Five Scandalous Women - Matthew 1:1-17

Introduction

The holidays can be a time when we’re reminded just how crooked our family trees are. We see relatives, or at least tell stories of relatives, that we don’t see very often, and it’s a good reminder of that none of our families is perfect and none of our families have it all together. I was reminded of that this week. Josh Hale has recently joined our church family, and we’ve realized that his grandad and my great-grandad were brothers. He’s done a good bit of study and research into our family tree, and he’s been teaching me about where we came from. One of the more interesting stories relates to some of our Creek Indian ancestors. As he was researching, he discovered that there were one of two Creek Indian men that we descended from. The first was a revered warrior and tribal chief, and that’s exciting. I mean, who doesn’t want that in your background? But, turns out, that’s not our guy. It turns out that our guy was the other man, who has a different type of story to tell. Prior to a battle, he visited a witchdoctor who he believed turned him invisible. So, apparently he was a man of faith and didn’t test this theory prior to battle, and he ran into battle thinking he was invisible only to be immediately killed. That’s my people. It’s a crooked family tree. Maybe you can relate. In fact, if I go to the other side of my family, you don’t have to go very far until you find that one of my great, great grandmothers was apparently a madam overseeing a brothel. Crooked family tree.

Well, if you can identify with what I’m saying, then you can identify with Jesus, too. We’re going to spend the first two weeks of Advent looking at the family tree of Jesus, and what we find out is that it’s crooked! You see, the Christmas story didn’t just appear out of thin air. It’s a story that is the culmination of stories. We read the genealogies in our Bibles, and we tend to just glaze over them. But, they’re the stories behind the story. They’re the stories of what God has done and how God has worked and who God has been willing to use which brings history to the climactic point of the virgin giving birth to the Son of God, the Savior of the World. And, I want us to slow down and spend a couple of weeks here because it builds on what we’ve been talking about in the Big Story. The NT is tethered to the OT. You can’t make sense out of the person of Jesus without first understanding how God has been working in the OT. And, this genealogy is pointing us back to the OT so that we can be sure to know that Jesus didn’t just poof on to the scene. This has been building for a while.

God’s Word

This week, we’re going to look at five scandalous women that are in Jesus’ genealogy, and next week, we’re going to look at two surprising men. Matthew writes this genealogy so that we these particular characters stand out and so that we’ll ask the question. As we look at the women, recognize that it’s surprising that there’s a woman’s name at all. The Jews prided themselves on their genealogies, but they were typically patriarchal, not matriarchal. And, understand, Matthew would’ve been skilled in tracing family heritages as a tax collector. So, he’s no rookie. They were traced through the men, not the women. And, that’s primarily what you see here. Forty of the names mentioned are men, but in a sea of forty men, there are five scandalous women that Matthew is sure to include. Let’s look at them.

Tamar.

Tamar may not be a name that you’re very familiar with, but this is the second time that it’s come up recently. Maybe you’ll remember in Ruth 4, when Ruth is being named among the matriarchs that she Tamar is one of the ones that she is named beside. You can read her story in Genesis 28, and it’s really one of the rated-R stories of the Bible. We don’t know for sure, but it seems that Tamar was a Canaanite woman. She married one of Judah’s sons, Er. Now, keep in mind that God has promised that the king, the Savior would come from the line of Judah. He’d promised that the scepter would not depart Judah, and here’s one of his sons, who was the product of a promiscuous relationship on Judah’s part, marrying a Canaanite. Er does evil in the eyes of the Lord, and God puts him to death. So, Judah does what is expected and gives one of his other sons, Onan, as a husband to Tamar so that she can conceive a child in his brother’s memory. But, Onan refuses to conceive with her, and God puts him to death because He views it as being evil and unjust. Judah has another son, but he refuses to give him to Tamar, fearing that he’ll die too. So, Tamar is left widowed and vulnerable and treated unjustly. She’s a broken woman without any prospects. That is, until Judah himself travels to Timnah, goes searching for a prostitute, and comes across Tamar dressed up as one. They have an affair, and Tamar becomes pregnant through the incestuous relationship with her father-in-law, conceiving twins, Perez and Zerah, which are mentioned in Matt 1. When Judah hears that his daughter-in-law is pregnant outside of marriage, he says to burn her to the ground. That is, until she sends back his items, proving that the relationship was with him, causing Judah to cry out that she’s more righteous than he is. And, it’s through these twins, through Perez that God keeps his promise to Judah. Her name is in the list.

Rahab.

Rahab is likely more familiar to you. You read her story in Joshua 2. She was also a Canaanite, and her promiscuity wasn’t a surprise to anyone. She operated a tavern as a prostitute in Jericho. When Joshua sent the spies in to prepare for the conquering of Jericho, they found refuge in Rahab’s house. She hid them on the roof among the stalks of flax and sent those pursuing them on a wild, goose chase. She, broken as she was, believed that there was no God like YHWH, and determined that she was going to live or die with him. In fact, God does spare this prostitute and her family, and she, a pagan, Canaanite prostitute becomes a mother in the line of Boaz. Do you remember who Boaz is? The redeemer, remember? The one who redeems Ruth out of his lovingkindness. The prostitute becomes the mother of the redeemer. What a name for this list!

Ruth.

You ought to know Ruth like the back of your hand. But, remember that she’d been considered a scandalous woman, too. She had committed sexual impropriety that we know of, but she was a Moabitess. It was her heritage. Her people only existed because of Lots incestuous relationship with his eldest daughter, and their god, Chemosh, demanded the most perverse rituals, including the sacrificing of children. Jews weren’t even to associate with Moabites. But, her story isn’t just one of a scandalous heritage, but of a tragic personal experience. She was widowed young and apparently barren. It seemed like everything she did earned the scorn of God. That is, until God redeemed her. Her redeemed her first through Boaz, but, then, do you remember? He redeemed her through her very own son, the son that the book says raises Namoi from the dead. This Moabite woman is put in the lineage of King David, and then here in the Son of David that was to come.

Bathsheba.

In verse six, we’re introduced to a fourth woman, but we’re introduced in a peculiar way. She’s introduced as “the wife of Uriah.” Why? It points to the scandal of all scandals. It’s a pointed reminder of how unlikely she was to be on this list. It’s Bathsheba, and her story is in 2 Samuel 11-12. First of all, we’re not certain if Bathsheba is a Jew or a Hittite, but we know that she’s married to Uriah the Hittite. Uriah is off fighting on King David’s behalf when David overlooks his beautiful, young wife taking a bath. He sends for her, and there’s no way to say it other than Bathsheba is abused and objectified in the hands of David. Bathsheba conceives a child as a result of the affair, and so David initiates the cover-up. He tries to get Uriah to go home to his wife, but Uriah proves to be too honorable. So, David commands that he go to the front lines and that everyone else pull back so that he Uriah might be murdered and David’s secret saved. David brings her into his house, thinking the coverup has worked. But, nothing escapes the eyes of the Lord. And, by no choice of her own, Bathsheba becomes the Monica Lewinski of her day. The judgement of God falls upon David, but she pays the price, too. Her child dies. Imagine Bathsheba’s position. Have you ever? She’s been abused, objectified, widowed, scandalized, and now she’s lost her baby, all of which she could not help. But, it was through her that Solomon would be born, through her that the Davidic throne would be preserved, through her that God would keep his promise. Her name was going to be on the list.

Mary.

That brings us to the last name on the list and someone who could certainly identify with what it means to be scandalized. Imagine Mary. She’s a small town girl who found a good husband in Joseph, and she’s excited about planning her wedding. You can imagine her writing Joseph’s last name on all of her book covers. That is, until an angel comes to her and tells her that she, a virgin, is going to be pregnant. How do you think that conversation went with Joseph? You see, Joseph, it was an angel that said God was giving me a baby. I promise. Joseph seeks to save her as much embarrassment as possible by divorcing her quietly....until the angel comes to him, too. But, have you ever thought about how Mary would’ve been thought of in the community? Joseph believed her, but did anybody else? When she was a Pak-a-sak, people weren’t calling her the mother of God’s Son; they were whispering anything but kind sentiments. But, here she is on the list in spite of what her neighbors thought and in spite of what her reputation might have been. She’s the mother of the Savior of the world.

These stories are wrapped up in the Christmas story, and they help us get to the heart of Christmas story. They help us to unwrap this advent to see exactly why Jesus came and what He accomplished by coming. I want you to see three takeaways from the five scandalous women (headlines):

There’s no “turn” missing from God’s “map”.

ILL: Hiking with Chase. Hike would get hard, take longer than expected, be one too many switchbacks. Chase would always say: “The map is wrong.”

Imagine how these women must’ve felt. Their lives had taken detour after detour.

Foreigners/idolaters

Sin

Suffering

This genealogy proves that God had accounted for every step in his map. Jesus is the assurance that Tamar’s sin and Rahab’s past and Ruth’s heritage and Bathsheba’s abuse and Mary’s reputation did not take them off of God’s path. His sovereignty was at work in every detail ensuring that his will came to be and that their ultimate good was accomplished.

This hike is longer, harder, scarier, and more painful than you expected, isn’t it? You’re probably always looking up to God and asking, “Are we there yet?” But, these women are the proof that God has accounted for every step. And, not one of your steps will be wasted.

Advent hope: Your story isn’t finished yet, and the best is yet to come.

There’s no “story” God can’t “change.”

One of Genealogy’s purposes is to show that Jesus is a real person from real people. It in some sense shows that there’s family baggage in Jesus’ history, too. He doesn’t exactly have the pedigree that you’d draw up for the Son of God in many respects. His family line was filled with skeletons in the closet.

But, it also shows something surprising. You don’t have to end up the way you start out. Your heritage doesn’t necessarily determine your inheritance. If you’re in the lineage of Jesus, you can have an entirely new identity.

There was no “upward movement” in ancient society. You were who you were born to be.

Honor/shame culture. Once shame was attached to your name your name was forever tarnished.

Each of the first four women were born outside of the promise. Their heritage was to be excluded from God’s promises.

Each of these women have shame associated with their names. Their fate appears to be sealed.

Except that God’s grace is more scandalous than they are. They are not remembered in Matthew 1 for who they were; they are remembered for who God made them to be. Jesus coming was the proof that their stories weren’t finished. Their heritage wasn’t their identity. Their pasts didn’t determine who God declared them to be. They weren’t to be remembered for the worst moments of their lives. They were identified with Jesus. They were receiving his inheritance. They were going to be remembered by him, not their pain or suffering or sin. These women who could have been remembered as harlots are instead remembered as heroines because Jesus redefined who they were. God rewrites their stories from what it ought to be with the pen of redemption.

Advent hope: Your story is still being written. It’s not too late. Your heritage doesn’t have to be your inheritance. The question is: Will you find your identity in who Jesus is and what Jesus has done? He’s come so that you might have a new identity.

There’s no “people” God won’t “save.”

I think we’re meant to see Matthew as being bookended. We’ll look at this even more next week. But, Matthew starts in the same place he’s going to finish.

The first four women are all gentiles. Think of that. In the genetic code of the Jewish Savior is Gentile DNA. But, God had not only included Tamar in the promise; He’d perpetuated the promise through her. Rahab wasn’t just saved from Jericho; she became part of Israel. Ruth didn’t just enjoy the lovingkindness of God; through her God raised up Jesus’ throne. Bathsheba was the one through whom God’s covenant would be kept to David. That is, these women are bread crumbs throughout the Scripture that prove to us that the Savior was always coming for more than the Jews. He was coming for us all.

The blood of these women flowed through the veins of Jesus, and Jesus would spill that blood so that everyone who had the same background as them could be saved from their sins.

Advent hope: There’s no people that God won’t save. God worked through the nations to bring Jesus into the world, and God will work through Jesus to bring the nations to himself. Matthew one begins where Matthew 28 ends: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...” Why? Because Jesus has come!