Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife ... - Matthew 1:5-6

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 8, 2017): Matthew 1

One thing I like about the Bible is that it refuses to pull its punches - even when regarding itself. You don’t think that Jesus rose from the dead, the Bible is way ahead of you – it admits that that rumor was circulating in the days after the resurrection (Matthew 28:12-15). If the words of Matthew were written centuries instead of decades after the death of Jesus, we might expect them to gloss over that fact, to tell us that the people of that time have always accepted a resurrected Jesus. But the Bible refuses to tell us that story. We also know that Judas betrayed, Peter denied and Thomas doubted. The disciples were far from the perfect group of older men with halos around their heads that we often see in old paintings.

This is true even in Jesus list of ancestors. Matthew can’t seem to help himself. He only lists four women other than Mary in the entire genealogy, and all four women had questionable pasts. Yet, Matthew appears to proclaim them in the lineage of Jesus with pride. Tamar (verse 3) gave birth to Perez and Zerah after disguising herself as a Temple Prostitute and tricking her Father-in-law, Judah, to make love with her. Rahab is likewise believed to be a prostitute, although there is some disagreement about the Hebrew in her case. Ruth was a Moabite, and Moabites were forbidden to intermarry with the children of Israel, and the fourth woman Matthew can’t even bear to name. We know, of course, that her name was Bathsheba. Matthew identifies her by the sin that David committed because of her. David was enchanted by Bathsheba’s beauty and, therefore, he committed adultery with her, although I know some women who would argue that David forced himself on her. Bathsheba became pregnant and, to keep his sin hidden, David recalled Uriah from the front so that he would sleep with his wife and in the end believe that the baby was really his. But Uriah proved to be too much a man of honor to accept the pleasantries of home while his friends were still on the battlefield. And so, David, the man after God’s own heart, had Uriah murdered.

None of these stories make it into our sterilized version of the birth of a Baby in a manger, but Matthew wants to make sure that his readers know that they are there, lurking in the background.

The reason? There are most likely a few reasons hidden in the recesses of Matthew’s mind, but two probably need to be highlighted. First, know that your heritage does not define you. Who your ancestors were is not who you are. You are an individual valuable to God. But more importantly, there is room for all of us no matter what is in our past behavior. None of us are perfect, but somehow we find a way to muddle through and make a difference exactly where it is that God places us. And that is really all that matters.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Matthew 2