“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1)
The Gospel of Matthew, begins with a paradox. In this genealogy Matthew emphasizes Jesus’ messiahship and royal heritage. He seeks to prove that Jesus is a true descendent of David’s royal line and the true “seed of Abraham.” This genealogy, in the Jewish mind, would establish Jesus’ credentials as the Messiah.
At the same time, Matthew does something with this genealogy that seems to smear Jesus’ good name. It’s true that the blood of many kings flowed through Jesus. But, if we take Matthew’s record seriously, so did the blood of many sinners. This may sound blasphemous to us. But consider for a moment the people – and their mistakes – that God used to bring forth the Redeemer of the world.
One of Jesus’ ancestors was Perez, the son of Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar (v.3). What good could possibly come from this child of incest? Ultimately, Jesus did. Another of Jesus’ ancestors was Rahab – the redeemed prostitute (v.5). Another was Ruth, the Moabite (v.5). Because of their treachery, God banned the Moabites from entering the assembly of the LORD. This ban even applied to their descendants, down to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3-4). By this standard, King David himself should have been banned, since he was only the fourth generation from Ruth. Yet God chose him to be King.
And another of Jesus’ ancestors was the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba (v.6). Uriah was one of King David’s “Thirty Greatest Warriors” (2 Samuel 13:29). Yet David ordered his death so he could steal his wife – whom he had impregnated. Solomon was their second child. But instead of visiting wrath upon him because of his father’s sins, God blessed Solomon more than any other king of Israel.
Obviously, Matthew has two different messages in this genealogy. To the righteous Jews, Matthew is saying that Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of Israel. But to the much broader audience of sinners – of which Matthew, the tax collector, was foremost – he is saying that Jesus is their friend (Matthew 11:19). Even more, Matthew is telling them that no sinner is beyond God’s power to save and that no sin or mistake is beyond His power to redeem and incorporate into His divine plan.
REFLECTION
Do you ever feel you have nothing in common with Jesus? Yet, the Bible tells us He was tempted in every way that we are, yet he never sinned (Hebrews 4:15).
Do you ever feel as though your mistakes have damaged you beyond recovery?
Look at the lives in Jesus’ ancestry. It’s loaded with flawed and sinful people. Yet God used them to bring forth the Savior. Can He not save you?
