Response:
Before discussing the objections concerning Jesus' ancestry, we would mention the following:
1) A Jewish family was very proud of its family tree, for it was proof that the family members stemmed from God's chosen people and it substantiated their claims to the inheritance of the land. Levites, for example, could only perform their duties if they could prove their membership to the Levitic tribe. The Jews kept accurate records of their ancestry; they refuse to acknowledge any person as a Jew whose name was not included in these lists Ezra 2:62). Thus, had there been any error in Jesus' ancestry, as recorded by Matthew or Luke during the first century, the Jews would have detected it and objected.
Christians have attributed much more to Christ than priesthood or land. They believed that He was the prophesied Messiah, the Savior of the world.
2) There is a fact that would perplex the modern reader, yet it is one with which the Jewish readers of old were quite familiar: one person could belong to two tribes-to one by birth and to the other by marriage; he could also have two fathers-his own and his wife's. Such cases are found in the Old Testament. After the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity, the following priestly clans could not find no record to prove their ancestry: Habaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai (Ezra 2:61-62). The ancestor of the priestly clans of Barzillai had married a woman from the clan of Barzillai of Gilead and had taken the name of his father-in-law's clan. But since they were unable to prove who ancestors were, they were not accepted as priests. The same was written by Nehemiah 7:63-64. In 1 Chronicles 2:21-22, we read that when Hezron was sixty years old, he married Machir's daughter, the sister of Gilead. They had a son named Jair who ruled 23 cities in the territory of Gilead. Because Machir was the chef of the tribe of Manasseh, Jair was called the son of Manasseh (1 Chronicles 7:14-16 and Numbers 32:40-41).
3) Matthew traced the ancestry of Christ to Joseph, son of Jacob and divided it into three groups comprising the patriarchs, kings and their descendants. David was considered to be one of the patriarchs as well as one of the kings. Matthew traced the ancestors of Jesus to Abraham, because he wrote with a Jewish readership in mind.
Luke linked Jesus' ancestry to the Virgin Mary and pointed out that Joseph was the son of Heli, Mary's father (Luke 3:23); therefore he gave Joseph the name of his father-in-law. He traced His ancestry to Adam and God, stating that Jesus was "thought to have been" the son of Joseph (Luke 3:23).
4) It was no problem for a Jewish historian to delete some names from a family tree; this did not detract from the reliability of the record. Matthew left out the names of three kings from Jesus' ancestry; Ahaziah, Joash, and Amariah who reigned between Jehoram and Uzziah.
5) The ancestry reveals that which Matthew and Luke wrote serves the objective of the Gospel, showing us that Jesus was "the Seed of the Woman" predicted in Genesis 3:15. The names of Tamar the Palestinian, Rahab the Amorite, Ruth the Moabite, and the Jewish Virgin Mary indicates that Jesus is the Son of Man who belongs to all mankind and desires all to be saved. He is the Savior for all. Some of His grandfathers were kings, while others were shepherds living in tents (Luke 3:23-28).
Message for the Muslims
I have many friends that are Muslims and they refuse to believe that Jesus is God. I hope the Muslims understand this Surah.
Surah 5:68: "Say: O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, The Gospel and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord."
Great link for more knowledge on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWRi5vsatQk
