The Grace of God
“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 Jacob, 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,” (Matthew 1:1-6).
The first chapter of Matthew is often overlooked by many. Part of this has to do with the fact that it is largely just a chapter full of names. Afterall, the first seventeen verses are nothing but the genealogy of Jesus. Whether it be genealogies found in the book of Genesis, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, or Matthew, there is a general tendency to skip over or skim through these chapters. A joke often presented by preachers is that the scripture reading that given day is one of a genealogy in order to torture the one doing the reading.
Why is this passage found in Matthew chapter one important? Afterall, you likely don’t even know your own genealogy, why should I know Jesus’?
Every year there are many people who will send some type of DNA sample to a company that will use their DNA to track their family line to see who and where they came from. Many times this is in an effort to see what type of history is in their family, or perhaps a hope of being related to somebody famous and being able to share a cool story. This is not the case with the genealogy of Jesus. While there are some very cool and famous people in the line of Jesus, there is a much deeper meaning to the names presented on the page.
A simple way to look at the deeper meaning would be to say, “Look at the names such as Abraham, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, etc. These were all sinners but yet in the line of Jesus.” While this is true, every name presented in Matthew chapter one (except Jesus Christ Himself), were all sinners. However, that is the case with every name presented in scripture for “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).
While you can pull deep meaning from just about any name in the chapter, the one name in particular that sticks out to many is Rahab. Many people will remember hearing the name Rahab from Joshua chapter two where she is introduced as “Harlot named Rahab,” (Joshua 2:2, NKJV). The ESV introduces Rahab as a “prostitute whose name was Rahab,” (Joshua 2:2, ESV). Similar to today, prostitutes were not looked upon with great flavor. So why, or perhaps a better question would be how, did Rahab end up in the genealogy of Jesus?
In Joshua chapter two, the Israelites were on a mission to take the land of Canaan and the first city in their sights was Jericho. So Joshua sends two spies to “Go, view the land, especially Jericho,” (Joshua 2:1). While in Jericho, they needed a place to stay and they came upon the house of Rahab. Not long after this, somebody went to the king of Jericho to inform him that “men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land,” (Joshua 2:2). The king of Jericho then sent men to the house of Rahab commanding her to “bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land,” (Joshua 2:3).
What happens next is rather remarkable. Instead of being faithful to her homeland of Jericho and obeying the commands of the king, Rahab hides the spies in piles of flax on her roof.
Rahab would surrender herself to God and become faithful to Him. At first glance, seeing the name Rahab in the genealogy of Jesus may seem strange, but upon further examination this reveals an incredible story. That story? God’s marvelous grace can be extended even into what may be seen as the worst of the worst of people. Reading of Rahab being in the genealogy of Jesus shows the believers of Christ that surely, Jesus did come to earth, live a life free from sin, and die on the cross as a sacrifice for everyone.
Find Peace in the Grace of God This Week!
