Jewish genealogies listed fathers, not mothers, which is exactly why the first chapter of Matthew is so surprising. Five women appear in it, and behind most of them lies a story the family would rather have kept quiet. That list opens a sermon about the genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1). God wrote foreign women, a woman from Jericho and the consequence of a king’s sin into his own Son’s family tree, because his grace does not pass over people with a difficult past. Listen if you think your own story disqualifies you before God.
The Mothers of Jesus
The World of Jesus
Jesus’ coming into the world is the most important event in history. As we read His story, we discover that He entered a world of very ordinary people. His ancestors had complicated life stories. His birth turned His family’s life upside down, caught the attention of foreign thinkers, and terrified the local authorities. Although distant, Jesus’ world is not very different from our own.
View the whole series
4 sermons
