Imagine that you just watched the best movie ever in a theater filled with people who laughed, cried, and cheered through it with you. You sat riveted in your seat for two hours getting to know the characters, enjoying the costumes, scenery, and music, feeling the emotions of the actors/actresses, and loving the plot line. As soon as it’s over, the house lights come up, and the credits start rolling across the screen. (Sometimes so quickly that it’s almost impossible to read them.) What do you do? Do you stay pinned to your chair watching the names of all the people who were important in making such an amazing film, or do you race out of the theater just like everyone else? After all, you don’t know those people, and it’s just a list of names with no meaning to you. I’m imagining the only people who actually care about the credits are the people who were involved in making the masterpiece you just witnessed. Those people would be upset that no one watched his/her name roll across the screen after all the time/energy he/she put into it. Wouldn’t you be?!
In Matthew 1:1-17, we see the credits for the best story ever told FIRST. Most Bible readers tend to skip these verses and jump ahead to the story part of the book. BUT, these people are important, and the author wants you to read this list and understand just where Jesus came from. This is His family tree, so to speak. If you’ve read these verses before, you probably missed seeing that Rahab (the prostitute) is in Jesus’ family line.
“Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse.”
(Matthew 1:5 NLT)
Not only did Jesus come to earth and become a man. He became a man who was a descendent of a prostitute! Do you think that was a mistake? Absolutely not. God wanted us to know that EVERYONE sins and falls short of His glory, but NO ONE can sin too much or sink too low that she can’t be forgiven.
If you keep reading these credits, you will see Bathsheba, the married woman who slept with King David and became pregnant with his child while her husband was away fighting. The list is full of imperfect people whose genes are combined to make a perfect man named Jesus.
If you have ever thought that your sins are too big and that God could never forgive you, then this family tree disproves those thoughts. You are a beloved daughter of Christ, and your father loves you no matter what you’ve done.
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”
(Romans 3:23-24 NLT)
As the credits of your life roll across the screen, God sits and watches every last person’s name because each of us is important to Him, and you never know… someone in your family tree may change the lives of others dramatically. I’m sure Rahab never imagined that her family tree would be Bible worthy. Make sure you stay to the end of the credits in Matthew 1:16 because the greatest story EVER begins there:
“Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.”
(Matthew 1:16 NLT)
Chelynn is a contributing writer for Shaken and Stirred. She is a long-time daughter of Christ, a wife, mother of two amazing adult children, and Nonnie to four beautiful grandchildren. She teaches Senior English at Charles Page High School and is also a Realtor for Keller Williams. She enjoys all things summer including boating, vacationing, and swimming.