When we read or hear this genealogy, family record, of Jesus, we may wonder what spiritual fruit we can draw from it. Matthew and Luke, the two evangelists two give such a genealogy, differ greatly in their list of names as they approach the matter differently. Matthew, a Jew, is concerned in his Gospel to show that Jesus was the fulfilment of the promises of a redeemer which God in various ways made to Israel. Hence he is content to trace Jesus' family record back to "David, son of Abraham".

Luke, on the other hand, was a Gentile and was keen to show that Jesus was a human being and like all of us was descended from Adam.

At various times and in different ways, there in the history of the Church, including our present age, some people can tend to think of Jesus as just a human being, a great teacher and a worker of apparent miracles, no doubt but merely a man. This is to carry Luke's perspective to an unacceptable conclusion, one he never intended. The genealogies point to aspects of the mystery of Jesus which are developed more fully in the Gospel, to reveal to us his divinity and convey to us the truth that sets us free.