Welcome back to the podcast! Join us today as we start a new Christmas series!
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The Christmas Family Tree: The Part We Usually SkipMost people love Luke 2 at Christmas—the angels, the shepherds, the manger scene. But few of us slow down for Matthew 1, the chapter that looks like the “skip intro” button of the New Testament. Genealogies feel like the part you breeze through on your Bible-in-a-year plan. Yet Matthew opens the story of Jesus with a family tree on purpose—not to bore us, but to prepare us for what Christmas is really about.
Matthew organizes Jesus’ genealogy into three sets of fourteen generations (Matthew 1:1–17). It’s not intended to be exhaustive; it’s designed to make a theological point. Jesus is the promised Son of David, the fulfillment of God’s long-awaited plan. But Matthew also includes something shocking for ancient readers: five women—and three of them appear in the very first section of the genealogy.
In the first century, writers didn’t include women in genealogies, and certainly not women with complicated, painful, or morally messy backstories. But Matthew breaks the rules to highlight a truth at the heart of Christmas: God invites outsiders, sinners, strugglers, and the unexpected into His family. These women tell us what kind of Savior Jesus really is—and what kind of grace He brings.
TAMAR — The God Who Sees the Hidden StoryMatthew 1:3 (NLT): “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).”
Tamar’s story in Genesis 38 is one of the most uncomfortable chapters in the Bible. She marries into Judah’s family, but tragedy and injustice quickly follow. Her first husband dies. The second refuses to fulfill his duty to give her a child. Judah promises his youngest son to her “later,” but he never intends to keep his word.
Tamar is left childless, powerless, and trapped in a culture where bearing children was the only path to honor, security, and a future. Judah fails her completely, and out of desperation she takes matters into her own hands—posing as a prostitute to confront Judah’s neglect. When Judah discovers what happened, he responds with a shocking confession:
Genesis 38:26 (NLT): “She is more righteous than I am.”
This isn’t a story celebrating deception—it’s a story exposing Judah’s injustice. Tamar is the wronged one, and yet God sees her, steps into her story, and brings redemption through the birth of Perez—a direct ancestor of Jesus.
The lesson of Tamar:
God steps into the stories we try to hide.
He doesn’t turn away from the messy parts of our past—He redeems them. Tamar reminds us that God moves toward the abandoned and overlooked with purpose and compassion.
RAHAB — The Faith That Comes Before the CleanupMatthew 1:5 (NLT): “Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).”
Rahab enters Scripture suddenly in Joshua 2, described openly as a prostitute living in Jericho. She checks all the “wrong” boxes: a Canaanite, an outcast, a woman shaped by a godless culture. Yet when the Israelite spies arrive, something unexpected happens. She hides them, protects them, and then speaks one of the strongest confessions of faith in the entire Old Testament:
Joshua 2:9,11 (NLT):
“I know the LORD has given you this land… For the LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.”
Rahab chooses faith before she has a chance to “fix” her life. She trusts God long before she understands His law or His covenant. And God responds by rescuing her—and grafting her into the very family line of the Messiah.
The lesson of Rahab:
Faith comes before we clean up our lives.
God meets us where we are, not where we think we must be. Rahab’s story declares that grace reaches into unlikely places and transforms unlikely people.
RUTH — The Call to Leave Moab BehindMatthew 1:5 (NLT): “Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).”
Ruth’s story begins with heartbreak. She loses her husband in Moab and follows her mother-in-law Naomi back to Israel, choosing loyalty to Naomi and devotion to God:
Ruth 1:16 (NLT):
“Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”
Ruth is a widow, poor, and a foreigner from Moab—a nation born through incest (Genesis 19) and excluded from Israel’s assembly for ten generations (Deuteronomy 23:3). Every cultural barrier is stacked against her.
Yet Ruth steps forward in humble, persistent faith. God brings Boaz into her life, provides for her future, and places her in the royal line—she becomes the great-grandmother of King David.
The lesson of Ruth:
To follow God, you have to leave Moab.
We all have a “Moab”—a place of old identity or broken patterns that God calls us to walk away from. Ruth shows that God honors courageous steps of faith, even when the journey feels costly.
Why These Women Matter for ChristmasIn Jesus’ day, your genealogy was your resume. You highlighted kings, heroes, and honorable ancestors. But Matthew includes:
- A woman wronged and abandoned
- A prostitute from a pagan city
- A foreign widow from a forbidden nation
Why?
Because the Christmas story is not about polished people—it's about a faithful God inviting outsiders into His family.
This is the gospel: no matter your past, your failures, or your background, there is a place for you in the family tree of God. Jesus didn’t come for the impressive—He came for the willing. He came for Tamar, Rahab, Ruth… and He came for you.