By Tom Trump serving in Brussels, Belgium
Read Matthew 1:1-17
In Belgium, as in many other countries, family is very important – especially at Christmas time. Families gather to celebrate on the evening of 24 December. In a country where the average age of leaving the family home is 26, sons and daughters linger in the familiar until financial, professional or personal circumstances move them on.
Matthew begins his account with Jesus’ family tree – a strange concept given that Jesus is God’s Son who will destroy evil (Psalm 2:12), the exact imprint of God’s nature (Hebrews 1:3) and the creator of all things (Colossians 1:16). And yet Jesus stoops low, enters our world and is born into a human family.
Which family? Not a very extraordinary family at all, says Matthew. It is a family marked by initial disbelief (Abraham), favouritism (Isaac), cheating (Jacob), lust (Judah), scandal (Rahab), no rights (Ruth), adultery and murder (David), idolatry and wickedness (Manasseh and many others after Solomon), even wholesale disobedience (leading to the exile). In a word: failure.
And yet, this same family is the object of God’s sure promises. The tide turns in Genesis 12 and God puts an end to the downward spiral of sin, death and judgement. A beam of light appears: God promises a new start to Abraham and to his descendants. All the families of the earth will find blessing. There will be a new people, in a heavenly land, in a right relationship with God himself. This is a family marked by God’s kindness, patience and faithfulness. In a word: hope.
Matthew joins the dots for us between failure and hope. Jesus came at the right time to the right place. After generations of failures, he succeeded. He stooped down to rescue us from our sin, guilt and shame. Jesus displays all of God’s kindness, patience and faithfulness as he fills this failure of a world with unfailing hope and draws us into his new family.