Mary's race and the attributes of her race as a Jewish woman are critical to the affirmation of Jesus as a Jew and the requirements of all the specifics of the Messiah's race mentioned in the Old Testament. These attributes are necessary for people to authenticate the person of Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, and the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles. Mary's genealogy is critical to the existence of Jesus, His personhood, and His Divinity.
The genealogy of Jesus is recorded in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Most agree that Matthew records the genealogy of Jesus from the perspective of Joseph and his lineage. And even though the Gospel of Luke does not mention Mary, it does say, "It begins this way: "[Jesus] was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli" (Luke 3:23). This statement alludes to the Virgin Birth of Jesus. It also gives us indication from the start of this genealogy that even though women were not often mentioned in genealogies then, this would be Mary's genealogy because Joseph could only be the son of Heil through the "supposed" marriage to Mary.
The Gospel of Matthew also records Joseph as "Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ." (Matthew 1:16). These two parallel mentions of Joseph in the genealogy of Jesus seem to give strong confirmation that these two genealogies are mentioning the same Joseph and affirming the genealogy in Luke as Jesus' mother's lineage. From this genealogy we can clearly identify five things to fill in the blanks and questions regarding Mary's race that affirms the race, person, and divinity of Jesus.
Mary Was a Descendant of Abraham
When God gave the promise of the Messiah to Abraham, God promised Abraham that the Messiah would be a descendant of him. (Genesis 22:18) The genealogy of Jesus in Luke that records Mary's lineage states that she was from the patriarch Abraham. (Luke 3:34)
This connection makes Mary a Jew. The Messiah, the Savior of the world recorded in the Old Testament, had to be a Jew to be the one true Savior of the world sent by God through Abraham.
This indication and connection confirm the first requirement for Jesus to be the Savior through the authentication of Mary's race. She was, for sure, a Jew.
Mary Was a Descendant of Abraham Through Isaac
God made an everlasting promise to Abraham and his descendants, including blessing them and all the families of the earth. (Genesis 12:1-4) However, it was not enough just for Mary to be a descendant of Abraham. She needed to be a descendant of a specific lineage of Abraham.
During the time of Abraham waiting on God to give him a seed and a son, he and his wife Sarah became impatient. They attempted to fulfill God's promise of a son to Abraham through Hagar, who slept with Abraham at Sarah's request. (Genesis 16:1-13) She gave birth to a son from Abraham and named him Ishmael. Abraham thought this would be the solution. However, God made it clear to them that the promised seed had to come not just through Abraham but also through Sarah. (Genesis 17:15-16)
This requires Mary's genealogy in Luke to also encompass Isaac in her lineage and not just Abraham. Luke records Isaac as one of Mary's ancestors (Luke 3:34). This fulfills the second requirement necessary for Mary's race to be consistent with the requirements necessary for the Messiah to be confirmed as the One true Messiah, the Savior of the world promised to Abraham by the One true God.
The promise was made using the singular pronoun "seed." This indicated the promise would be fulfilled through a single descendant of Abraham, not the Jews or Arabs collectively. It points back to a specific descendant of Abraham, and it is fulfilled as promised through one seed, Jesus.
The Apostle Paul records the outcome of Jesus as the Christ and the Messiah in the book of Galatians when he says, "The Bible says that those who belong to Christ are the true children of Abraham." (Galatians 3:29) This statement indicates that there would be others who claim to be children of Abraham and even gives a foreshadowing of the fighting that has and continues to occur between Jews and Arabs, even to the present.
Mary Was From the Tribe of Judah
God promised that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. God told Jacob, Judah's father, that the Messiah would come from the tribe of Judah. (Genesis 49:8-12) Jacob prophesied that Judah would be the superior tribe in Israel, and the scepter of authority would remain with Judah until the coming of "Shiloh."
Most believe "Shiloh" refers to the Messiah's name, or it may be a Hebrew word meaning "He to whom it belongs."
Mary Was From the Lineage of King David
God also used the prophet Samuel to carry on this lineage and promise through the line of Judah when he chose David, who was from the line of Judah, to be the King. (2 Samuel 7:12-16) God used both the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah further to confirm the final prophecies of the Messiah's lineage. Isaiah said the Messiah would come from the stump of Jesse, David's father (Isaiah 11:1-10).
This was further confirmation of Jesus as the Messiah. Jeremiah said the Lord declared to him that God would raise up for David, King David, a righteous Branch, and he would reign as king and deal wisely, execute justice and bring righteousness to the land. (Jeremiah 23:5) Jesus fulfills this as well in the genealogy lineage mentioned in the Gospel of Luke.
Mary's Lineage Goes All the Way Back to Adam
Luke traces Mary's lineage all the way back to Adam. (Luke 3:38). This is important for two reasons. This fits Luke's purpose as he wrote to Gentiles and emphasized that Jesus is the Son of God who came to save all the people. (Luke 2:10-11)
It is also important because God promised Adam after his fall that he would save humanity "Through the offspring of the woman." (Genesis 3:15)
What was Mary's race, and why does it matter?
Mary's lineage shows that she was a Jew. The specifics of her lineage show that she fulfilled all the necessary requirements for her baby, Jesus, to be the Messiah, the Christ, Immanuel, God with us! Mary's baby, Jesus, is, in fact, the Savior of all of humanity!
