Dysfunctional Families

I started reading over the genealogies in the Gospel of Matthew (Abraham to Jesus) when I noticed something. Three different characters inside the genealogy of Jesus that seemingly didn’t fit. Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, and all of them are around King David.

Matthew 1:5-6 (NLT)

Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse.

6  Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).

Let’s begin with Rahab. Rahab is the great-great-grandmother of King David, and she is specifically mentioned in the genealogical record of Jesus. Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute. How could she possibly be in the human bloodline of Jesus?

The next one is Ruth. Ruth was the great-grandmother of King David. Ruth was a pagan Moabite, and the Moabites were traditional enemies of Israel. And yet, Ruth is specifically mentioned in the Genealogical record of Jesus.

And finally, Bathsheba. Bathsheba is believed to be an Israelite, an Israelite who was married to Uriah the Hittite, one of David’s mighty men. Bathsheba had an adulterous affair with King David that led to David's murder of Uriah. Bathsheba became the wife of King David, and Solomon was born from their union.

Let’s summarize. David’s great-great-grandmother was a Canaanite prostitute. David’s great-grandmother was a pagan Moabite, and David’s wife was an adulterer. And yet, they are all inside the recorded genealogy of Jesus.

And you thought you came from a dysfunctional family! These three don’t seem to fit in the holy lineage of Jesus, but there they are. What does it all mean?  I think the Apostle Paul sums it up pretty well.

1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NLT)

Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.

29  As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

God chooses, plans, and directs His affairs in ways that we cannot imagine. They may seem foolish to us, but we are the ones who are foolish when we think we know the right way to bring the Son of God into the world. Would any of us conceived the idea that Jesus, the Son of God, should be born in a manger?

The truth is this…we are all Rahab’s, Ruth’s, and Bathsheba’s in God’s eyes. We are all filled with sin, and we all live in the dysfunctional families called the kingdoms of men. There was no one on earth righteous enough to be in the genealogy of Jesus, but He came anyway. In fact, that’s why He came.

Romans 3:10-12 (NLT)

10  As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. 11  No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12  All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.”

Yes, there was no one worthy to be on that list from Abraham to Jesus. That’s why He came. He came to fix that, to make us right with God.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Yes, that’s why He came! He came to remove us from this sinful, dysfunctional family of sin and death (the kingdoms of men) and bring us into this born-again Kingdom family of the children of God. Yes, that’s why He came.

John 3:3 (NLT)

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”

Jesus didn’t come to bless our dysfunction and sin. No, He came to transform us into the sanctified and forgiven… blood-bought children of the Most High.

Maranatha, Hosanna, Hallelujah and Amen,

Terry Cooper

Lead Minister