Yesterday, we looked at some of the more honorable members found in Jesus' lineage. Today, we will look at the "knot" so good list. ;-)

In Jesus' family we find two sets of twins.

Jacob and Esau are mentioned. God loved Jacob and hated Esau, but if you look at Jacob's life, you will find that he was not a very good person sometimes. His name even means "supplanter!"

Phares and Zara are the other set of twins mentioned. Zara tried to be born first by sticking out his hand, but it was drawn back and Phares came out fully first.

To the surprise of the Jews, there are non-Jewish ancestors.

Tamar was a Canaanite.

Ruth was a Moabite.

I mentioned the sins of Jacob earlier but look at this list!

Rahab was a harlot.

David had an adulterous (and murderous) relationship with Bathsheba which gave us Solomon.

Solomon was a BIGTIME philanderer and fathered King Rehoboam by a Moabite.

Manesseh, whose name means "forgetting," sinned so much against God he humiliated himself.

These are all the kinds of things that I am sure I would like to forget about and leave out of my family history. So, why would God have the Holy One of Israel be born into such a dysfunctional family?

Because, Jesus was not prophesied to be a knight in shining armor. One of the main prophecies of Jesus in found in Isaiah 53.

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. - Isaiah 53:2

A tender plant is small and unnoticed and no one thinks will amount to anything. It can also be a sapling that has sprung up out of root away from the main trunk. This points to the next phrase.

If there ever was a family tree that looked like a "root out of dried up ground," it is that of Jesus. We have just looked at only a small portion of the sinners that make up His lineage. By all NATURAL appearances, the lineage to the Messiah had dried up!

There was nothing about Jesus' natural appearance and homeland that made Him look like the Messiah. He was not from Jerusalem. He did not come from a reputable family. He was not a knight in shining armor. And, for the great part, everyone rejecting His preaching and doctrine.

So why did God do it this way?

I believe it is because our family trees are dreadful as well.  We have no pure lineage to claim. We have no righteousness to plead.

Therefore, God sent Jesus among sinners to SAVE sinners!