Read: Matthew 1:1-16
David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. (v. 6)
My father has become very interested in our family’s genealogy. He has done a tremendous job in collecting old photographs of our ancestors. It’s interesting to note a “family resemblance” in the pictures and stories of long-passed relatives—both saints and sinners—who make up our family tree.
Matthew wanted us to know that Jesus’s family tree was made up of just such people too. One way he did this was to include four notable women in his gospel’s genealogy of Jesus. These types of records rarely noted women—typically only forefathers would be listed. But the four women in this genealogy—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—were remarkable people for Matthew to include. Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth were foreign women who should have been excluded from God’s blessings, but by grace they each were brought into the nation of Israel. Bathsheba was an adulteress who became the mother of Solomon. Their special inclusion into Christ’s genealogy shows the extent to which our Savior identified with humanity. Like us, he came from a human family of great and lowly people, of saints—and especially of sinners.
By grace, Bathsheba was included in the Messiah’s direct ancestry, but all believers are part of his human family—his brothers and sisters by faith. Hebrews 2:11 tells us that “he is not ashamed to call them brothers.” What a big brother we have in Jesus!
As you pray, thank God for the grace that has made you part of his family by faith.
About the Author
Laura N. Sweet is a wife, mother, grandmother, and former Christian schoolteacher from Midland, Michigan. She writes devotional material for both adults and children, and her work has appeared in more than a dozen publications.
