Reading Jesus’s genealogy tells us two things. First, that he was indeed a real person, with real people in his family line. Second, it tells us that these people were not all saints. Looking through that list, there are prostitutes and scoundrels, nobles and villains. At the end of it, though, is Jesus. From plain people, all kinds of them, God can bring the greatest results. It’s fortunate that the work is not up to us, but remains God’s through the ages.