The Women In Christ’s Lineage

Feature 1 – May 2016 — Grace & Truth Magazine

The WOMEN In Christ’s Lineage
As Recorded In Matthew 1

Distinctions Between The Four Gospels
The Holy Spirit led the four authors of the Gospels to write about the Lord Jesus and His life and work on earth. They wrote as He wanted them to write and at the same time as they themselves desired, all according to His design – a mystery in itself. One author mentioned certain details while some of the others did not, but in each gospel the glories of the Person described became evident.

Since Mark’s gospel speaks of the Lord as the Servant, it is easy to understand why no genealogy is needed. Nor is one needed when viewing the Lord as the eternal Son, the Word become flesh, as in John’s gospel, even though it also shows Him as being Son of Man.

Matthew, however, introduces the promised Messiah, the King of the Jews, with the necessary qualifications to fulfill God’s prophecies. By describing a rapid succession of miracles, Matthew shows how Jesus the Messiah fulfilled many Scriptures. Still His people rejected Him, as foreseen by God’s prophets.

According to a plan (Lk. 1:3), Luke focuses on the Son of Man – describing the Lord Jesus as a perfect Man, without any flaws and dependent on God – in contrast to the first man, Adam, from whom He descended (Lk. 3:38). Matthew emphasizes that Jesus the Messiah was a direct descendant from Abraham, the father of the believers (Rom. 4:11) and from David the king. The Spirit of God used that lineage as a plan, which was accepted by true believers: Emmanuel – “God with us” (Mt. 1:23 KJV). He is the King, rejected by the leaders of His own people but honored by Gentiles, whom the Jews disdained.

This rejection by one people and acceptance by another is a point that is made in the genealogy1 that Matthew put together from many Old Testament sources, and it is a “thread” through his gospel. Gentiles came from far away, as the magi from the East, to honor the King. Others were drawn to the Lord Jesus from just over the border, as was the woman of Phoenicia. Apart from a few exceptions (consider Romans 11:5,25), Messiah’s own people did not accept Him.

The King is without sin (Ps. 45:2; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 Jn. 3:5), yet Matthew shows that He descended from sinners – from both fathers and mothers of previous generations. A Jewish author wanting, without God’s guidance, to present the Lord Jesus as the Messiah would not include many of the details Matthew gave nor even mention women. Yet Matthew did so against the customs of his day for he was led by the Holy Spirit. This shows that his writing is truth.

Luke, also led by God’s Spirit, detailed Messiah’s genealogy in 77 generations, starting with Adam and including His origin from God (Lk. 3:22-36). Jewish people could not find fault with Luke’s approach as the genealogy he gave did not mention women, not even Jesus’ own mother, Mary.2

The Holy Spirit led these two writers, for they were not controlled by human preferences, habits or prejudices. According to man’s thinking in those days women did not qualify to be included in Messiah’s genealogy (consider 1 Chronicles 1-9), but God thought it fit to specifically mention five women in it. By doing so He gave a clear message: The Messiah would come to save His people from their sins (Mt. 1:21) even though the Jewish leaders did not see themselves as sinners in need of salvation. It was the women of Messiah’s genealogy who demonstrated this need, showing God’s remedy, which they experienced in their own lives – that only God could bring salvation.

Before we consider these women we should note that for some reason Matthew did not include the names of four or five kings in the genealogy, but he did include Jeconiah (v.11). According to Jeremiah’s prophecy (Jer. 22:24-30), no physical descendant3 of this king would sit on Israel’s throne. Joseph, Jesus’ stepfather who adopted Him, was from this lineage. We see this as another proof of God’s grace, for despite this prophecy He still used Joseph, who was a righteous man (Mt. 1:19), in contrast to his wicked ancestors. But God’s grace shines particularly in the women who are mentioned in this genealogy. Let’s look at them briefly.

Tamar (Matthew 1:3)
Tamar means “palm tree,” which is a symbol of victory. But she descended from a cursed nation, the Canaanites (Gen. 9:25; Dt. 7). She married Judah’s son Er, and after he died she married his brother Onan according to the custom of the levirate. This custom said that a man should marry his brother’s widow if the deceased brother was childless, and it became a requirement under the law (Dt. 25:5-10). When her second husband also died, Tamar’s father-in-law, who was by then a widower, refused to give her his third son, Shelah.

Tamar then decided to act as a prostitute for one time, knowing that Judah would pass the area. Having relations together only once, she became pregnant by him (Gen. 38). God did not justify the sinful actions of either Tamar or Judah, but He clearly overruled. For through this immoral, physical union between a cursed Gentile widow and an unrighteous Jewish widower, Messiah would descend – amazing grace!

Rahab (Matthew 1:5)
Rahab’s name possibly means “arrogance.” Like Tamar, she belonged to the cursed Canaanites. However, Rahab was a professional prostitute (harlot). In those days this meant that she was involved in a terrible form of idol worship that included occult practices. The custom was that a man would sacrifice his son to a god and then have sexual relations with the woman (or the women) consecrated to that idol. Rahab, deeply involved in these terrible practices, had heard about the people of Israel, whom God had delivered from bondage in Egypt and led and kept throughout their wilderness journeys. Somehow Rahab felt an interest in this God and His people, perhaps because she realized that she was in bondage as well.

Risking her life, she received in her house the two spies sent out by Joshua. When they heard Rahab speak about her faith in the God of Israel (Josh. 2:8-11) and saw her commitment to God’s people, symbolized by the scarlet cord (vv.18-21), the two spies became convinced that God would give Israel the whole land (v.24). Hebrews 11:31 mentions Rahab’s faith in receiving the spies, whereas James 2:25 also gives her as an example because she let them go by faith, knowing that God would give the land to His people.

Amazingly, James put Rahab on the same level with Abraham, the father of believers who was willing to sacrifice his own son, though God kept him from it. He was called a “friend of God” (v.23) – literally “lover of God.” Rahab showed love for God’s people, being willing to risk her life in identifying with them because she had come to love the God of that people.

Ruth (Matthew 1:5)
Ruth may mean “satisfied,” and she was a Moabitess. The Moabites descended from an incestuous relationship between Lot (Abraham’s nephew) and one of his daughters. Lot’s wife belonged to the cursed Canaanites – just as Tamar and Rahab who received God’s grace – however she perished with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because she did not follow the angels’ instructions (Gen. 19). God prohibited the Moabites to enter His congregation until the tenth generation (Dt. 23:3), but this rule may have applied only to Moabite men.

Ruth ultimately married Boaz of the tribe of Judah, in the direct lineage of the Messiah (Gen. 49:8-12). By then God had given the laws on the levirate and the kinsman-redeemer (Dt. 25:5; Lev. 25:25). He also had made provisions for the poor and the strangers, which applied to Ruth and Naomi, her mother-in-law (Lev. 23:22). All of these directives demonstrated God’s grace to a failing people while having a prophetic aspect that will ultimately be fulfilled to His unfaithful people after they return to Him (Hos. 2:14-23, 6:1-2 and other Scriptures).

Naomi was a widow, but she was too old to have children if she would marry again. Her daughter-in-law Ruth was also a widow, but much younger. She became next-in-line to qualify for the provision of the kinsman-redeemer, if he were willing. Boaz (“in him is strength”), a type of Christ, was willing. They all learned to rely on God’s sovereign grace! Read the book of Ruth for more details.

Solomon’s Mother (Matthew 1:6)
Bathsheba, meaning “daughter of the oath,” Solomon’s mother was of the tribe of Judah and had high-ranking credentials. Matthew did not mention her name, perhaps because of the shame linked with her adultery and David’s sins (2 Sam. 11). The child conceived in their act soon died. David, the king (Mt. 1:6), was totally guilty – having transgressed many, perhaps all, of the Ten Commandments. Nevertheless, both David and Bathsheba were restored by God’s grace. They became the parents of Solomon, whom God adopted as His son Jedidiah (meaning “whom the Lord loves,” 2 Sam. 12:25).

The people of Israel had to learn that they too were guilty of many sins, as confessed by Ezra, Nehemiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and other men of God. After the death of the Messiah, Stephen showed that his generation was more wicked than the previous ones: They were guilty of murdering “the Just One” (Acts 7:52). Yet, God showed grace to Saul of Tarsus and others who repented (1 Tim. 1:15). The leaders, though knowledgeable, were unwilling to repent. This will change at the end of the Great Tribulation when they will repent (consider Matthew 23:39).

Mary The Mother Of Jesus (Matthew 1:16)
Many books, right and wrong, have been written about the mother of Jesus. Although Mary was part of a failing people (her name means “bitter” or “their rebellion”), she was personally very close to God and His Word. Despite her numerous good qualities, she recognized herself to be a sinner and confessed her need of a Savior (Lk. 1:47). Many people of the Lord’s generation refused to do so, just like today. Yet, Isaiah 53 describes Israel’s future confession of their sins and their recognition of Him as their Savior.

Many have depicted Mary as “the Queen of heaven” and other things that she was not. We should emphasize the God-given qualities Mary possessed and that God had chosen her, a great and unique privilege, to be the mother of the Messiah – the Seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15). But she was not “the mother of God” even though it is true that the Lord Jesus is God over all things and blessed forever (Rom. 9:5). Mary is the mother of the Man Christ Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit.

In contrast to the many fathers in the genealogy (Mt. 1), Matthew referred to her as the one from whom was born Jesus. The Greek uses a feminine relative pronoun which does not exist in English, but it clearly indicates that Joseph did not father the Lord Jesus, nor did any other man; it was through the Holy Spirit’s power (Mt. 1:20). Luke 1 gives more details about the activity of the Holy Spirit when “the Word became flesh” (Jn. 1:14), yet this remains a great mystery (1 Tim. 3:16).

Praise God for the riches of His grace as already indicated in the genealogy of the Messiah and further spelled out in the Gospels. There is so much on which to meditate, so many reasons to thank the Lord and to praise and worship Him!

END NOTES
1. It is striking that Matthew (1:17) summarized this genealogy in three groups of 14 generations (3x14 = 42, or 6x7). He did so under the leading of the Holy Spirit because four wicked kings were not included and the names of four women, not supposed to be mentioned in such genealogies, were included. Some of the reasons for this are considered in our article. One reason may have been to facilitate the memorization of the text and to link the 3x14 with David, whose Hebrew name has the numerical value of 14. The name David means “beloved.” Messiah the King was God’s Beloved (Mt. 3:17), and the Beloved of His true people then, now and in the future.
2. In our English translations this cannot be seen, but in the Greek text Luke placed a definite article in front of the names in the genealogy, except Joseph’s name (Lk. 3:23) – because the rabbis did not accept names of women in a genealogy. This way Luke indicated Mary’s name, indirectly, and then went on to trace Messiah’s genealogy back to Adam. When Mary gave birth to the Messiah Jesus, the LORD’s words about the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) started to be fulfilled. Ultimately they were fulfilled in Christ’s victory over Satan on the cross (Col. 2:15), and in His death and resurrection.
3. This is one reason for Messiah to be the Seed of the woman. Initially, Eve had thought that her first son Cain was that seed (“I have gotten a man: YHWH” – the literal translation of Genesis 4:1), but Adam could not be the father of the Seed (Rom. 5:12-21).

By Alfred Bouter