Welcome to the family

When I was living in Hawaii, there was something I usually took for granted, but now I really miss. I miss seeing the stars. Where I live in Nishinomiya, I usually don’t see very many. Once in a great while, I might actually see Orion, but that’s very rare. I can usually count the number of stars I see on one hand.

But I remember going to church camps in the mountains in Hawaii, looking at the stars, and just being blown away by how big this universe is and how big our God must be to have created it. But for some people, sometimes another thought comes into their heads as they look at the stars. And it was perfectly portrayed in one of my favorite comic strips.

Here you have this boy Calvin gazing up at the stars. Suddenly he shouts, “I’m significant!” And then he says, “Screamed the dust speck.”

Have you ever felt that way? Small? Insignificant? Has the question ever crossed your mind, “Even if God exists, how could he possibly love me?”

Some of you look at yourselves, and you don’t like yourself very much. You don’t like your appearance. You feel unloved. You feel broken by your sins and failures. You feel worthless.

But the amazing message of Christmas is that you are significant to God. He loves you deeply, and invites you to enter into his family. And it’s precisely the weak, the small, the insignificant, and the broken that he calls into his family. I can think of no better way to illustrate that than to look at Jesus’ family tree.

Have you ever been struck by how Jesus came into the world? That he even has a family tree? I mean, Jesus could have just descended from heaven, saying, “Here I am to save the world.” But he didn’t do that. Instead the author of Hebrews writes that Jesus made himself a little a lower than the angels, becoming just like us (Hebrews 2:9). And he became human for a specific purpose. We find that purpose in Matthew 1:21, when the angel Gabriel was speaking to Jesus’ earthly father Joseph. He said this:

[Mary] will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21)

Most Jews at the time thought that God would send a Messiah, a Savior to rescue them from Rome and return Israel to its former glory. But Gabriel said, “He will save his people from their sin.”

When Gabriel said “his people,” he wasn’t just talking about the Jews, though. He was talking about all who would put their faith in Jesus. And we all need to be saved from our sins. All of us have done things that have damaged our relationship with God and others. All of us have done things that have done damage to ourselves.

Jesus’ family tree is full of people like that. There were a lot of people in that tree that were broken in so many ways. They were small, weak, insignificant, and sinful. Let’s take a look at some of them and see if you can relate with any of them. Take a look at Matthew 1 starting at verse 1.

An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.

The English here calls Jesus the “Son” of David and Abraham, but it is perhaps better translated “descendant.” He wasn’t literally David’s or Abraham’s son. Still, when Jews heard the title “Son of David,” they immediately thought of the word, “Christ” or “Messiah.” Because through the prophet Isaiah, God had promised that one of David’s descendants would sit on David’s throne and reign forever. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

But who was this David? He was a nobody when God called him to be king. His own father Jesse thought so little of him, that when the prophet Samuel asked to meet his sons, Jesse brought out everyone but David. And only after Samuel asked Jesse, “Don’t you have any other sons,” did Jesse said, “Oh yeah, I forgot. There’s my youngest son David taking care of the sheep. But you don’t really want to see him, do you?”

“Yes, I do.”

And when David came before Samuel, God said “This is the one. I choose him.”

But though God chose David and even called him a “man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22), we’ll see later that he too was a man broken by sin.

Who was Abraham? He was the father of the Jewish race. And God promised that he would not only bless Abraham, but that Abraham would be a blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:3-4). But Abraham didn’t start that way. When he was in Egypt, he lied to Pharaoh saying his wife Sarah was his sister. As a result, Pharaoh took her to be his wife. And God put a curse on Pharaoh until he returned Sarah to Abraham (Genesis 12:10-17). Abraham certainly wasn’t a blessing to Pharaoh, and he definitely wasn’t being a blessing to Sarah. But the thing is, Abraham didn’t learn his lesson. He did the exact same thing several years later (Genesis 20).

Not only that, when it seemed God was being slow in keeping his promise to give him a son, Abraham took his wife’s advice, slept with her slave, and had a son through her (Genesis 16). Now that was common practice at the time, but it was not a very strong sign of faith on Abraham’s part. But here’s the thing: God still said, “I choose you.” And as time went on, Abraham grew in his faith, and now he is called the father of all those who have faith in God (Galatians 3:7).

I don’t know about you, but that’s encouraging to me. You see, we don’t have to make ourselves perfect before God will accept us. We can come to God with all of our flaws, and he will accept us as we are. Some people think, “I have to become a good person before I get baptized.” Do you know what that’s like? That’s like saying, “I have to get cleaned up before I take a shower.” That’s stupid, right? We take a shower to get cleaned up.

In the same way, we don’t have to clean ourselves up to come to God. We can come to him as we are, and he will clean us up. He washes us clean with the blood that Jesus shed for us on the cross. And as we walk with him, moment to moment, day to day, we start becoming more like him.

Another man in Jesus’ family history learned that lesson, Abraham’s great-grandson Judah in verses 2-3. Judah was one of 12 brothers in a very dysfunctional family. His father Jacob had two wives who were sisters. Jacob loved the younger, more beautiful one named Rachel, and didn’t love his other wife Leah at all. So why did he marry both? Well, that’s a pretty lurid story that you can read on your own in Genesis 29.

What’s amazing to me is that God chose to bring Jesus through Judah’s line. Why is that so amazing? Several reasons. Like I said, Rachel was the loved wife. And her son Joseph was the best of all of Jacob’s sons, not to mention the son that Jacob loved the most. Her sister Leah, meanwhile, was always desperately trying to win Jacob’s love, and seemingly never could do it. Judah was Leah’s son.

And Judah was totally messed up. He hated Joseph so much, he convinced his brothers to sell him as a slave. For years after that, though, it seems he wrestled with guilt for what he had done. So much so that he actually left Jacob and the rest of the family for a time. He got married and had three sons, one of whom married a woman named Tamar.

And if there was someone who was as miserable as Leah, Tamar was. Her husband was so wicked, God put him to death. In those days, it was the custom that if a man’s widow had no children, the man’s brother would marry her and have children in his brother’s name. But while the brother used Tamar sexually, he made sure she wouldn’t have children through him. You can read about the details in Genesis 38.

As a result, God put him to death. Judah then promised to give his youngest son to Tamar, but he seemed to think she was bad luck, and so he broke his promise. Tamar got so desperate, that she tricked Judah into thinking she was a prostitute, slept with him, and had twin sons through him.

Amazingly, though, that was the event that seemed to turn Judah around. He realized just how messed up he was, and he eventually returned to his family. And ultimately, it was through him that reconciliation with Joseph happened. Judah, not Joseph, was the man that God chose to bring Jesus through. And in doing so, God took two women in Leah and Tamar who were unloved and unwanted, and said, “I choose you too.”

Three more women besides Tamar are mentioned in Jesus’ family tree. That was very unusual, by the way. Women were almost never mentioned in Jewish genealogies. But they’re mentioned in Jesus’. Rahab in verse 5 was someone who should not have been in that genealogy. She was a Canaanite, a group of people that were so wicked that God told the Israelites to wipe them out. Not only that, she was a prostitute. But when she heard about all God had done for the Israelites, she turned her heart to God and helped his people. And God said, “Welcome to the family.”

Ruth in verse 5, was a Moabite. She was another one that should have never been in Jesus’ family tree. In Deuteronomy 23:3-4, God had commanded the Israelites to never let a Moabite be a part of their assembly. For one thing, they had refused to help the Israelites after they had escaped slavery in Egypt, and on top of that, they tried to curse the Israelites. And yet, Ruth also turned her heart to God. And God said, “You’re mine. I choose you. Be part of my Son’s family tree.”

Then you have a woman called Bathsheba. She’s not specifically named in Matthew 1:6, but she was the wife of a man named Uriah, a faithful soldier in King David’s army. I mentioned before that God had called David a man after his own heart. But David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then murdered Uriah to cover it up. That’s about as messed up as you can get. And yet, when David repented, God forgave David and Bathsheba. And he chose that union, scandalous as it was, to eventually bring Jesus into the world.

I could go on and on. Manasseh in Matthew 1:10 was another king who massively messed up. He did all kinds of horrid things. The Bible says he filled Jerusalem with blood from end to end. He offered his own son as a human sacrifice. He put an idol of a false god in the Lord’s temple. (2 Kings 21). Eventually, he was captured by the Assyrians and exiled to Babylon. But in his prison cell, he repented. He turned back to God. And God not only forgave him, he restored his position as king (2 Chronicles 33). And ultimately, he said, “Manasseh, I choose you. You be part of my Son’s family tree.”

One of the last kings of Judah was a man named Jehoiachin who is called Jeconiah in Matthew 1:11-12 and Coniah in Jeremiah 22:24-30. He was so evil in God’s eyes that he lasted only 3 months as king before he was captured and exiled to Babylon (2 Chronicles 3:6:9-10). God was so disgusted by Jehoiachin that he placed a curse on him that he should be childless and not have any descendants sit on David’s throne (Jeremiah 22:24-30). And yet, we see him here in Jesus’ family tree. How is that possible?

We catch a hint of the answer in Jeremiah 52:31-33. Take a look.

On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Judah’s King Jehoiachin, King Evil-merodach of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, pardoned King Jehoiachin of Judah and released him from prison. He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and he dined regularly in the presence of the king of Babylon for the rest of his life.

Incredible grace was shown to Jehoiachin. Why? The Bible is silent, but Jewish rabbinic literature says that Jehoiachin repented in prison. If that’s true, it sure would explain a lot. Especially when years later, the prophet Haggai seems to restore Jeohoiachin’s line to favor by blessing his grandson Zerubbabel, who we see in Matthew 1:12. (Haggai 2:20-23)

One thing that really strikes me is that what Evil-merodach did for Jehoiachin, God does for us who believe in Jesus. Though we deserved nothing from God except judgment, God pardoned us. He speaks kindly to us. He changed our clothes which were filthy with sin, and clothed us with Christ’s righteousness. And one day, we will be given a place at his banquet table, and we will reign with Christ forever.

Did you notice something amusing in this story? There’s no deep theological significance to it, but it is amusing. Did you notice when Jehoiachin was pardoned? The 25th day of the twelfth month. “Merry Christmas Jehoiachin!”

Now the main reason I say there’s no theological significance is that the 12th month in the Jewish calendar corresponds to our February. But who knows, maybe God knew that we would celebrate his Son’s birth on the 25th day of the twelfth month of our calendar and he arranged this story accordingly! (Or maybe not).

Whatever the case, for whatever reason, it seems God said, “I choose you, Jehoiachin. Welcome to the family.”

So what is my point? Jesus’ family tree was a pretty sordid one. It’s filled with people who were unwanted and unloved. It’s filled with people who totally messed up their lives, who were broken by their sin. It’s filled with a lot of people who are pretty insignificant by the world’s standards. After Zerubbabel, we know nothing about the people in Jesus’ family tree until we get to Joseph. And by the time we get to Joseph, he’s no king. He’s no politician. He has no position of power. He’s a poor carpenter. Just a regular guy. And yet, God said, “I choose you.”

And now you’re invited to join that family. Again, it’s a family that’s sordid in many ways. But Jesus came to this earth to save that family from their sins.

Some of you may think that you’re insignificant. And you can’t comprehend why or how God could choose you. Some of you have experienced rejection time and again. Some of you were rejected by your parents. Some of you were abandoned by your spouse. Some of you have never had anyone tell you, “I love you.” But look at Jesus’ family tree. God chooses the insignificant. He chooses those who were unwanted and unloved. And he says, “Be part of my Son’s family tree.”

Some of you may think that you’re too messed up. That you would have to clean yourself up before God could even look at you. But as I said before, you don’t have to get cleaned up to take a shower. All you need to do is come to God with a repentant heart. A heart that says, “I’m sorry for the things I’ve done. I’m sorry for the people I’ve hurt. I’m sorry for ignoring you for so long. I’ve messed up so much. But now, I want to put my trust in you. I want to follow you.”

And he will meet you where you are, he’ll clean you up, and lead you forward. And though you may stumble and fall, he’ll pick you up, dust you off, and say, “Keep going.”

Some of you may have followed Jesus before, but for whatever reason walked away. You might think that you’ve blown it too badly. That God could never accept you back. But look again at Jesus’ family tree. Look at the people like Manasseh who had walked away, and yet God welcomed back.

Christmas isn’t for the people who have it all together. It’s for sinners. It’s for the broken. Jesus’ sordid family line proves it. And the thing is, he is proud of that family line. He’s proud to call us his brothers and sisters. In Hebrews 2, the author puts this psalm in Jesus’ mouth.

“I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will sing hymns to you in the congregation.” Again, “I will trust in him.” And again, “Here I am with the children God gave me.” (Hebrews 2:12-13)

Then the author of Hebrews writes this,

Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15)

That’s the meaning of Christmas. Jesus became one of us. He did so to destroy Satan and his destructive work and to set us free from slavery to sin. He did it to bring us into God’s family as God’s beloved children. And now we have eternal life with him.

But that life is not something that starts after we die. It starts now. As we follow God, he’ll lead us into the life he planned for us before the world even began. Pastor Fumi talked about that last week. It’s what we’ve been learning throughout our R8 series this year.

The only question is, do you believe it? Christmas is for you. You are invited to be part of God’s family. All you have to do is say yes. God’s not expecting you to completely change in an instant. All he wants for you to do is to start saying yes to him. To start trusting and following him moment to moment, day to day. And that process starts with a single yes. Will you say yes to him? Jesus said this in Matthew 11:28-30 and we’ll close with this.

Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.