D I S C U S S I with OR. SAMUEL H. SUTHERLAND/DR. CHARLES L. FEINBERG
through the father, not the mother. Women were always in the back ground in Hebrew life. Q. Providence, R.l. — “I know that the Catholics believe it, but is the doc trine that Jesus was born of a virgin mother really important and vital to the Christian faith?” A. Yes, without question, or equivo cation, we believe that it is extremely significant. Primarily it is because the Word of God says so. If Jesus Christ were not born of a virgin, then the Bible would be false. If it were untrue on that point, then what other portion could be trusted? We wouldn’t have any norm or final au thority. The question is often asked, “Can one be a Christian and not believe in the virgin birth?” That may be an academic question. Any one who is a Christian should believe in the virgin birth, because it is re corded in the Scripture. It fits in perfectly with the person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Q. Phoenix, Ariz. — “Is the genealogy of Matthew 1 that of Joseph through Solomon?” A. The answer is very definite and affirmative! Keep in mind that Joseph was not the actual human father of Jesus Christ. He was only His legal or adopted father. In Matthew 1:6 we read, “And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solo mon of her that had been the_ wife of Urias.” Then it goes on to list all of the descendants through Solomon.
Q. Los Angeles, Calif. — “Is the gene alogy of Luke 3:23-38 that of Mary, the mother of our Lord, through Na than? Does the Bible give us the names o f Mary’s parents ? I f Luke 3 gives Mary’s genealogy, why was her name not mentioned?” A. Luke 3:23-38 is the genealogy of Mary through Nathan. Luke’s Gos pel gives us the natural line of our Lord, the son of David. He had no natural, human, earthly father. This Nathan is not the prophet who spoke to David about the Davidic Cove nant, and later rebuked him when he sinned with Bathsheba. Nathan was a later descendant of King David. In the Holy Land, certain churches and monasteries have been built with the names of Mary’s mother. The Bi ble itself gives us nothing concerning her name. We do know that Mary’s father was Eli, as we are informed in the third chapter of Luke. Tradi tion says that the mother’s name was Anna. We have no way of checking this. The reason Mary’s name is not given in Luke 3, although it is her genealogy, is because of the nature of such records throughout the Bible. Genesis 5, for instance, is a case in point. In Chronicles, the line of des cent is always traced through the father. The Hebrew word for son, means “to build.” It is the son who builds the line of descent. Our daugh ters don’t keep their names when they marry, but our sons do through out their lives. So the reason her name is not mentioned is that it was the custom in Hebrew genealogies for the line of descent to be recorded 20
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