Matthew 1:22-25 (ESV)

[22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

[23] “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). [24] When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, [25] but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

We know the story. Jesus was born into the line of David. God became man in order to redeem mankind. We know the story, but reflecting on the story again it occurs to me that God could have chosen a better bloodline. This family tree includes prostitution, deceit, foreigners, adultery, and murder. Couldn’t God have picked a better family than this? But maybe that is the point.

God did not become man in order to save the best of us. He came to save the worst of us. He came to identify with sinners. He came to forgive, wash clean, and transform. He did not come to pick a few good people. He came for the worst of the worst. Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mk 2:17). That is why it is called good news.

Unfortunately we too often act as though God came for the righteous. We want people to come to church, but we want them to clean up first. We want them to look, think, and act like us. We are not comfortable when “real sinners” walk through the door. It was said of Jesus, “Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Mt 11:19).  As believers, we often pride ourselves in living in such a way that no one could possibly say that of us, yet that is what Jesus was called. It makes me wonder why we live so differently from the one we call Lord and Savior.

Maybe this Christmas season we should reflect not only on the miracle of the virgin birth, but on the miracle that God would be willing to be seen with the likes of us. Maybe we should step out of our comfort zones and befriend a sinner. By the way, Jesus time with sinners was never one where he showed pity or superiority, or looked down on them. He embraced them. He listened to them. He genuinely loved them. And when they saw that his love was genuine they were drawn to him.

This Christmas, may we genuinely love the ones for whom Jesus came: sinners in a broken world. Jesus could have picked a better family line. But, he didn’t. He came for the broken. It is time we recognize how broken we really are, and reflect the heart of God.