Accounts from those with written records or firsthand knowledge recount how Idumean robbers, upon assaulting the Palestinian city of Ascalon, captured Antipater—the son of a temple servant of Herod—within the sanctuary of Apollo, close to the city walls. His father was unable to secure his release due to poverty. Antipater, educated in Jewish traditions and sciences, cultivated a friendship with Hyrcanus, the king of Judea, who sent him as an ambassador to Pompey. The mission proved successful, allowing Antipater to integrate into the kingdom’s administration. Following Antipater's demise, prompted by envy of his prosperity, his son Herod was appointed king of the Jews through a decree from the senate under Antony, with his sons Herod and other tetrarchs. We recount these details from Greek historians to highlight that Herod had no genuine connection with the Jewish people and obtained his royal status through deceit. Aware of his ignoble lineage, he incinerated references to his ancestry to quash any accusations regarding his legitimacy as a descendant of the patriarchs or ancient Jewish converts. However, despite his attempts, the people remained mindful of various realities, and his precautions did not prevent scrutiny of the truth.
Yet, let us assert without hesitation that Christ emerges from a legitimate royal lineage, and the genealogy of the Lord belongs to a line of noble kings. Despite the emergence of a false royal line, true noble succession is not sustained by mere birth but by divine authority. Although it is not recorded that Christ held a worldly kingship, the Psalms prophesy, "I will set the fruit of thy womb upon my throne" (Psalms 131:11). Furthermore, the angel proclaimed that the Lord God would grant Him the throne of His father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever (Luke 1:32-33). The paradox arises: if He’s promised kingship yet not given a throne, how do we reconcile this with the prophecy stating that no descendant of Jechoniah will reign? If Christ were to reign, it implies He comes from Jechoniah’s lineage, suggesting the prophet was mistaken. However, the prophecy does not claim that Jechoniah's line would have no descendants; thus, while Christ is from Jechoniah's lineage, His lack of earthly reign does not contradict the prophecy. He did not reign in a mundane sense nor occupy Jechoniah's throne but instead ruled from David's throne.
If Jechoniah occupied David's throne, how can we resolve the contradiction that his descendants cannot sit upon it? We acknowledge it was indeed David's throne, yet Christ did not sit on that same throne as Jechoniah. Furthermore, no one from David's lineage besides Christ could truly reign on that throne, for in Him alone does the Seed endure eternally, as God has revealed: "I swore once by my holiness, Shall I lie to David? His seed shall endure forever, and his throne is as the sun before Me" (Psalm 88:36-37). Whom is He referencing? Not Solomon, Rehoboam, or Nathan, but the one of whom it could be said, "And I will put His hand upon the sea, and His right hand upon the rivers. He shall call to Me, Thou art My Father" (Psalm 88:26), and "I will continue forever His seed, and His throne shall be as the days of heaven" (Psalm 88:30). No king of Israel has had such a throne.
Would you like to know who occupies this throne? It is He of whom the angel spoke to Mary, proclaiming, "Behold, you shall conceive in the womb, and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God shall give Him the throne of David His father; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom shall have no end" (Luke 1:31-33). If you find the angel's testimony dubious, would you at least trust in the Lord Himself, who declared, "You say I am king" (John 18:37)? Was He lying when He spoke of His reign, albeit not in an earthly sense? How do we interpret the Scriptures that assert His reign while remaining ambiguous about its nature?
History records two individuals by the name of Jehoiakim, or Jechonias: one who lived prior to the Babylonian exile and another who was born during that exile, father and son respectively. The father succeeded Josiah and belongs to the earlier generation, while his son, who took over afterward, is regarded as Josiah's grandson. The historical accounts confirm this: "And Pharaoh reigned over Israel when Jehoiakim the son of Josiah reigned in Judah in the place of Josiah his father" (4 Kings 23:34). It continues, noting that Jehoiakim governed Jerusalem for eleven years (4 Kings 23:36). Subsequently, it states, "The other words of Jehoiakim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the words of the days of the kings of Judah? And Jehoiakim rested with his fathers, and Jehoiakim his son reigned in his stead" (4 Kings 24:5). Jechoniah was also mentioned, reigning for three months at the age of eighteen, and followed his father's disobedient path before Nebuchadnezzar's invasion (4 Kings 24:6-10). Thus, it is clear that one was the son of Josiah, while the other was his grandson. Jeremiah bestowed his name upon the son (see Jer. 37:1), and the grandson was given his father’s name. St. Matthew, therefore, rightly chose to refer to him as Jechoniah rather than Jehoiakim, revealing the depth of the Lord’s love, who did not require noble lineage to be born but chose to come from sinners and captives, proclaiming liberation to the oppressed (cf. Is. 61:1). The evangelist acknowledged both figures, recognizing that both were named Jechoniah, leading to a total of fourteen generations if we include the younger Jechonias, as recorded by Matthew.
THEOSIS