Crashing through Barriers

Why do you think Matthew started his Gospel with a boring list of so-and-so begat so-and-so? Consider just the women mentioned in this genealogy. There are four of them before you get to Mary. Matthew introduces their glorious Messiah.. as descending from two harlots, one born out of incest and an adulterous. They are the only four ladies mentioned in the genealogy other than Mary.

He came crashing through the barriers that said, “You have to be born spiritually out of the ‘right kind’ of people.”

And today, he comes crashing through barriers you’ve erected, too. The barriers that place God in a nice comfortable corner where you can keep an eye on him. He breaks down those excuses that say, “God, you can’t use me. You can’t love me. I’m a sinner.”

God built a monument to grace on that genealogy. That’s why you shouldn’t shy away from admitting your past for what it was. It can be a monument to God’s grace in our lives. That’s when God can use us the most- when we realize who we are, where we come from, and how much our lives are dependent on God's grace—on receiving it and giving it to others.

Don’t hide from the past and pretend it didn’t happen. By admitting who we are and acknowledging how God completely changes us, he can bring us further than he could otherwise and use us more.. just like those people in the genealogy.

You stack up a row of harlots and liars and murderers and cheaters, and what do you have? You have Jesus. That’s the way God works.

Stephen Goforth