The Scandalous Grace of Christmas

Redheaded Sarah was my five-year-old Steven’s babysitter one chilly December night. It was our practice to read the Bible before bedtime, so Sarah opened the well-worn pages to pick up where we had left off in Nehemiah 7 –the long list of family names that returned from Exile to rebuild Jerusalem. Parosh. Shephatiah. Zaccai.

She stumbled through the names as both laughed and giggled at her attempts. If I’d paid attention the night before, I would have given her my blessing to skip that part!

I’ll admit, those long lists of Hebrew names and genealogies are not my favorite parts of the Bible. But when I read the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1, I’m stopped in my tracks with awe and wonder every time.

As we turn the page from Malachi 4:6 to Matthew 1:1, as God breaks 400 years of silence, we get a hint that a new day is on the horizon. In the Old Testament genealogies, families were traced through the males only. However, in the genealogy of Jesus, four women are listed along with Mary: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. The very fact that women were mentioned at all is reason for pause.

The rhythm of “the father of, the father of, the father of,” comes to a screeching halt as a woman’s name appears on the page.

Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,” (1:3)

A bit further down, the list is abruptly arrested again with

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, (1:5-6)

Who were these honored women highlighted in the lineage of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? One would naturally think they were amazing women of high integrity with holy character. But that’s not the case.

Rahab had been a prostitute in Jericho. Joshua 2

Tamar had an incestuous relationship with her father-in-law, Judah. Genesis 38:1-30

Bathsheba had a situation with King David that went like this: “Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her.” (2 Samuel 11:4 NLT) That encounter resulted in a child who died.

Ruth was a Moabite—from a nation cursed because of their hostilities toward the Israelites. Deuteronomy 23:3-6, The book of Ruth.

Why those women? I don’t pretend to understand the mind of God, but I do know this: these women exemplify the amazing Grace of God. The scandalous Grace of One who loves us most.

The Bible says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth…For from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. John 1:14, 16 ESV

Grace upon Grace.

I’m so glad that God chose those 4 women to be listed in Jesus’ genealogy. They are my sisters. They are me. They are you. Not the perfect and the pristine. Not the flawless and the failure free. But the messy women with messy lives. That’s what grace is all about. Receiving a gift that we could never earn and certainly don’t deserve.

The grace of Christmas has always been scandalous. A King born to a poor girl. The Messiah placed in a manger. Heaven choosing the ordinary and the overlooked. A Savior sent for sinners like Rahab, Tamar, Bathsheba, me and you. And get this, dear one, not just save us, but to then use us to carry on the Name of Jesus through our lifetime in our generation.

Grace upon Grace.

Heavenly Father, thank You for including these flawed female image bearers in the lineage of Jesus. I marvel at the gift of grace given to them and to me. Help me always remember the marvelous scandalous gift of grace that I could never earn and don’t deserve. Use me to show that grace to others this holiday season and always. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Digging Deeper

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