From: David L. Moore (dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Fri Dec 26 1997 - 12:45:29 EST
Ron Macy <rmacy@wjaltd.com> wrote:
>I would like to suggest the elimination of Matthew as Mary's genealogy on the
>basis of something other than Greek sentence structure. Matthew 1:11 mentions
>the man, Jeconiah. I have understood Jeconiah to be Coniah, the grandson of
>Josiah (I may need a little guidance here.). This Coniah was cursed in Jeremiah
>22:30, which says:
>
>"Thus says the LORD,
>'Write this man down childless,
>A man who will not prosper in his days;
>For no man of his descendants will prosper
>Sitting on the throne of David
>Or ruling again in Judah.'"
>
>_If_ this refers to the Jeconiah in Matthew 1:11, it becomes impossible for the
>genealogy in Matthew to be that of Mary since the lineage must come through her
>to Jesus. I would suggest that it be that of Joseph (since he is the only one
>remaining for whom a genealogy would be relevant ;-).
Ron has presented an ingenious objection to the possibility of
Matthew's genealogy being that of Mary. One would think, however, that if
Coniah were objectionable in Mary's genealogy, he would also be so in
Joseph's in the present context; since at least one purpose of both Matt's
and Luke's genealogies is to establish Jesus' Davidic lineage - either in a
real or a titular mode.
Further, I suggest that Jeremiah's prophecy to the effect that
Coniah would have no descendants sitting on David's throne and ruling in
Judah is not really applicable to Jesus. I say this, Luke 1:32, 33
notwithstanding, since Jeremiah and the angel Gabriel manifestly meant
different things by the phrase "the throne of David." The phrase used by
Gabriel must be seen in the light of what Jesus, and, later, His apostles
made clear: that Jesus' dignity and place supercedes that of David. Matthew
22:41 ff. and parallels shows that Jesus saw Messiah's dignity as superior
to that of David - "If David calls Him Lord, how cand He be his son?" And
Peter's speech on the day of Pentecost illustrates that the apostolic
preaching picked up this thread of Jesus teaching and developed it. For
Peter points out that David died and was buried and remained in his grave;
Jesus's soul, however, was not left in Hades, and His body did not
experience corruption (Acts 2:27-31). And David did not ascend into heaven,
but Jesus did, and from there has poured out the abundant baptism of the
Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33-36).
The stumbling block for the religious people of Jerusalem was that
Jesus was not the sort of earthly king that Jeremiah had profesied would
never arise from Coniah's line. Peter's message on Pentecost was that,
whereas Jesus was not the earthly king on the order of David, He was
something greater - the heavenly Lord Messiah.
David Moore
David L. Moore
Miami, Florida, USA
Southeastern Spanish District of the A/G Dept. of Education
E-mail: dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com
Home Page: http://members.aol.com/dvdmoore
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