Matthew 1

Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus through his step-father Joseph. Notice the inclusion of five women. This is definitely out of the ordinary for a Jewish genealogy. Matthew did this deliberately! All of these women can be considered at least slightly tainted. They all had bad reputations. Tamar and Rahab were prostitutes. Ruth was Moabite. Bathsheba was an adulteress. Even Mary’s reputation was somewhat suspect—Joseph was planning on divorcing her (Matthew 1:19). Isn’t grace awesome? SWC