Thank you for the question on lineage, “Were the lineages of Joseph and Mary found in the oldest available copy of the Old Testament? Were they included by the New Testament scribes to further build on the birth of Christ and the Christmas story?”
I appreciate the question about the lineage of Joseph and Mary. The question fails to understand that the Old Testament Scriptures concludes during the 4th BCE. Thus there is a four hundred years of silence before the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus.
In other words, the Old Testament Scriptures does not record the four hundred years of genealogy of Joseph or Mary, but reflects the promise that of a person who will come from the line of David and will rule over Israel.
II Samuel 7 says this, “‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me[b]; your throne will be established forever.’” 17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation” (NIV).
John 7 says this about what the people know or believed about the Messiah, “1 Others said, “He is the Messiah.” Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?”
The Jewish leaders and the people believed that the Messiah comes from the line of David and from Bethlehem.
The critical question becomes this, “Did the Jewish people or families keep a record of their lineage?” The answer depends on one’s view of the integrity of the writers.
According to the New Testament writer, Luke says that he made a careful examination of the things that Theophilus was taught. This was a personal letter to a Roman official.
It would be reasonable that listeners would like to know about the parents and childhood of Jesus.
Luke records the account of the angels who appeared to the shepherd and their words in Luke 2, “8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (NIV).
The reader has to determine whether this is a truthful account or a fictitious account. The angel announced that a babe has been born who is a Savior, the Messiah, the Lord. Is it credible?
Matthew records for the Jewish people the lineage of Jesus through his line. John states that the people knew Jesus and where he was from. Whether through Joseph, Mary, or the siblings of Jesus, an account of Joseph’s lineage is given, tracing it back to David.
Again, the reader has to determine whether this is a truthful account of Joseph’s lineage or a fabricated one. If Jesus, Joseph and Mary were from another city, wouldn’t the readers know that the letter is false? Everybody knew everybody in their community.
Luke records a lineage that is different from Matthew. If Luke did his due diligence, he would have known about the lineage of Joseph. In my opinion, he does not record the lineage of Joseph since Joseph had died. He records the lineage of Mary to show that she traces her lineage back to David. It is likely that Mary was still living and thus he was able to record her story.
As before, one has to evaluate whether Mary would lie to Luke and to all those who came to listen to her testimony. Would you and I fabricate a lie and portray it as being true? It would be a cruel joke to say the least.
The Jews are commanded not to bear false witness. It is difficult for me to believe that the men and women of the time of Jesus would be in collusion to fabricate a lineage or history of Jesus, knowing that they are purposely bearing false witness to their neighbor but also attributing falsehood to their God. I can’t imagine that the religious leaders would accept or stand for a false accusation of them that they crucified Jesus when they didn’t!
Is it possible that scribes would fabricate a history. According to the Marcion Canon, the church leader, Marcion of Sinope made his list of the New Testament writings that he felt was canonical that includes a form of the Gospel of Luke. He lived between 85 to 160 CE. Thus in the early 2nd CE, there were already New Testament writings that were accepted by the churches. The early church fathers didn’t agree with his teaching or canon.
In other words, Luke was not written 300 years later, but before it since Marcion cited it in his list. Since he listed the Luke, then it means that it was known prior to that time otherwise he couldn’t cite something that didn’t exist yet.
In my opinion, the early church didn’t celebrate Christmas. They celebrated the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion as their central worship. It was a time of persecution from time to time by the Romans. The Church was not free for many of them had to hide from the Roman authorities.
SUMMARY: The Old Testament Scriptures refers to the coming Messiah through the lineage of David from the town of Bethlehem. The followers of Jesus heard testimony of people who lived during the time of Jesus. Luke writes his investigation, not a fabrication of the life of Jesus.