The first verse in the Gospel of Matthew is usually glossed over, as well as the genealogy that follows, but careful study of the verse reveals some amazing things that we usually take for granted:
1. This is a physical genealogy of Jesus from Abraham, but it is also a spiritual genealogy of mankind from Jesus. "Jesus" means "he saves." This genealogy is one of salvation, and it includes the members of the genealogy itself.
2. Christ means "anointed." The three offices that were anointed in the Old Testament were prophet, priest, and king. Jesus is all three.
3. "Jesus" is Hebrew. "Christ" is Greek. His name and title include both Jew and Gentile. None is left out of salvation.
4. Abraham and David are the milestones, because distinct promises were made to both of them: to Abraham the promise that all the nations would be blessed through his seed, and to David the promise that his seed would rule over the true Israel forever.
The genealogy itself was a matter of public record and irrefutable. From it we find:
1. Judah was an adulterer. He is saved.
2. Tamar was a deceiver. She is saved.
3. Rahab was a prostitute. She is saved.
4. Ruth was a poor gentile. She is saved.
5. Boaz was a rich Jew. He is saved.
6. David was an adulterer, deceiver, and murderer. He is saved.
And on and on. In fact, every person in the genealogy is a sinner, and every person in the genealogy is saved by Christ, because the list is the generations of Jesus Christ. Now, the timeline works in the other direction, too. Anyone who has an abiding faith in Christ is in Jesus' timeline going into the future. Jesus had no physical children, but he mas many spiritual children. Are you one? Do you believe that he lived on earth and died for your sins? Many think that God will reject them, because they are a Judah or a Tamar or a Rahab or a Ruth or a Boaz or even a David. When you realize that no one is excluded from the free gift of grace that can only be found in Jesus Christ, the burden you are carrying should melt away. If you believe that God has forgiven your debt by paying the fine himself on the cross, you will be saved.
