Derek Smith, Lead Pastor LHBC
Matthew 1:1-16
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
The story of Christmas is an epic story of God becoming man. Jesus left Heaven and dwelt among us, what an incredible miracle! However, the characters involved in the story are not the holiest of the holy. Here in the genealogy of Christ there are 5 women listed. They are not queens or heads of state. They are not homely, quaint, Bible-toting girls. These are not the good girls that hung out at the Temple on the Sabbath. These 5 women all have a checkered past. Talk about issues, how about prostitution, rape, seduction, and outright paganism? This is a group of broken, lonely, used and abused ladies, but each one represents a brokenness that was redeemed.
TAMAR – a lonely widow craving a relationship, so she seduced her father-in-law into having sex with her and had twin boys as a result. Through Perez, God chose to continue to lineage of the Messiah.
RAHAB – a broken prostitute who had been used up by the world, who married Salmon, whom Jewish history tells us was one of the spies sent into Jericho by Joshua. Salmon was a prince of the house of Judah, and thus, Rahab, the one-time heathen harlot, married into one of the leading families of Israel and became an ancestress of our Lord.
RUTH – a Moabite woman, when her husband died, she left her people and her pagan god to remain with her mother-in-law Naomi and follow Yahweh God, saying Naomi’s God would be her God and where Naomi stayed she would stay. She became the wife of Boaz making her also an ancestress of the Messiah.
WIFE OF URIAH – Interesting we don’t have Bathsheba’s name listed here, which speaks also to David’s brokenness as well as hers. She was the military wife with a godly husband who served both God and country. She’s lonely and she’s scared, and David used his authority and influence to manipulate and seduce her into an affair. Unbelievably, through this immorality the lineage of the Messiah would continue.
MARY – an unwed teenage mother. A teenager, possibly as young as 14 years old, in a contractual agreement to be married to Joseph. She’s now pregnant with no logical explanation. Shunned by her community, looked down upon by her family, considered an outcast and immoral woman, misunderstood and misrepresented, but through her the Messiah would be born.
And these are the ones Jesus chose to associate with! What a picture of the grace and mercy of God. Just like these broken women, so you and I are just as broken in sin apart from Jesus. Jesus intervenes in and identifies with our brokenness when we humbly call on His name for forgiveness and salvation. That’s what Christmas is all about! So, if you’re broken and undone this Christmas, you’re exactly who Jesus is looking for, and He has the most incredible Christmas gift ever bought just for you…..eternal life! This Christmas season, receive Jesus. Exchange your brokenness for His blessedness. Find peace, joy, redemption, and transformation in the gospel!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Oh Father God, I thank You for Christmas and what it means. Jesus you stepped into our broken world and brought light, love, and salvation. You make even the vilest person clean, and I’m eternally grateful to You for transforming my life. In Jesus name I pray, amen.
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.