Page 45 - Advanced Life of Christ - Student Textbook

descendant of Heli. Joseph’s name is mentioned in Luke according to common practice, but he is clearly
portrayed as the “supposed” father of Jesus, but the Holy Spirit is the actual father.

The purposes of the two genealogies are to demonstrate that Jesus was the descendant of King David in
both. Through his foster father (whose genealogy is presented in Matthew) Jesus inherited by law the
royal line. Through His mother He was a flesh and blood descendant of King David through David’s son
Nathan. Thus, Jesus had all the proper credentials to be the promised Messiah, the Son of David and
rightful heir of his throne.

What the Genealogy of Jesus Teachers Us about the Savior

The Childhood of Jesus (Luke 2:40-52)

Luke provided the only narrative of Jesus’ youth in the Gospel record. This was probably the first visit to
Jerusalem before the bar mitzvah of young Jesus. It was customary for Jewish parents to take their son
to the temple one or two years before he turned 13. Thus, Jesus’ visit to the temple at this age is
consistent with normal Jewish practice. It was also the practice for young Jewish boys to ask questions
of the teachers of the Law while visiting at the temple.

Jesus remained in the temple discussing Scripture even when his parents departed to return to
Nazareth. In those days, large groups of families traveled together to provide protection in caravans. It
was unnoticed that Jesus was not with the departing group. It is likely that Joseph and Mary had arrived
in Jericho before they noticed Jesus’ absence. They had to leave the protection of the caravan and
make the difficult climb back up to Jerusalem through the Judean wilderness. It would have been
normal for them to be quite upset by the time they made it back up the hill to Jerusalem, another day’s
journey.

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