Matthew 1 Black Sheep in the Family

     Matthew 1:18 NASB 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. 

In reading the genealogy of Jesus found in Matthew, I am always fascinated by the women recorded in the story. Tamar deceived her father-in-law to have a child by him because of his dishonesty with her. Ruth was a Moabite, a foreigner whose first Jewish husband died in Moab. Bathsheba became pregnant by David while she was married to Uriah. David then made sure Uriah died in battle. Then of course, there is Mary, a young woman found to be pregnant out of wedlock.

Our tendency is to either brag about the "black sheep" in our family, or more often, to hide them and not talk about them. Jesus genealogy is rife with "black sheep." God could have picked or designed a better heritage for his Son. The fact that he used this family and this lineage is what fascinates me. But then, Jesus did say that he came for sinners, not the righteous. He did identify with our sinfulness in his baptism. He was known as a friend of sinners. And, he did become sin for us so that we might become his righteousness. Maybe this was an appropriate lineage after all.

Father, thank you that Jesus was willing to come and identify with sinners in order to save us. Forgive me for the times I have been more concerned about what people thought of me than of what you thought. May I emulate Jesus love for sinners even if that messes with my reputation.

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