Question #19: How do we prove that the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus in the flesh, truly descended from the lineage of King David so that the prophecy that the Messiah would belong to the dynasty of King David in 2 Samuel 7:11-17
Answer: The Virgin Mary is the mother of the Word who became flesh according to John 1:14. We have to prove that Christ’s actual lineage in the flesh through Mary is correct, thus establishing the fact that Jesus of Nazareth was fully man. He was fully human that in Him dwelt the fullness of Deity. As fully man and fully God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the ONLY MEDIATOR between God and man.
Going back in history, we find Shealtiel and Zerubbabel as common ascendants of Joseph and Mary in the Gospel According to Matthew 1:12 and in Luke 3:23-27. Then from this common forefather it branched until two descendants meet again to bring out the promised Messiah:
| ZERUBBABEL (Matthew 1:1-17) | ZERUBBABEL (Luke 3:23-38) |
| 1. Abiud | 1. Rhesa |
| 2. Eliakim | 2. Joannas |
| 3. Azor | 3. Judah |
| 4. Zadok | 4. Joseph |
| 5. Achim | 5. Semei |
| 6. Eliud | 6. Mattathiah |
| 7. Eleazar | 7. Maath |
| 8. Nathan or Mathan | 8. Naggai |
| 9. Jacob | 9. Gali |
| 10. Joseph (husband of Mary) | 10. Nahum |
| 11. Amos | |
| 12. Mattathiah | |
| 13. Joseph | |
| 14. Nanna | |
| 15. Melchi | |
| 16. Heli | |
| 17. Joseph |
Luke 3:23 reads, “Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli.” The genealogy given by Luke is more likely the lineage of Mary which is suggested by the parenthetical phrase “(as was supposed)” in this quoted verse. While Matthew chapter 1:1-17 is the genealogy of Joseph. In those years, the husband was frequently the one named instead of the wife. Very clearly, Joseph and Mary belong to the tribe of Judah and both descended from King David byconsanguinity as well as affinity.
King David had a son name Nathan (2 Sam. 5:14) and this is the branch descends unto Mary. While another son of King David was Solomon which is the branch that descends to Joseph. These two branches comes together in Shealtiel and his wife who brought forth ZERUBBABEL. This Zerubbabel had two sons namely: ABIUD and RHESA. The Abiud branch produced Joseph, while the Rhesa branch produced Mary. The material throne of David did not last forever. And there was no king on David’s throne who reigned in Jerusalem after this city was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. After Babilonia, the succeeding colonizer over the land area of Israel was the Medo-Persian Empire after which came the Macedonian-Greek Empire then came the Roman Empire. The King Herod of Matt. 2:1 was an Idumean (NT name of Edom) who was married into the priestly Hasmonean dynasty or the Maccabean family that drove away from Israeli territory the Syrian colonizers starting with the revolt headed by the priest Matathias in 168 B.C..
Indeed, Mary descended from King David, and so Jesus descended from King David (Matt. 1:1), thus fulfilling the prophecy that there should be a king that sits on David’s throne forever. This genealogy should help us tackle the issue about the Kingdom in relation to the doctrine of premillennialism.