Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Biblical “Contradiction” #2

Stated “contradiction” #2 >

The genealogies o f Jesus in Matthew and Luke: They cannot be explained away by the argument I heard that one was Mary’s line and the other Joseph’s. Luke specifically says it’s Joseph’s line (Luke 3:23);...

Response >

No contradiction whatsoever.

The genealogies of Christ written in Matthew and Luke accomplish and record with precision an authoritative basis for accurately showing Mary and Joseph’s line and how that directly relates to the Seed and the subsequent gospel promised in the Adamic Covenant of Genesis 3:15. The genealogy approaches are a critical and necessary delineation due to God’s promises in Jeremiah and 1 Chronicles against the curse placed on Jeconiah. A reasonable exegete of this passage will show the incredible symmetry and cohesion of how Christ has both a physical right (through Mary) and a legal right (through his adoptive father Joseph) to sit on the eternal throne of David.

In terms of commentary, the following from Answers in Genesis (see: http://www.answersingenesis.org/): “When Adam disobeyed, the perfect fellowship he had enjoyed with his Creator was destroyed. God promised that one day, Someone would be born – a descendant of Adam – who would rescue His creation from the Curse that God has placed on it (Genesis 3:15). This person was Jesus Christ – the Messiah.”

“God promised that David would always have a descendent on his throne (Jeremiah 23:15; 1 Chronicles 17:10-14). The legal right to this throne was passed through David’s son, Solomon, to his descendants. Jeconiah (or Jehoiachin), a great, great…grandson of Solomon’s and King of Judah, was so wicked that God punished him by declaring that none of his children would ever again sit on the throne (Jeremiah 22:17-30). This caused a ‘problem’ since Joseph, the supposed ‘father’ of Jesus, was a descendant of Jeconiah. If Joseph had been Jesus’ biological father, Jesus would have a legal right to the throne, but would have been unable to occupy it due to being under Jeconiah’s curse. God solved this problem by using Mary: Jesus was the first-born son of Mary, a virgin (Matthew 1:23) and a descendant of David through another son, Nathan. So Jesus has the right to the sit on the eternal throne of David – legally, through his adoptive father, Joseph; and physically, through his natural mother Mary. In this way, God’s promise mentioned in Jeremiah and Chronicles was fulfilled.”

In God’s providential care of His Word, the genealogies of the Lord Jesus Christ were perfectly recorded as written in both Matthew and Luke. Far from “contradictory”, these records underscore the infallibility and inerrancy of Scripture. The Bible is replete with such depth of truth when dug into and studied under a sound hermeneutic and under the guiding light of the Holy Spirit who always works in concert and agreement to it, never apart. That 40 different writers (most of whom did not interact or know each other), over 1,600 years, wrote 66 books, all having the same message with precise cohesion and agreement is a mathematical probability and literary marvel that shouts out, One Divine Author. That thousands of manuscripts under the Traditional Text (TT) are preserved and corroborate is unparalleled in any historic documents anywhere (not even Plato and Aristotle’s writings come close to having such voluminous comparatives and accurateness available). Dr. Alain Cairns notes in his Dictionary of Theological Terms that over 90% of the NT alone is beyond dispute, down to the smallest detail and, as for the remaining 10%, 85% of that the manuscripts agree in presenting a common text (i.e. the poorest Greek text that could be produced from the available manuscripts would not alter one doctrine of the faith).

Biblical textual veracity is never what is lacking. The Biblical genealogies could not be more sound. The problem does not lie here, but in our hearts that are alienated from God (1 Corinthians 1:21). Every Biblical "contradiction" has it's root here.

It is written: “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:31

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