“The Bottom of the Barrel?”
Matthew 1:1-17
A Church I served had an amazing ministry aimed at helping the more than 150 children living—full-time--in nearby extended-stay hotels.
We had an after-school tutoring, mentoring and feeding program—not unlike Safe House—here at Red Bank.
On Sundays we used the church vans to pick-up anywhere from 15-30 of the children for Sunday school and worship.
As the children got older, some of them became part of the Youth Group.
It was wonderful, heart-wrenching, crazy and miraculous all at the same time.
One child, named Jordan, was with us from the very beginning of the ministry.
He was bright, articulate, caring—a fantastic kid.
He loved to come to church—for any and every event because in his words “it got him out of the hotel room.”
His parents never came to church, nor did any of the other parents of the kids who lived in the hotels.
Again, Jordan had everything going for him, but it just broke my heart that he didn’t have the breaks that so many of us take for granted.
His mom was a chain smoker who never left the hotel room—so Jordan always stank of cigarette smoke and sweat, due to poor hygiene.
And of course, other children made fun of him for this.
He was truly brilliant, but he didn’t try in school.
He was a good-looking kid, but was always dirty, with greasy hair and wore clothes that did not fit.
I remember talking with him about his life one day, about his future, what he was going to do, why he didn’t try in school…
…and what he said to me broke my heart.
He shrugged and said, “I won’t be nothing.
I’m the bottom of the barrel.”
He truly lived without hope.
For a 13-year-old boy to have no hope and to feel that way about himself is a crime.
No one is “the bottom of the barrel.”
The first 17 verses in Matthew’s Gospel give us Jesus’ family tree.
And by doing this, Matthew makes a major theological statement right from the very beginning: God is able to use extremely flawed human beings in order to carry history forward to achieve God’s goals.
A member of my family is hooked on genealogies and tracing her family tree.
A lot of people are interested in this; that’s the reason Ancestry.com is making so much money.
And I can understand why it’s so interesting.
We want to know where we come from.
Others of us might want information about rates of cancer deaths, or Alzheimer’s in our gene pool.
In any event, this family member tells me our family’s history.
She describes pioneers, soldiers, and preachers.
Sometimes people name-drop their historical connections to make themselves feel extra-special like being a Daughter of the American Revolution or a Kennedy or a Rockefeller.
But when we look at Jesus’ family tree, we quickly come to the conclusion that it is anything but a roll call for the institute of halos and harps.
Even His ancestors who are looked-up too and revered have a tainted history.
It starts with Abraham, who more than once, lied like Pinocchio in order to save his neck.
And it’s been said that Abraham’s grandson was “slicker than a Las Vegas card shark!!!”
The guy cheated his brother, his uncle…
His very name—Jacob—means “cheater” or “trickster.”
But he’s in the list leading to Jesus.
Jacob’s son, Judah, was the father of Perez and Zerah.
But do you know how he became their father—by committing incest with Tamar—and she’s on the list we just read as well.
Good grief!
It’s not a pure line leading to Christ.
In Revelation Jesus is called “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.”
But Judah was a hypocrite, an adulterer and he and his brothers sold Joseph into slavery.
What kind of wonderful people were they?
If we jump down to verse 6 we see that “King David” is in Jesus’ family line.
But King David had Uriah the Hittite killed because he wanted Uriah’s wife—Bathsheba—for himself.
So, our “wonderful” King David was not only an adulterer—he was also a murderer!!!
Listen to verse 5 again: “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.”
Why does Matthew bother to say that Boaz’s mother was Rahab?
Rahab was a prostitute when she first entered the biblical story.
Ruth was a foreigner—she wasn’t even Jewish.
Manasseh makes the list, even though this wicked king sacrificed his own son in the fire to Baal and consulted mediums and spiritists.
Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that 2 Kings Chapter 21 describes him as “a terror to his people.”
God used a guy like THAT as part of the history leading up to Jesus!!!???
A lot of the people on this list are kings; almost half of these kings were crooks, and all but a handful worshiped an idol or two for good measure.
And so reads the list of Jesus’ family tree!!!
Why do you suppose God used these people?
He didn’t have to.
God could have just delivered Jesus from heaven by stork or something.
It would have been much simpler that way.
And why does God tell us their stories?
Why does God use flawed humans, wicked people in the family line of Jesus Christ?
Could it be that God knows that you and I are flawed human beings as well; sinful people…maybe we even feel as if we are the bottom of the barrel.
Perhaps we think there is no hope for us.
Jesus’ genealogy is a summary of nearly the entire Old Testament capturing the stories of the patriarchs, the Israelite’s slavery in Egypt, and the Exodus from Egypt to the Promised Land.
Then, we have the destruction of Israel and the exile of Judah, and finally the return from exile.
And here’s the point: Jesus’ birth is the climax of this entire story of God’s relationship with humankind.
Jesus is the end to which the entire biblical story moves.
The last person mentioned—before Jesus--in the genealogy is Mary, a peasant girl with no rights and no political clout.
And finally we end the list with “Jesus, who is called Christ.”
Period.
That’s it.
No other names are mentioned.
No more names are needed.
It’s as if God is announcing to a despairing, discouraged and sinful world: “See? I did it!”
“I did it just like I promised I would.
The plan succeeded—even though every person involved along the way was just as flawed—just as sinful--as anyone else—it all led to the birth of the Savior of the World.”
Perhaps your life or your family is a mess.
Perhaps you feel like you are the “bottom of the barrel” and will never accomplish much in life.
Maybe you feel as if you are just too messed up for God to ever use you.
Perhaps you have skeletons in your closet—secret sins or scary addictions to deal with.
On the outside you might look like you have your act together, but on the inside you don’t feel good enough.
You have sin.
“Well,” says God, “Welcome to the club!
You are not alone.
You are not a freak.
You are just the same as every person who has ever lived, no better—no worse.”
During this time of Advent—this time of “getting ready for Christmas”—this is a very important thing to keep in the forefront of our minds.
God took-on our DNA; He became one of us.
He traveled the birth canal.
He tasted the food we eat.
He hung out with normal folks—prostitutes, beggars, tax collectors, hypocritical religious people, drunks, lepers, and crazy people.
People like me and perhaps you.
He felt the pain we feel.
He was tempted in every way we are tempted.
And although He was without sin, He is able to sympathize with our struggles with temptation and sin.
He died the death that sin brings—in order to set us free.
Jesus’ name means “our God saves.”
And that is the greatest news for you and for me and for every other sinful and broken person who has ever lived this life, traveled these trails, experienced the highs and the lows of it all.
Perhaps Jesus’ genealogy is here to prepare us for the unexpected way God works, and to show us what God can do with our lives-- if we allow Him—no matter who we are, where we are or what we have done.
Perhaps somebody sitting in this sanctuary this morning on this fourth Sunday of Advent is in desperate need of salvation.
Perhaps someone is sitting here lost—feeling like the bottom of the barrel.
Perhaps some of us are trying to put on a show, but on the inside we are weeping, desperate, hurting, scared, sad.
If this is you, Jesus is saying to you right now: “Here I am.”
I want to come into your life.
I created you to be a part of my Kingdom.
I love you and I have been searching for you for your entire life.
Is this you?
The Chancel Rails are open for prayer during this time.
Jesus has opened the Way to the Father.
He has given Himself to save you and to save me…
…to forgive us…
…to bring meaning to our lives…
…to set us free.
That is why we celebrate Christmas.
If you have not done so, ask Jesus into your heart.
Trust in His grace and ask to be used by Him for His glory.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord, we are all sinners and we all fall short of Your glory, but You love us despite ourselves and You want to use us to do Your good will in this world.
Forgive us for our sins.
Enter our hearts and lives and create us anew.
In Jesus’ name and for His sake we pray.
Amen.
As I look back on my life, and you look back on yours—I think we will find that many of the best things about us may well have come from painful experiences, redeemed by a God Who, as a popular song puts it: “makes beautiful things out of dust.”
Let us pray: Lord, we thank You for Your love for sinners such as ourselves.
We thank You that none of us are the “bottom of the barrel.”
Jesus, YOU came into this world to save all of us and turn our lives into something good, useful, helpful—beautiful.
As we begin this season of Advent, help us to see Who You are more clearly in the stories surrounding Your birth.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
