Notice the women mentioned in these excerpts from Matthew 1:1-16:

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar… 

…Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife… 

…and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,
of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (NIV)

For a Jew in biblical times, his genealogy was the leading item on his resume. It was his pedigree, and often it included only men. The genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 bends tradition by including five women. And what a colorful lot they were!

Tamar entered Jesus’ family tree by seducing her father-in-law.

Rahab was a prostitute. Both she and Ruth were foreigners…outsiders…unclean Gentile “dogs”.

The woman called “Uriah’s wife” was Bathsheba. She won her place by committing adultery with King David, who then murdered her husband.

And finally, Mary was a teenager who became pregnant before she was married.

Even in his genealogy, Jesus broke down all barriers between us, and between us and God. He embraces us all as His own family if we simply trust Him. In Him there is no Jew nor Gentile, male nor female. We are all one in Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:26, 28, para.). Our holy God is proud to call Himself our Brother (Hebrews 2:11, para.).

Father,
our treasure is not our passing possessions or
the money that flows through our fingers,
but You and Your eternal love for us.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Family Tree
Recording
Printed Music & Lyrics