The Genealogy of Jesus
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah,
whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz,
whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed,
whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon,
whose mother had been Uriah's wife,
Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Matthew 1:1-16
(find this or any other passage at www.Biblegateway.org)
One Bible, the Word of God, 66 books, four Gospels. The Gospels do not contradict each other. They do tell different pieces of a story, from different perspectives, because they, initially, had four different audiences.
Matthew was written primarily to a Jewish audience, and so, begins with a genealogy starting with "father" Abraham, going through David, and ending with Jesus. This showed, in a very Jewish fashion, that Jesus did, in fact, fulfill the Messianic prophecies. But there was also something very unique about this genealogy...genealogies were nearly always purely male, and yet this list contains five women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah's wife (who was Bathsheeba), and Mary.
It is surprising enough that women were listed at all, let alone these women! Tamar sold herself as a prostitute, Rahab was a Gentile prostitute, Ruth was a Gentile, and Bathsheba was an adulteress, infamous for her sin with David. Mary, a 'nobody', Jewish teenager.
Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth all have great stories of God's grace and provision, Bathsheeba possibly a reminder that even the great King needed redemption, Mary was proof that God can and does use anyone...anyone with a willing heart.
While much more can be read into and drawn from the place of these women in this genealogy, I would say this: Jesus, King of the Jews, is King for all. His heritage proves it. He did not come from a purely royal or purely Jewish line.
Jesus may have come to the Jews first...but He was always to come for everyone.
That's my King!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Questions:
1. Have you ever noticed these women in this story?
2. Why do you think God placed them in this passage?
3. Does the mention of Gentiles, and women help you in any way?
INTERESTING THOUGHT:
"We have a God who delights in impossibilities."
Billy Sunday
No comments:
Post a Comment