The Wrong Crowd Got In On Christmas
While we often read the gospel of Luke at Christmas the gospel of Matthew offers some interesting insights. Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus. He was trying to convince Jews that Jesus was the Messiah that they have been waiting to come for over 1000 years.
If I’m honest I usually jump right over this long list of names of so and so was the father of whoever. I quickly recognize some of the big names, like Abraham, Isaac, and King David. But honestly, who cares about guys like Perez and Zerah? If, however, you skim right over all these names you will miss one of the great messages of Christmas.
As you read through Matthew’s list some interesting people and stories jump out. People you would not expect to be there. In ancient days there was a great deal of pressure to make your history and genealogy look respectable. Historians were usually paid by kings and high officials who wanted to be sure their history looked good. I was told once that if you read the ancient history of Egypt by Egyptians you would not read of one military defeat. They won every battle, or the battle did not exist.
So if you were writing the genealogy of the Messiah, trying to convince folks of his divine origin, I would think you would make sure you highlighted the great names, the heroes, and jump over or omit the black sheep. Matthew does not include every name, every mother, or even every generation, and that is not surprising. What is amazing is whom he does include. He seems to go out of his way to highlight some of the people who made major mistakes or whose story is problematic.
For example, Matthew tells us that “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar)…” (Matthew 1:3). Judah was one of God’s surprising choices. Judah was one of twelve sons of Jacob, and God could have chosen anyone of them to be the one though whom the Messiah would come. But God did not choose Ruben, the oldest, or Joseph, the godly, faithful son who rose to power in Egypt and saved the family. He chose Judah, who came up with the idea to sell Joseph into slavery, was a liar, and an unfaithful man and father.
Matthew makes sure everyone was reminded that Tamar was also in Christ’s genealogy. After Judah lied to her and refused to give her his son as her husband she dressed up like a prostitute to seduce Judah, knowing what kind of man he was. From this union came their son Perez.
Why would Matthew make sure we are reminded of the not so pretty ancestors of Jesus? This is the point; Jesus is no ordinary Messiah. He did not come just for the rich, the famous, the good, the religious, or the righteous. This Messiah is for the mess-ups, the unfaithful, and the sinners. The entire Christmas story is a story of love, grace, and forgiveness.
Why do you think that was so important to Matthew? Could it be because as a tax collector he was one of those folks? He knew from personal experience that Jesus came for the worst of the worst. Jesus did not exclude anyone, regardless of where they came from, what their family was like, or what they had done, or not done. And he does not exclude you. I pray you will warmly invite everyone to be a part of Christmas at your church.
