Different lists of Ancestors?
(Unwrapped: the Truth about Christmas #28)
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Matthew and Luke both include lists of Jesus's ancestors in their accounts of his birth. But Luke's list is different from Matthew's. Is this a contradiction?
It is possible that Matthew traces Jesus' ancestry back through Joseph, who was his legal father, while Luke traces it through Mary, who was his physical mother.
Another possibility is that Jacob and Heli were closely related – for example, that they were brothers. If Heli died without having any children, Jacob's son Joseph became Heli's legal heir.
We shall never know the exact answer, but the important point is that there are possible explanations for the differences between the two lists of ancestors. We do not just have to assume that they contradict each other.
Luke's list of Jesus's ancestors: Luke 3:23-38
Matthew's list: Matthew 1:1-17
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