“You’re Hopeless!”
“Dr.
G.P. Gibner was and still is, one of the best and most beloved country doctors
of his day and generation. He is a country doctor the people will never forget.
Those who know him and had him to minister in their homes will testify to his
love and loyalty for his patients, to help them back to the road of health and happiness…The
horse and buggy carried Dr. Gibner on errands of mercy, with love and charity,
and he was met by rains, storms, sleet and hail. Still, he went on to be by the
bedside of his patients: Never thinking of self when duty and hardships were
facing him, even in the cold and snow. He lived an unselfish and devoted life
to his profession for more than one half of a century…The country doctor meant
the same in our home as the old circuit rider. We as children always looked
upon them as ‘Angels of Mercy’ and felt that the blessings of God had been
showered in the home, when either had come to see us…” [1]
How many of your ancestors can be
described in such glowing terms? That’s how my wife’s Texas family tree begins.
As hardy as these roots are they wither in
comparison to the mighty oaks from which Jesus sprouted. “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). Jesus was destined to wear
royal robes forever. “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to
call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and
he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end”
(Luke 1:31-33).
But it doesn’t stop there. God promised
Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him (Genesis 12:3). King Jesus
is also a direct descendant of the father of the faith.
So who else is in this celebrated line?
“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”
(Matthew 1:2-6).
Okay, be honest now. Did you read the above passage in its entirety?
Skim it? Skip it altogether? There are still eleven more verses to go in Jesus’
genealogy. I know, I know, What's the point?
What good can a person possibly glean from a list of names?
A
careful reading of Jesus’ genealogy reveals something that is markedly
different from a stereotypical Jewish genealogy. Women are listed. So, why
would Jesus' genealogy take a radical departure from the norm and list Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah's wife…and Mary, the mother of
Jesus?
Put on your seatbelt. The ride is about to
get bumpy. In Genesis 38 we read the story
of Tamar and her father-in-law, Judah. When Tamar’s husband died, it was the responsibility
of her oldest brother-in-law to marry her in order to continue on the name of
her husband (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). Onan, Tamar’s oldest brother-in-law, refused
to fulfill his duty, so the Lord took his life. After this episode, it became
obvious to Tamar that Judah did not intend to put his remaining son in the same
possible predicament.
Tamar decided
to take matters into her own hands. She disguised herself as a prostitute, and
Judah slept with her. From this unholy sexual encounter came the birth of Perez
and Zerah, two of Jesus’ ancestors.
And what of
Rahab? We read in Joshua 2 that she was a prostitute and a non-Jew. Two major strikes against her – sexually and
ethnically unholy.
Speaking of non-Jews, how did Ruth ever get
included? Hold on tight…the airbag might actually deploy on this one. She was
from Moab - a nation born of incestuous relations between Lot and his daughters
when they got him drunk and lay with him (Genesis 19:30-38).
And who can
forget the story of Bathsheba (Uriah’s wife) in 2 Samuel 11? Remember David
(the greatest king of Israel) hanging out on top of the palace roof and
spotting a woman over on the next rooftop taking a bath. From that furtive
glance, an adulterous liaison ensued that led to an unplanned pregnancy and the
murder of Bathsheba’s husband.
Jesus could
have been from a pure and unstained background, free from any whispers
behind-the-back, free from any backyard-fence gossip, free from any hints of
scandal…but He came to seek and save those very people (Luke 19:10).
“…Jesus
is presented as the one who will ignore human labels of legitimacy and
illegitimacy to offer his gospel of salvation to all, including the most
despised and outcast of society. A
question for the church to ask itself in any age is how well it is visibly
representing this commitment to reach out to the oppressed and marginalized of
society with the good news of Christ.”[2]
Feeling like “you’re hopeless”? Take heart!
None in Jesus’ genealogy were innocent and able to stand before the judgment
seat of their own accord. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by
Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:23-24).
Jesus is extending his invitation to you…and your neighbors: “It is not
the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the
righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). How will you respond?
Prayer
“Praise you, Father,
for opening our eyes to the truth that all of Scripture, even genealogies, is
inspired by you and useful to help train and equip us to become more like you.
Praise you for showing us grace upon grace within this list of names. Lord
Jesus, thank you that you are God who broke into history. You are not merely a
myth made up in the mind of someone from ages past. No, you came forth from the
line of David and Abraham just as the prophecies foretold…and walked upon the
earth that you created. All of these fulfilled prophecies throughout Scripture
prove that you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. You could have entered
history in any number of ways, yet you chose to be born into a line of sinners.
You willingly chose to associate yourself with the dirt and corruption of this
world in order to bring cleansing. Every man and woman listed in your genealogy
was a sinner. There are no saints without your shed blood to make them as white
as the driven snow. Story-after-story shows that each of these people
desperately needed a Savior. Your very genealogy shows that you offer rebirth,
redemption, and freedom to all – ‘saints’ and sinners; men and women; Jews and
Gentiles; the rich and poor; the spiritually elite and the spiritually
bankrupt. To all you provide a way home. Grant us the desire and ability to
herald your invitation to all we encounter through thought, word, and deed…that
we, too, might be ‘angels’ of mercy. Help us to trumpet the good news that you
came to set the captives free!” Ω
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