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Inconvenient Ancestors

David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
Matthew 1:6, NLT

A friend of mine heard that one of his ancestors had fought in the Mexican-American War. So he dug into his family tree. He wanted to be able to say, “My ancestor was one of the illustrious people who fought at the Alamo.” Well, it turned out that his great-great-ancestor had been at the Alamo—but he had deserted and been shot in the back by his commanding officer as he ran away. When he discovered that, my friend said he wanted to blow up his family tree.

Jesus, since he was all God yet all man, had both divine ancestry and human ancestry.

Now God could have picked any family line for Jesus’ human ancestry. We might expect that God would have put some really eminent names in there. And some of the people in Jesus’ lineage do have greatness associated with their names: Abraham, the father of faith. David, the great king. Solomon, the wisest king.

But in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, we find something strange. As we’re reading through the list of men, we suddenly come to “Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab)” (Matthew 1:5, NLT). Why did Matthew mention a woman? On top of that, Rahab was a prostitute. Why note that unfortunate fact?

Later, Matthew mentioned another woman: “David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah)” (Matthew 1:6, NLT). Why bring up the woman associated with the darkest episode in David’s life?

We read in 2 Samuel 11 that when David should have been out leading the armies of Israel on the battlefield, he stayed at home. One night from his rooftop, he saw a beautiful woman bathing on another rooftop. He called for her, and a very bad one-night stand ensued.

When Bathsheba found out she was pregnant, David called her husband, Uriah, back from battle. Uriah was one of David’s leading military men. David wanted him to go be with his wife so that it would look like the baby was Uriah’s. But this man was so loyal to David that he wouldn’t go home. He slept on the steps of the palace.

So David concocted an evil plan. He sent Uriah back to the battle with a note for the commander, Joab. It read, “Attack the city, and then have everybody withdraw but Uriah so he’ll die.” (Imagine putting that in writing! Talk about an email trail.) So Uriah was abandoned as ordered, and he died in battle. But really, David killed him.

So why mention Bathsheba in the genealogy?

Because God wanted us to know that the Messiah, who descended humanly from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Solomon, came to earth for people who have wrecked their lives. God delights in showing mercy to people who are filled with shame, guilt, and condemnation. Judgment is his “strange act” (Isaiah 28:21, KJV). In other words, he doesn’t like to punish us. No. The Lord loves taking people out of the mud and cleaning them off.

No wonder the baby in Bethlehem was to be named Jesus, for he would “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21, NLT). Let’s rejoice in what God has done for us. And let’s carry that same spirit of mercy with us today, not looking down on anyone. There but for the grace of God go you and I.

Thank you, God, that you delight in showing mercy to sinners! Give me your heart for others who need your love today.