and we know that He was sent to people by His Heavenly Father not to solve the temporary problems of a small people, but to solve a larger problem - the salvation of humanity as a whole .

King David received a promise that the Messiah would come from his seed. As we have already seen, all formalities were observed by God. Then He provided the Jews with all the evidence of the royal origin of the Joseph family. Consequently, the baby Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a betrothed virgin, and subsequently born by her, was adopted by her husband Joseph, being at the same time the Son of God: “.. I will be his father, and he will be my son... ”.

How was the seed of David, from whom the child Messiah would come, restored? Exactly according to the same principle as kinship arose through the practice of levirate marriage. Let us look again at the story of Boaz. Was Obed the blood son of Mahlon? No, he was actually the son of Boaz. How then did Obed suddenly become the son of Mahlon? Through obedience to God, through fulfilling His commandment about family ties. So, the seed was restored according to the spiritual law, through faith and obedience. A similar thing happened to the family of Joseph, Mary’s husband. When Joseph found out that she was pregnant, he wanted to let her go, but “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: Joseph, son of David! Do not be afraid to receive Mary your wife, for that which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20) .” The child born of Mary was not conceived by Joseph or any other person, but was received by him from God, by faith and through obedience. This proves that the prophecy to David was exactly fulfilled and Jesus Christ directly belonged to both the royal family of earth and heaven, being the Son of God and the King of all kings. It is said this way:

“..I am the root and descendant of David.. (Rev. 22:16)”,

God created David, and He came to earth in human flesh from his seed. Why did David become God's chosen one and was so honored that from his seed came the Messiah and Savior of all mankind? Because David was one who loved the Lord very much and had a close relationship with Him, and this pleased God very much (Acts 13:22). For this reason, God chose his name as the banner of faith and trust in the Lord for all nations of all subsequent centuries.

admin *[1] — dic.academic.ru Materials on a similar topic:

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For the Glory of God!

The evangelist of the Old Testament, the glorious prophet Isaiah, announcing the suffering of Christ coming into the world, reflects with reverence: Who is this coming Savior of the world? From where and where does He descend? And, struck by the thought of His Divine dignity, the prophet exclaims: but who will explain His generation? (Isa.53:8). Who will explain to us earthly beings His pre-eternal birth from God the Father? It is incomprehensible not only to the human mind, but also to the angelic mind. And so, this God, unapproachable, ineffable, incomprehensible and equal to the Father, came to us on earth, did not disdain to be born from a Woman, to have David and Abraham as ancestors. The Eternal God is born as a man, becomes in everything except sin, similar, akin to us, and the first evangelist of the New Testament, Apostle Matthew, revealing to us the Gospel he wrote, preaches to us that his book is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, there is a scroll in which The ancestors according to the flesh are recorded, the whole life and deeds of the promised Messiah - the son of David, the son of Abram. Just as the Old Testament writer of everyday life Moses, beginning the history of fallen mankind, reports: This is the genealogy of Adam (Gen. 5:1), and the Apostle Matthew, beginning the history of the restoration of fallen man, says: The genealogy of Jesus Christ. From the first, earthly man came disorder, but behold, a new Man, a new Adam, the Lord from heaven (1 Cor. 15:47), the Head of a new generation of people, born spiritually and constituting a holy nation... The ancient has passed and everything has become new... What a joy for earth-born already in this book title alone - Genealogy of Jesus Christ! What kind of genealogy are you talking about, Apostle of Christ? Who is related to whom? God, the Creator of heaven and earth, sincerely partook of our flesh and blood and did not hesitate to call people like us His ancestors, and us His brothers. Isn't this joy? Isn't this the gospel? But this good news was especially joyful for the believing Jews: they knew that David and Abraham had been promised by God the birth of Christ the Savior from their seed. And so, the evangelist Matthew, who wrote his Gospel for the Jewish believers, at the very beginning of his book shows them that these promises were fulfilled in Jesus Christ: He is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, the Son of the Beginning Father, the radiance of glory, and the image of His hypostasis ( Heb.1:3) - He deigned to be called the Son of man, a descendant of David, so that you, a man, might become the son of God; He was pleased to call His servant His father, in order to make your Master your Father. The Son of God is the son of David and Abraham; Do not doubt that you, the son of Adam, will be the son of God. “He is God in order to have the strength to bear human infirmities, He is a man who participates in our flesh and blood (Heb. 2:14), in order to make people partakers of the Divine nature” (St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow). The king of the earth sometimes dresses in the clothes of a simple warrior, so as not to attract the attention of enemies; The King of Heaven hides himself under the image of a slave, so as not to force the enemy, the devil, to flee before the battle. He came to save us, which is why he took the name Jesus, which in Hebrew means Savior. He was a King, for He reigned to destroy sin; He was the High Priest, for He offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins; in the Old Testament, both kings and high priests were anointed with holy oil, and therefore they were called Christs: and our Lord was anointed with true oil, the Holy Spirit, and therefore is called Christ, which translated from Greek means: Anointed One. But Abraham lived many centuries before David; Why does the evangelist call Jesus Christ first the Son of David, and then the Son of Abraham? Because David was especially famous among the Jews because of his royal deeds. David lived a thousand years after Abraham, and the promise given by God to David that Christ would arise from his seed, as recently, was on the lips of all the Jews. The promise to Abraham could apply to all tribes of the Jewish people, and the promise to David directly indicated not only the tribe of Judah, but also the family of David, from which the promised Savior was to be expected. David was the first of the kings to please God, the first of them to receive the promise that Christ would be born from his seed; besides, David himself was a prototype of Christ: just as David reigned in place of Saul, rejected by God, so Christ reigned over us when Adam lost the power given to him over everything living on earth and over demons. David himself said that God promised with an oath to seat him on the throne from the fruit of his womb. Therefore, no one called Christ the Son of Abraham, but everyone called Him the Son of David. Christ will come from the seed of David, the Scripture says, and from Bethlehem, from the place where David was from (John 7:42). And the Jews who believed in Christ loved to call Him the Son of David: have mercy on us, Jesus, son of David! Hosanna to the Son of David! (Matt.9:27, Matt.21:9). David and Abraham were especially glorious: David was a prophet and king; Abraham is a patriarch and prophet. But Christ was born from a husbandless Virgin, and the evangelist does not have the genealogy of the Blessed Virgin: how can one know that Christ was a descendant of David? Because the Blessed Virgin was truly from the family and tribe of David. God commands the Archangel Gabriel to go to the Virgin, betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David (Luke 1:27). Joseph's genealogy shows that he was also a descendant of David. According to Jewish law, it was not allowed to take a wife not only from another tribe, but also from another family in the same tribe. Righteous Joseph (as the Evangelist Matthew himself calls him) could not, and had no need to, violate such an important law. Why did the evangelist include the genealogy of Joseph and not Mary? Because the Jews did not conduct genealogies according to the female tribe. If the evangelist had presented the genealogy of the Virgin, his Jewish readers would have considered him an innovator; and if he had kept silent about Joseph’s genealogy, we would not have known the Virgin’s ancestors. And according to the explanation of the “wonderful and famous men” that came to us through St. John Chrysostom, the evangelist did not want to reveal to the unbelieving Jewish readers the secret of the birth of Christ from the Virgin in the very first lines of the Gospel, so as not to push them away from reading the Holy Book. If even after so many miracles the unbelieving Jews called Jesus Christ the son of Joseph, how could they believe, not yet knowing about His miracles, that He was born of a Virgin? The righteous Joseph himself, in order to believe, received revelation from God and the testimony of the prophets. And the Most Pure Virgin, the Mother of Christ, did not dare to reveal this secret for the time being: listen to what She says to Her Divine Youth Son: Behold, Your father and I have sought You with great sorrow (Luke 2:48).

Trinity leaves. No. 801-1050.

Solomon receives wisdom

(1 Kings 3:15)

And Solomon woke up. Now, it was a dream. And he went to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and offered burnt offerings, made peace offerings, and made a great feast for all his servants.

When wisdom enters your heart, you seek the presence of the Lord.

You need Jesus. You don't just want success, you want to be in the presence of Jesus. Because He is the source of every blessing and success.

This is the clearest sign that Solomon received wisdom.

The point is not in the Ark, but in the One Whom this Ark represents. The Ark is a visual aid to tell you about the wonderful Person, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The seat of mercy is His pierced hands and Body, His finished work. His Blood has taken away all sins from the presence of God for all those who believe.

(Ps 131:13-14)

For the Lord chose Zion and desired it for His dwelling place. “This is my rest forever: here I rejoice, for I have desired it.”

Zion, not Sinai. Zion is a place of grace.

Question to the Pastor

Sinai is a symbol of the law. Is Zion a symbol of grace?

Jesus must be in the context of Mount Zion. Is it possible to imagine Jesus as tough, as another lawgiver like Moses?

There are preachers who present Him this way. No, Jesus must be associated with the mountain of grace - Zion.

What will happen to those who put Jesus at the center of their lives?

King David and all his meekness

Readers of our magazine are already familiar with Archpriest Leonid Grilikhes - a Semitologist, head of the Department of Biblical Studies at the Moscow Academy of Sciences, teacher of ancient oriental languages, poet and translator. Continuing our conversations about the Old Testament, we will talk today about David - the king of Israel, psalmist, warrior, one of the most remarkable personalities of Old Testament history.

— There are a lot of unforgettable people, bright, powerful personalities in the Old Testament - what distinguishes David from all the others, what is his peculiarity?
Why exactly did he, or more precisely, his voice, his psalms become an absolutely integral part of Orthodox worship and our Christian life? — David is an amazing person not only in biblical, but also in world history. Firstly, everything that we see today in Jerusalem is connected with his name. It was David who gave Jerusalem the spiritual impetus that made it the holy city of three religions. At the beginning of the 10th century BC, David conquered this small fortress at the foot of Mount Zion and made it the capital of Israel united under his rule. And from that moment began the history of Jerusalem as a holy city - a city that not only belonged to the king, but became the place of the Lord. The spiritual power of this city, the power that is still felt by all who come to Jerusalem today, is leavened in the personality of David.

Secondly, the hymnographic tradition of the Church dates back to David. It should be remembered that not all the psalms contained in the Psalter were written by David; but it was David who was the founder of this kind of poetry. All biblical poetry and, ultimately, all church hymnography goes back to the songs that David composed. She all grew up on his word, on his devotion to God, trust in God, confidence that with God he would walk through the wall if necessary.

And the third thing, which is especially important and what is perhaps more important than anything else, is that the messianic line goes back to David; Christ is a descendant of David; even during the life of the king, the prophet Nathan told him that the Messiah would come from him (see: 2 Sam. 7 , 14–16).
Thus, the city dedicated to God, and the hymnography addressed to God, and, finally, the Lord himself, incarnate and born in the line of David - all this converges in one person. — David is a king, the second king in the history of Israel;
the first of the kings, Saul, turned out to be unworthy of the anointing, and he was replaced by David. The era of Judges has ended, the era of Kingdoms has begun. I would like to ask about the spiritual meaning of kingship, anointing to the kingdom. Why does the Lord tell the prophet Samuel to give the Israelites a king, as if condescending to their inability to cope without a king? It turns out that this is not at all a great event in the life of Israel, but, on the contrary, evidence of a certain fall, weakness. “This is truly a completely unique event; in its uniqueness it is not inferior to monotheism. In all eastern and not only eastern religions, royal power is extolled and deified, and only the Bible says that dynastic royal power is God’s condescension to the weakness of people, to their lack of faith and cowardice. Turning to the prophet Samuel with the request: place a king over us (1 Samuel 8 :5), the Israelis reject the judges who were elected directly by God and want to have what they think is a more stable institution of power. The Lord descends to their request (see: 1 Samuel 8 , 7–9) and in the end, by His mercy, installs a king for Israel who himself becomes a symbol of devotion to God. The first king of Israel, Saul, loses power precisely because he was not submissive to God; he did not want to obey the words of the prophet Samuel. But the Lord saw a true king in David, a shepherd boy, a musician, the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse.

— Reading the story of David (1, 2 and the beginning of the 3rd book of Kings), we see every now and then that he behaves strangely and unreasonably in the eyes of his contemporaries; This unreasonableness always reminds us of something. Saul pursues David and wants to kill him; David saves his life, refusing to raise his hand against God’s anointed, and mourns Saul when he dies. David refuses to punish Shimei, the king who insulted him publicly, because the Lord commanded him to slander David. Who can say: why are you doing this? (2 Kings 16:10). David forgives, loves, waits and finally mourns his son Absalom, although he betrayed him and wanted to kill him (see: 2 Samuel 18)... And all this makes us turn our attention not to the Old Testament, but to the New Testament.

- God is always the same. Both in the Old Testament and in the New there is one and the same God. People are simply not equally close or far from Him. The New Testament opens an era of extreme intimacy between God and man. In the Old, He is not revealed in such completeness. But in those to whom He approached, to whom He revealed Himself - in Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David - we really find a lot of New Testament things. These are glimpses of the coming New Testament. David is a very courageous man, warlike, he is terrible for those with whom he fights, but for some reason we still read to this day: Remember, O Lord, David and all his meekness (Ps. 131 : 1). What is David's meekness? The fact is that in the first place he has what God reveals to him, and here David is truly the meekest person. He was meek - before the word of God, which was an indisputable decree for him, even if it did not in any way fit with his interests in earthly understanding. And that is why David was moving in the right direction. Note that unlike other ancient rulers who saw themselves as earthly gods, David always knew that he was just a man. That his days are like a field flower (Ps. 102 :15). He never became arrogant. I did not lose the correct, sober vision of myself. Power and fame change a person; how many people in the history of mankind are there who can withstand the test of power and glory? David is one of the few.

- Does he always stand it, though?
What about the story of Uriah the Hittite and his wife, Bathsheba (see: 2 Kings 11)? — David committed a crime. And we should be grateful to the biblical chroniclers that they write about this so openly and do not try to disguise it. David took the wife of Uriah, a man whose behavior, as depicted in the pages of the Bible, is completely impeccable and noble, and who is also extremely devoted to King David. But David sent Uriah to his death. In this situation, David looks like a scoundrel. The Bible shows us how far he fell. And the prophet Nathan comes to him (see: 2 Kings 12 ) and tells him this. And here we again see the difference between David and most earthly rulers, from Ivan the Terrible, for example, who killed Metropolitan Philip; David is ready to hear the words convicting him; he knows that the voice of the prophet is the voice of God. David's repentance is as deep as his fall. That’s why it lifts him up from there, from the abyss, and that’s why we hear the 50th Psalm every day during worship. And we must learn a lesson for ourselves from this situation, in other words, derive for ourselves the following law of repentance: in order to lift us up, it must be as deep as the sin in us.

— There is a metaphor for the fate and personality of David: the sun breaks through dense clouds here and there and blinds people with its rays. Does it reflect the truth?

— David is very contradictory. And here we must again thank the ancient Israelite chroniclers: usually the court chronicles look completely different, listing only the great merits of the king. We talked about the fact that he refused to punish Shimei, who publicly insulted him, but before his death, he still ordered Semei to be executed (see: 1 Kings 2 , 8-9). And David of the era of Saul, young David, is the commander of such a detachment of fugitives, essentially an armed gang hiding in the mountains, and what he does, how he survives, is very similar to modern racketeering, the practice of “protection protection” for rich people , let us at least remember the story of Nabal and his wife Abigail (see: 1 Samuel 25 ). Moreover, for some time David served the ancient enemies of Israel, the Philistines, Achish, king of Gath (see: 1 Sam. 27 ). David is forced to live according to the laws of that time, which, however, differ little from today. But at the same time, an absolutely amazing heart beats in David, an amazing soul lives in him, something that is ahead of himself. God chose David, and David was responsive. The reason for its inconsistency is precisely because it is not identical to itself, because God, as it were, raises it above itself. The people who wrote down the chronicle of David's reign felt this, and for them it was most significant. And this remained for centuries.

— Many people remember Akhmatova’s lines: “There is sadness in me, which King David royally bestowed on thousands of years.”
But he also gave us royal joy - joy in the Lord... - Yes, indeed, many psalms are an expression of joy, rejoicing, and praise. This jubilation sometimes overwhelms David. The Bible depicts how, forgetting about his royal dignity, David danced in front of the Ark of the Covenant when the Ark was transferred to Jerusalem (see: 2 Sam. 6 , 5). For which, by the way, he received contempt from his own wife Michal, who hears from him the answer: I will play and dance before the Lord (2 Kings 6:21 ).

— Why does the Archangel Gabriel predict that the Infant Christ will have the throne of David, His father (Luke 1:32)? It would seem that what is common between the throne (power) of David, the earthly king, tribal leader - and the Throne of the Son of God?

“You need to understand that during the era of the Second Temple a special theological language developed, and the expression “throne of David” cannot be taken literally. They were expecting a Messiah from the line of David. And therefore the expression “throne of David” served as an indication of messianic dignity.

— The image of King David, apparently, meant a lot to our ancestors; The churches of Vladimir Rus', the Demetrius Cathedral, the Intercession on the Nerl are decorated with bas-reliefs of King David with a psalter. This is not a coincidence, is it?

— In the understanding of our ancestors, David is an ideal king who, on the one hand, remains faithful to God, and on the other, unites the people. For the princes of the era of disunited Rus', for Andrei Bogolyubsky and Vsevolod the Big Nest, David was first of all a unifying king, because under the rule of David two kingdoms, northern and southern, united. Israel during the time of David and then Solomon was a large, strong, powerful empire, uniting not only the Israelite tribes, but also neighboring tribes. That is why on the western facade of the Demetrius Cathedral we see two lions at the feet of David. Prince Vsevolod, who was brought up in Greece, could perceive David as his patron for another reason: he is the youngest of the sons of Yuri Dolgoruky, from his second wife, and he, nevertheless, was called to reign. Therefore, David, the youngest of the sons of Jesse, David, whom his brothers bowed to, meant a lot to Vsevolod. On the northern facade of the Demetrius Cathedral there is another image: a man is sitting, and on his knees is a little boy in boots, this speaks of princely dignity, and in front of him there are two more youths on both sides - they bow to him. Apparently this is a picture of Jesse and David. For Prince Vsevolod, this was a kind of paradigm - being chosen by God despite human institutions.

— Why is there not a single Orthodox church consecrated in the name of David?
After all, the memory of David is celebrated by the Church (January 10), and the Psalter is read and sung in every church. - Don't know. For some reason there is no such tradition. I was in Georgia, met with His Holiness Patriarch Elijah, and the first thing he told me: in all of Russia there is not a single temple in the name of David the Psalmist, and we consecrated such a temple. The Patriarch invited me to this small temple on the banks of the Kura River so that I could read psalms there in the language of David - in Hebrew.

— But you also translate the psalms into modern Russian. Why do you, a priest, need this? The ecclesiastical, Church Slavonic version does not satisfy you?

— I really like the way the Psalter sounds in Church Slavonic. This text is very convenient for church recitation. And I know that many who read, especially those who begin to read the psalms in church, get great pleasure from this reading. But I think that first of all it’s the sound. Because the meaning remains not entirely clear. Usually the ear picks out a separate phrase or phrase, then the meaning goes somewhere, recedes, the connection is lost, then again our perception picks out another phrase... and as a result, only individual sentences are stored in our heads, which only over time, with constant reading practice The Psalms may begin to take shape in certain images. I am speaking, of course, about myself, about my perception, but I think that almost everyone who reads the Church Slavonic Psalter feels something similar. As for the Synodal translation into Russian, it definitely conveys the meaning of the psalms more clearly (although it must be borne in mind that there are a lot of inaccurate or even completely incorrect readings in it), but the ponderousness, artlessness of the language, the absence of even a hint of poetry (that euphony , which distinguishes our Slavic text) frighten off the reader, who somehow intuitively understands that the psalms should be poetry.

Thus, the Slavic text sounds beautiful, but is difficult to understand, and the Synodal translation, although clearer, does not sound. In my translations, I try to combine two tasks: to convey the meaning of the original as accurately and clearly as possible, but at the same time to achieve the beauty of sound, focusing on the rich tradition of Russian poetry. Although I try to preserve the tonic versification characteristic of biblical poetry and prefer internal rhymes. Of course, these translations are not intended to be read during worship, but rather for home reading, with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the rich world of psalmic poetry.

Translations of the psalms of Archpriest Leonid Grilikhes

Psalm 41

1 To the director of the choir. Teaching of the sons of Korah.

2 Like a deer that strives for water in a valley, my soul, O God, strives for You.

3 My soul thirsts for God—the living God. When will I come and see the image of God?

4 My tears day and night are my bread. All day they keep telling me: “Where is your God?”

5 But my soul melts within me Only I remember how I walked in the crowd How I entered the house of God with a singing crowd With shouts of joy and praise

6 Why did the soul sink? Why are you crying in me? Trust in God, I will still praise Him for my salvation, He is my Divinity.

7 My soul, O God, has fallen, Because I remembered You In the land of Jordan, On the ridges of Hermon, From the top of Mount Mizar

8 The abyss calls to the abyss, Your streams rumble, All Your waves and waves have passed over me.

9 During the day the Lord will show me mercy, I will compose a song to Him at night - a prayer to the God of my life -

10 To my rock, to God, I will say: Why have you forgotten me? Why am I under the yoke of the enemy? Why am I walking around gloomy?

11 It’s like they’re breaking my bones When my enemies tease me All day long they keep telling me: “Where is your God?”

12 Why did you droop, soul? Why are you crying in me? Trust in God, I will still praise Him for my salvation. He is my Divinity.

Psalm 42

1 Judge me, O God, resolve my dispute, from the cruel, from the deceitful, from the vile!

2 My God, You are my support! Why did you leave me? Why am I under the yoke of the enemy? Why am I walking around gloomy?

3 Let Thy light and righteousness send, May they guide me, May they lead me to Thy holy mountain, To where Thy tabernacle is.

4 And when I reach the altar of God, under the cithara I will offer praise to You, the God of joy and gladness - God and Divinity.

5 Why have you fallen, my soul? Why are you crying in me? Trust in God, I will still praise Him for my salvation. He is my Divinity.

David, type of Christ

David (Hebrew: דָּוִד‎ - “beloved”) is the second king of the people of Israel after Saul, the youngest son of Jesse (Ishai) from Bethlehem (Beth-Lehem).
According to the Bible (1 Kings 2:11), he reigned for forty years: for seven years and six months he was king of Judah (with his capital in Hebron), then for 33 years he was king of the united kingdom of Israel and Judah (with his capital in Jerusalem). Reign dates according to traditional Jewish chronology are ca. 876-836 BC uh..

The image of David represents the image of an ideal ruler.

According to biblical prophecies, the Messiah (Hebrew: Mashiach) should come from the line of David (male line).

No character in the Bible can be a perfect type of Christ. All people have flaws; Christ “committed no sin, and no flattery was in His mouth.”

22 He committed no sin, and no flattery was found in His mouth. (1 Peter 2:22)

Despite all the imperfections in David's life, the prophets speak of Jesus as their King David.

• Jeremiah said, “But they will serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will restore to them.” (Jer. 30:9).
• Ezekiel said, “And I will appoint over them one shepherd to feed them, my servant David; he will shepherd them and he will be their shepherd.”
• And he also said: “And my servant David will be King over them and Shepherd of them all...” (Ezek. 34:23; 37:24).

By the time Jeremiah began to prophesy, David was already dead. When Ezekiel prophesied, David had been gone for about 400 years. These and other prophecies could only use David as a figure.

Since these passages point to Christ, it means that David was a type of Christ. So let's look at the comparison between David and Christ.

Name

The name David means "beloved." David was a man after the Lord's own heart.

14 But now your reign cannot stand; The Lord will find Him a man after His own heart, and the Lord will command him to be the leader of His people, since you have not fulfilled what the Lord commanded you. (1 Samuel 13:14)

22 Having rejected him, he made David king for them, of whom he also said, testifying: I have found a man after My heart, David the son of Jesse, who will fulfill all My desires. (Acts 13:22)

And if this name, in its meaning of "beloved," rightfully belonged to David, how much more is it applicable to Jesus, the Son of God.

Jesus came down from heaven not to do His will, but the will of the Father.

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

38 For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. (John 6:38)

42 saying: Father! Oh, that You would deign to carry this cup past Me! however, not My will, but Yours be done. (Luke 22:42)

Parents

Both David and Jesus were descended from simple parents.

David was the son of Jesse from Bethlehem. Jesus was born in Bethlehem to simple parents. Mary, His mother, was a simple girl, and Joseph was a carpenter.

Shepherd

David was a shepherd, and he put his life in danger for the sake of his sheep.

• 1 Sam. 16:11; 17:31-36.49

Jesus is our good shepherd and He laid down His life for His sheep.

• John 10:11,27-29
• Is. 53:6
• 2 Cor. 5:21
• 1 Pet. 2:23-25

Savior

David was anointed by Samuel to reign over Israel for forty years.

• 1 Sam. 16:13
• 2 Kings 5:4
• 1 Kings 2:11

David reigned and conquered the enemies of Israel, and therefore saved the people.

• 2 Kings 3:18

Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit as King over the people of God until the end of the world.

• Mat. 3:16,17; 16:18,19; 28:20
• Acts 10:38
• Col. 1:13,14

Jesus rose from the dead to sit on the throne of David and reign, not over carnal Israel, but over spiritual Israel, the church.

• Acts 2:30.31
• Onion. 1:30-33

Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

• Onion. 19:10

Jesus reigns over the church and will reign “until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

25 For He must reign until He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 But the last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Cor. 15:25,26)

When Jesus comes again, it will be the end of His reign. Then He will not establish a new kingdom, but He will transfer the already existing kingdom to God the Father:

24 And then the end, when He will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father, when He will abolish all rule and all authority and power. (1 Cor. 15:24)

Chapter 3. Son of Man / The Problem of Two Genealogies

The Gospel of Matthew, which opens the New Testament, begins with the words: Genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1). The term “geneasology” in the Russian translation conveys the Greek expression βίβλος γενέσεως (corresponding to the Hebrew תולדות - toləḏoṯ): literally it means “book of origin”, “book of genealogy” or “book of being” (in the Slavic translation “book of kinship”). In the Septuagint the word γένεσις is used as the title of the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible; in the very text of the book of Genesis it is used when talking about the origin of heaven and earth (Gen. 2:4) and about the genealogy of Adam (Gen. 5:1)1 Schlatter DA Der Evangelist Matthaus. S. 1.. Willingly or unwittingly, the evangelist draws a parallel between, on the one hand, the creation of the world and man, and on the other, the coming into the world of the God-man Jesus Christ. In relation to Jesus, the term γένεσις indicates the same type of “genealogy” that Adam had: just as Adam had no earthly father, but God was his Creator and Father, so Jesus had no earthly father.

The "Book of Kinship" of Jesus Christ contains a long list of names - His ancestors according to the flesh. The list is presented in a form unusual for the modern reader: Abraham gave birth to Isaac; Isaac gave birth to Jacob; Jacob begat Judas and his brothers (Matthew 1:2). This list ends with the following words: Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the migration to Babylon to Christ there are fourteen generations (Matthew 1:16–17).

This text poses many questions to the reader. Why is Jesus called the Son of David, the Son of Abraham in the very first verse of the Gospel? Why does the life of Jesus begin with His genealogy? Why does the genealogy of Jesus actually turn out to be the genealogy of Joseph, who, as is clear from the further narration of the same evangelist, was not the physical father of Jesus? What is the meaning of dividing the genealogy into three parts, each with fourteen genera?

To these questions are added others that arise when comparing the list of names given by Matthew with the genealogy contained in Luke (Luke 3:23-38), as well as with the books of the Old Testament, which mention the characters listed in both genealogies. Why do Matthew and Luke disagree on many points? Why are several links missing in the genealogical chain given by Matthew due to the omission of several names that are easily reconstructed from the Old Testament books?

Let's try to answer these questions. First of all, we note that Matthew calls Jesus Christ, that is, the Anointed of God, from the very first line presenting Him as the Messiah promised by the prophets. Unlike Mark, who in the first verse of his Gospel speaks of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Mark 1:1), Matthew emphasizes not His Divine, but His human origin, calling Jesus Christ the son of David and the son of Abraham. At the same time, like Mark, he emphasizes His messianic role by using the term “Christ” along with the personal name “Jesus.”

The term “son” is used in the sense in which it was used in the Jewish tradition. In the language of the Old Testament, a son was any male descendant, including grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, and so on. It should be noted that genealogies - lists of the names of the ancestors of a person - are of the utmost importance in the Bible2 Compare: Gen. 10, 1; 11, 10; 11, 27; 25, 12; 36, 1, etc.. The entire book of Numbers consists mainly of lists of names that mean nothing to the modern reader, but are undoubtedly important for the authors of the book. The need to include genealogical lists in the book of Numbers and other parts of the Bible was due to the fact that the genealogy was by no means perceived as simply a list of names that helps to establish the origin of a person. Pedigree primarily indicated the heritage that each person carries; she wove his name into an unbroken chain of names going back to the father of the Jewish people Abraham and through him to the father of all nations Adam. By citing the names of Jesus' ancestors, the evangelist wanted to emphasize the fact that He was a real Man, whose name is woven into the continuous thread of human names.

The Gospel of Matthew was addressed primarily to Jewish readers, and the author of this Gospel set himself the task of placing Jesus in the context of not just human history, but the history of a specific people, the representatives of which were the evangelist himself, his heroes and his readers. In order for the latter to perceive Jesus as one of their own, it was necessary to imagine Him, first of all, as a descendant of the key characters in the history of the Jewish people, as it is reflected in the pages of the historical books of the Old Testament.

Contemporaries of Jesus called themselves the seed of Abraham, proudly speaking about themselves: our father is Abraham (John 8:39). The name of Abraham enjoyed indisputable authority among the Jewish people: it was with him that God entered into a covenant, on the basis of which the Jews considered themselves God’s chosen people. This covenant, from a Christian perspective, is reinterpreted as the Old, as opposed to the New, concluded through Jesus Christ, the “son” of Abraham.

The theme of the relationship between the Old and New Testaments is the leitmotif of the Gospel of Matthew. The genealogy of Jesus according to the Gospel of Matthew covers about two thousand years of Old Testament history, of which one thousand falls on the period from David to Jesus. By beginning his Gospel with a genealogy, Matthew emphasizes that Jesus' ministry is a continuation of this story.

It was equally important to immediately show the messianic origin of Jesus. Readers of Matthew knew well that the Messiah was to come from the tribe of Judah, according to the prophecy: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until the Reconciler comes, and to Him the submission of the nations (Gen. 49:10). In the prophecy of Balaam, the Messiah is presented as a descendant of Jacob (Israel): I see Him, but now I am not yet; I see Him, but not close. A star rises out of Jacob and a rod rises out of Israel (Num. 24:17). Jacob was the father of Judah, and Abraham was his great-grandfather.

In the book of the prophet Isaiah, the promise of the Messiah is associated with the house of Jacob (Is. 2:2-4). In the same book, the Messiah is called a branch from the root of Jesse (Isa. 11:1). Jesse, who came from Bethlehem of Judea, was the father of King David (1 Sam. 17:12), who is repeatedly spoken of in the Old Testament as the one from whose family the Messiah will come.

In the messianic sense, the words of Nathan addressed to David on behalf of God were interpreted: When your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers, then I will raise up your seed after you, which will come from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me (2 Samuel 7:12–14). The verses from the psalm were perceived in the same sense: I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to My servant David: I will establish your seed forever, I will build your throne to generation and generation (Ps. 89:4-5). Last but not least, the prophecy of Jeremiah: Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise up a righteous Branch for David, and a King will reign, and will act wisely, and will execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety; and this is His name by which they will call Him: “The Lord is our justification!” (Jer. 23:5–6).

Thus, the Messiah, according to the prophecies, was supposed to be a direct descendant of David3 For more information on this, see: Mowinckel S. He Th at Cometh. R. 165–181, and therefore the mention of David was necessary for the author of the genealogy of Jesus. The expression “Son of David” appears many times in Matthew and in parallel narratives of other weather forecasters. Jesus was called the Son of David by those who turned to Him asking for healing (Matthew 9:27; 15:22; 20:30–31). The expression Christ, Son of David was applied to Jesus (Matthew 12:23); upon entering Jerusalem, He was greeted with the words Hosanna to the Son of David (Matthew 21:9). The confidence of the Jews that the Messiah must come from the line of David is confirmed by the words of the Pharisees: Does not the Scripture say that Christ will come from the seed of David? (John 7:42). The weather forecasters recorded a dispute between Jesus and the Jews about whether the Messiah was the son of David:

When the Pharisees had gathered, Jesus asked them: What do you think about Christ? whose son is he? They say to Him: David. He said to them: How then does David, by inspiration, call Him Lord, when he says: The Lord said to my Lord: Sit on My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool? So if David calls Him Lord, how can He be his son? (Matt. 22:41–45; cf. Mark 12:35–37; Luke 20:40–44).

As can be seen from this account, Jesus did not refute the Jewish belief that the Messiah would come from the line of David. But He emphasized that in relation to David, the Messiah is Lord: He is not only a direct descendant of David, but also his Lord.

After the resurrection of Jesus, the apostles continued this theme, making it one of the central ones in their proof of the messianic role of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles cites Peter's speech, delivered on the day of Pentecost and having a programmatic character: in it, Peter sets out the essence of the Gospel that he and the other apostles intend to preach. An important place in this presentation is given to David:

For David says about Him: I saw the Lord always before me, for He is at my right hand, so that I would not be shaken... Men and brethren! let it be allowed to boldly tell you about the forefather David, that he died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being a prophet and knowing that God promised him with an oath from the fruit of his loins to raise up Christ in the flesh and seat him on his throne, he first said about the resurrection of Christ that His soul was not left in hell, and His flesh did not see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, of which we are all witnesses (Acts 2:25, 29-32).

The theme of David also occupies a significant place in the sermon of the Apostle Paul. He refers to her twice in his epistles (Rom. 1:3; 1 Tim. 2:8), and the book of Acts brings to us one of his oral sermons:

...He made David king for them, about whom he said, testifying: I have found a man after My heart, David, the son of Jesse, who will fulfill all My desires. From his descendants, God, according to the promise, raised up the Savior Jesus to Israel... and we preach to you that the promise given to the fathers, God fulfilled to us, their children, by raising Jesus, as in the second psalm it is written: You are my Son: today have I begotten you. And that He raised Him from the dead, so that He would no longer turn into corruption, about this He said this: I will give you the mercies promised to David, truly. Therefore, in another place he says: You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption. David, having served the will of God at one time, rested and was kissed by his fathers, and saw corruption; and He whom God raised saw no corruption (Acts 13:22–23; 32–37).

Note that, although the Gospel of Matthew comes first in the New Testament corpus, the above speeches of the apostles Peter and Paul most likely chronologically precede this Gospel, since they mark the very beginning of the apostolic preaching. Mentions of the origin of Jesus from the line of David in the letters of the Apostle Paul also, in all likelihood, precede the Gospel of Matthew.

Genealogies were always conducted along the male line - from father to son and beyond. In Matthew this order is strictly followed. Both the form in which the genealogy is presented and the names themselves included in it are borrowed from the books of the Old Testament. Some borrowings are almost literal (for example, Matt. 1:3–6 corresponds to 2 Chron. 2:10–12 and Ruth 4:18–22).

The four women mentioned in Matthew's genealogy were the wives of those whose direct descendants, according to Matthew, were Jesus. There are different opinions about why their names are included in the genealogy. In two cases, the women mentioned by Matthew were not the legal wives of the men who fathered a son included in the genealogy: Tamar, with whom Judah sinned by mistaking her for a harlot (Gen. 38:13–30), and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah , with which David sinned (2 Sam. 11:2-27). Ruth is mentioned perhaps because her relationship with Boaz is the subject of an entire book in the Bible (Ruth 2:1–4:16).

The greatest mystery of the women mentioned by Matthew is Rahab. Many researchers identify her with Rahab the harlot mentioned in the book of Joshua (2:1–24; 6:16). However, nowhere in the Old Testament is it said that Rahab married Salmon. Perhaps Matthew relied on some other, non-biblical sources or did not mean the Rahab spoken of in the Bible.

Why does Matthew give the genealogy of Joseph if, according to the same evangelist, Joseph was not the physical father of Jesus? The answer to this question follows from the custom of the Jews, according to which the father of the child was considered the husband of his mother, even if the child was not born from him. Having become engaged to Mary, who was pregnant (Luke 2:5), Joseph took upon himself the responsibility of raising Her unborn Child. Without being the physical father of the Child, he was His legal father, which is why Jesus continued to be called the son of Joseph even in adulthood (Luke 4:22; John 1:45).

When comparing the genealogy from the Gospel of Matthew with the biblical books telling about the history of the kings of Judah, attention is drawn to Matthew's omission of the three kings between Joaram and Uzziah - Ahaziah, Joash and Amaziah. Obviously, this omission was made in order to achieve the number 14 when listing the generations between David and the Babylonian migration. For Matthew, the symbolism of numbers was more important than the historical sequence of names. It is also possible that the desire to achieve the desired number 14 at any cost in each chronological segment was due to the fact that the numerical value of the Hebrew letters with which the name “David” is written was 14 in total.

It is no coincidence that Matthew divides the genealogy into segments from Abraham to David, from David to the migration to Babylon, and from the migration to Babylon to Christ. In this construction, Abraham, David and Christ become a kind of supporting pillars, symbolic names on which the entire building rests.

The greatest mystery for scientists is the fact that the two genealogies of Jesus Christ are significantly different from one another. The genealogies of Matthew and Luke coincide only in the segment that contains the names from Abraham to David. Next, Matthew follows the “royal” line, listing the kings of Judah, as they are mentioned in the Old Testament, and Luke gives a different line. Disagreement in genealogies persists from David to Shealtiel, in Matthew through 16 generations, in Luke through 20. The lines converge on Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, who are present in the lists of both evangelists (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27), but then the genealogies They diverge again all the way to Joseph, Mary’s husband. Even the name of Joseph's father is different among the evangelists: in Matthew he is called James, in Luke - Eli (Matthew 1:15–16; Luke 3:23).

Scientists draw attention to the fact that Matthew, in constructing the genealogy of Jesus Christ, follows mainly the data of the First Book of Chronicles, while Luke is not familiar with this book4 Jeremias J. Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus. P. 280, 295.. The genealogy in the Gospel of Luke is based on other biblical sources and, in general, according to researchers, more accurately corresponds to historical reality, at least in relation to the period before the Babylonian captivity5 Ibid. P. 296. For the differences between the genealogies of Christ in Matthew and Luke, see: Muretov M.D. Genealogy of Christ. pp. 360–368..

The presence of two genealogies attracted the attention of early Christian authors, who tried to explain the differences between the evangelists with the help of references to Jewish laws, in particular to the law of the levirate: according to this law, if one of the brothers died childless, the other brother had to take his wife, and the firstborn, who She gives birth and will remain with the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out in Israel (Deut. 25:5-6). In the Old Testament, including the Septuagint, this was called raising up one's brother's name (Deut. 25:7); in the New Testament, when referring to this law, the expression is used to restore seed to one’s brother (Matt. 22:24; Mark 12:19; Luke 20:28). The Old Testament injunction in this case has a clear purpose: the law is introduced so that the name of someone who died childless will not be blotted out in Israel. Consequently, the name of this person should have entered the genealogy of one whose physical father was not he, but his brother.

The law of levirate explained the existence of two genealogies by Julius Africanus (III century), whose words are quoted by Eusebius of Caesarea:

The names of generations in Israel were calculated either by nature or by law: by nature, when there was a succession of legitimate sons; according to the law, when, after the death of a childless brother, his brother gave his child the name of the deceased... Therefore, of the persons mentioned in this genealogy, some were the legal heirs of their fathers by nature, while others were born by some fathers, but by name belonged to others. They mentioned both of them: both actual fathers and those who were, as it were, fathers. Thus, neither one nor the other Gospel is mistaken in numbering the names according to nature and according to law. The descendants of Solomon and Nathan were so intertwined with each other due to the “resurrection” of childless people, second marriages and “restoration of the seed” that the same persons could rightly be considered the children of both their imaginary and real fathers. Both narratives are completely correct and reach Joseph along a tortuous but correct path6 Eusebius of Caesarea. Church history. 1, 7, 2–4. S. 28, 30..

This winding path, or rather two paths, led, according to Africanus, the two evangelists to two different fathers of Joseph, one of whom was one according to the law, the other according to the flesh. Agreeing with the opinion of Africanus, Eusebius of Caesarea notes: “If this is the genealogy of Joseph, then Mary must have come from the same tribe as him, for, according to the law of Moses, persons of different tribes were not allowed to marry. It was prescribed to take a wife from the same city and from the same kinship, so that the inheritance would not pass from one tribe to another.”7 Eusebius of Caesarea. Church history. 1, 7, 17. P. 32..

This interpretation is also followed by John of Damascus (8th century). Following Africanus, he says that two parallel lines of David’s descendants at some point reached Jacob and Eli, who “turned out to be brothers on their mother’s side: Jacob from the tribe of Solomon, Eli from the tribe of Nathan. Eli, who came from the tribe of Nathan, died childless; Jacob, his brother, who came from the tribe of Solomon, took his wife, and raised seed to his brother, and begat Isis. So, Joseph by nature is the son of Jacob, from the family of Solomon; and according to the law, the son of Eli, from the family of Nathan.” Damascene o8 John Damascene. An accurate exposition of the Orthodox faith. 4, 14 (Die Schrift en. Bd. 2. S. 199). Rus. trans.: P. 306..

Meanwhile, in recent centuries, the hypothesis that Luke gives the genealogy of Mary, and not Joseph, has become quite widespread. It was first put forward by the humanist Annius of Witterbosch (1432–1505) and was subsequently adopted by many scientists. According to this hypothesis, Eli, mentioned immediately after Joseph in Luke, was not the father of Joseph, but the father of Mary, and all subsequent names constitute Her, not his, genealogy. The Annius hypothesis allows us to get out of the seemingly insoluble riddle of two genealogies more elegantly than in the case of the law of levirate.

Indirect confirmation of this hypothesis is seen in the form in which the genealogy is presented in Luke. The list of names begins with the words: Jesus, beginning His ministry, was about thirty years old, and was, as they thought, the Son of Joseph, Eli (Luke 3:23). With the expression they thought, the evangelist seemed to want to protect himself from possible accusations of inaccuracy. In addition, in the Greek text of the Gospel of Luke, the article τοῦ is not attached to the name Joseph in the genealogy, while all other names are given with a definite article. This may mean that Joseph, as the imaginary father of Jesus, is, as it were, opposed to the real ancestors of Jesus on his mother’s side. In this case, the text should be understood in the sense that Jesus was thought to be the son of Joseph, but in fact the son (descendant) of Eli and the other persons mentioned - the ancestors of Mary.

The significant difference between Luke's genealogy and Matthew's is that he brings it not to Abraham, but to Adam and God. By this, Luke, who addressed his Gospel not to former Jews, but to former pagans, emphasizes the universal nature of the mission of Jesus: He is the Son not only of Abraham and David, but above all of Adam and of God (Luke 3:38). The expression “Son of Adam” is almost identical to the expression “Son of Man” repeatedly used by Jesus Himself, since Adam in the Old Testament tradition was perceived as the first man and a symbol of all humanity. And the expression “Son of God” emphasizes that, being inscribed in a specific human genealogy and, therefore, being a full-fledged man, Jesus was also God.

We will not go into further details of the discussion about the difference between the two genealogies, nor into the study of hypotheses about their supposed sources. 9 Thus, for example, some scholars believe that Matthew used two sources: one of them talked about the birth of Jesus from a Virgin without father, in another - about Him as the son of Joseph and a descendant of David. Matthew supposedly mechanically combined these two mutually exclusive sources, and Luke based himself on Matthew’s data, expanding and clarifying them. See: Scheide WH The Virgin Birth. P. 139–141. The artificiality of this hypothesis is obvious. Let's just say that the genealogies in both Gospels have not so much historical as theological significance. Early Christian authors saw in the genealogy of Jesus a direct connection with the doctrine of the redemption of mankind by Jesus as God and Savior. John Chrysostom in the 4th century said:

The Son of the beginningless Father, the true Son, deigned to be called the Son of David, in order to make you the son of God, and deigned to have a servant as His father, so that you, the slave, could be made the father of the Master. Do you see how the gospel is already at the very beginning? If you doubt your sonship with God, then be confident in it by hearing what happened to Him. After all, according to human reasoning, it is much more difficult for God to become a man than for a man to become the son of God. So, when you hear that the Son of God is the son of David and Abraham, then no longer doubt that you, the son of Adam, will be the son of God10 John Chrysostom. Interpretation of Saint Matthew the Evangelist. 2. 2 (PG. 57, 25–26). Rus. trans.: T. 7. Book. 1. P. 19..

These words provide an answer to those readers of the New Testament who wonder for what purpose the two evangelists included the genealogy of Jesus in their narratives. Each person has his own pedigree, leading him back to distant ancestors and through them to the common forefather of all people, Adam. In this sense, all people are relatives and all humanity is a single family. This is exactly how humanity is perceived in Christianity. Having entered Himself into the human genealogy, God incarnate became a full member of the human race, and people, according to Symeon the New Theologian (11th century), “became His brothers and relatives in the flesh”11 Simeon the New Theologian. Moral words. 13, 152–155 (SC. 129, 410). Rus. Per.: T. 1. P. 297..

However, if the Evangelist Matthew primarily emphasizes the kinship of Jesus with His brothers in the flesh - representatives of the Jewish people - then in Luke we find a more universalistic approach. At the same time, both evangelists, despite all the differences in emphasis, unambiguously perceive Jesus as the Son of Man and the Son of God at the same time, and His coming into the world is considered an event related to both God’s chosen Jewish people and all of humanity as a whole. .

Years of life

Table of contents

Events leading up to the birth of Jesus

Jesus in the center

David had a desire to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. And for us, the main thing is to return Jesus to the center of attention of the Church.

But don't churches preach about Jesus?

Everyone uses Jesus, but not everyone's focus is on Jesus. For example, after His Resurrection, Jesus walked with His disciples to a place called Emmaus. And the disciples of Jesus did not know that it was He, because their eyes were kept. Jesus walked with the disciples, and they were discouraged, they were despondent.

(Luke 24:13)

Jesus asked them: Why are you sad?

They answered: we hoped that He was the One who should deliver Israel.

Were they believers? Yes. Did they believe in Jesus? Yes.

But notice that Jesus is a secondary issue for them. Their focus was on Israel.

Some say: "Jesus!" But at the same time they are disappointed. Why?

“My son did not perform well in the exam, but I thought that Jesus would give success to my son. I didn’t get what I wanted, why?”

Other things are at the center, not Jesus. We want to use the Lord to get what we want.

The Lord is so loving, so kind. When people come to church, He allows Him to be used. He provides His power and says, “Take, take more.” The Lord wants you to use His wisdom when you are confused. He wants you to use His health when you are sick. He wants you to take His abundance when you need provision.

As we grow, there comes a time when what we want is no longer at the center of our lives. No longer my child’s success, no longer my career success. Jesus is at the center of my life.

When King David died to be with the Lord, his young son Solomon became the new king. Solomon went to Gobeon. There was a tabernacle and a minor, a table with showbread and an altar for offering incense. All this was there, but the most important thing was missing - the Ark of the Covenant.