Heroes and a Few Zeros

Maybe you’ve noticed that a lot of people are chasing their ancestries right now. You can send in a saliva swab to an ancestry site, and they’ll tell you where your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents came from.

More than 26 million people have taken an at-home ancestry test, which tells me that we’re curious about our roots.

A genealogist who attends our church came up to me recently and said, “I’ve studied your family tree. This is what I do, and here’s what I discovered.”

I’ll have to admit that his findings surprised me. I learned that I have some impressive people in my family tree as well as some not-so-impressive people. Some were fairly close relatives, while others were more distant. I have some heroes but also a few zeros.

You might be surprised to know that is also the case with the family tree of Jesus. There are a few rogues in the gallery. I’m talking about prostitutes, liars, adulterers, and even a murderer.

We can find all these people and more in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Notable sinners decorate His family tree.

I think we all have relatives that embarrass us a little bit. When Christmas comes, we might get together with various relatives, and though we look forward to seeing some of them, we wish we didn’t have to see others at all.

However, the real message in the genealogy of Jesus is that God can change your story. Even if you’ve made a mess out of your life, He can redeem it.

Jesus’s story is not about God helping perfect people; it’s about God saving lost people. Jesus came to heal broken lives and restore shattered hopes. He came to save us from our sin.