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Dr Cathy Northrup
The Reverend Doctor Cathy Northrup was born in Ft. Meade, MD, and was raised in a variety of places in the United State and Germany, as her father was in Counter Intelligence with the Army. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, with a double major in English and Religion. She graduated from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC, and practiced law with the Federal Reserve Board for a number of years before attending Union Theological Seminaryin Richmond, VA. She graduated from Union, and served several churches in North and South Carolina, at the same time obtaining her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Northrup is currently the Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS. She is married and has two black Labrador dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. You can contact Dr. Northrup at cnorthrup@firstpresbywichita.org or by phone at (316) 263-0248, ext. 26.
Religion
2010-07-01 12:04:00
The genealogy of Jesus

Question: The Gospel of St Matthew commences with the lineage from Abraham to Jesus. This chronology attempts to list all the descendants of Abraham to Jesus. In chapter one, verse 16, it is stated: "Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah." If Joseph, husband of Mary was a descendant of Abraham, was Mary as well? If not, and the Holy Spirit "came upon" (Luke 1:35) Mary, how did our Lord descend from Abraham?

Answer: Before getting to the specific question, it must be noted that genealogies in the Bible were written and included for specific reasons not usually simply historical and factual. As Biblical commentator Fred Craddock has noted, the genealogies could be both stylized and symbolic. Craddock points to Biblical commentator Joseph Fitzmyer’s fine explanation of genealogies in the Bible in Fitzmyer’s commentary on the book of Luke and the genealogy of Jesus contained in Luke 3:23-38.

With regard to the genealogy in Matthew, Biblical commentator Douglas Hare points to three purposes for it. One, it was to declare Jesus as king, as a true descendant of King David. Second, it was to show Jesus was an authentic Jew, but it was also to show, by including Gentiles, that God’s salvation also included the Gentiles. Third, some scholars emphasize here that the word for genealogy here is also closely related to the word "genesis," thus Matthew probably intentionally used it to "evoke associations with the first book of the Hebrew scriptures," suggesting that in Jesus "God had made a new beginning." One can also note the style and symbolism in the genealogy; it includes multiples of seven, an important spiritual number, for example. In answer to your specific question, Hare answers it this way. "For Matthew, it was essential that Jesus be recognized as truly the son of Joseph, because only so was he an authentic descendant of David. But how could Matthew simultaneously deny and affirm the paternity of Joseph? Apparently for Matthew, God’s miraculous action in causing the pregnancy included the miraculous incorporation of the child into Joseph’s family. Joseph’s role was simply to acknowledge this part of the miracle by naming the child. It was common for women to name their babies. Joseph’s naming of Mary’s baby constituted in this instance an acknowledgement that, by God’s will and act, the boy is authentically his son." The Reverend Doctor Cathy Northrup was born in Ft. Meade, MD, and was raised in a variety of places in the United States and Germany, as her father was in Counter Intelligence with the Army. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, with a double major in English and Religion. She graduated from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC, and practiced law with the Federal Reserve Board for a number of years before attending Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, VA. She graduated from Union, and served several churches in North and South Carolina, at the same time obtaining her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton, NJ. Dr. Northrup is currently the Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS. She is married and has two black Labrador dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. You can contact Dr. Northrup at cnorthrup@firstpresbywichita or by phone at, 316-263-0248, ext. 26.

 
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