Notes from the Wayside: Christmas Perspective: Jesus' Messed-Up Family Tree

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Jesus' Messed-Up Family Tree

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman... so that we might receive adoption as children.

Galatians 4:4-5 (NRSV)

Christ, by highest heaven adored
Christ, the everlasting Lord
Late in time behold him come
Offspring of the Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail th'incarnate Deity
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell
Jesus, our Immanuel

From "Hark! The Herold Angels Sing" by Charles Wesley

In the Gospels we read two different stories about Jesus' birth. Immediately preceding the story in the Gospel of Matthew, we find a genealogy, which begins with the Hebrew patriarch Abraham and leads to Jesus.¹ If you are familiar with some of the names on this genealogy, you might be reminded of some rather messed-up stories.

The patriarch Abraham is remembered for his faith in God,² but he did some messed-up things in his life. More than once, he feared that someone would kill him in order to take his wife Sarah, so he pretended that she was his sister. These deceptions caused some bad things to happen.³ Abraham and Sarah feared that they would never have a child together, in spite of what God had promised them, so, at Sarah's suggestion, Abraham fathered a child with Sarah's handmaid Hagar.⁴ Later on, when Sarah grew resentful, Abraham evicted Hagar and her son from their household.⁵

Abraham's grandson Jacob was a dishonest man. On one occasion, he manipulated his older brother Esau into selling his birthright to him in a moment of weakness.⁶ On another occasion, Jacob disguised himself as Esau in order to get their father Isaac to give him the family blessing meant for Esau. Jacob then had to flee for his life, because his brother vowed to kill him.⁷ Jacob married twice and had children by four different women, and he and his father-in-law spent twenty years trying to get the better of each other.⁸

Jacob's son Judah had a daughter-in-law named Tamar. Judah's son died, leaving Tamar childless, and, though there weren't many options for childless widows in those days, Judah had no intention of providing for her. Later on, after Judah's wife died, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute in order to seduce Judah. She became pregnant with his baby, as she intended, and he was obligated to take care of her.⁹

Also in Jesus' genealogy is a woman named Rahab, who lived in the city of Jericho and worked as a prostitute. When, for some reason, two Israelite soldiers ended up in her house during a reconnaissance mission, she hid them from the local authorities.¹⁰ Later on, when the Israelites attacked the city of Jericho, they spared Rahab and her family.¹¹ Rahab is remembered not just for her line of work but for her faith in the God of the men she harbored.¹²

Probably the most famous person in Jesus' genealogy is King David. At a time when David should have been leading his troops in battle, he had his way with a woman named Bathsheba, who happened to be the wife of one of his most faithful soldiers who was off fighting in a war. David got Bathsheba pregnant, and, when he was unable to cover up his transgression, he sent orders to allowe her husband Uriah to be killed on the front lines. Once Uriah was out of the way, David married Bathsheba himself.¹³ Bathsheba would later become the mother of David's successor Solomon.¹⁴

King Solomon started leading his kingdom down a destructive path by bringing idolatry into Israel.¹⁵ His son and successor King Rehoboam ignored his subjects' cries for mercy, thereby causing a conflict that permanently split the kingdom.¹⁶ Following Rehoboam was a series of kings. A few were decent, but most of them "did evil in the sight of the Lord." The mistakes made by the last few of these kings led to the destruction of their kingdom at the hands of the Babylonian Empire.¹⁷

The life of Jesus was scandalous in it's own right. His mother Mary, who was engaged to a man named Joseph, was found to be pregnant before they were married. Joseph, knowing that he was not involved in Mary's becoming pregnant, naturally thought that Mary had been unfaithful to him, until a messenger of God informed him in a dream that Mary's pregnancy was a miracle.¹⁸ After Jesus grew up, He repeatedly clashed with religious leaders thorughout His public ministry, until He was executed by the Roman Empire as an enemy of the state. For nearly two thousand years, people have been scandalized by the proclamation that the crucified Jesus was raised from the dead and that He reigns above as the true Lord of this world.

For a time of year associated with an announcement of peace on earth and goodwill to all people, the Christmas season can be very stressful. For many people, one of the most stressful things about Christmas is gathering with family. Some of us have rather messed-up families. Some of us have messed-up relatives who manage to make any family gathering contentious. Some of us have lived messy lives that have drawn judgment from family members. If you find yourself feeling somewhat stressed out about gathering with your family this Christmas season, may you find some comfort in knowing that the One whose birth we celebrate this season was born into a very messed-up family.

In a story about a Christmas pageant (which I highly recommend you read), Methodist pastor Jason Micheli quotes a late parishoner as saying, regarding Jesus' genealogy,
Emmanuel... God-with-us... comes from a family tree every bit as knotted as ours... a family of scoundrels and unbelievers... rapists and hookers... cheats and those consumed by their resentment over being cheated upon... all the way back to Abraham... who wasn't righteous... but was reckoned so on the only basis any of us are so counted, faith, alone... Christ comes from a family just like us... He comes from sinners for sinners.¹⁹

If you, dear reader, find yourself stressed out this Christmas season, take a moment to breathe and remember that the Son of God took on flesh and blood to be born into this messed-up world, to live among the messed-up family that is humanity, in order to save messed-up people like you and me.

Merry Christmas!

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