Matthew 1:7-16
…and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, and Salathiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
And now we come to Mary. Mary the fifth woman Matthew mentions. Mary, Joseph’s wife. Mary, the mother of Jesus.
And to be quite honest, there isn’t a lot more to say about Mary in Matthew’s story. As we’ll soon see, Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth is spare, as is his description of Mary. Most of what we know of Mary – cousin to Elizabeth, visited by Gabriel, singer of the Magnificat, attended by animals and shepherds at her delivery, pondering things in her heart – all of this comes from Luke who tells the story from her point of view.
Matthew, by contrast, tells the story from the vantage point of Joseph, through whom Jesus is descended from David. The two accounts compliment each other nicely in this way…but that doesn’t give us a lot to say about Mary.
Except this. She is described as a virgin or, in the Hebrew of the prophetic text Matthew quotes, a young maiden, which in first century near East would likely have been a teenager. Which, in turn, means that she would have no cultural status, would wield neither influence nor power, and would be dependent entirely on her family of origin and soon on her husband.
And yet God chooses her to be the mother of Jesus. Not a princess or a queen. Not a prophetess or wealthy woman. But rather a poor, non-descript teenager of no account or power. God chooses her, notices her, uses her as the means by which to bear the child who will save his people and all people. And she cooperates, giving herself over to the will of the Lord and living into this adventure and ordeal by faith.
And in this, she is indeed the daughter of Tamar and Rahab and Ruth and Bathsheba, for God honored each of these unlikely and remarkable women not because of whom they had married but because of who they were, women of faith.
Prayer: Dear God, let us give thanks for the women of faith who have influenced us, giving testimony to you though their words and deed. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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