GRACE Came by JESUS

I saved this article from a newspaper.

Some of you may have dabbled in tracing your roots. Your family tree can make you proud or it can shock and embarrass you. Most genealogies will yield at least one or two individuals with a sordid past. One of Matthew's reasons for writing his gospel is to trace the genealogy of Jesus Christ and show Him as the rightful Messiah and King of Israel. He begins by showing that the genealogy of Jesus can be traced back to the royal line of David, and then on to father Abraham.

The list of names given in the genealogy of Matthew chapter one clearly shows that Jesus Christ came to save sinners. It shows warts and all. It is clearly not a list of saints who had arrived at perfection, but of sinners in need of life changing grace. When we write of the chosen race of Abraham or the royal line of David, it sounds very pious. However, we must not forget what these men were like at times. Abraham was a great man of faith; however, you don't have to read very far in the Biblical account to see that he had feet of clay. At times Abraham lied and deceived. Had David lived today he probably would have made the tabloids. I can just see the headlines: "King David seen with the beautiful Bathsheba, Uriah's wife." "Uriah killed in battle, some say the King is to blame." "Nathan the prophet visits the King. David confesses his sin." "David's infant child dies, some say it is the consequence of his sin."

Not a pretty picture. The truth is, both Abraham and David needed grace. When we look further at the genealogy we find the names Judas and Tamar. Their relationship was a sordid and ungodly affair. It was was a combination of neglect, prostitution, and incest. You can read about it in Genesis 38. Judas and Tamar needed grace. The genealogy also includes the name Rahab. Four times in scripture she is simply called "Rahab the harlot." Rahab was a Cannanite, living in Jericho who hid the Jeewish spies from the city officials. She became a worshipper of the true God. Rahab is found in the messianic line as the great, great, great, grandmother of David. We also read of Ruth. Ruth was a gintile, a Moabite. The Moabite race was the product of incest. Their roots are traced back to Lot having relations with his own daughters. Yet Ruth was David's grandmother. In Matthew chapter one, we also read of Solomon. He sowed seeds of corruption by marrying hundreds of wives, many of them pagan.

When we come to a genealogy section in the Bible we normally skip over it or suddenly become a speed reader. Let's learn something from this list. This scripture shows that we all need grace. It reveals people as we really are-warts and all. Surely we are meant to see that this coming King is going to be a grace-filled King. Jesus was called "the friend of sinners to repentance." I Timothy 1:15 says, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all, acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

As we celebrate the Christmas season, let's remember that we are celebrating the one who came to save us from our sin. Christ did not come to help good people become a little better. Rather, He came to shatter our self-righteousness. He comes to us, with our warts and all, and offers us HIs amazing grace. He is a gracious King. "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins."