Why the Genealogy of Jesus Still Matters at Christmas
Each year during Advent, my family pulls out our well-loved copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible and reads through the stories leading up to Christmas. One of my favorite parts is tracing Jesus’s family line woven throughout Scripture, watching name after name unfold until we reach the child in the manger. It strikes me every year that Christ didn’t just come to a human family, He came through one. He chose to have this particular lineage, these particular people, their DNA forming His tiny baby body. And remembering that makes the genealogy feel far less like a list and far more like a miracle of grace.
As we enter this season, we revisit the beloved stories of Christmas. We imagine the quiet manger, the joyful shepherds, the wonder-filled worship of the Magi. But tucked at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel is a part of the Christmas story many of us skip over: the genealogy of Jesus.
To modern readers, a long list of names may feel like an unusual way to begin the story of Christ’s birth. Yet Matthew places it front and center because the genealogy is part of the good news. It reveals who Jesus is, what kind of Savior He came to be, and how God has always chosen to work through unexpected people. In a season when people long for hope, belonging, and purpose, the family tree of Jesus offers a message we need more than we realize.
The family line of Jesus shows God’s heart for all people
Matthew’s genealogy doesn’t just trace biological descent, it tells a story. And one of the most striking features is the presence of four women whose names stand out: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Not only were several of them Gentiles, but their stories were complicated, messy, and at times filled with sorrow.
Why include them?
Because the coming of Jesus is good news for every person, those with spotless reputations and those with painful pasts; those who grew up in the faith and those who feel like outsiders. The Messiah’s family tree is intentionally wide and surprisingly diverse. It’s Matthew’s way of saying: no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.
The genealogy reminds us that God works through imperfect people
When we look closer at the list of names, we find heroes and failures, kings and commoners, faithful saints and deeply flawed sinners. Abraham lied. Jacob deceived. David’s story included moments of both triumph and tragedy.
Yet God worked through all of them.
Christmas is not the celebration of a perfect lineage leading to a perfect Savior. It is the celebration of a faithful God who brings salvation through ordinary, imperfect people. For anyone who feels unworthy, inadequate, or too broken for God to use, the genealogy gently reminds us: God writes His redemption story through people just like us.
Jesus steps into a real human story full of joy and struggle
By beginning with a genealogy, Matthew anchors Christmas in real history. These were real families, real generations, real joys, and real sorrows. Jesus didn’t arrive floating above the human condition, He stepped directly into it. He entered a world with complicated family histories, generational wounds, cultural tensions, unmet longings, and people waiting for God to act.
Sound familiar? Every family and every church knows these realities in some way. The genealogy assures us that Jesus is not distant from the complexities of life. He understands them from the inside out.
The genealogy highlights the surprising grace of God
Perhaps the most beautiful thing about Jesus’ family tree is how unexpected it is. It’s filled with people who didn’t “qualify” by any earthly standard. And yet this is exactly the line through which God chose to send His Son.
Grace, not human achievement, is the theme of the Christmas story.
When we feel tempted to believe that God only uses certain kinds of people, or that our background disqualifies us, the genealogy pushes back. It teaches us that God delights in redeeming unlikely people for His glory.
The genealogy calls us to welcome others as Christ has welcomed us
If Jesus came from a family line filled with outsiders, strugglers, foreigners, and the unexpected, then His people should reflect that same welcoming heart.
Christmas is a season where we remember how God welcomed us into His family through Christ. And as we reflect on His coming, the genealogy invites us to open our hearts, churches, and homes to people who may not share our story, our background, or our experiences.
In Christ, we belong to a family bigger and more beautiful than we could have imagined.
The names we often skip are filled with good news
This Advent, as we read the Christmas story, let’s not rush past the genealogy of Jesus. It is a reminder that God’s grace reaches further than we think. God uses ordinary, imperfect people. God keeps His promises across generations. God welcomes those the world overlooks.
The “begats” are not just a list, they are a testimony. They prepare our hearts for the wonder of Emmanuel, God with us, who came to make us part of His family.
