Ever wonder why first chapter in the New Testament is a boring list of so-and-so begat so-and-so? Look carefully at the lives of the people listed at the start of Matthew’s Gospel. The genealogy was a knockout punch to the legalist caught up in descendents and lines of purity. Matthew introduces the glorious Messiah.. as a descendent of harlots, murderers and liars. Let it be known that Jesus Christ is the friend of sinners.
He came crashing through the barriers that said, “You have to be born spiritual out of the ‘right kind’ of people.” And today, he comes crashing through barriers you’ve erected too. The barriers that place God in a nice comfortable corner where you can keep an eye on him. He breaks down those excuses that say, “God, you can’t use me. You can’t love me. I’m a sinner.”
God built a monument to grace on that genealogy. That’s why you shouldn’t shy away from admitting your past for what it was. It can be a monument to God’s grace in our lives. That’s when God can use us the most: When we realize who we are, where we come from and how much are lives are dependent on God grace. Just like those people in the genealogy. You stack up a row of harlots and liars and murderers and cheaters bathed in grace and what do you have? You have Jesus. That’s the way God works.
Stephen Goforth
