The Women in Jesus’s Genealogy – Scandal, Redemption, and Purpose

When we think of Jesus’s lineage, we often expect a flawless bloodline filled with holy and righteous figures. Instead, God weaved redemption through brokenness, using women whose lives were marked by scandal, hardship, and even trauma.

The genealogy of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 1:1–17, includes five women—Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah), and Mary. These women were not chosen by accident. They were bold, unconventional, and essential to God’s plan. Their stories reveal how grace rewrites history and how Jesus came to fulfil the law, not discard it (Matthew 5:17).

1. Tamar – The Woman Who Fought for Her Promise (Genesis 38)

Tamar was widowed twice and denied her rightful inheritance. Left with no protection and no justice, she took a drastic step—posing as a prostitute to claim what was rightfully hers. A scandalous act? Yes. But God still used her to continue the Messianic line through Perez.

📖 Lesson: God sees the overlooked and marginalised. Even when others deny you what is rightfully yours, God restores.

2. Rahab – The Outsider Who Believed (Joshua 2, 6)

Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute in Jericho, yet she risked her life to hide the Israelite spies. Because of her faith in God, she was spared and later became part of Jesus’s lineage. She was the mother of Boaz, the great-grandfather of King David.

📖 Lesson: Faith, not background, determines your future. God transforms outcasts into history-makers.

3. Ruth – The Loyal Foreign Woman (Ruth 1–4)

A Moabite widow, Ruth had no earthly obligation to Naomi. Yet, she chose to stay with her, declaring: "Your God will be my God" (Ruth 1:16). God honoured her faithfulness, placing her in Jesus’s lineage as the great-grandmother of King David.

📖 Lesson: God honours those who honour Him, no matter their background.

4. Bathsheba – The Woman with No Say (2 Samuel 11–12)

Bathsheba’s story is often reduced to her affair with King David, but the truth is she had no choice in the matter. After her husband Uriah was murdered, she became David’s wife and bore Solomon, who continued the Messianic line.

📖 Lesson: Even when we are caught in situations we never asked for, God still restores and repurposes our lives.

5. Mary – The Chosen Mother (Luke 1–2)

Mary was a young, unmarried girl when the angel Gabriel told her she would carry the Messiah. This was scandalous, yet she responded, "Let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38). She bore the Saviour of the world, fulfilling the promises that came before her.

📖 Lesson: Surrendering to God’s call often comes with sacrifice, but He always fulfils His promises.

What This Means for Women Today

These women were outsiders, victims, foreigners, and even seemingly “unqualified”. Yet, they were chosen by God to be in the lineage of Jesus Christ.

🔥 Your past does not disqualify you from being part of God’s plan.
🔥 Jesus’s lineage proves that He came for the broken, the rejected, and the unheard.
🔥 If God redeemed these women’s stories, He can redeem yours too.

Reflection:
How does knowing that Jesus’s lineage includes women with “messy” stories encourage you today?