Two years ago, I got an Ancestry DNA kit for Christmas. It wasn’t something I had asked for, but I’d seen the Ancestry DNA commercials and was interested in it. I’ve always been intrigued by genealogy and genetics. I’ve wanted to learn about my family tree, who my ancestors were, and where they were from for a long time, but I had never had the time nor the resources to research it. After filling a little vial with my saliva and sending it back to the lab, I discovered that I am 53% English/Northwestern European. It turns out I’m also 16% Irish, 16% Scottish, 8% Swedish, and 7% Welsh. While I still have a lot to learn about my family tree, these results gave me a small glimpse of who I am and where I’m from.
There are lots of family trees or genealogies written in the Bible, but we often skip past them, believing these lists of names to be kind of boring and not that important to the story line. But whenever we come across a genealogy in our Bible reading, we should slow down, pay attention, and read carefully because these family trees teach us a lot more than we think they do. One of the most important genealogies in Scripture is Jesus’ genealogy in Matthew 1, and while it may seem like just another list of names, it actually contains a deeper meaning about who Jesus is.
The most interesting thing about this Matthew 1 genealogy is who Matthew decided to include in it. Jesus is the Messiah, our Savior, the Son of God. One might expect that his family tree would contain a bunch of righteous men who obeyed and followed God in all things and mighty kings who defeated God’s enemies and led Israel closer to the heart of God. And while Matthew did include a bunch of great people, he also included some not-so-great people. He included those who messed up and sinned terribly. He included those who were misfits and seemingly not of much importance. He included those that had the potential to make Jesus’ line look bad. Yet, each one of them was there for a purpose.
Abraham
Matthew’s record of Jesus’ family tree begins with Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel. Though he was an old man and married to a barren woman, God made a covenant with Abraham, promising that He would give him a son and that he would be the father of many nations. Despite this covenant, Abraham evidently found it hard to trust God’s plan. Twice, he lied to foreign leaders about his relationship with his wife, saying that she was his sister out of fear that he would be killed if they knew he was her husband. Also, doubting that God would give him a son through his wife Sarah, he slept with his wife’s servant Hagar (with his wife’s permission) and she became pregnant.
Jacob
Abraham’s grandson is also included in the genealogy. Jacob had a reputation for being a deceiver. He conned his twin brother into selling him his birthright. He deceived his father into giving him the blessing that was meant for his brother. And he tricked his father-in-law into giving him stronger sheep. Jacob’s deceitful ways, though, were not his only sins. He had two wives, plus he slept with his wives’ two servants multiple times in order for his wives to have more children. Later in life, he also showed partiality to a couple of his sons, causing his other sons to become envious and hateful.
Tamar
In ancient times, women were not typically included in genealogies, but Matthew chose to include five different women in the genealogy of Jesus, one of them being Tamar. Tamar married a grandson of Jacob, the firstborn son of Judah. Her husband was an evil man, and God killed him. In line with the customs of their culture, Tamar was given to Judah’s second son. This son was also evil and killed by God. Out of fear that his third son would also die if he got married to Tamar, Judah sent her back to her family until his third son grew older. Judah’s son grew up, but he did not give Tamar to him. Out of desperation, Tamar dressed up as a prostitute, and Judah slept with her, not knowing that he was sleeping with Tamar. Tamar got pregnant and had twins with Judah.
Rahab
Tamar is actually not the only prostitute recorded in Jesus’ genealogy. Matthew also recorded the name of Rahab, who was a prostitute in Jericho. When Israel had entered the Promised Land and Joshua sent two men to spy out the city, Rahab helped the men and hid them in her home, for she truly feared the God of Israel. In exchange for her kindness, the men promised Rahab that she and her family would be saved from the city’s destruction.
Ruth
While the next woman listed in the family tree was not a prostitute, she was also not an Israelite. This woman was Ruth, a Moabite who married a Jewish man. Death struck the family. Ruth’s father-in-law, brother-in-law, and husband all died, leaving Ruth, her sister-in-law, and her mother-in-law Naomi without anyone to provide for them. Naomi decided to return to her hometown of Bethlehem, and Ruth faithfully went with her. After entering Bethlehem as a widowed foreigner, Ruth met Boaz, who was one of the family’s kinsman redeemers. Boaz married her, providing for both her and Naomi’s needs.
David
The great grandson of Ruth and Boaz was David, the second king of Israel who was described as a man after God’s own heart. But this doesn’t mean David was incapable of great sin. When his army went out to battle, David decided to stay home, and while he was at home, he saw a very beautiful woman named Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers. He had her brought to his palace, and he slept with her. When he later found out she was pregnant, David sent for her husband, Uriah, to return home for a few days. David tried convincing Uriah to go and enjoy his wife’s company, so that he might believe that the child was his. But Uriah refused, knowing that his fellow soldiers didn’t have that luxury. David eventually sent Uriah back to the battle and had him killed. He did repent of these sins, but only after the prophet Nathan rebuked him.
Solomon
David’s son, Solomon, wasn’t much better than him. When Solomon became king of Israel after his father died, God appeared to him in a dream and asked him what he would desire to be given by God. In the beginning of his reign, Solomon loved and obeyed God. Instead of asking for power or money, he asked for wisdom. God blessed Solomon by not only giving him the wisdom he asked for, but also giving him honor and riches and long life. Though Solomon was a very wise man, he still made many mistakes. He acquired 700 wives and 300 concubines, and he began worshipping the gods that his foreign wives worshipped.
Joseph & Mary
The last people Matthew includes in Jesus’ genealogy are, of course, his parents. Mary and Joseph were just a young Jewish couple betrothed to be married when Mary was visited by an angel who told her that she would carry the Son of God in her womb for nine months. Joseph, who probably believed that Mary had slept with someone else, had planned to divorce her until an angel appeared to him, confirming that the child in Mary’s womb was indeed from the Holy Spirit. There was nothing special about Mary or Joseph. They sinned as much as the next couple, yet God still chose them.
And this is true for every other person in Jesus’ family tree. Nancy Guthrie wrote in her book Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus–
“The family of Jesus is made up of people who come from less-than-respectable backgrounds and have less-than-perfect records.”[1]
Jesus’ family was imperfect. Jesus’ family was made up of sinners and misfits. Yet, God chose to work through each of those imperfect and sinful misfits to bring His Son, Jesus, the Messiah to this earth, so that He could die for their sins and graciously offer them new life.
But God didn’t just choose Abraham and Jacob and Tamar and Rahab. He didn’t just choose Ruth and David and Solomon. He didn’t just choose Joseph and Mary. If you have believed in Jesus as your Lord and your Savior, you have been chosen, too! You are imperfect. You are a sinner. Maybe you think you are a misfit. Maybe you don’t think you deserve God’s grace. But God chooses those who don’t deserve His grace to be His people, to receive His grace, and to do His will. Amy Gannett once wrote-
“God has intentionally sought out those who are undeserving of grace and has brought them near through His Son.”[2]
No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, God has chosen you, and loved you, and shown grace to you through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Don’t believe the lies that you are somehow ineligible to contribute anything to God’s kingdom work. Throughout all of history, God has chosen to work through people just like you.
If you are feeling discouraged or depressed this Christmas season, if you are unable to gather with family, friends, or your local church, go read Matthew 1. Read about all the sinners and misfits who were included in Jesus’ family, and remember the glorious truth that Jesus has invited you into His family to help build His kingdom. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, and He is with you always, even when you feel like you are all alone. God is with you. God has chosen you. God loves you. Praise God this Christmas for what all that He has done for you and for all His people!
“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David,” Luke 1:68-69, ESV
[1] Nancy Guthrie, Saints and Scoundrels in the Story of Jesus (Wheaton: Crossway, 2020), 42.
[2] Amy Gannett, “Members of God’s Family” in Grafted In (Take Root Ministries, LLC, 2017).
