Since the Greek text does not include “son of” between each name, we have removed that repeating phrase in the passage. It helps us understand that Jesus was “of” Eli and Adam was “of” God. Jesus was not the actual son of Eli nor was Adam the actual son of God. Adam came from God only in the sense that God created him. Jesus was in the lineage of Eli and not his actual son.

Mary’s Genealogy. So whose genealogy is recorded in Luke? There are two major views. The first view comes from Julius Africanus, an early church father, who claims that the descendants of James (Jesus’ brother) had indicated that Jesus’ father was the child of a levirate marriage. This would mean that the wife of Eli did not bear him a male child; and upon his death, she married his brother Jacob and Joseph was born. Consequently, Eli would be the legal father, but Jacob would be the natural father. This means that Luke’s genealogy is the legal one of Joseph, and Matthew’s is the physical or actual genealogy. But this does not explain why the genealogies are different after King David. It also ignores the fact that Luke carefully avoided using the word “begat,” which occurs in Matt. 1:1-17, throughout the genealogy. But if Luke has recorded Mary’s genealogy, then “of” is correct according to Jewish custom.

Parents and Children. Just as Joseph and Mary were selected to be Jesus’ parents, so God selected your parents for you. God’s design for the family is the union of a male and a female. The original family was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Adam or Eve and Eve. God designed families to bring new life into the world. His design includes grandmothers, grandfathers, and their parents and their ancestry. Genealogies should not be dull and boring! They represent family, love, kindness, life, and some day the saints of the ages will be together as one great family.