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- Canon Justin: Matthew chapter one verse six through eleven and David was the father of Solomon, by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehaboam, and Rahaboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asap, and Asap the father of Jehosaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Jam, and Joram the father of Uziah, and Uziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham. The father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah, the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. When Matthew sat down to write his gospel, he faced a great challenge. How do you introduce the most important person in all of human history to a lost and hurting world? Matthew's answer might surprise us. Rather than recalling all the miracles that Jesus did or highlighting the great teachings of Jesus, Matthew opens with the genealogy, telling his readers of the family tree that traces Jesus' ancestry. Through the royal bloodline of David. In today's reading, we encounter some unexpected names. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. That simple phrase carries enormous weight. Matthew doesn't shy away from including Bathsheba in Jesus' lineage, even if he doesn't refer to her by name, but rather her connection to the scandal, for she was the wife of Uriah. This is the woman with whom David committed adultery. The relationship that led to a murder and a cover up and one of the darkest chapters in David's life. For Matthew's first readers, who were predominantly Jewish background believers, Christians now wrestling with their identity, this genealogy served as a profound statement. The Messiah they had been waiting for did not come from a spotless, perfect family line. No, his ancestry included Gentiles like Ruth and Rahab and Moments of profound moral failure, like David's sin with Bathsheba. The King of Kings chose to identify with broken humanity from the very start. This was revolutionary. You see, in the ancient world, genealogies were often curated to present the most favorable picture possible. People would often highlight their noble ancestors and quietly omit the embarrassing ones. Matthew, he does the very opposite. He seems almost eager to include the scandalous, the foreign, and the unexpected. You see, the gospel that Matthew is about to proclaim is precisely for everyone. The good news of Jesus Christ is not for the perfect, but for the broken. It's not a message reserved for those with perfect pedigrees, but for all who recognize their need for a Savior. By including these names, Matthew signals from the opening verses of his gospel that no one is beyond the reach of God's love and redemptive plan. The names that follow: Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, Asap, Jehoshaphat, Joram, Uzziah, man, they represent a mixed legacy. Some were faithful kings, and others led Israel into idolatry and ruin. Yet throughout this imperfect line, God preserved his promise. Generation, generation, After generation, despite human failure, the covenant remained intact, and God was faithful, even when his people weren't. So how does this ancient genealogy speak to us today? Well, it reminds us that our past does not disqualify us from God's love. His plan or his purposes are still good and true. Whatever failure, scandal, or brokenness mark our own family history or even our personal story. God can and will work through it. The same grace that wove the redemption of the world through David's sin can weave redemption, restoration, and hope through our lives as well. This passage also challenges our tendency to present the perfect polished version of ourselves to those around us. Sure we live in an age of carefully managed social media profiles, and we fiercely protect public image. But Matthew's unflinching honesty. Invites us to drop all the pretense. The gospel of Jesus flourishes not in environments of artificial perfection, but in communities of honest confession and genuine grace. So today, consider your own story, the parts that you'd rather hide, the chapters you'd prefer to edit out, and let's bring them before the Lord, who chose to be born into a family with his own hidden chapters. I'm so thankful that he's not ashamed to call us his own. We are his brothers and sisters, and his grace is sufficient for every skeleton and every closet. And today, take time to remember Jesus has adopted you into his family as well.