Ilarion Christian

Ilarion Christian

This writing will contain the necessary information needed in order to demonstrate Jesus Christs descent from the line of King David.

According to the Holy Scriptures, the Messiah is prophesied to be a descendent of King David:

“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” (II Samuel 7:12-16)

There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. (Isaiah 11:1)

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Jeremiah 23:5-6)

I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servant David a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. (Ezekiel 34:23-24)

The New Testament is clear that Jesus Christ is a descendent of David:

And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus. (Acts 13:22-23)

Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. (Romans 1:3-4)

Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel. (II Timothy 2:8)

For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. (Hebrews 7:14)

But one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.” (Revelation 5:5)

 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)

On multiple occasions throughout the Gospels, many refer to Jesus Christ directly as the Son of David:

And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” (Matthew 15:22)

And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” (Matthew 20:30)

Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)

Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:48)

In addition to this, the Holy Church Fathers also acknowledge Jesus Christs descent from the line of David:

For our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived by Mary, in God’s plan being sprung both from the seed of David and from the Holy Spirit. He was born and baptized that by his Passion he might hallow water. (Ignatius, To the Ephesians Chapter 18)

‘The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the Pharisees and Scribes, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.’ He said then that He was the Son of man, either because of His birth by the Virgin, who was, as I said, of the family of David and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham; or because Adam was the father both of Himself and of those who have been first enumerated from whom Mary derives her descent. (Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Chapter 100)

Here then is need of a caution, lest Christ be thought to have denied that He was the Son of David. He did not deny that He was the Son of David, but He enquired the way. “You have said that Christ is the Son of David, I do not deny it; but David calls Him Lord; tell me how is He his Son, who is also his Lord; tell me how?” They did not tell Him, but were silent. Let us then tell by the explanation of Christ Himself. Where? By His Apostle. But first, whereby do we prove that Christ has Himself explained it? The Apostle says, “Would ye receive a proof of Christ who speaks in me?” So then in the Apostle has He vouchsafed to solve this question. In the first place, what said Christ speaking by the Apostle to Timothy? “Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my Gospel.” See, Christ is the Son of David. (Augustine, Sermon 42 on the New Testament)

Thus have ye heard that Christ is both David’s Son, and David’s Lord: David’s Lord always, David’s Son in time: David’s Lord, born of the substance of His Father, David’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Ghost. (Augustine, Sermon 42 on the New Testament)

Enemies of the cross argue that because Jesus was not a biological Son of Jospeh, who was himself a descendent of David, this means that Jesus is not of the line of David, which therefore disqualifies Jesus as a possible candidate for being the Messiah. In this writing, I will refute their argument on the basis of Scripture as well as Jewish tradition.

In order for these critics to prove their claim, they state that the genealogy of a person must come through their fathers line by quoting the following texts:

and they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month; and they recited their ancestry by families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, from twenty years old and above, each one individually. (Numbers 1:18)

And these were the ones who came up from Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Cherub, Addan, and Immer; but they could not identify their father’s house or their genealogy, whether they were of Israel. (Ezra 2:59)

However, Scripture also states elsewhere that it is permissible for lineage to continue through the line of a daughter if the family has no male heir. This exception is found in the following texts:

Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: “Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the Lord, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s brothers.” So Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father’s brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. (Numbers 27:1-9)

Now the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the chief fathers of the children of Israel. And they said: “The Lord commanded my lord Moses to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. Now if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. And when the Jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.” Then Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the Lord, saying: “What the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks is right.This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whom they think best, but they may marry only within the family of their father’s tribe.’ So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.” Just as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to the sons of their father’s brothers. They were married into the families of the children of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father’s family. (Numbers 36:1-12)

Zelophehad did not have any sons to preserve the family inheritance. Therefore, the allowance was given for Zelophehads daughters to preserve the family line through their children. In other words, the daughters of Zelophehad were given the right to continue their fathers line through their children due to the fact that Zelophehad had no sons to preserve his line.

Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. Then he said to the close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.” And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.” And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.” So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.”Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbour women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. (Ruth 4:1-22)

This Gentile women marries a man from the tribe of Judah, who then bore a son in order to continue her deceased first husbands family line. Moreover, the woman herself then became an ancestor of King David.

Now Sheshan had no sons, only daughters. And Sheshan had an Egyptian servant whose name was Jarha. Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant as wife, and she bore him Attai. Attai begot Nathan, and Nathan begot Zabad. (I Chronicles 2:34-36)

Sheshan, the father of Jarha, had no sons and only daughters. When Jarha married her fathers Egyptian servant and bore Attai, the lineage continued and did not cease. In addition to this, Jarha married a gentile who was not from the same tribe, let alone the same nation as Jarha and her family. According to the context of I Chronicles 2, Jarha and her family are also from the tribe of Judah.

I will now demonstrate how the blessed Mother Mary is also an exception of lineage continuation. As far as the Holy Scriptures are concerned, as well as early Church tradition, there is no evidence for the blessed Mother Mary being said to have had any brothers.

However, there is evidence within Scripture to prove that Mother Mary had a sister:

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. (John 19:25)

Now that we have established on the basis of Scripture and early Church tradition that the blessed Mother of our Lord did not have any Brothers to continue her family line, it is therefore appropriate to state that Mother Mary continued the lineage of her family through her own self.

I will now address Jesus Christs descent from David through the line of His legal father, Joseph.

To begin my exposition, I will first stress the fact that according to the Scriptures, Jesus Christ is indeed said to be the Son of Joseph:

Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? (Matthew 13:55)

So all bore witness to Him, and marvelled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22)

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)

And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (John 6:42)

According to the genealogy recorded in Matthew 1 (which is Josephs genealogy), Joseph was a descendent of King David through Solomon. This lineage includes a man by the name of Jeconiah, or in abbreviation “Coniah”.

In the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah we find Jeconiah cursed by God:

“As I live,” says the Lord, “though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the Chaldeans.So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return. “Is this man Coniah a despised, broken idol— A vessel in which is no pleasure? Why are they cast out, he and his descendants, And cast into a land which they do not know? O earth, earth, earth, Hear the word of the Lord!Thus says the Lord: ‘Write this man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.’ ” (Jeremiah 22:24-30)

Critics claim that since Joseph was a descendent of David through Solomon whose line is supposedly cursed through Jeconiah, this disqualifies Jesus from being the Messiah. These critics seem to misread the text and misunderstand what is written therein. They assume that since God cursed Jeconiah, that none from his descendents would inherit the throne of King David. However, they avoid the fact that God only imposed this decree upon Jeconiah in his days, as verse 30 states. This is not an everlasting decree given to Jeconiah by God, but rather a decree given to Jeconiah only in his days.

To affirm this fact, the following text from the Book of the Prophet Haggai confirms that those who descend from the line of Jeconiah are eligible to rule as king on Davids throne. Zerubbabel, who was himself a descendent of Jeconiah, confirms this, as he was chosen by God to be a signet:

‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Haggai 2:23)

Furthermore, the following Jewish sources also affirm that the curse brought upon Jeconiah was reversed, and Jeconiah had been forgiven by God:

R Shabbethai said: He (Jeconiah) did not move thence before the Holy One, blessed be He, pardoned him all his sins. Referring to this occasion Scripture has said: Thou art all fair, my love, and there is no blemish in thee (S.S. IV, 7). A Heavenly voice went forth and said to them: ‘Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings’ (Jer. III, 22). (Soncino Midrash Rabbah Vol. 4, p. 249). (Leviticus Rabbah XIX:6)

R. Johanan said: Exile atones for everything, for it is written, Thus saith the Lord, write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days, for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling anymore in Judah. (Jer. XXII, 30). Whereas after he (the king) was exiled it is written, And the sons of Jeconiah – the same is Assir – Shealtiel his sons etc. (I Chr III, 17). (He was called) Assir, (Imprisoned) because his mother conceived him in prison. Shealtiel, because God did not plant him in the way that others are planted. We know by tradition that a woman cannot conceive in a standing position. Yet she did conceive standing. Another interpretation: Shealtiel, because God obtained (of the Heavenly court) absolution from His oath. Zerubbabel (was so called) because he was sown in Babylon. But (his real name was) Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. (Sanhedrin 37b – 38a, Soncino Talmud Edition)

Jehoiachin’s sad experiences changed his nature entirely, and as he repented of the sins which he had committed as king he was pardoned by God, who revoked the decree to the effect that none of his descendents should ever become king. (Jer XXII, 30); he even became the ancestor of the Messiah (Tan, Toledot, 20). It was especially his firmness in fulfilling the law that restored him to Gods favor. He was kept by Nebuchadnezzar in solitary confinement, and as he was therefore separated from his wife, the Sanhedrin, which had been expelled with him to Babylon, feared that at the death of this queen the house of David would become extinct. (The Jewish Encyclopedia: Jehoiachin)

Other Jewish sources also affirm that the Messiah will actually be a physical descendent of Zerubbabel, who is a descendent of Jeconiah:

Scripture alludes here to the verse Who art thou, O great mountain before Zerubbabel? Thou shalt become a plain (Zech 4:7). This verse refers to the Messiah, the descendent of David. From whom will the Messiah descend? From Zerubbabel. (Midrash Tanhuma – Yelammedenu, translated by Samuel A. Berman, p. 182). (Tanhuma Genesis, Toledot)

Rabbi A. J. Rosenberg made the following comments on Jeremiah 22:24:

Malbim (Meir Loeb ben Jehiel Michale, 19th century rabbi and commentator) calls to our attention that in the prophecy of Haggai (2:23), God says, “On that day I will take you, Zerubbabel, and I will make you like a signet,” for the King Messiah will be like a signet ring on God’s right hand, so to speak. Just as the name of the owner of the ring is engraved on his signet ring, through which he makes himself known, so will God’s name be known in the world through the King Messiah, through whom His miracles will be known. He says here that, though, in the future, Coniah will be the signet on My right hand, for the Messiah will spring from his seed, now I will remove him from there.

The evidence is overwhelming therefore, according to both Holy Scripture and Jewish tradition, that the curse which was brought upon Jeconiah was reversed and abolished by God. The sources quoted refute the claim that Jesus cannot be the Messiah due to His legal father Jospeh’s descent from Jeconiah. Contrarily, the texts quoted from these Jewish sources state that the Messiah will actually be a descendent of Jeconiah through Zerubbabel, rather than disqualify His Messiahship due to His descent from the line of Jeconiah.

Furthermore, Jewish tradition also affirms the fact that adopted sons receive the same rights as biological sons.

If one says: “This is my son,” he is believed, [to cause him to inherit and to exempt his (own) wife from yibum (levirate marriage)]. (Bava Batra 8:6)

The Gemara explains that he is believed “as regards the right of inheritance” (Bava Batra 134a)

In addition to all the information provided, I will sum up my exposition by stating that the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ was supernatural and miraculous. Due to the fact that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, these general rules which are applied to mere humans, do not apply to Jesus Christ. However, being legitimate to His incarnation in the flesh, and in order to fulfil Messianic Prophesy, Jesus Christ still truly descended from the line of David, to demonstrate His true Messiahship.

The examples presented in this writing establish that Mary and Joseph’s ancestry together provide Jesus Christ with a legitimate line to King David.

May the peace of Christ be with you all. Amen. Come Lord Jesus.