Traditionally when giving the genealogy you would follow the male line, and only the male ancestors in that male line...Matthew includes five women in the line of Jesus. Three of these women where not Jewish. Tamar pretends to be a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law. Rahab was a prostitute. Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah who David lusted after and impregnated. On top of this, each of the men in the line of Jesus was a sinner, just like all of us are. I love that Matthew highlighted the diversity and the flaws and sin-filled background of Jesus family, and then bookended it with verse 21, "...for he will save the people from their sins." Jesus came to earth to give his life for all - all ethnicities, all people no matter how screwed up and Matthew points that out from the beginning. Matthew is not ashamed to show Jesus background, because Jesus came to re-write his family history and every family's history! It throws down a great challenge for me: don't be ashamed of what you have done or where you have come from...accept the life-changing sacrifice of Christ and write a new history following in His footsteps.
Matthew chapter 1 also paints a great picture of Joseph as a godly man. In the ancient Jewish world, when a couple was engaged or betrothed they were considered legally married. They would not have had sexual relations, but by their community and by the Jewish legal system - Mary and Joseph were married. One of the punishments for marital unfaithfulness was death by stoning. Joseph could have humiliated Mary and had her stoned when he found out she was pregnant, but instead of seeking to cover over his wounded pride he was going to divorce her quietly. Then, when the angel comes to Joseph to explain to him what really happened, he readily accepts the truth and continues to honor his commitment to Mary. What a great man. I hope that when I am confused and don't understand why things are happening in my life, I will have the strength to trust God and honor Him through whatever He brings my way.
Please comment with your own thoughts on how God spoke to you through Matthew chapter 1. Have a great day and don't forget to read Matthew chapter 2 tomorrow. Peace be with you.
6 comments:
I wrote my own comment so that there would at least be one - where is everybody?
Sorry about the late post - work / kid interference.
What always struck me about the passage is the number of just absolute not-nice guys in the genealogy. The perfect Savior from a lot of not perfect people – to me just part of God’s plan to show us that His plan is perfect even in this imperfect place.
Joseph – what a great man that not a lot was written about. Upon finding out that the woman pledged to him was pregnant, he did not flip out and drag her out in the street yelling at her all the way to her stoning. But instead he showed great patience and exercised control - because he “was a righteous man” and did not want harm to come to her.
Joseph also listened to God and followed His commands - traits I wish that I practiced more.
Peace – J
Hey, guys! sorry i didn't get here yesterday, but, i thought the chapter was strange, and awesome. what does it mean?
Well, the majority of the chapter is taken up by what is basically Jesus family tree. Matthew is showing how Jesus is exactly who he was prophesied to be...the Jewish Messiah. He was Jewish and he was in the line of King David. The rest of the chapter explains how Jesus came into being, and the issues revolving around his family.
I love that somehow, Uriah's wife ends up being mentioned in the lineage of Jesus. In Jewish tradition, women were not listed in geneonogies, much less gentile women, much less women caught in adultery. The mere mention of her in this passage simply says to me that there is nothing outside of God's glory! Also, it makes you wonder what Joseph had to go through AFTER he decided to take Mary in?
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