DECEMBER 3 SCANDALOUS GRACE By Michele Jones Florida Dean of Women, Word of Life Bible Institute
And Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab… And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah… and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:5-6, 16)
The Gospel of Matthew opens with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Within the pages of Scripture, our tendency can be to skip over the lists of names. But tucked in Matthew’s opening verses are several names that should catch our attention. These names include Rahab, a prostitute; Ruth, a Moabite woman from a pagan nation; Bathsheba, who played a starring role in one of the greatest scandals in the Bible; and Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was an unwed pregnant teenager. These women’s lives were surrounded by scandal; and yet, Matthew chose to include their names in the list with kings, prophets, and priests. It’s clear that Jesus Christ’s lineage is marked by names that would be considered a social disgrace. None of the people in Jesus’s genealogy lived a perfect, holy life as He would. So, why would Matthew include them? Your own life may not be scandalous, but it probably hasn’t been perfect either. Romans 3:23 reminds us that we all “fall short of the glory of God.” But God offers grace for our disgrace. Jesus came to bring life change to all those who put their trust in Him. We are all sinners in need of God’s amazing grace – grace we don’t deserve and can never earn. As you consider this Christmas season and why Jesus came, let me remind you of Jesus’s words spoken to Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
As we celebrate the birth of Jesus and reflect on our own sinful, scandalous lives, may we rejoice in the grace God has poured out through His Son, Jesus.
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