May the mumbling commence!
Are you ready to set sail through the entire New Testament? Today, we embark upon a reading of the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. A steady pace will be set – three chapters a day. Please, join me!
The gospel according to Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus. What was Jesus’ pedigree, so to speak? Read the genealogy from Matthew chapter one:
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
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,
Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
and Jacob the father of Joseph,
the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (Verses 1-16)
Are you stifling a yawn? Please, don’t! There is treasure to be found in this list of names – treasure that will help set the tone for the gospel of Jesus according to Matthew.
Look at the two men who are highlighted by Matthew – David and Abraham. David is the only man who is given the title of king, though many of the men that follow him served as kings of Judah. And David is known as the man who was after God’s own heart. Did David ever fall? You bet! But David confessed and God picked him back up.
What about Abraham? He is known as a friend of God. He is known as the father of all who have faith in God. Indeed, he has many children! You and I are but two of a countless multitude.
There are five other people who are highlighted in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. These people are women – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah’s wife, and Mary. Matthew departed from the traditional patriarchal line to include some mothers. What a timely inclusion with Mothers’ Day being tomorrow! Why did Matthew highlight these women?
What do these women have in common? Four of them have checkered pasts. Tamar and Rahab and Ruth all are women from peoples other than Israel. Tamar (a Canaanite) deceived her father-in-law Judah (who had deceived her). Rahab was a prostitute in the walls of the city of Jericho. Ruth was a Moabite. And Bathsheba was at the very least married to Uriah the Hittite.
I have struggled in the past about why her name isn’t used in the genealogy. Bathsheba’s beauty led to a time of downfall in the life of David. I now wonder if Matthew called her the wife of Uriah to underline her faithfulness to her husband – because of the power of the king and her vulnerability as a woman she had little to no choice in the affair.
Yes, each of these women displayed remarkable faith in God. (Francine Rivers wrote biblical fiction stories about each of these women – thoughtful books worth reading.) Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the culmination of these women. Her husband, Joseph, is known by being the husband of Mary.
Matthew highlights both the faith and the falling of Jesus’ descendants. Jesus picks up the faith part and eliminates the failures. Think about Jesus as the new Israel as you read Matthew.
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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