Family Tree
Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.
Matthew 1:17
There’s a moment in a Will Smith movie called Hitch, where he (Smith) takes a girl out on a date to Ellis Island in New York where so many migrants first landed on American soil to begin a new life.
Smith’s character thinks he has pulled off a charming masterstroke. He’s brought this girl to find that she had an ancestor come through Ellis Island. But instead of the ‘wow’ and adoration he expected. Instead, he got some very awkward crying. Turns out this ancestor was also called “The Butcher of Cadiz” and not the good sort of butcher. It was a family disgrace to which the family had gone to great lengths to suppress.
One of the things so interesting in Jesus’ family tree. Is that it doesn’t cover up the dirty laundry. Go and read it for yourself. Let me give you two examples.
2. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife (verse 6). The great stain on David’s legacy when he committed adultery and murder.
Of course this is more than interesting. It’s a reminder of the world Jesus’ came into. A world riddled with sin and its symptoms of which His family tree is no outlier but exemplary.
This is the grace of God. In spite of the sins of Judah, David, Israel (the nation) and all humanity. God promised a King who would come into the midst of our sin and it turns out who would take our sin unto Himself, making us free of its stain and shame.
For Today:
Pray:
Matthew 1:17
There’s a moment in a Will Smith movie called Hitch, where he (Smith) takes a girl out on a date to Ellis Island in New York where so many migrants first landed on American soil to begin a new life.
Smith’s character thinks he has pulled off a charming masterstroke. He’s brought this girl to find that she had an ancestor come through Ellis Island. But instead of the ‘wow’ and adoration he expected. Instead, he got some very awkward crying. Turns out this ancestor was also called “The Butcher of Cadiz” and not the good sort of butcher. It was a family disgrace to which the family had gone to great lengths to suppress.
One of the things so interesting in Jesus’ family tree. Is that it doesn’t cover up the dirty laundry. Go and read it for yourself. Let me give you two examples.
- Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar (verse 3). Tamar you might remember pretended to be prostitute because of her mistreatment by Judah, her father-in-law who then slept with her (unknowingly) which resulted in Perez & Zerah (twins)!
2. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife (verse 6). The great stain on David’s legacy when he committed adultery and murder.
Of course this is more than interesting. It’s a reminder of the world Jesus’ came into. A world riddled with sin and its symptoms of which His family tree is no outlier but exemplary.
This is the grace of God. In spite of the sins of Judah, David, Israel (the nation) and all humanity. God promised a King who would come into the midst of our sin and it turns out who would take our sin unto Himself, making us free of its stain and shame.
For Today:
- Do you have a relative you are ashamed of?
- What messiness do you need Jesus to come into at the moment?
- What are you ashamed of that you need to give to Jesus?
Pray:
- Praise the Father that He is without the stain of sin.
- Give thanks for Jesus who came down into our shameful situation.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others give your shame to Jesus.
Posted in Matthew
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