The genealogies of Mary and Joseph are both significant: Mary's line supplies the bloodline of Christ back to Adam, while Joseph's line establishes Him as the legal son of David in the royal line.
Les Feldick teaches that Luke 3 is Mary's genealogy, tracing Christ's bloodline to Adam, and Matthew 1 is Joseph's genealogy, showing the legal line through Abraham, David, and Solomon. Joseph was not the physical father but was the legal father, so Jesus qualifies both by blood and by law for the throne. The two lists are complementary, not contradictory.
Luke 3:38 — This final verse in Luke's genealogy is the key Les cites to show Mary's bloodline reaches all the way back to Adam and even to God.
Matthew 1:1 — This opening verse shows the genealogy of Jesus Christ begins at Abraham, connecting His royal claims to the Abrahamic promise.
Genesis 3:15 — The seed-of-the-woman promise is the foundation Les uses to explain why Mary's bloodline matters for the virgin birth.
The Bible presents two genealogies for Jesus. In Matthew 1, the record begins with 'The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham' (Matthew 1:1) and runs from Abraham through David and Solomon to Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ (Matthew 1:16). In Luke 3, another genealogy starts with Jesus, who was 'as was supposed the son of Joseph' (Luke 3:23), and runs backward through David, Abraham, and Noah to 'Adam, which was the son of God' (Luke 3:38). Scripture itself does not label one list as Mary's and the other as Joseph's; it simply gives both records. The phrase 'as was supposed' points to the Virgin Birth: Joseph was not Jesus' natural father, yet he was the legal husband of Mary and, through the angelic instruction, the legal father of Jesus.
Les Feldick identifies the genealogy in Luke chapter 3 as the genealogy of Mary, and the genealogy in Matthew chapter 1 as the genealogy of Joseph. He points out that Mary's genealogy reaches all the way back to Adam, because it is the bloodline of Christ, whereas Matthew's record stops at Abraham, because the promise of a King was made to Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant. At Solomon, a branch occurs in the family tree: one line comes down and forms Mary's genealogy, the other forms Joseph's. Joseph was not the physical father of Jesus, but he was the legal father, and this makes the two genealogies necessary. Les also brings in the angel's words to Joseph, 'Joseph, thou son of David,' to show that Jesus is in the royal family. Mary's bloodline, tied to the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15, makes Jesus the rightful heir to David's throne even though His blood was divine, not sinful, because He had no earthly father. Les further explains that because the blood system of Christ originated with God as His Father, while He was human through Mary's ovum, the two genealogies work together to show both the physical and legal lines converging in Christ.
In Matthew 1:1, the genealogy is introduced as 'The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham' — and then it stops there. Les says Abraham is not the beginning of the human race, but the genealogy stops there because Jesus becoming King is based on the promise made to Abraham, not to anyone before him. This is why Matthew's legal line runs from Abraham through David and Solomon to Joseph [Clip 5].
Luke 3 gives the genealogy that most agree is Mary's, and it goes back to the very last verse: 'which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God' (Luke 3:38). Les teaches that this is the bloodline, and that is why it reaches all the way back to Adam — we are all sons of Adam. In this way Scripture shows both the legal line and the blood line of Christ [Clip 1][Clip 2][Clip 3].
Even though Joseph was not the physical father of Jesus, he was the legal father. Because of that, Jesus is legally in the line of David. Les points to the angelic message to Joseph in Matthew 1:20, 'Joseph, thou son of David,' as a phrase that shows Jesus is in the royal family and connects Jesus' birth to God's promise to David in 2 Samuel 7. At Solomon the family tree branches: one line forms the genealogy of Mary and the other forms the genealogy of Joseph, so both lines converge on Christ [Clip 2][Clip 3][Clip 6].
Les teaches that the Scripture gives Mary's genealogy to prove that Christ was the rightful heir to David's throne by virtue of the bloodline of Mary. The whole plan looks back to Genesis 3:15 and the seed of the woman. That seed, Les says, was kept insulated from the curse and carried no sin nature as it came down through human history to Mary. Because there was no earthly father, the blood of Christ was divine and without an Adamic nature, yet He was human because He was born of Mary's ovum. Both genealogies end at Christ, and both go back to King David, and David in turn goes back to Abraham [Clip 4][Clip 7].
God’s Foreknowledge vs. Free Will: How Salvation Works
to come to now in chapter 24. Bethuel has Rebekah, and he also has a son by the name of Laban. Laban in turn has two daughters, and their names were Leah and Rachel. Now is it starting to fall into place? Now here comes Abraham's family. First of course he had the Egyptian slave girl, Hagar, from whom he had Ishmael. Then he has the son by his own legal wife, Sarah, and that of course is Isaac.
Mary's genealogy is the bloodline back to Adam
Les explains that Luke 3 is Mary's genealogy and goes all the way back to Adam, while the royal line only goes back to Abraham because the promise of a king was made to Abraham.
Joseph as legal father and the branching at Solomon
Les shows that Joseph was not the physical father but the legal father, and that after Solomon the family tree branches with one line leading to Mary and one to Joseph.
Luke 3 is Mary's genealogy
Les affirms that Luke 3 contains the genealogy of Mary and ends with 'the son of Adam' in verse 38.
Physical mother and legal father
Les connects Joseph's legal fatherhood and Mary's physical motherhood, explaining that the blood system of Christ originated with God and fulfilled the virgin birth.
Matthew's genealogy stops at Abraham
Les explains that Matthew 1 stops at Abraham because the royal promise was made to Abraham, not to anyone earlier in the human race.
Angel calls Joseph 'son of David'
Les points to the angel's address to Joseph as 'son of David' to show that Jesus is in the royal family and connected to God's promise to David.
Seed of the woman and rightful heir to David's throne
Les teaches that Mary's bloodline proves Christ is the rightful heir to David's throne, and that the seed of the woman was insulated from the curse so Christ's blood was divine.
Matthew 1:1: The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
This verse forms the heading of the first genealogy and shows the royal line through Abraham and David.
Matthew 1:20: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
The angel's address to Joseph as 'son of David' places Jesus in the royal family legally.
Luke 3:23: And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
This explains that Joseph was presumed to be Jesus' father, yet the genealogy is distinct from the physical parentage.
Luke 3:38: Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
This ending of Luke's genealogy is the verse Les uses to show Mary's line reaches back to Adam and God.
Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This is the seed-of-the-woman promise that Les connects to Mary's virgin-conceived bloodline.
2 Samuel 7:12: And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
God's promise to David of a lasting kingdom is referenced by Les when explaining why Joseph as 'son of David' matters.
No. Matthew begins with Abraham and David and traces the line down to Joseph, while Luke goes backward from Jesus through Joseph and continues all the way to Adam and God. Les identifies Matthew's as Joseph's genealogy and Luke's as Mary's.
Les says Joseph was the legal father, even while not being the physical father. The legal line through Joseph makes Jesus the rightful legal heir to David's throne, and the angel's address 'Joseph, thou son of David' places Jesus in the royal family.
Because, as Les teaches, Luke records Mary's genealogy, which is the bloodline of Christ. Since all humans are sons of Adam, the bloodline goes back to Adam and even to God.
Les says that after Solomon the family tree branches, with one line coming down through Mary and the other through Joseph. Both lines converge in Christ, one supplying the bloodline and the other the legal connection.
Watch the Teaching: God’s Foreknowledge vs. Free Will: How Salvation Works