Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40
If you are a student of the Bible, perhaps some of your hardest going has been getting through the dietary laws of Leviticus or the “so and so begat so and so” of Genesis. Unless we’ve taken the project on as a hobby, most of us know little about where our family line came from or who our grandparents were much more than a generation or two back. But people in ancient Israel placed great importance on just who they were and where their families had come from.
Most of us would hope that our genealogy was filled with prominent people! I was always told that we were related to an American president but I think I also remember hearing that there were some horse thieves mixed in there, too. What would you expect from the blood line of the Son of God? Jewish ancestors, right? How about an adulterer or a prostitute?
The Gospel of Matthew gives us a truly surprising look at just who God chose to be in Jesus family. Now Middle Eastern genealogies are expected to be lists of men. But surprisingly, here we find 40 men and four women. And what interesting women they were!
First on the list is Tamar. Tamar was the Gentile widow of three brothers. It was her father-in-law’s duty to see that she was cared for, but the promise was not kept. In a daring act, she tricked him into sleeping with her, forcing him to fulfill his commitment to her. She was a bold and desperate woman, chosen by God to be an ancestor of Jesus!
The second woman listed in Jesus’ genealogy is Rahab, the prostitute. A Canaanite citizen of Jericho, she hid the spies Joshua sent to the city on reconnaissance. Somehow, she had faith in the one true God of the Israelites and was willing to risk her life for it, when city authorities came looking for the hidden spies. For this courageous faith, her entire family was saved from destruction and she is included in Jesus’ blood line.
Next, we find Ruth. Also a Gentile, Ruth had married the son of a family who moved from Bethlehem to Moab. Both sons in the family died, leaving their mother, Naomi, no way to survive but to return to her kin in Bethlehem. “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God,” cried Ruth when she begged Naomi to take her with her (Ruth 1:16-17). God arranged for Ruth to remarry a relative of Naomi’s, and she became the grandmother of King David!
The fourth woman listed by Matthew in Jesus’ genealogy isn’t referred to by her name, but as “the wife of Uriah, the Hittite.” Bathsheba was her name. Lusted after by King David as she bathed where she could be seen, it isn’t recorded that she protested when brought to the King’s bed. In time God would select this woman of questionable choices, to be Solomon’s mother.
Of course, Matthew concludes with Mary. With her quiet response to the Angel, Gabriel, of “Let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38), Mary was willing to accept the cost, the humiliation and the stigma of being the mother of Jesus.
What we see in Matthew’s lineup of men and women, Jew and Gentile, sinner and saint, is the amazing illustration of Jesus’ last words to us—his charge. We call it “The Great Commission” and it’s found in Matthew 28:18: “Go,and make disciples ofall.” This news, these good tidings of great joy that the angel outside Bethlehem declared the night of Jesus’ birth, “…shall be to all people” (Luke 2:10).
The joy and the hope of Christmas is for all. All nations, all tongues, all tribes. Who will you share it with this Christmas?
Resource reading: Matthew 1:1-17
