Skeletons in the Closet
Judging by his family tree, I'm not sure you would have expected him to amount to much. Growing up in a culture that prized ancestral purity, his was, to be honest, a little embarrassing. We would expect these family skeletons to be kept safely in the closet but there they are are in plain view.
To start with, one of his ancient relatives, though prized for her heroic actions, never lost the demeaning moniker "the harlot." Even though her bravery was canonized it was always in the context of her formerly seedy lifestyle. Like many of us, she was never able to fully restore her reputation. Still, she became one of the maternal grandmothers of our famous figure.
And that's not all. Another relative left an even more dubious mark on the family tree. What happened was this: a man's son died before his wife was able to grant him any children to continue the family line. In the custom of the day, the dead man's brother was given to the woman to marry. He died too.
There was a younger son, not yet of marrying age. The daughter-in-law was told, "When he is of age, I'll give him to you."
However, the son was never given to the daughter-in-law. She saw the writing on the wall: "He's afraid this son will die, too; he'll never give him to me and I'll be left destitute."
Taking matters into her own hands, she disguised herself as a prostitute. When her father-in-law passed by he approached her for favors, just as she had hoped. Not having a goat to give her in payment, he left her a personal piece as collateral. He sent the animal later, as promised, but the woman was nowhere to be found.
Not long later, word reached the father that his unmarried daughter-in-law was pregnant. "I'll kill him!" he said in anger. "Who did it?"
She sent the personal piece to him with this message: "The man who did this owned these things."
He immediately recognized the personal pieces and his folly. The child born by this union is also part of our hero's family tree.
But wait, there's more. Our hero's most famous relative was rightly revered both in his day and our own. Like the rest of us, however, he was not without his faults.
One day when he should have been leading his troops to battle he was daydreaming on the roof. He spied a beautiful woman bathing. Overtaken with lust, hecalled her to himself. He was, after all, the king, so she had no choice but to comply.
To make a long story short, she became pregnant and in order to cover his tracks the king had her husband killed. This man revered for generations was now guilty of both adultery and murder. The child born of their union died at birth, but she later had a son who became the direct ancestor of our famous man.
What famous man? In case you haven't guessed: the man with the dubious family tree was none other than Jesus himself.
Yes, it's true. Among Jesus' ancestors was a harlot (Rahab), a child conceived in an act of prostitution (the son of Judah and Tamar), and relationship corrupted by adultery and murder (King David).
And you thought some of your own history was shameful!
Why take this prurient walk down memory lane? Because it yields for us a thrilling truth: our past mistakes do not cancel us out of God's future blessing.
God could have kept Jesus' family line perfectly pure. But he didn't. Why? Because he values human freedom too much to interfere with it. Because he specializes in bring good results out of bad decisions. Because he loves to pour out his forgiveness on unworthy people. Because imperfect people are a better canvass for his lavish grace than are so-called perfect people.
So the next time you feel like you've messed up your life so badly that nothing good can come of it, remember these real-life people. And be of good cheer. For if God was not ashamed to allow Jesus to share the bloodline of these imperfect people, he is not ashamed to make something good out of the mess of your life.
"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).
To start with, one of his ancient relatives, though prized for her heroic actions, never lost the demeaning moniker "the harlot." Even though her bravery was canonized it was always in the context of her formerly seedy lifestyle. Like many of us, she was never able to fully restore her reputation. Still, she became one of the maternal grandmothers of our famous figure.
And that's not all. Another relative left an even more dubious mark on the family tree. What happened was this: a man's son died before his wife was able to grant him any children to continue the family line. In the custom of the day, the dead man's brother was given to the woman to marry. He died too.
There was a younger son, not yet of marrying age. The daughter-in-law was told, "When he is of age, I'll give him to you."
However, the son was never given to the daughter-in-law. She saw the writing on the wall: "He's afraid this son will die, too; he'll never give him to me and I'll be left destitute."
Taking matters into her own hands, she disguised herself as a prostitute. When her father-in-law passed by he approached her for favors, just as she had hoped. Not having a goat to give her in payment, he left her a personal piece as collateral. He sent the animal later, as promised, but the woman was nowhere to be found.
Not long later, word reached the father that his unmarried daughter-in-law was pregnant. "I'll kill him!" he said in anger. "Who did it?"
She sent the personal piece to him with this message: "The man who did this owned these things."
He immediately recognized the personal pieces and his folly. The child born by this union is also part of our hero's family tree.
But wait, there's more. Our hero's most famous relative was rightly revered both in his day and our own. Like the rest of us, however, he was not without his faults.
One day when he should have been leading his troops to battle he was daydreaming on the roof. He spied a beautiful woman bathing. Overtaken with lust, hecalled her to himself. He was, after all, the king, so she had no choice but to comply.
To make a long story short, she became pregnant and in order to cover his tracks the king had her husband killed. This man revered for generations was now guilty of both adultery and murder. The child born of their union died at birth, but she later had a son who became the direct ancestor of our famous man.
What famous man? In case you haven't guessed: the man with the dubious family tree was none other than Jesus himself.
Yes, it's true. Among Jesus' ancestors was a harlot (Rahab), a child conceived in an act of prostitution (the son of Judah and Tamar), and relationship corrupted by adultery and murder (King David).
And you thought some of your own history was shameful!
Why take this prurient walk down memory lane? Because it yields for us a thrilling truth: our past mistakes do not cancel us out of God's future blessing.
God could have kept Jesus' family line perfectly pure. But he didn't. Why? Because he values human freedom too much to interfere with it. Because he specializes in bring good results out of bad decisions. Because he loves to pour out his forgiveness on unworthy people. Because imperfect people are a better canvass for his lavish grace than are so-called perfect people.
So the next time you feel like you've messed up your life so badly that nothing good can come of it, remember these real-life people. And be of good cheer. For if God was not ashamed to allow Jesus to share the bloodline of these imperfect people, he is not ashamed to make something good out of the mess of your life.
"We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).