Jonathan's Bible Study Site

Matthew 1:5-6
A Strange Family Tree

...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 King David.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,...

New Revised Standard Version

The gospel of Matthew begins with a geneology of Jesus Christ, an opening so dull in our way of thinking that, if we were writing a biography that started this way, our editor would cancel our book contract! Yes, there were some cultural differences 2,000 years ago that made opening with a geneology more palatable, and even preferable. For one thing, this was evidence that Jesus did come from the lineage of King David, and so fulfulled the prophesies. For another thing, Matthew divides this geneology into three balanced time periods, from Abraham to David, from David to the exile to Babylon, and from the exile unto the birth of Jesus. In doing so, Matthew tells his readers that Jesus is the completion and fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham.

There's much more in this geneology than the obvious. Matthew's primary audience, faithful Jews, would have been puzzled, and even shocked, by the inclusion of women in the geneology. Not only that, but these were no "good Jewish girls" that Matthew chose to mention. In the two verses above, we have:

Rahab, a prostitute,

Ruth, a foreigner from Moab, and

Bathsheeba, the wife of Uriah, who committed adultery with David, and whose husband David murdered to cover up the affair.

Why does Matthew want us to know about these sordid details in Jesus' family tree?

For one, this geneology demonstrates that God's love can work mighty miracles in spite of our past sins. God promises us that our sins are forgiven and taken away from us "as far as the East is from the West", and this passage shows how God removed forgiven sins of prostitution, promiscuity, and murder from being barriers to the coming of Jesus. God does the same for us.

For another, this geneology demonstrates an inclusiveness that defied the pious judgements that "good" Jews pronounced on those who didn't live up to their standards. Jesus was later to compare people with those attitudes with funeral crypts, because they were beautiful on the outside but filled with death on the inside. Here, in two verses, Matthew tells Jesus' story through reference to women, sinners, and foreigners, hitting all the "hot buttons" that a pious Jew would have avoided in describing one who would be "holy." We are all included in God's plan.

While there are many more observations that can be made with this passage, I'll include just one more. The people mentioned in this part of the geneology are not the usual ones expected for a kingly line. It was the first-born son who received the highest honor and the birthright in those times, and a king would ordinarily be descended from these first-born sons. However, Boaz likely had many children before he married the widow Ruth and they had a son Obed. David was the youngest son of Jesse. David's oldest son, Absolom, had died, and David bypassed an older son, Adonijah, to make Solomon king. We need to remember that how we perceive the world is different from how God perceives the world. We need to be open to how God is leading us, particularly when it isn't in the way we expect.

The nature of the message of Jesus is evident even in this first chapter of Matthew. God's love is more powerful than any earthly barrier, and God loves every one of us, no matter how insignificant we are or how we have fallen short. We are called to love God, to love all people as God's children, and to follow wherever God leads us, no matter how surprising. And God through Matthew describes that for us in a family tree!

Meditations:

Matthew 1:5-6A Strange Family Tree

Matthew 1:5-6
A Strange Family Tree