THE SCANDALOUS HISTORY OF THE FAMILY OF JESUS
MATTHEW 1:2-6A
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
The reason modern Bible readers find genealogies so boring is because we read them the wrong way. We read them as if they are there just to give us a family tree, but for the biblical authors, genealogies are theological statements, and each name is a hyperlink1 meant to evoke the complicated stories and lessons that each name signifies. Our problem is that we don’t know the biblical story well enough to get the hyperlinks. (The only solution to our ignorance is just to start reading the Bible!)
For example, Matthew mentions the names Judah and Tamar in the genealogy of Jesus. The reference is to a truly scandalous story whereby Judah fathers twin boys with his daughter-in-law Tamar who is posing as a roadside prostitute! (Read it in Genesis 38.) Why would Matthew mention such an outrageous story?
Matthew is deliberately reminding us of the long, morally convoluted history of Israel so as to show us both that Jesus will save his people from their sins and show us that there is nothing that God can’t use for his purposes.
Nothing.
P.S. The entire genealogy works like that. Here’s a great article from Bible Project that goes into some detail about the names Matthew mentions: bibleproject.com/articles/jesus-genealogies/.
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
give praise, O servants of the Lord,
2 who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession.
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
sent signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 who struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings,
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!
It’s part of our national identity—forget the past, and look ahead. Almost all of our ancestors came from over the oceans (whether by choice or not) and made a new life in this country, and so Americans have been a forward-looking people, cut off from our past by thousands of miles of grey water. But the digital age in which we live is even more relentlessly-focused on an eternal NOW than were ages past: there’s no past and not really any future—just NOW.
The problem is that humans were not made to live disconnected to our past, because each of us is a product of the world that’s come before us. We will never be able to understand ourselves if we don’t acknowledge that we came from the past. One of the reasons modern man is so unhappy is because he is disconnected from his historical roots.
The Israelites knew this truth—they knew they lost a connection to the past at their peril. And so they sang songs to remind themselves—and teach their children—of who they are, from whence they came, and of whose they are.
Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, someone like me—who comes from the pagan peoples of northwestern Europe—has been adopted into Israel. Which means that Israel’s stories are now my stories.
Which means Psalm 135 is my family’s song!
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
give praise, O servants of the Lord,
2 who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to his name, for it is pleasant!
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession.
The Lord chose “Jacob” and “Israel” for himself, not because they deserved it, but because of the so-called scandal of particularity—that the One God would use one family—that of Abraham—and through that family would bring blessing to the whole world.
The church is the New Israel, and we are blessed so that we can be a blessing to everyone.
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
“Whatever the Lord pleases, he does….” How great is that?!
Pray BOLDLY today—nothing can stop the Lord Almighty.
8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
sent signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 who struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings,
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.
Israel could never forget Egyptian slavery or the difficult journey to the Promised Land. There was opposition, yes—”Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan”—but by the mighty hand of God, Israel prevailed.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them.
There but for the grace of God go I. If it weren’t for God’s grace, I could think that sex and money and power are gods, and I could give my life to them. Thanks be to God I know who the Creator is and am blessed to live my life for a worthy purpose!
19 O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
he who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!
AMEN!