The Bethlehem baby – the new man

1. Matthew the writer (above), was Jewish and, in his early days, less than respectable. Before Jesus called him to become a follower, he had tendered to the Roman authorities a successful bid for the right to tax his fellow Jews. Of course, he tendered to pay less to Rome that what he would actually be able to raise from the people. He then became entitled to collect the tax. Everyone knew this. 

So, can one rely on Matthew’s Biography? I suppose one thing in his favour is that he did record his former tax-farmer status in his biography of Jesus – and how he relinquished it to follow Jesus.

2. The commencing paragraphs of his biography record the genealogy of Joseph, Mary’s husband (see bold red above). Joseph’s ancestors included David (around 1000 BC) as well as (earlier) Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And Jesus was in Joseph’s family. 

But David, I ask you! Did you know that this married King David spied a beautiful married lady on her rooftop… The inevitable happened and she became pregnant by David, whereupon David tried to cover it up by getting her husband back pronto from an ongoing battle. When he didn’t go home during that visit, David arranged for him to carry back to his Commanding Officer a letter from David instructing that he be sent to the front-line. The beautiful lady became a widow. But the second son she bore to David (King Solomon) was actually in the family tree of Joseph, Mary’s husband. What an ancestry!

The only thing about this is that this King David, amazingly, wrote at least two popular songs about this, about his own evil-doing. He confessed it all openly. He sought forgiveness and peace with that same LORD God of Israel. He received it – and wrote songs of praise. 

 

3. But also, did you know that this Abraham, ancestor of Mary’s Joseph, was, in his early days, a moon-worshipper? He married a beautiful woman (Sarai) but then - twice - made her lie so as to protect his own life and well-being. Some husband. Some ancestor. And Isaac wasn’t much better - an avid huntsman and little else. And Jacob? Today, Jacob would be labelled a con-man. He was thoughtfully devious. He conspired with his mother to obtain all the rights and blessings of primogeniture (when he was the younger) – using deceit.  

For Jesus to have Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in his family tree seems quite wrong. But these ancestral failures were all recorded in the national archives and written history of Israel - of which Joseph and Jesus were later part. And the records show very clearly that all those three believed in – trusted - the LORD God, who had made himself known to them. Their LORD had also promised them that, through them and their seed, all nations of the earth would indeed be blessed. All nations. Through them.

4. What about Judah, Abraham’s great grandson, listed in Jesus’s family tree (see bold extract above)? He produced three sons, two of whom (in succession) married Tamar (see above). Both died young. Judah should have approved Tamar’s marriage to his third unmarried son – but he refused and left Tamar penniless. Then one day, when Jacob was well away from home shearing sheep, thinking he was bedding a prostitute, he was in fact duped by Tamar into bedding Tamar. Who would want Judah and Tamar in his family tree? And their child, Perez? But he’s there!

 

5. In his eye-witness biography, Matthew records this ancestry of Jesus. He also records the fact that Joseph never ever “knew” Mary before the birth of Jesus. Mathew recorded Joseph’s anxiety about his wife’s pregnancy like this. But as Joseph was thinking about this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary home as your wife. The baby inside her is from the Holy Spirit. She is going to have a son. You must give him the name Jesus. That is because he will save his people from their sins.” All of this took place to bring about what the Lord had said would happen. He had said through the prophet, “The virgin is going to have a baby. She will give birth to a son. And he will be called Immanuel.” The name Immanuel means “God with us.”