Leadership Masterclass: JACOB THE FATHER OF JOSEPH
Luke 3:23
23 Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli.
JOSEPH WAS THE SON OF HELI (JACOB).
1. The terms “son” and “daughter” in Hebrew AND GREEK are used in a wide variety of ways.
“Son” may mean son by actual birth, grandson (Genesis 29:5),
- descendant (Matthew 1:1),
- step son (Matthew 13:55; Luke 4:22),
- as well as son-in-law (1 Samuel 18:27)
Joseph and Mary were “children” of Heli… since Joseph was his son-in-law
2. The Greek article tou (“the”) is absent before Joseph’s name in Luke’s genealogy of Christ. But the word occurs before every one of the other names in the genealogy. Why? Because LUKE is noting that Joseph is not ACTUALLY in the line of Jesus.
3. The gospel of Luke was written to GENTILES and includes MARY’S genealogy.
Matthew only writes JOSEPH’S genealogy.
Of all the names given in the genealogy in Matthew we are looking at 1,000 years before Christ are different (except in the case of Zerubbabel and Shealtiel, where there likely was intermarriage among the two families, or else they were different people who wore the same names).
Joseph descended from David’s son, Solomon (Matthew 1:6-7)
Mary descended from David’s son, Nathan (Luke 3:31).
LUKE takes the geneology back to ADAM.
He is writing for a much larger, and possibly a LEGAL audience.
4. Matthew begins his narrative entirely from Joseph’s perspective.
Luke is from Mary’s point of view.
JACOB IS ACTUALLY VERY SIGNIFICANT IN JEWISH HISTORY ~ though not fully mentioned in the Bible…
In Nehemiah… Prince Nehemiah was a descendant of the Jewish-Babylonian prince Sheshbazzar, the oldest son of the Governor Zerubabbel.
NEARLY 500 years later another descendant of Prince Sheshbazzar would claim the office of the Patriarch that had been denied to their family for half a millennium, Jacob ben Matthan
(FATHER OF JOSEPH).
Around 40-37 BC Jacob Ben Mattan takes his position as a leader at that time he is married to his first wife Princess Euchariah.
Together they have a daughter named Princess Miriam who marries Prince Theudas aka the Palatinate anti-King. He was a prophet, an Elder of the Nazarenes and probably one of the 70 that follows Jesus.
In 37 BCE, in the bid to legitimize his marriage to a Davidian princess, “Sara” whom history will know as “Doris of Jerusalem”, King Herod called together the Great Sanhedrin council. For which he had no authority.
This was in the midst of the Herodian and Hasmonean war, where Herod’s brother, Joseph, was first killed in battle, and then decapitated by King Antigonas.
Six months later in the bloody “Battle of Jerusalem”, the temple was desecrated with blood of Jewish defenders. When King Antigonas walked out of the fiery inferno, he met his death by beheading from Mark Anthony.
STEALING the legitimate position from Jacob ben Mattan…
The Great Sanhedrin eventually DOES affirm the legitimacy of Herod’s marriage with Doris. (About 35 BC).
In King Herod’s mind, this affirmation now made him and his descendants’ heirs to the throne of King David.
At that same time, the Great Sanhedrin also affirmed the legitimization of the former illegitimate Davidian lineages that were descendants of Governor Zerubabbel’s 1st Babylonian wife, Princess Amytis, and his 2nd Persian wife, Princess Rhodah.
They officially approved all-Jewish lineages of Zerubabbel’s 3rd Jewish wife, Princess Esthra was on the verge of extinction.
Without any royal Davidian princes, there would not be a Messiah of the loins of Kings David and Solomon.
RELIGION TRIED TO CUT OUT JESUS FOR POLITICS!
In 30 BC many things were happening in Rome, Egypt.
Prince Jacob is praised for handling business properly in Egypt but politics is getting scary.
HEROD IS CLAIMING THRONE AND TRYING TO CUT OUT JACOB’S LINEAGE…
JACOB’S WIFE DIES AND HE MARRIES ANEW TO PRINCESS Cleopatra VIII (AKA CLEOPATRA OF JERUSALEM)
NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH CLEOPATRA SELENE II (this is where historians miss it by combining the two).
- They birth 4 children in 4 years: Miriam, Prince Joseph (the carpenter) (b. 29 BC), Prince Ptolas “the twin”, Prince Clopas “the twin”.
(P.S. ALL THIS WAS VERIFIED IN A.D. 180 WHEN Bishop EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA QUOTES THE CHRONICLER HEGESIPPUS WHO INTERVIEWED JUDE’S GRANDSONS).
(ALSO - According to the surviving fragments of the work Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord of the Apostolic Father Papias of Hierapolis (DISCIPLE OF IRANEUS, WHO WAS DISCIPLE OF JOHN) who lived c. 70–163 AD).
Jacob, now ruling as the official Patriarch of Jerusalem went to Alexandria Egypt, as an official diplomatic envoy taking military assistance to Octavian, the Roman ruler who would soon have total control of the then known world.
Those two die by suicide… and thus killed the Ptolemaic Empire of Egypt… Egyptian monarchs were no more.
JACOB HAD LEFT HIS AUTHORITY AS RULER ~ AND BECAME A POLITICAL PUPPET!
YEARS 20 - 13 BC - could also be known as the years Herod killed everyone.
First he kills Jacob, the father of Joseph (in 20 BC).
Then kills High Priest Simon IV Boethus (12 BC)
Only an official high priest could oversee the betrothal of Prince Joseph and Princess Mary (daughter of Prince Heli of the Hasmonean dynasty).
- Mary’s family was from a family dynasty of priests. Equally regal and powerful, they carried the mantle of spiritual power, while Joseph’s family carried the regal mantle of KINGLY power.
Herod was attempting to make SURE that the Davidic lines ended.
THE TITLE “PRINCE” NO LONGER APPLIED TO JOSEPH OR HIS BROTHERS OR SISTER ONE YEAR AFTER HIS LAST BROTHERS BIRTH.
- Later came Magi saying “AFTER YOU DID ALL OF THAT… THERE STILL IS SOMEONE RISING UP FROM THE DAVIDIC LINE!”
He is appalled! He had people killed, he politically took them out of power, he made this work so only Herodians could rule…
1. GOD’S PROMISES ARE
God promised that David’s line would rule and nothing government or religion could do to change it.
2. GOD CAN USE EVEN SET
Jesus is PROTECTED because Joseph is in exile on a farming community in the middle of nowhere with no right to titles or land
3. GOD CREATES DIVINE
FIRST DIVINE APPOINTMENT: The “Twins”
The young males were called Prince Ptolas and Prince Clopas (Cleopas).
Transport to fifty-six years later (30 CE), MANY THEOLGOIANS BELIEVE
WE meet again this same Prince Clopas (Cleopas) as he walked with his nephew, Jesus, after His crucifixion, on the road to Emmaus.
Luke 24:13 - 24
13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.
16 But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.
17 And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
18 And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days?
19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:
20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him.
21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.
22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre;
23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive.
24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.
Uncle Cleopas did not even recognize his nephew, for Jesus the Messiah appeared different in his post-resurrection “glorified” state!
ANOTHER DIVINE APOINTMENT:
Prince Theudas the Palatinate anti-king - the great uncle of Jesus…
THE PELATIAHITE ANTI-KING - In Palestine Theudas rebels against Rome by setting up a group of Nazarenes (people from Nazareth) who claim to have their own government and refuse to pay taxes, tribute or anything to the Roman dictators.
- This guy is also important and becomes one of the “70” according to church tradition. According to Jewish historian Josephus he is called a “wizard” or “miracle worker”… signs and wonders follow.
- He leads a group of followers (of whom, I believe, he was teaching the words and teaching of Jesus) to the Jordan river and God would divide it for them to walk across
- BEFORE he gets to the river, the Romans cut them off with a group of men on horses and trample them… 400 men, women and children who had no weapons… but this was during Emperor Nero and the beginning of his great persecution…
- THIS ALL HAPPENS BETWEEN ACTS 2 AND ACTS 5 (about 2 - 3 years).
- We know this because Gamiliel refers to this happening in Acts 5 when defending the disciples.
LAST DIVINE APOINTMENT:
Herod is wanting the lines of David fully ended… thought he had done so…
Matthew 2:13 - 15
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
OUT OF EGYPT -
Example: “out from and to”
He is called TO Egypt… JESUS COMES FROM EGYPT from his GRANDMOTHER.
Called = Kaleo - surnamed, summoned.
Why was it safe to go to Egypt?
Large groups of Jews and Greeks lived in Alexandria together.
- The JEWISH Egyptians (some 8-10 generations) knew Joseph.
Jesus was welcomed as the royal heir of DAVID’S THRONE (through Joseph)
Jesus was welcomed as the royal heir of DAVID’S PRIESTHOOD (through Mary)
- The recipient of the Zadokian High Priest bloodlines and heir to Hasmonean throne.
Jesus was welcomed as the royal heir of Cleopatra’s Ptolemaic Imperial Throne.
HERE WAS the “KING of kings, and LORD of lords”.
NOTHING GOVERNMENT TRIED TO DO COULD HOLD HIM BACK
NOTHING RELIGION WOULD TRY TO DO WOULD HOLD HIM BACK