Grace in our family tree
God often uses the 'unexpected' in His mission to the world
Tracing one’s family tree has become a popular pastime. However, it can be both an exciting and unnerving hobby. Who knows what one may discover? Will there be a limb indicating a prominent and influential ancestor to make the family proud? Or will there be a limb best left undisturbed, for fear of embarrassing the family name? Family trees often reveal characters we would rather not discuss.
The genealogy of Jesus, as recorded by Matthew, makes for interesting reading. It traces a royal lineage through Mary. It is unusual in that it includes four women in addition to Mary, the mother of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba. Were they outstanding women of faith? What did they have in common?
Three of those women would not make the most-likely-to-succeed list. Tamar was a seductress who posed as a prostitute in order to trick Judah into giving her a son. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho in whose house on the city wall stayed two of the spies sent by Joshua. Bathsheba, an adulteress, bore King David a son.
Certain questions beg to be answered: Why did Matthew include these women in the genealogy of Jesus, the Son of God? What is God saying to us about the mission of his Son and his attitude toward us?
God's mission in the world
First, the women were sinners. By including them in Jesus’ genealogy, Matthew foreshadows Jesus’ role as the Saviour of the world. John 3:16 is only one of countless biblical references to God’s initiative in dispatching heaven’s best to a lost humanity. The logical conclusion is that if there was forgiveness for Tamar, Rahab and Bathsheba, and if they could have claim to the Messiah, then there is hope for me, for you–in short, for the world.
Second, the women were foreigners. Matthew shows that Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, was related by ancestry to the Gentiles. Paul declared that “we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks.” Jesus came to be the Saviour of the world, not just select groups. The message we proclaim must be for everyone. The ground at the Cross is level.
The third proposal is twofold. The first part suggests that there was something irregular or extraordinary in the women's union with their partners which, although scandalous, continued Jesus’ lineage and verified His right to the Davidic throne. The second part suggests that women also played an important role in God’s plan.
According to one commentator, "These women were held up as examples of how God uses the unexpected to triumph over human obstacles and intervenes on behalf of His planned Messiah.”
Does this proposal soft-peddle God’s justice and condone their actions? Not in the slightest. Sin continues to receive its proper judgment. Someone has said, “The heroes of the Bible may have sinned, but they show us the way back to fellowship with God.”
God’s love is expansive enough to embrace all of humanity with its varied problems. Click To TweetWe sing in Sunday school about God’s “wonderful love.” It is wonderful only if it is able to meet any and all realities. Either God can or cannot meet us at our point of need. However, God’s love is expansive enough to embrace all of humanity with its varied problems.
Visiting the manger with Our questions
As we visit the manger, let us ponder these questions: Does the message we proclaim accept individuals who are living dysfunctional lives? Where does God fit into “irregular” or “extraordinary” situations, marital or otherwise? Is there room in our churches for a Tamar, Rahab or Bathshea? How about an Abraham, Joseph or Saul? All of them struggled with their fallen humanity.
Is God able to use those who fail him by succumbing to temptation? Indeed, is he “big” enough to meet my greatest need? The writer of the Book of Hebrews thinks so: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).
Why did Matthew include women in Jesus’ genealogy? Evidently for very good reasons. They were sinners and foreigners. So were we. Despite irregularities in their specific life situations, God chose to use them as part of his plan. He deigns to use us, too. Can there be any greater “good news of great joy”?
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