12/12/2025
Let's do something that might not feel very “Christmas-y.” This post isn't going to start with shepherds, or stars, or angels singing in the sky…it's going to go to the Gospel of Matthew and read the genealogy of Jesus. I know…it's is a list of names. And most of you will skip over it when you start your Bible reading plans next month. But I want you, right now, to read every crooked branch of Jesus’ family tree.
And here’s why: We live on this side of Christmas. Jesus has already come. And that means we sometimes forget just how long the world waited—and just how messy the story really is.
Matthew 1:1-11
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob2, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers,”
❶ Even though this Matthew chapter 1, the author didn’t think he was starting a new book. He begins with a genealogy—something you see in Old Testament books like Genesis, Numbers, & 1 Chronicles, and Ezra. And he follows this pattern because he’s writing a continuation of the Old Testament story! The 4 Gospels are the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and the rest of the New Testament is God’s commentary on it. So, I want you to know, you have God’s permission to tear out one page in your Bible: The one between the Old Testament and the New.
❷ If you were going to write the résumé of the Savior of the world, you would not include these names. You’d clean it up, and delete a few names. But, you’re going to see, Matthew hasn’t scrubbed or edited this family tree, He puts all the dirt right in the front of the Christmas card! When we want to make ourselves sound qualified, we brag on our ancestors and their accomplishments. But, here, Matthew is doing the complete opposite… For one, 5 women are named: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary.
And, while that’s shocking, the real surprise it that there are 5 people on this list with s*x scandals. Not to mention, when people heard the story of Jesus’ birth, they suspected Mary to be guilty sleeping around. Now, wait just a minute—this is supposed to be the Messiah’s lineage. It’s supposed to be pure. But here it is surrounded by scandal! Let’s quickly cover the gory details: And if you think your family is crazy at Christmas, buckle up.
Abraham: a liar (Gen. 12:10–20; 20:1–18) who laughed instead of believing God (Gen. 17:17), slept with his servant Hagar (Gen. 16), and was unnecessarily harsh to his son, Ishmael (Gen. 21:9–14).
Isaac: another liar (Gen. 26:6-11) who showed favoritism to one of his sons, Esau (Gen. 25:28).
Jacob: a liar (Gen. 25:29–34, 31) and thief (Gen. 27) who showed favoritism (Gen. 37:3).
Judah: suggested to sell Joseph his brother into slavery (Gen. 37:26-27), married an idol worshiper (Gen. 38:2), raised his sons to be wicked (Gen. 38:7–10), and ordered a pr******te, who ended up being his daughter-in-law (Gen. 38:15–18).
Tamar: dressed up like a pr******te so her father-in-law
would sleep with her so she could get pregnant (Gen. 38:14–19).
[The fact that she knew this scheme would work doesn’t says a lot about Judah, doesn’t it?]
Rahab: a legit pr******te (Josh. 2:1)! Ruth: a Gentile from a nation of child-sacrificing idol worshipers (2 Ki. 3:27).
David: stood on his roof as he watched a married woman bathe, summoned her, slept with her,
got her pregnant, got her husband drunk so he would go home, sleep with wife and think he’s the one who got her pregnant, and—when that didn’t work—he killed the guy to cover it up (2 Sam. 11). On top of that, he was a pretty lousy parent (2 Sam. 13–18).
Solomon: took many foreign wives (1 Kings 11), worshiped other gods because of those wives (1 Kings 11:4–10). Rehoboam: such a harsh king that it caused a civil war (1 Kings 12), led the people into idolatry (1 Kings 14:22–24).
Asaph: relied on political allies rather than the LORD (2 Chron. 16:7–9) and didn’t like hearing from God’s prophets (2 Chron. 16:10). Jehoshaphat: made alliances with wicked kings and ignored the prophets (2 Chron. 18–20). Joram: married the daughter of Ahab (2 Ki. 8:16–18), worshiped idols, and murdered his own brothers (2 Chron. 21:4).
Uzziah: a prideful king who posed as a priest and
conducted a sacrifice in the temple without permission (2 Chron. 26:16–21). Ahaz: practiced extreme idolatry (2 Ki. 16), and burned his sons as a sacrifice (2 Chron. 28:3).
Shut down the temple and replaced it with altars to other gods (2 Chron. 28:24–25). Manasseh: The most wicked king in the southern portion (2 Ki. 21). Sorcery, necromancy
(2 Ki. 21:3, 6), child sacrifice (2 Ki. 21:6), set up idols in the temple.
Now, you might think: “Gee, after all that, it’s a wonder that Messiah didn’t decide not to come at all!” He didn’t say: “No way I’m coming to be born into that mess!” Instead, But the sin of the world—even among those who believe in God—doesn’t push Jesus away…That’s actually what He comes for—that’s the reason! Later on in this chapter (Mt. 1:21), Matthew says Jesus came to “save people from their sins!”
Now, the crazy part about that statement is the Jews—despite their bad backstory—believed that they were inherently righteous…They wanted a Messiah to come save them from the sins of others—namely the Roman Empire.
But all people are in need of a savior because of their own sins.
And that’s exactly the Savior Jesus came to be. Now, after you read 39 Old Testament books about these sinners, in Matthew 1, we’re introduced to a “good” man.
This is the first time in the New Testament where someone is called righteous: Joseph the Just. And why is he called righteous? Well, when he suspected Mary to be pregnant from another man, he didn’t explode or lose it…he didn’t even want to out her publicly, shame her, or expose her…Joseph thinks Mary has betrayed him. He thinks she’s carrying another man’s child.
And according to the Law, he could have publicly shamed, tried, and executed her. He had chapter and verse on his side (Lev. 10:20, Deut. 22:22)! But Just Joseph chose to cover what he believes is her sin instead of exposing it. That’s the first picture of righteousness in the New Testament. Not rule-keeping. Not making himself out to be morally superior…Mercy.
And when baby Jesus is all grown-up, He ends up resembling
his step-father Joseph here more than anyone else in his family tree. One time, a group of self-righteous, religious men dragged a woman into the street to be stoned (Jn. 8),
He looks exactly like His father Joseph and, more importantly, His Father in Heaven.
So what does all this mean? It means Christmas is not a story about God coming for good people. Jesus came for liars, adulterers, idolaters, failures, outcasts, hypocrites,
messed-up families, and people who are barely holding it together. He came for people exactly like those in His family tree. People exactly like you and exactly like me. And He didn’t just come to expose sin—He came to save sinners.
