There's a wonderful question about why the two genealogies of Jesus are different. Even though the Bible doesn't specifically state, "Matthew follows Joseph & Luke follows Mary lineage", tradition follows these lines. It's also interesting to think about Matthew & Luke's personalities ...
Matthew, being a Jewish tax collector & who's life evolved around records, would be very meticulous about following the Jewish genealogies. He would trace Jesus to Joseph because the Jews always followed the lines of the fathers. In addition, he would have stopped at Abraham the "father of the Jews."
Luke, being a gentile, would have traced it through Mary (Joseph’s wife). Being a gentile he would not have felt the need to follow the Jewish custom. In addition, he would have traced line back to Adam (the son of God) because it was before God chose the Jewish nation.
In either case God could have given us just one genealogy, but He gave us two! I've included several articles that helped me form my opinion. Hope you enjoy,
Carol
... faith is putting ourselves quietly in God's hands for Him to do His work. ~Andrew Murray
Matthew, being a Jewish tax collector & who's life evolved around records, would be very meticulous about following the Jewish genealogies. He would trace Jesus to Joseph because the Jews always followed the lines of the fathers. In addition, he would have stopped at Abraham the "father of the Jews."
Luke, being a gentile, would have traced it through Mary (Joseph’s wife). Being a gentile he would not have felt the need to follow the Jewish custom. In addition, he would have traced line back to Adam (the son of God) because it was before God chose the Jewish nation.
In either case God could have given us just one genealogy, but He gave us two! I've included several articles that helped me form my opinion. Hope you enjoy,
Carol
... faith is putting ourselves quietly in God's hands for Him to do His work. ~Andrew Murray
The following information gives us the background on the two books: Matthew & Luke. Let’s start with the book of Matthew:
Book of Matthew
Quote #1 tells us about the author of Mathew. It’s from gotquestions.org.
Link: http://www.gotquestions.org/Gospel-of-Matthew.html
Author: This gospel is known as the Gospel of Matthew because it was written by the apostle of the same name. The style of the book is exactly what would be expected of a man who was once a tax collector. Matthew has a keen interest in accounting (18:23-24; 25:14-15). The book is very orderly and concise. Rather than write in chronological order, Matthew arranges this Gospel through six discussions.
As a tax collector, Matthew possessed a skill that makes his writing all the more exciting for Christians. Tax collectors were expected to be able to write in a form of shorthand, which essentially meant that Matthew could record a person’s words as they spoke, word for word. This ability means that the words of Matthew are not only inspired by the Holy Spirit, but should represent an actual transcript of some of Christ’s sermons. For example, the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in chapters 5-7, is almost certainly a perfect recording of that great message.
Date of Writing: As an apostle, Matthew wrote this book in the early period of the church, probably around A.D. 50. This was a time when most Christians were Jewish converts, so Matthew’s focus on Jewish perspective in this gospel is understandable.
Purpose of Writing: Matthew intends to prove to the Jews that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. More than any other gospel, Matthew quotes the Old Testament to show how Jesus fulfilled the words of the Jewish prophets. Matthew describes in detail the lineage of Jesus from David, and uses many forms of speech that Jews would have been comfortable with. Matthew’s love and concern for his people is apparent through his meticulous approach to telling the gospel story.
Quote #2 is from The Daily Bible In Chronological Order: NIV:
Author: This gospel is known as the Gospel of Matthew because it was written by the apostle of the same name. The style of the book is exactly what would be expected of a man who was once a tax collector. Matthew has a keen interest in accounting (18:23-24; 25:14-15). The book is very orderly and concise. Rather than write in chronological order, Matthew arranges this Gospel through six discussions.
As a tax collector, Matthew possessed a skill that makes his writing all the more exciting for Christians. Tax collectors were expected to be able to write in a form of shorthand, which essentially meant that Matthew could record a person’s words as they spoke, word for word. This ability means that the words of Matthew are not only inspired by the Holy Spirit, but should represent an actual transcript of some of Christ’s sermons. For example, the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in chapters 5-7, is almost certainly a perfect recording of that great message.
Date of Writing: As an apostle, Matthew wrote this book in the early period of the church, probably around A.D. 50. This was a time when most Christians were Jewish converts, so Matthew’s focus on Jewish perspective in this gospel is understandable.
Purpose of Writing: Matthew intends to prove to the Jews that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah. More than any other gospel, Matthew quotes the Old Testament to show how Jesus fulfilled the words of the Jewish prophets. Matthew describes in detail the lineage of Jesus from David, and uses many forms of speech that Jews would have been comfortable with. Matthew’s love and concern for his people is apparent through his meticulous approach to telling the gospel story.
Quote #2 is from The Daily Bible In Chronological Order: NIV:
Matthew's account has no formal introduction, but rather begins with a genealogy tracing the descent of Jesus from his ancestor, Abraham, through the royal lineage of David the King. Matthew lists 42 of the known generations and divides these into three groups of 14 each. The genealogy is traced through Jesus' legal father, Joseph, as the husband of the virgin Mary, to whom Jesus was born.
Matthew's genealogy contains several happy surprises. Back in Jesus' early roots are not only such notable righteous men as Abraham and David but also several who stand out in history as being particularly unrighteous, including wicked King Manasseh. Not only are there Jews, as would be expected, but also Gentiles, including a Canaanite and a Moabite, whose respective countrymen have been notorious enemies of God's people. Also somewhat surprising, in view of their social status at this time, is the listing of women as well as men. Furthermore, as least two of the women are known best for sins which they had committed.
Book of Luke
Quote #1 tells us about the author of Luke. It’s from gotquestions.org
Matthew's genealogy contains several happy surprises. Back in Jesus' early roots are not only such notable righteous men as Abraham and David but also several who stand out in history as being particularly unrighteous, including wicked King Manasseh. Not only are there Jews, as would be expected, but also Gentiles, including a Canaanite and a Moabite, whose respective countrymen have been notorious enemies of God's people. Also somewhat surprising, in view of their social status at this time, is the listing of women as well as men. Furthermore, as least two of the women are known best for sins which they had committed.
Book of Luke
Quote #1 tells us about the author of Luke. It’s from gotquestions.org
Author: The Gospel of Luke does not identify its author. From Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1-3, it is clear that the same author wrote both Luke and Acts, addressing both to “most excellent Theophilus,” possibly a Roman dignitary. The tradition from the earliest days of the church has been that Luke, a physician and a close companion of the Apostle Paul, wrote both Luke and Acts (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11). This would make Luke the only Gentile to pen any books of Scripture.
Date of Writing: The Gospel of Luke was likely written between A.D. 58 and 65.
Purpose of Writing: As with the other two synoptic gospels—Matthew and Mark—this book’s purpose is to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ and all He “began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven” (Acts 1:1-2). Luke’s gospel is unique in that is a meticulous history—an “orderly account” (Luke 1:3) consistent with the Luke’s medical mind—often giving details the other accounts omit. Luke’s history of the life of the Great Physician emphasizes His ministry to—and compassion for—Gentiles, Samaritans, women, children, tax collectors, sinners, and others regarded as outcasts in Israel.
Quote #2 is from The Daily Bible In Chronological Order: NIV:
The following article is from http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-genealogy.html
Question: "Why are Jesus' genealogies in Matthew and Luke so different?"
Answer: Jesus' genealogy is given in two places in Scripture: Matthew 1 and Luke 3:23-38. Matthew traces the genealogy from Jesus to Abraham. Luke traces the genealogy from Jesus to Adam. However, there is good reason to believe that Matthew and Luke are in fact tracing entirely different genealogies. For example, Matthew gives Joseph's father as Jacob (Matthew 1:16), while Luke gives Joseph's father as Heli (Luke 3:23). Matthew traces the line through David's son Solomon (Matthew 1:6), while Luke traces the line through David's son Nathan (Luke 3:31). In fact, between David and Jesus, the only names the genealogies have in common are Shealtiel and Zerubbabel (Matthew 1:12; Luke 3:27).
Some point to these differences as evidence of errors in the Bible. However, the Jews were meticulous record keepers, especially in regard to genealogies. It is inconceivable that Matthew and Luke could build two entirely contradictory genealogies of the same lineage. Again, from David through Jesus, the genealogies are completely different. Even the reference to Shealtiel and Zerubbabel likely refer to different individuals of the same names. Matthew gives Shealtiel's father as Jeconiah while Luke gives Shealtiel's father as Neri. It would be normal for a man named Shealtiel to name his son Zerubbabel in light of the famous individuals of those names (see the books of Ezra and Nehemiah).
With these concepts in view, most conservative Bible scholars assume Luke is recording Mary’s genealogy and Matthew is recording Joseph’s. Matthew is following the line of Joseph (Jesus’ legal father), through David’s son Solomon, while Luke is following the line of Mary (Jesus’ blood relative), though David’s son Nathan. There was no Greek word for “son-in-law,” and Joseph would have been considered a son of Heli through marrying Heli's daughter Mary. Through either line, Jesus is a descendant of David and therefore eligible to be the Messiah. Tracing a genealogy through the mother’s side is unusual, but so was the virgin birth. Luke’s explanation is that Jesus was the son of Joseph, “so it was thought” (Luke 3:23).
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