There are differing thoughts about why the compilers of Matthew felt impelled to include such a detailed genealogy of Jesus’ human ancestry as the opening to the New Testament (see Matthew 1:1–17). While many people just skip right over the countless mentions of the Bible’s “begats”—the details of who sired which child—this genealogy has some relevant background for later revelations in Christian Science.
Matthew undoubtedly was faithfully following the very important tradition of documenting ancestry which the ancient Hebrew people followed and found so vital. One intent of this genealogy was to show that Jesus was descended from the founder of the Hebrew faith, Abraham, and from the royal line of King David. This sense of who your ancestors were and from what family you came was the backbone of acceptance into the tribes of the time. The narrative was apparently meant to make Jesus acceptable to the people of that era—and someone to be honored because of his ancestry.
While the Bible takes regular note of human ancestry, it also records great conflicts between those who were not of the same origin. As intriguing as this is, there is also a marvelous distinction between this human genealogy and the strong stand the Gospels take in insisting that Jesus was born of a virgin—having a spiritual ancestry. And taking it further, they declare that Joseph was not his father—but that God was.
