Andrew Bohush November 2, 2015
Christology and Anthropology Research Paper
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God
“I will remember thy name from generation to generation!”
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham…So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations”.[1]We hear these verses on the Sunday before the Nativity of our Lord; the generations go back all the way to the first Adam and then to the Christ child that is born of the Virgin Mary, through the Holy Spirit and the surrogate Joseph the betrothed. There are many relatives of Christ both on Mary’s side and Joseph’s side. I will in this paper give who the relatives were of Christ both on Mary’s side and Joseph’s side and will write a brief biography on each of the relative. Even though Joseph was not the biological father of Christ, Jesus still did have relatives that were “step-___”.
What is a family? A family is “a group of persons who form a household under one head, including parents, children, and servants.”[2]There are many families that are large and then there are those that are small. I myself come from a big family both on my mother’s side and on my father’s side. But my immediate family is small, which just consists of my mother, my father and myself. Having such a small immediate family, gives closeness to the three of us. My parents are my best friends, without having any siblings I go to my parents with and for anything. I look to my parents for all things.
What is a genealogy? A genealogy is “a record or account of the ancestry and descent of a person, family, group, etc.”[3]Families go back many generations, and go back even farther in generations. The reproductions of children are so that the generations and genealogies are able to be kept and go on for years to come. As we hear in the Service of Crowning, “May you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!”[4]
The Virgin Mary, Joachim and Anna
The Mother of God, the Virgin Mary was born of Joachim and Anna. Anna and Joachim were not able to conceive Mary until later in life. The Synaxarion states “God in His wisdom showed the barrenness of human nature before the coming of Christ by leaving Joachim and Anna childless until they were very old. Joachim, who was both rich and devout, prayed without ceasing, and offered gifts to God that He would deliver his wife and himself from their reproach among men.”[5]Then on a feast day, Joachim went to a temple and wanted to give his offering to God, but a member of the tribe of Reuben said to Joachim, “ ‘You are not allowed to offer with us because you have no child.’”[6]This broke Joachim’s heart and both him and Anna both prayed and wept. Their prayers were finally answered, when God sent the Archangel Gabriel to Anna saying, “that she would conceive in her old age and bear a child, who would be the praise of the whole earth.”[7]
Upon hearing this from the Archangel, Anna exclaimed, “ ‘As the Lord my God lives, whether the child I bear be a son or a daughter, I will consecrate it to the Lord my God to serve Him all the days of its life.’”[8] An angel also came to Joachim and was “told to lead his flocks homeward, and to rejoice with his wife and all their house, because God had determined to put an end to their reproach.”[9] Nine months later, Anna gave birth to a baby and asked the midwife of what was the baby, a boy or a girl and was told it was a girl. With having heard this Anna exclaimed, “ ‘My soul has been magnified this day.’”[10]After the of Anna purification had past, Anna gave the infant the name Mary, “and by which God would reveal the mystery hidden from all eternity.”[11]
Mary was a special child, at six months she took seven steps and then turned around and cleaved back to her mother’s breast.[12]At Mary’s first birthday, her father Joachim had a big party to celebrate, the priests, scribes, the council and people of Israel were invited. The priests blessed Mary and said “ ‘God of our fathers bless this little child and give her an everlasting name to be named of all generations.’”[13]Mary was also blessed by the high priest. The Church celebrates the Birth of the Mother of God on September 8. On the following day, Joachim and Anna are commemorated the following day, September 9.
At the age of three, Joachim and Anna took, the child Mary to the Temple, in order to complete their pledge.[14]When Mary “entered into the Holy of Holies, the time of preparation and testing of preparation and testing of the Old Covenant came to an end, and today we keep the feast of the betrothal of God to human nature.”[15]We celebrate the Entry of the Mother of God into the Temple on November 21.
Joseph the Betrothed
Joseph the Betrothed is known as the “witness of and servant of the great mystery of the Incarnation, came of the royal tribe of Judah and of the house of David. The son of Jacob (Matt. 1:16), and son-in-law of Heli, he was a trade carpenter in Nazareth, and he had seven children by his first marriage: four sons; James, Joses, Jude and Simon (or Symeon), and three daughter; Esther, Martha and Salome, the wife of Zebedee and mother of the Apostles James and John.”[16]When Joseph became a widower, he was selected by the high priest, “on a sign from God, to become the protector and guardian of the virginity of Our Lady on her leaving the Temple, where she had dwelt until her twelfth year; and so he appeared in the eyes of everyone to be her lawful husband.”[17]
“During the days of their betrothal, the holy Virgin conceived by the operation of the Holy Spirit, and on her return to Nazareth, after spending three months with Elizabeth, the first signs of maternity appeared in her, to the bewilderment and distress of the pious and righteous Joseph, who could not comprehend how the Virgin consecrated to the Lord could be guilty of secret relation.”[18]
Joseph was scared, but the freight that was in Joseph was quickly healed when “an Angel of the Lord then appeared to him in a dream and reassured him, telling him that this conception was the work of the Holy Spirit and that he was to become the foster father of the Child.”[19]Joseph kept this all a secret and did not tell anyone of what was told to him. After this was told to Joseph, it was time to depart to Bethlehem. There were many witnesses of the Birth of Christ and Joseph had the honor of being one of those witnesses. But of all, the biggest privilege was giving the new born Christ His name of; Jesus.[20]“Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “‘Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.’”[21]These worlds from the Gospel according to Saint Matthew are heard on the Sunday after the Nativity of our Lord and this is the same Sunday in which Joseph is commemorated.
As the years went on in Our Saviour’s early life, those years passed by “in humility, peace, recollection, daily work and obedience to his earthly parents, under the protection of Joseph, the silent guardian of the mysteries, and of the Mother of God, who kept all the wonders of the Incarnation of God in her heart and meditated on them for us. When the time for the Lord Jesus to begin his ministry drew near, Joseph gave back his soul to God in the presence of Jesus and of Mary, having fulfilled with humility and devotion all that he was sent to do.”[22]Joseph had a younger brother by the name of Cleopas, who was at the tomb with Saint Luke to record the account of the Resurrection of Christ.
James the Brother of the Lord and the First Bishop of Jerusalem
Born from Joseph the Betrothed’s first marriage, and James’ mother’s womb was blessed by God. “So righteous was he in his living that the Jews called him the Justand the Rampart of the People.”[23]From childhood on James lived a very strict life of abstinence and like Saint John the Baptist, James did not drink any alcohol and did not eat meat.[24]One interesting fact about Saint James’ life is that “after the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven, the Apostles with one accord, chose him to be first Bishop of Jerusalem.”[25]As the head of the council of Elders, Saint James “resolved the question that had arisen in Antioch about the necessity of faith, saying that there was no need to trouble them with the requirements of the Old Law, except that they should abstain from meats offered in sacrifice to idols and from fornication (Acts 15:20).”[26]
In the year 62, there was chaos and mayhem in Judea and the people wanted to put Governor Festus, after the plot was obstructed, the people went to James for his preaching.[27]People came to James asking him, “‘O righteous and trustworthy man, tell us who this Joshua is, since the people are mistakenly following Jesus who was crucified.’ Then James replied in a loud voice, ‘Why do you question me about me about the Son of man? He is now in Heaven seated at the right hand of the Mighty Power and He will come in the clouds in heaven to judge the world in righteousness.’”[28]After having convinced them, they shouted aloud, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”[29] The Scribes and Pharisees did not like what they heard and rushed to the top of the Temple and cast Saint James to the ground and James prayed to God. Saint James was then hit over the head with a weapon and died.[30]
Prophet Zacharias and Righteous Elizabeth and the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of our Lord Jesus Christ, John
Prophet Zacharias and Righteous Elizabeth were the parents of Saint John the Baptist.[31]Both the descendants of Aaron, with Saint Zacharias being the son of Barach, who was a priest in the Jerusalem Temple and Saint Elizabeth, being the sister of Saint Anna and the aunt of the Virgin Mary.[32]According to the Synaxarion, “on the great holy day of Atonement that Zacharias, to fulfill his ministration as high priest, had gone alone into the Sanctuary to burn incense, when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him standing on the right side of the altar of incense.”[33]The angel said to Zacharias, “that God had heard his prayers and those of his Elizabeth, and that He granted them a son in their old age, who was to be called John. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb,’ the Angel announced, ‘and will go before the Lord to make ready a people prepared for Him(Luke 1:15,17).”[34]
Another important part of Zacharias and Elizabeth’s life was “after the birth of Christ, Zacharias plainly declared the virginity of Mary and showed her truly to be the Mother of God; for he appointed her a place in that part of the Temple reserved for the virgins and so brought upon himself the hatred of the priests and Levites.”[35]
When Saint John was six months old, his father Zacharias had to hide him along with his mother Elizabeth in a cave somewhere afar in the Jordan due to King Harod doing to the same
thing that Harod wanted to do to the newborn Christ.[36]While hiding, the searchers seen Elizabeth and Elizabeth prayed to God so her and John’s lives would be spared and God answered by “immediately the hill opening up concealed her together with the infant from their pursuers.”[37]Now, Zacharias was murdered by Herod’s soldiers while Zacharias was in the Temple performing services. The soldiers were looking for the infant John and not telling the soldiers where the infant was he was stabbed by the soldiers. The “Righteous Elizabeth died 40 days after her spouse, and Saint John, preserved by the Lord, dwelt in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to the nation of Israel.”[38]Therefore since Elizabeth was the Virgin Mary’s sister, then Jesus Christ was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist.
Jude, Joses, Simon, Zebedee, Salome, Esther, Martha
Jude, Joses, Simon, Zebedee, Salome, Esther, and Martha were born of Joseph from his first marriage. Jude had the title of being “the Brother of the Lord”[39], Jude was also one of the Twelve Apostles and “he followed Christ during His preaching in Galilee and Judaea; and at the Last Supper he the Lord: Lord how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the
world? (Jn 14:22). Jesus replied: If a man love Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him (v. 23).[40]Jude was one of the apostles that spread the Good News into Mesopotamia after Pentecost.[41]Jude was married and had children, which kept the line going in the family for generations to come.[42] Joses or Justus was another of the Lords brothers. Justus “was Bishop of Eleutheropolis; he brought all its citizens to the faith by his word and many miracles.
Cousins, Nephews, Nieces and Beyond
There are many nephews; nieces, cousins and other relatives of Christ, there are many beyond the generations. One in particular is that of John the Theologian. John is the son of Zebedee and Salome, in which Salome is the daughter of Joseph the Betrothed, which would make John the Theologian the nephew of Christ.[43]
Mary the wife of Cleopas was the aunt of Jesus Christ, who “was one of the holy women who served the Lord Jesus during His public ministry in Galilee and Jerusalem. She was with Him right to Calvary, standing weeping near the Cross with the Mother of God and Saint Mary Magdalen when the disciples had fled. On the third day at dawn, she went to the tomb bearing spices with the other Myrrh-Bearers, and was a witness of the Resurrection, which she went and proclaimed to the incredulous apostles.”[44]
A family is a group of people that stick together, whether through good times or bad times. A family does not just have to be related by blood, you can have a Church family, a Seminary family, a Monastic family or just a group of people that do not have anyone else and consider each other their family. My family, like others are one of a kind, no matter what happens to us, we are always there for each other, just like Christ and His family are together and will always be together. Just like we hear at the end of the Gospel of Matthew, “and lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the age.”[45]
Bibliography
Genealogy | define Genealogy at dictionary.com. 2015. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genealogy?s=t
Family | define Family at dictionary.com. 2015. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/family?s=t
Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra. 2005. The Synaxarion I: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume One: Introduction, September, October.Mount Athos, Greece: Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra
Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra. 2005. The Synaxarion II: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Two: November, December.Mount Athos, Greece: Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra.
Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra. 2005. The Synaxarion III: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Three: January, February.Mount Athos, Greece: Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra.
Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra. 2005. The Synaxarion IV: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Four: March, April.Mount Athos, Greece: Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra.
Hieromonk Makarios of Simonos Petra. 2005. The Synaxarion V: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Five: May, June.Mount Athos, Greece: Holy Monastery of Simonos Petra.
Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church Tucson, AZ. 2012/2013. “Lives of Orthodox Saints”. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. November 1, 2015. http://www.holyresurrection.us/Saintsoftheday/
[1]Matt. 1: 1,17
[2]http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/family?s=t7thdefinition
[3]http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genealogy
[4]Psalms 128:6
[5]The Synaxarion I: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume One: Introduction, September, October, 8 September, 59.
[6]Ibid, 59.
[7]The Synaxarion I: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume One: Introduction, September, October 8 September, 59.
[8]Ibid, 59.
[9]Ibid, 59.
[10]Ibid, 59.
[11]Ibid, 59.
[12]Ibid, 60.
[13]Ibid, 60.
[14]The Synaxarion II: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Two: November, December, 21, November, 193.
[15]The Synaxarion II: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Two: November, December, 21, November,196.
[16]The Synaxarion II: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Two: November, December, 26-31, December, 562.
[17]Ibid, 562.
[18]The Synaxarion II: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Two: November, December, 26-31 December 562-563.
[19]Ibid, 563.
[20]Ibid, 563.
[21]Matthew 2:13.
[22]The Synaxarion II: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Two: November, December26-31, December, 563.
[23]The Synaxarion I: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume One: Introduction, September, October23, October, 463.
[24]Ibid, 463.
[25]Ibid, 463.
[26]Ibid, 465.
[27]Ibid, 465.
[28]The Synaxarion I: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume One: Introduction, September, October, 23, October 465.
[29]Ibid, 465.
[30]Ibid,465.
[31]http://www.holyresurrection.us/Saintsoftheday/September.html
[32]http://www.holyresurrection.us/Saintsoftheday/September.html
[33]The Synaxarion I: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume One: Introduction, September, October, 5, September, 40.
[34]Ibid, 40.
[35]The Synaxarion I: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume One: Introduction, September, October, 5, September41.
[36]Ibid,41.
[37]http://www.holyresurrection.us/Saintsoftheday/September.html
[38]http://www.holyresurrection.us/Saintsoftheday/September.html
[39]The Synaxarion V: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Five: May, June, 19, June, 543
[40]The Synaxarion V: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Five: May, June, 19, June, 543.
[41]Ibid, 543.
[42]Ibid, 544.
[43]The Synaxarion I: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume One: Introduction, September, October, 26, September, 199.
[44]The Synaxarion V: The Lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church Volume Five: May, June, 253-254.
[45]Matt. 28:20