A Genealogy of Grace
Matthew 1:1-3, 5-6, 16-17
By now you have no doubt turned in your Bibles to Matthew chapter one and if you did not already know you have noticed the complete chapter is a long genealogy – a list of names, most of them unpronounceable, at least for me. Because of that it is a portion of scripture that we tend to overlook. Let’s read verse one, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.”
I have to admit that the study of genealogy fascinates me and scares me at the same time. I think it is fascinating to find out who your people are and where they come from. But it also scares me a little, you never know what you are going to dig up. There are some family skeletons you would just as soon remain in the closet. I am afraid, knowing a bit about my family that they may not all be fine upstanding citizens. How about you?
There are in fact two genealogies of Jesus in the New Testament, one in Matthew that traces his legal lineage to be king through Joseph. Yet when Matthew gets to Joseph (v. 16) notice that he changes the formula and states that Joseph was “the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born.” The “whom” is feminine in Greek, showing that Joseph was not the physical father of Jesus. (We will talk more about that in the next message.) But there is another genealogy in Luke that traces his lineage through his mother, Mary.
Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus does at least three things. First, God had said some 1,000 years earlier that the Messiah must come from the royal lineage of David (2 Samuel 7). Matthew proves that Jesus is qualified to be the King by being a physical descendant of David. Secondly, the genealogy establishes Jesus as a historical figure; our faith is rooted in history not in myth or legend.
And third, it displays the scope of God’s grace. Matthew’s genealogy is unusual in that it contains the names of four women. Four unlikely women at that; three are gentiles, three are involved in some kind of sexual immorality, one is a prostitute, one is an adulteress, and yet all four are in the line that leads to Jesus Christ, the savior of mankind. As read through the verses I want you to underline the names of these four women.
(vv. 1-3) “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: (2) Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. (3) Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar…”
(vv. 5-6) “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, (6) and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba).”
(vv. 16-17) “And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. (17) So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.”
I think that at least most of you understand that the term “begot” means “the father of.” Now I want to look at each of these four women and note why they are such a picture of Grace.
First, Tamar (1:3) Sinners Need Jesus.
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: (2) Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. (3) Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar…”
Tamar’s story is told in Genesis 38. Tamar was a Canaanite woman married to Judah’s son named Er. This son died without children, so his brother (Onan) married her, but he died and she was still childless. When Judah was reluctant to wed his third son to Tamar, she became impatient and unwilling to wait for God’s timing. She hatched a scheme to get her father-in-law Judah to sleep with her. By the way it is always a mistake to think that we need help God make His will happen.
She seems to have known her father-in-law well for she disguised herself as a prostitute and stationed herself along a route she knew he would travel. She dresses herself as a prostitute and seduces Judah (her own father-in-law) to sleep with her, and she becomes pregnant and gives birth to twins, named Perez and Zerah. This is sordid enough that it would make it on to the “Jerry Springer Show. The truth is no one looks good in this story; it literally reeks of greed, deception, sexual lust and even a hint of incest. There is no happy end to this story.
When Judah hears the news that his widowed daughter-in-law is pregnant he is indignant, accusing her of disgracing the family (38:24). As they are in the process of dragging her to the public square to face judgment she calmly produces proof that Judah is the father of the twins by producing the ring, staff and cord that he left to secure payment for services rendered (38:25). Judah is humiliated and has to admit, “She is more righteous than I” (38:26) although is not much of a statement of character.
What do we learn from Tamar being included in this list? We learn that no sin is so grave as to put beyond God’s grace. The point is that Judah and Tamar would be included in the line of the Messiah sends a strong message about the grace of God. You may say, “What could possibly qualify her to be in the genealogy of the Lord?” And the only thing that qualifies her is her shame.
Secondly, Rahab (1:5a) -Sinners Are Saved Through Faith. “Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab”
It is hard to imagine a more unlikely candidate for the divine honor of being included in the genealogy of Jesus than Rahab. Rahab’s name is mentioned eight times in the Bible and of those occurrences six times she is identified with the word, prostitute or harlot. Just as you cannot think of Thomas with thinking of “doubting” you canot think of Rhab without thinking “the harlot.” So Rahab was a gentile resident of Jericho where she worked as a prostitute and lived in a house literally built on the city wall that is about to fall down flat. We read her story in the book of Joshua (chap 2 & 6). Joshua has sent out spies to gather military and strategic information on what awaited inside the Promised Land. Evidently when the spies enter the city they look for a convenient location that will provide with them with intelligence on the strength of the fortifications of the city walls. Rahab’s house located on the city walls was an idea place.
Somehow reports of the presence of Hebrews have trickled into Jericho, and news of their God, Jehovah, who did miraculous things in their behalf. Perhaps it is at this point that Rahab begins to realize there is a difference between the God that the Hebrews worship and her gods. No doubt after the spies arrived at her home they would have explained who they were and told her something of this god named Jehovah that they worshipped.
But somehow the presence of the spies is detected and the soldiers of the king of Jericho are pursuing them with the intention of killing them. Hearing that the spies have been seen entering Rahab’s house the king sends messengers to check out the story. Here is where Rahab surprises us. When confronted by the king’s men she protects the spies sent by Joshua. There probably was a handsome reward in it for her if she had turned in the spies. If she had turned them in she would have been a hero. But what advantage is there in being a comfortable hero in a doomed city.
But at great risk to her personal safety Rahab hides the spies and misleads the king’s men (i.e. she lies to protect them). This has caused great difficulty for interpreters down through the centuries, who have tried to justify her actions. But we don’t have to rationalize her behavior, she is not commended for her ethics, she is commended for her faith.
She helps the spies to escape but insists that the spies see that she and her household are protected during the coming invasion. She lowers the spies down over the city wall by the use of a scarlet rope, this rope hanging in the window of her home is to be the sign to the Hebrews of Rahab and her family.
“No matter what Rahab believed about God, no matter how convinced she was of the Hebrew’s victory, no matter what her heart may have felt, if she had not hung out the scarlet rope, it all would have been for naught.” [Dan Schaeffer. “Defining Moments: When Choices Matter.” (Grand Rapids: Discovery House Pub., 2006) p. 117]
This is to be a defining moment for Rahab. This was not just something to think about – pray about – this required her to act. But what is it about her faith that makes it worthy of such high mention? Rahab was not only convinced but she acted on that conviction. In James 2:25 states, “Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” James is making the point the real faith is more than intellectual agreement. It is also interesting to note that only those who believed her words and followed her through the streets back to her home, that were likewise saved.
What do we learn from Rahab being included in this list….sinners no matter what they have done can be saved through faith. Rahab is not an example of self-improvement but a reminder of how God can redeem even the most horrible life through His grace. Hebrews 11:31 we read, “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.” In the book of Hebrews only two women mentioned by name in the roll call of faith, here we find Sarah (the wife of Abraham) and
Rahab the harlot. When we come to God he accepts us as we are but he does not leave us as we were.
Third, Ruth (1:5b) Good Moral People Need Jesus.
“…Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse.”
Her story is told in the Ruth 1-4. Ruth was a Moabitess. Moabities were the product of an incestuous relationship. After Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed Lot’s daughter’s got him drunk and had sex with their own father. Both daughter’s become pregnant and had sons – they became the nations of Moab and Ammon. Ruth as a Moabite is excluded from God’s promises.
Ruth was a moral woman. There is no stain on the character of Ruth other than she was a Moabitess, and thus cursed and excluded from being a part of the family of God. Deuteronomy 23:3, says, "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever.” Yet through her faith she became a part of the family of God.
The story of Ruth begins with a famine in Israel. A Jewish man named Elimelech and his wife Naomi, and his two son’s journey to Moab because conditions are reported to be better there. While they are there the two sons married Moabite women. Then tragically, first Elimelech, and then his two sons die.
Ruth is one of the two daughter-in-laws. At some point Ruth made a decision to follow Jehovah as Lord, perhaps it was the influence of her godly mother-in-law. In the course of time Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi decides to return to the land of Israel. She does her best to persuade her two widowed daughter-in-laws to return to their father’s homes. One does but Ruth responds in a fashion that is so touching that it is common to hear used in weddings today. She said to Naomi, “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. (Ruth 1:16)
When she returns to Israel with her mother-in- law she is not only a widow without means but a foreigner in a strange land. As she is gleaning in a field of grain one day, as widows were allowed to do in Israel, she catches the eye of the owner of the field a man by the name of Boaz. What ensues is a flawless love story. The plan is gutsy perhaps even forward by 21st century standards, Naomi essentially advises Ruth to propose marriage to Boaz (Ruth 3:3-4). Ruth makes her proposal and Boaz agrees and the next day goes through the expected formalities of establishing himself as her goel – kinsman redeemer. They marry and have a son named Obed, Obed was King David’s grandfather. So Ruth was the great grandmother of David the King.
What do we learn from Ruth being included in this list….we learn that even good moral people need a Savior.
Fourth, Bathsheba (1:6) There is no sin that excludes one from God’s grace.
“and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah (Bathsheba).
The last woman is not mentioned by name, how-ever she is clearly identified as the woman “who had been the wife of Uriah.” Her story is told in 2 Samuel 11. Although Bathsheba is not completely innocent in this scenario, I believe that it is David’s sin that in view here. Here you have David, a follower of God, who the Bible says was “a man after God’s own heart,” yet he fell into horrible sin
Most of you know the story, of how King David went out in the evening on to his rooftop overlooking the city of Jerusalem. While the king was there he saw a beautiful woman bathing on her rooftop (2 Sam 11:2). As the story goes, he looked, he lingered, he lusted and finally he consummated that lust by sending for this woman and sleeping with her. Then one day David receive the shocking news, Bathsheba is pregnant. Since her husband is away with the army they have a prob-lem. So David makes the decision to try to cover it up by sending for her husband to come home from the war and report to the king. In the process, of course, he could spend some time with his wife, and no one is the wiser.
But the husband, Uriah, reported to the king but refused to go home as long as his comrades were on the battlefield. David sent him back to the battlefield with a note telling them to put Uriah at the front and then withdraw. Uriah was to die (11:14). When the husband was removed from the scene, David took Bathsheba as his wife (11:27).
It is a horrible tale of adultery, deceit, attempted cover-up and ultimately murder. As far as we know Bathsheba was a Jew (1 Chron. 3:5), and as such she and David remind us of the fact that even believers can fall into gross sin. What do we learn from Bathsheba being included in this list….that even their sins (Bathsheba and David’s) as horrible as they were did not exclude them from God grace and from being a part of the genealogy of the Savior.
When we read the stories of these four women (and the men) on the list, we are not supposed to focus on their sinfulness but see the wonderful grace of God.
The hero of the story is God, whose grace shines brightest against the blackness of man’s sin. Yet in spite of what these people were and what they had done, God uses them and places them in the family tree of Jesus. So no matter what your past looks like or your present feels like, no matter where you have been or what you have done, Jesus came for you.
From this Matthew surely wants us to under-stand that the gospel is for all people, Jew and Gentile alike and that the gospel is for sinners of all kinds. It is sinful world and Matthew is writing about God’s wonderful offer of grace.
Conclusion
Maybe you don’t just have skeletons in your family closet. Maybe you are the skeleton in your family’s closet. Maybe you don’t just have a black sheep in your family. Maybe you are the black seep in y our family. This genealogy of grace that we have examined this morning is an invitation for you to come to Jesus and ask him to save you.
A Genealogy of Grace
Matthew 1:1-3, 5-6, 16-17
There are two genealogies of Jesus in the N.T.: One in Matthew that traces his legal lineage to be king through _______________and one in Luke that traces his lineage through _____________.
Matthew genealogy of Jesus does at least three things.
•He proves that Jesus came from royal lineage of _________ and those qualified to be King.
•He establishes Jesus as a ___________________ figure, our faith is rooted in history not in myth or legend.
•He displays the scope of God’s _____________.
First, ______________ (1:3) __________________ Need Jesus.
Her story is found in Genesis 38.
From her we learn no sin is so grave as to put ____________ God’s grace.
Secondly, ______________ (1:5a) Sinners Are Saved Through ________.
Her story is found in Joshua (chaps 2, 6)
(Hebrews 11:31 James 2:25)
From her we learn sinners no matter what they have done can be saved through ____________.
Third, Ruth (1:5b) Good ____________ People Need Jesus.
Her story is found in Ruth (1-4)
From her we learn we learn that even good _________ people need a Savior.
Fourth, _____________________ (1:6) There is no sin that __________ one from God’s grace.
Her story is found in 2 Samuel 7
From her we learn that even their sins (Bathsheba and David’s) as horrible as they were did not ____________ them from God grace.
