As Matthew writes the genealogy of Jesus he keeps telling us it’s not about a bunch of good people and what they’ve done, it’s about God’s faithfulness and what He has done. King David’s failings provide a dark backdrop but they reveal the brightness of God’s faithfulness. He is true to his promises.
The lineage of Jesus has unlikely characters in it. It makes significant point and at the same time makes us ask the big question – why? Do you like Rahab have a past, or have a label? Look at the God who saves using unlikely, messy, broken, sinful people to accomplish his purposes. God came to save sinners & God uses sinners.
Judah, one of the brothers who sold Joseph off into Egypt, is right in the story behind Christmas. His life and his family are a mess filled with evil and deceit. What is Judah doing in this story? How do we make sense of this?
You probably wouldn’t pick a genealogy to start a story and grab people’s attention. Beyond that you would never choose to name the names included in Matthew’s Gospel. Why does Matthew include all of this baggage, all these odd or sketchy characters? Because Matthew understands that they are essential to us understanding who Jesus is and who He came to save.
