Were they the holy and righteous people who never sinned? As much as the Pharisees would've hoped so, the answer is a resounding NO!Do you ever feel unworthy to come into the presence of God? I know I do. Because of our sins, whether intentional or not, and our human (or inhumane) behavior, we often times don't feel worthy to come before the God of the universe. After all, he is God! We often feel the same about the grace he has so lovingly bestowed upon us as well. We ask ourselves, "What did we ever do to deserve God's only begotten Son crucified on a cross for us?"
King David often lamented his unworthiness in the book of Psalms.
"What is man that you are mindful of him..." Psalm 8:4a
Job also expresses this same unworthiness:
"I am unworthy - how can I reply to you?" Job 40:4a
These and many more people within the Bible expressed their unworthiness to approach God.
What about the kind of people that approached God? Were they the holy and righteous people who never sinned? As much as the Pharisees would've hoped so, the answer is a resounding NO!
In the Gospels, it was the unworthy, lowly, sinful people of the earth that Jesus approached throughout his earthly ministry. The leper, the adultress, the tax collector, and the Samaritan woman at the well, just to name a few. He even appeared to Paul, who says he was:
"the worst of sinners..." 1 Timothy 1:16a
We know God does not judge by external appearances. (Galatians 2:6) Unlike our society today, God does not look at one's occupation, looks, educational level, or social class, etc. to determine a person's worth or quality.
To expound on this issue even further, let's examine a passage found in the book of Matthew. Matthew gives us a detailed genealogy of Jesus' ancestry. One would assume the ancestry of Christ, the most well-known historical figure to have ever existed would contain some extremely holy and noble people. Men and women of high standing, integrity, and godly character. However, the Bible tells us otherwise. Let's examine.
The Bible gives us two genealogies of Jesus. One in Matthew 1:1-17 and the other in Luke 3:23-38. There is quite a distinct difference between the two. Matthew's genealogy gives Jesus' legal (or royal) lineage through his earthly father Joseph. Matthew being a Jew, wrote to the Jews and showed Jesus' descent beginning from the father of the Jews, Abraham. Luke a Gentile himself, wrote to the Gentiles, so he began his genealogy from Adam the father of all men. By doing so, he emphasized Jesus as the Savior of all people. One genealogy simply shows Jesus' royalty, the other His humanity.
Let's take a look at Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. If we take a closer look at the men and women of this particular genealogy, we will see that some of them, if not all of them, weren't what some people would think they were like. Below, I will give a brief list and profile of the men and women contained in the geneaology given by Matthew.
ABRAHAM - He doubted God. When God had told him he was going to provide him a son through Sarah.
"Abraham fell face down; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" Genesis 17:17
ISAAC - He played favorites amongst his sons.
"Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob." Genesis 25:28
JACOB - Lied about his birthright.
"Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing." Genesis 27:19
JUDAH - He was instrumental in selling his brother Joseph as a slave.
"Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed." Genesis 37:26-27
RAHAB - She was a prostitute.
"Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. "Go look over the land," he said, "especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there." Joshua 2:1
RUTH - A Gentile, she was a Moabitess. Jews were not allowed to associate with Moabites because they did not allow the Israelites to pass through during the time of the Exodus. It was also Moab that oppressed Israel during the time of the judges.
"Once again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and because they did this evil the Lord gave Eglon king of Moab power over Israel." Judges 3:12
DAVID - He committed adultery and above all other things, committed murder! Imagine if this happened in our society today, he would've been sentenced to life in prison if not given the death penalty! And he is listed in the genealogy of Christ!
Adultery - "One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her..." 2 Samuel 11:2-4
Murder - "In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." 2 Samuel 11:14
SOLOMON - He had many wives, all of which were pagans. He also turned his heart away from God and followed after other gods.
"He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of his father David had been. He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites." 1 Kings 11:3-5
REHOBOAM - Married numerous pagan women, and abandoned the worship of God.
Marriage - "In all, he had eighteen wives and sixty concubines, twenty eight sons and sixty daughters." 2 Chronicles 11:21
Idolatry - "After Rehoboam's position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord." 2 Chronicles 12:1
JEHORAM - Murdered all his brothers, and did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Another murderer!
"When Jehoram established himself firmly over his father's kingdom, he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the princes of Israel...He did evil in the eyes of the Lord." 2 Chronicles 21:4-5
AHAZ - Worshipped idols of Baal, and above all, sacrificed his own sons!
"He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and also made cast idols for worshipping the Baals. He burned sacrifices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom and sacrificed his sons in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites." 2 Chronicles 28:2-3
MANASSEH - He also sacrificed his sons and worshipped Baal, he practiced witchcraft and sorcery and desecrated the temple.
"He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever." In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger." 2 Chronicles 33:4-6
And the list goes on...
Point taken, as we can see, the lineage of Christ does not contain the most righteous people. Everyone from murderers and idolators to satanists and adulterers are listed in the genealogy of Jesus. So what does this all tell us? That it's okay to partake in the very things these people did? Of course not. It's telling us that a person doesn't have to be holy and clean to come to God. He does the forgiving, not us. He forgives all sinners no matter what the sin entails. It is He who cleanses and transforms us into new creations. He loves all people no matter what their history record might indicate, so much as to even include them in the very pages of the Bible. As the saying goes, "He hates the sin but loves the sinner". It's all about what? GRACE. Grace given to us by a man from Nazareth some 2,000 years ago.
So the next time you come before God not feeling worthy enough, open your Bible to Matthew chapter one and take a close look at the lives of the names listed within the lineage of the Son of God.
Remember Abraham after just witnessing the birth of his son Isaac, coming before God feeling ashamed for doubting Him.
Envision Rahab, the local town prostitute, coming before the God who transforms lives.
Visualize King Solomon with his many wives falling face down before the God of the universe asking for just one more chance.
Oh, and imagine King David after just ordering the command to kill the very husband of the woman he just slept with, coming before God on his knees, begging and pleading for mercy and forgiveness.
