Women in the Genealogy of Jesus

Matthew 1:1-17

The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah

¹This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

⁸ Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

⁹ Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

¹⁰ Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

¹² After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

¹⁵ Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

¹⁷ Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Message

Genealogy does not include women usually.  But the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-17 included five women including Mary. Four of them were either a Gentile or immoral or both. Matthew deliberately included them in the genealogy.

They are

Tamar (3): a Canaanite. Gave birth through father-in-law (Genesis 38:1-30)

Rahab (5a): a Canaanite, Was a prostitute (Joshua 2:1-24 & Joshua 6:1-27)

Ruth (5b): a Moabitess (Ruth 1:1-22, Ruth 2:1-23, Ruth 3:1-18, Ruth 4:1-22)

Uriah's wife (Bathsheba) (6): a Jew, committed adultery with King David (2 Samuel 11:1-27)

They are written in the 1^st chapter of the 1^st book in the New Testament.

This is not to encourage us to be immoral or scandalous.

Then, why are they included?

This does indicate women and the Gentiles are included in the mission of Jesus.

Also this does indicate God can use anyone, who is not perfect, has faults & mistakes.

Jesus said in Matthew 9:12-13,

¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), the good neighbour was a Samaritan. Samaritans were people despised by Jews. The Samaritan in the parable might be a drinker because he had & used wine to sanitize the scars of the injured man. Thus, he could be not a religious person. But he had mercy & humanity in contrast to a priest & a Levi in the parable.

Jesus our Savior sees what we don’t see.  For example, depending on your situation, Jesus may be more concerned about your health, wellbeing and happiness than how many hours you make commitment. What I mean is it is case by case and personal. In other words, He is a Good Shepherd (John 10:11), who calls His own sheep by name (John 10:3).

Let’s read Matthew 9:13 again,

¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”