This question comes from the fact the acceptance that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary yet we only have the geneology of Joseph.  If so then how can we know that Jesus is from the lineage of David?

There are actually three ways to answer this question.  All of them lead to the conclusion that Jesus is in fact from the line of David.  The first is that Jesus is from the line of David through adoption.  The second is that Jesus is from the line of David through Mary.  Last is that he is from the line of David however he wants to be.

That last one may sound strange and I will come back to it, but first I want to discuss why being adopted is just as valid as being born in the line of David.

To the Hebrews of the time, there was no such word as “adopted”.  Either someone was from your family or they were not.  There was no in between.

This is validated by Julius Africanus in the early 3rd century.  He states that “Names in the families of Israel were reckoned either according to nature or law: by nature in the case of genuine offspring; by law when another man fathered children in the name of a brother who died childless.”[1]

In Deuteronomy 25:5-10, this law is given.  It shows that even an adopted child would be considered continuing the lineage.  It is because of this that even the Pharisees did not argue with using Joseph’s lineage to prove he was from the line of David.

However, American skeptics seem to have a hard time getting past this.  It seems the only thing they will accept is that Jesus was genetically from the line of David or proves that he was not and therefore not the Messiah.  This kind of cultural blindness seems more dogmatic than proof however, God seems to have appeased them as well.

Africanus also pointed out that Jews were not allowed to marry outside of their tribe which Eusebius is quick to point out that is “virtual proof that Mary belonged to the same tribe as he.”  And since it also required that they be from the same town, it is highly likely that Mary is also from the line of David in a genetic sense.

Lastly, I will explain my odd comment about Jesus being from the line of David however he wants to be.

In Luke 3:8, Jesus says “do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.”  So if you might think you can convince someone that neither of the first two reasons are valid, it still does not hinder Jesus’ lineage.  If God can create children of Abraham from stones, He can make a child of David from a virgin Mary however He wants to.

In closer, Jesus is from the lineage of David by genetic link, adopted line, and because God made him that way.

1. Eusebius, The Person and Work of Christ 1:7

Tags: Adoption, Array, Blindness, Conclusion, Deuteronomy, Geneology, hard time, hebrews, Inbetween, Israel, Jesus, jews, Julius Africanus, Lineage, messiah, Offspring, pharisees, proof, skeptics, Three Ways, Tribe, Virgin Mary