Even Her?
Even Her?
Jesse fathered King David. Then David fathered Solomon by Uriah’s wife. (Matt. 1:6)
An Unlikely Heroine
She had an affair while her husband was out on the battlefield defending the country. Then her lover plotted to have her husband killed, and together they covered up her pregnancy. Because of their sin, God caused their child to die. For the rest of her life her name was attached to one of the most disgraceful chapters in Israel’s long history. Her name, of course, was Bathsheba, and for many people she represents illicit temptation, unfaithfulness, and sin. So imagine how surprised the early readers of Matthew’s Gospel must have been when they saw Bathsheba’s name appear prominently in the genealogy of Jesus.
Grace behind the Promise
God had promised that the Messiah would come from the family of David. This was an unconditional, unbreakable vow. But why choose a child from the unholy union of David and Bathsheba to be in the bloodline of the Savior? And why does Matthew highlight it in his history? Because—again—the sin is the story. The not-so-subtle message of Matthew is that Jesus didn’t come for those who are self-righteous but for those whose lives are stained by sin.
Which is what makes the concept of grace so radical and surprising. The gospel doesn’t invite good people to do better; it invites sinners to throw themselves at the mercy of Christ, the Messiah who came from a family with a checkered past. No matter what your past is like, God’s grace is for repentant sinners.
Bottom Line
Grace means that Jesus came for immoral, unfaithful sinners like David and Bathsheba. We may have different sins, but we all need the same grace.