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Let me ask you a question. If you were in Jesus’ position, contemplating coming to Earth to save people from their sins, and could pick your ancestry, who would you choose? Kings and queens? Military heroes? Famous rabbis?
Well…that’s not exactly how Jesus did it.
Jesus, the perfect Son of God, had some very imperfect people in His lineage. For example, in Matthew’s account, the very first woman mentioned in Jesus’ ancestry is Tamar. She was the wife of Er, a wicked son of Judah whom God killed. Tamar was then given in marriage to Er’s brother, Onan. But he also proved to be a scoundrel, so God killed him, as well.
After Judah lost two sons – albeit two sinful sons – he wasn’t willing to risk the life of his third son, Shelah. So Judah simply sent Tamar away, promising her he’d give his third son to her in marriage when the lad grew up. But it was a promise Judah had no intention of keeping.
Years later, when Judah’s wife had died, business took the elderly man to the town where Tamar was living. Hearing that her father-in-law would be coming into town, Tamar dressed as a prostitute and tricked Judah into sleeping with her. She became pregnant, and gave birth to two sons, Perez and Zerah. One of Jesus’ ancestors would be Perez, the child of Judah and Tamar’s incest. (For the whole story, see Genesis 38.)
The next woman mentioned in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ ancestry is Rahab. Unlike Tamar who dressed like a prostitute for one day, Rahab actually made her living from prostitution. (Check out Joshua 2 for the full story.)
The third woman mentioned in Jesus’ ancestry is Bathsheba. While married to Uriah the Hittite, she had a scandalous extramarital affair with King David. Speaking of King David, another one of Jesus’ ancestors, he turned out to be a murderer, killing off his good buddy Uriah to keep his sexual acts a secret. (For the full account, read 2 Samuel 11.)
The list could go on and on. Jesus’ family tree definitely had some crooked branches in it. But the dubious forerunners in Jesus’ human ancestry prove that He was willing to enter history no matter how crude it was, even subjecting Himself to its shame, so He could rescue us from our sin.
And look how God used Jesus in spite of His family line! Likewise, no matter what your past looks like…or what’s in it…or who’s in it…God can still use you.
Topics Illustrated Include:
Family
Incarnation
Incest
Jesus
Murder
Past
Prostitute
Redemption
Sexual Immorality
Sexual Sin
(Resource cataloged by David R Smith)
