JEFF TURNER
The genealogy listed in Matthew’s Gospel includes some surprising names. Tamar had an incestuous relationship with her father-in-law, Judah. Rahab worked as a prostitute in Jericho. Bathsheba committed adultery with King David. All three women had serious moral failures in their past. Their presence in Jesus’s family line raises an important question about why God would include such troubled history.
The answer is straightforward. God can only work with sinful people because that is all who exist. Every person has moral failures, though they may look different from one person to another. These particular women appear in the genealogy to show how grace operates.
The family tree also mentions other sinners. Abraham displayed his lack of faith in God through his actions. David committed both adultery and murder, making him one of the worst offenders listed. Yet these women especially demonstrate something important. God’s plan to redeem humanity moves forward through people who have received mercy they did not earn.
If God’s purposes depended on people who deserved to participate, nothing would happen. Everyone who plays a role in God’s work has received what they have through unearned favor. The apostle Paul acknowledged that he murdered people and spoke against God, yet he received grace and was given ministry responsibilities.
God accomplishes his redemptive purposes through individuals who are what they are because of grace alone.
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