Overcomer for the OUTCAST: Jesus’ family tree
The Christmas season is here! Even the world has dubbed this “The most wonderful time of the year!” Honestly, it can seem magical – twinkling lights, generosity, and friendlier-than-ever faces. Children everywhere bubble over with expectancy for what the season holds. For followers of Christ, the season has even more meaning as it represents the ushering in of the Savior who was Promised – who was part of God’s plan since the beginning of time.
When we think of Jesus at Christmastime, we often picture Him as the baby in the manger – docile and sweet, the bringer of peace. But that peace is only possible because Jesus wasn’t just docile and sweet, but rather, an Overcomer –
Overcomer – someone who prevails, wins, is victorious, or prevails despite any obstacle, opposition, difficulty, or weakness.
Jesus didn’t just overcome or prevail victoriously against the cross through His death and resurrection. He overcame against all forms of opposition and divide through His birth and life. This month, we’ll focus on the birth of Jesus. He’s the Overcomer for the outcast, the overlooked, the outsider, and all. Understanding the Timeless Truth of Jesus’ birth and all that moment in time overcame helps us understand the magnitude of the angel’s message during Jesus’ arrival, which is our theme verse all month long:
Luke 2:10b-11 | I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
The arrival of Jesus- God the Son in human form- marks the very beginning of the New Testament. The first words of that account are actually –
Matthew 1:1 | This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham.
When we think about the magnitude of the season, this can almost seem like a letdown! Why start the most significant moment in time with a family tree? But investigating that family tree a bit shows us all that Jesus overcame:
Matthew 1:2-16 | Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac was the father of Jacob.
Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar).
Perez was the father of Hezron.
Hezron was the father of Ram.
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab.
Amminadab was the father of Nahshon.
Nahshon was the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab).
Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth).
Obed was the father of Jesse.
6 Jesse was the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam was the father of Abijah.
Abijah was the father of Asa.
8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat was the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram was the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham.
Jotham was the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh was the father of Amon.
Amon was the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon).
12 After the Babylonian exile:
Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel.
Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abiud.
Abiud was the father of Eliakim.
Eliakim was the father of Azor.
14 Azor was the father of Zadok.
Zadok was the father of Akim.
Akim was the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar.
Eleazar was the father of Matthan.
Matthan was the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Mary gave birth to Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
Traditionally, Jewish lineages don’t include women. But the list of Jesus’ family tree includes five different women, and not because they’re women of great reputation. In fact, many of the people in Jesus’ family tree have a speckled past. In a culture that valued the status of their family at all costs (and appearing righteous outwardly to others, despite the state of their heart), Matthew 1 would have read like a rap sheet rather than a list of achievements.
Jacob was a liar and a thief. Judah turned his back on his family multiple times and ended up in a full-blown scandal with scheming Tamar. Both Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites, belonging to a people who worshiped idols and committed unimaginable evils. And this passage in Matthew is the only time Rahab is mentioned without the red letters of her profession tacked on to her name. Ruth is a Moabite from a Pagan land and the greedy lineage of Lot, which means gossip about her likely followed her straight into Bethlehem. Her great-grandson David’s wandering heart is cemented in this lineage with the inclusion of Bathsheba, with whom he plotted to cover up a murder.
The mention of many of these names would have resulted in whispers or a command to ‘hush’ and not talk about them.These thems were Outcasts- people rejected as not good enough, not religious enough, or too different for the Jewish elite. This list of thems concludes with the mention of two more Outcasts, who likely endured many judgmental eyes about their unwed pregnancy. Mary and Joseph were the two Outcasts chosen as the earthly parents of the only one who could Overcome the social divides that had been so deeply ingrained in Jewish history.
Remember the angel’s message at the time of Jesus’ birth? He proclaimed—
Luke 2:10b-11 | I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
The good news of Jesus was for all people, even the Outcasts or those who felt rejected. It was good news because it meant everything was changing – the Messiah had overcome. The rigid lines that once appeared to separate the ‘accepted’ and the ‘rejected’ were erased as the Overcomer came straight from a line of notorious outcasts.
At one time or another, you’ve likely felt like an Outcast – someone who has been rejected by society or a social group. Maybe you still feel that way – that you could never truly ‘fit the mold’ of a follower of Christ because you don’t look, dress, act, or speak like the part. Maybe your past has left you labeled like those in Jesus’ family tree – liar, schemer, wanderer, promiscuous, greedy, broken, or committer of unimaginable evil. But friend, Jesus is the Overcomer. He came for the outcast! He confirmed this when while eating dinner with a bunch of outcasts, the Pharisees (the ‘accepted’) asked why Jesus “eats with such scum” (Matthew 9:11b).
Matthew 9:12-13 | When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Jesus knew that those who think they are ‘acceptable’ would never realize they need Him. The outcast – the broken, despised, and rejected- knows they need Jesus. So Jesus came for the outcasts – ready to welcome the rejected who would choose Him into the arms of a loving Father. If you’re an outcast, cling to the Overcomer!
Maybe, you’re not the outcast… perhaps you’re the person in Matthew 9 that Jesus asks to “show mercy, not offer sacrifices.” Are you treating others as outcasts? Do you keep ‘the church,’ places of honor, a seat at your table, or a place in your friend circle for those who you think ‘fit the mold’ as ‘acceptable?’ Show mercy like Jesus did – rather than shun or reject the outcast, show them love and acceptance without condemnation. In this way, they may be drawn to the love of Christ shown through you.
Romans 15:7 | Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.
Our Timeless Truth today, illustrated in the family tree of the Overcomer, is that Jesus overcame for the outcast – making a way for everyone, even the rejected, to be made right in His sight.
John 1:12 | But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
What is an overcomer?
What is an outcast?
Why would an outcast need an overcomer (or someone to accept them)?
How is Jesus an overcomer for the outcast?
What sticks out to you about Jesus’ family tree?
Do any of the people or their stories surprise you?
Which, if any, of the people do you relate to?
Why is it important that all of these people were part of Jesus’ family tree? Why would God begin Matthew 1 this way?