Bible Explanations
8. Joanna, Genealogy of Christ
The
name Joanna occurs
three times in the Bible:
Luke 8:3 - "And Joanna the
wife
of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which
ministered unto him of their substance."
Here we see that Joanna is a FEMALE name.
Luke 24:10 - "It was Mary
Magdalene,
and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other
women
that were with them, which told these things unto the
apostles."
Here we see that this Joanna was one of the WOMEN. ("women"
is in italics in the Authorised Version of the Bible, i.e. it is not in
the original Greek, but the context is talking about the women in that
place
23:55).
Luke 3:27 - "Which
was the
son
of Joanna, which was the
son of
Rhesa, which was the
son of Zorobabel, which was the son of
Salathiel, which
was the
son of
Neri,"
This is part of the genealogy of Christ. Note the words "the
son"
is in italics in the Authorised Version of the Bible, which means it is
not in the original Greek. The inclusion
of a female name here PROVES that some names in the genealogy were
female (on occasions when there were no male heirs).
Therefore the genealogies in BOTH Luke 3 AND
Matthew 1 are of Joseph, through different strands. One of
these
cannot be the genealogy of Mary (as is popularly taught), because Mary
was not from the line of Judah but from the Levites as she was
"cousin
to Elizabeth" (Luke 1:36), who we are told was descended
from the High Priestly line (Luke 1:5 "of the daughters of
Aaron").
Mary cannot be of the line
of Judah,
because the prophesy of Jeremiah 22:30 could not then be fulfilled:
"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 any
more in Judah."
This is similar to the prophecy given to Hezekiah that his line will
be made eunuchs in Isaiah 39:7:
"And of thy sons that shall
issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away;
and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon."
Christ was officially of
Judah, because
Joseph was (as was supposed) His father. Mary had married into
the line of Judah, so lost any inheritance in the tribe of Levi. If the
kingdom
had still been in place in Judah in Christ's day, Joseph would have
been king of Judah, being directly descended from the kingly line.
Joseph died within Christ's lifetime. We conclude this from the
following:
(1.) Luke 8:20 - "And it was told him by
certain
which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring
to see thee."
Mention of Joseph is missing here, giving us to believe that he had
died by this time.
(2.) John
19:27 - "Then
saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother!
And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
Christ on the cross commits His mother Mary to John for her keeping,
because Joseph was dead and John was her nephew, and the nearest
family member who was a believer at this point in time - her
own
children did not believe
yet (John 7:5), but only believed later (Acts 1:14).
So, as Joseph died in Christ's
lifetime,
we conclude that Christ would have become king of Judah. I suggest
this was when Christ was about 30 years old, i.e. at the beginning of
His
public ministry. At the same time, John the Baptist sprinkled
Him to set Him apart as priest. He was not sprinkled in the Temple,
as His mother had foregone the inheritance of the Levites by marrying
outside the tribe, but John the Baptist was of the High Priestly
line, being son to Zechariah. Hence Christ was King and Priest,
when He started on His public ministry.