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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