By Craig Blomberg
Read: Matthew 1:1-17
“Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.” (v. 16 NIV)
Thanks to online resources, more people than ever are researching their ancestry. A first cousin of my grandmother privately published an entire book of genealogical information going back to the 1600s about my mom’s German side of our family. On my dad’s Swedish side, we don’t know nearly as much. As far as I can tell, though, there was no one famous on either.
What about Jesus’s genealogy? The two most famous men Matthew lists were Abraham and David. Jesus is a true Israelite of royal descent.
Surprisingly, however, Matthew includes the names of five mothers whose sexual activity was suspect in the eyes of many: Tamar, who played the prostitute (v. 3); Rahab, who was one (v. 5); Ruth, who lay next to drunk Boaz at midnight (v. 5); Bathsheba, “Uriah’s wife,” forced to commit adultery (v. 6); and Mary, who became pregnant out of wedlock (v. 16).
Jesus was descended from those he came to save — not just the respectable but also the rightly or wrongly suspect of this world.
It doesn’t matter to God who your ancestors were. It doesn’t matter what your personal background has been. Jesus came to make anyone right with God who would turn to him in faith. Many of us understand that when we first become believers in Jesus but later act as if we have forgotten. Do you reach out only to the reputable or also to the down and out?
As you pray, ask God to help you love someone practically in a way you couldn’t on your own.
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Craig L. Blomberg is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Denver Seminary. He has written or edited more than 30 books, including a recently revised and expanded commentary on Matthew. He teaches regularly in churches, including his home church of Centennial Covenant in Littleton, Colo. He and his wife Fran have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Read: Matthew 1:1-17
“Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.” (v. 16 NIV)
Thanks to online resources, more people than ever are researching their ancestry. A first cousin of my grandmother privately published an entire book of genealogical information going back to the 1600s about my mom’s German side of our family. On my dad’s Swedish side, we don’t know nearly as much. As far as I can tell, though, there was no one famous on either.
What about Jesus’s genealogy? The two most famous men Matthew lists were Abraham and David. Jesus is a true Israelite of royal descent.
Surprisingly, however, Matthew includes the names of five mothers whose sexual activity was suspect in the eyes of many: Tamar, who played the prostitute (v. 3); Rahab, who was one (v. 5); Ruth, who lay next to drunk Boaz at midnight (v. 5); Bathsheba, “Uriah’s wife,” forced to commit adultery (v. 6); and Mary, who became pregnant out of wedlock (v. 16).
Jesus was descended from those he came to save — not just the respectable but also the rightly or wrongly suspect of this world.
It doesn’t matter to God who your ancestors were. It doesn’t matter what your personal background has been. Jesus came to make anyone right with God who would turn to him in faith. Many of us understand that when we first become believers in Jesus but later act as if we have forgotten. Do you reach out only to the reputable or also to the down and out?
As you pray, ask God to help you love someone practically in a way you couldn’t on your own.
—————
Craig L. Blomberg is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus of New Testament at Denver Seminary. He has written or edited more than 30 books, including a recently revised and expanded commentary on Matthew. He teaches regularly in churches, including his home church of Centennial Covenant in Littleton, Colo. He and his wife Fran have two daughters and three grandchildren.
