An Unexpected Hope: Matthew 1:1-17

Devotional

Day 1: Jesus brings hope to unexpected people.

Matthew opens with a genealogy that refuses to tidy up the mess—women, Gentiles, outsiders, sinners, and heroes with terrible failures are all listed so that every outsider can see they are invited into God’s family; this list says plainly that Jesus welcomes the unclean and makes them clean, that the kingdom is a home where the prostitute and the king, the Jew and the Gentile, the moral and the immoral sit together at the same table by grace. [03:56]

Matthew 1:1-17 (ESV)

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 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 Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel 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 Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Reflection: Who is one person you have treated as an outsider? Today, send them a text or invite them to coffee or a meal to begin welcoming them into relationship—take that one concrete step to share Christ’s table with them.

Day 2: God acts in the fullness of time.

History moves slowly but deliberately; God’s promises to Abraham and David unfold across generations until “when the fullness of time had come” he sent his Son, showing that God keeps promises on his perfect timetable and that waiting, though hard, is part of how he shapes faithful people and fulfills his redemptive plan. [33:27]

Galatians 4:4-5 (ESV)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Reflection: Identify one promise or long‑standing desire you are impatient about; for five minutes today write it down, pray aloud “Lord, I trust your timing,” and choose one small, faithful action you will do this week while you wait.

Day 3: Jesus fulfills the Jubilee and brings rest.

The genealogy points forward to a Sabbath rest and a jubilee—God’s intention that land, debts, and people be restored—and Jesus is presented as the true Jubilee who pays every debt, frees the captive, and offers daily and final rest to the weary so that believers may live in the peace God designed. [40:07]

Leviticus 25:8-10 (ESV)

You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty‑nine years. Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.

Reflection: Name one debt, guilt, or bondage that you carry—financial, relational, or emotional—and today take one practical step (make a plan, call to reconcile, confess to God) to begin letting Jesus bring Jubilee into that situation.

Day 4: Even heroes' failures are met with grace.

Great names in God’s story are honest about failure; leaders like David committed grave sin, yet the genealogy includes those failures to show that the Messiah comes for sinners, that hope is not for the morally superior but for the repentant, and that God’s grace reaches into the worst failures to restore and redeem. [26:04]

2 Samuel 11:1-27 (ESV)

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab with his servants and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and walked on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purified from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. The woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.” So David sent to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. Uriah came to him, and David asked how Joab and the people fared, and how the war went. David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king's house, and a present from the king was before him; but Uriah slept at the door of the king's house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah remain in booths; and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are encamped in the open field; shall I then go to my house to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will let you depart.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. David invited him, and he ate and drank before him; and he made him drunk, and at evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house. In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down and die.” As Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew valiant men were. The men of the city came out and struck down some of the servants of David, and Uriah the Hittite died. Joab sent and told David all the news about the battle; and he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling the news about the battle to the king, if the king's anger is kindled and he says to you, ‘Why did you draw near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’ ” The messenger went and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. The messenger said to David, “The men prevailed against us and came out to us into the field, and we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. The archers shot at your servants from the wall, and some of the king's servants are dead; and also Uriah the Hittite is dead.” David said to the messenger, “Say to Joab, ‘Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another; strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.’ ” When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. When the mourning was past, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife, and she bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

Reflection: What is one specific failure you hide or excuse? Today confess it to God in prayer and reach out to one trusted Christian to ask for prayer and one practical accountability step this week.

Day 5: God uses even evil to accomplish good.

The lineage includes kings who did great evil, yet God weaves even crooked sticks, painful seasons, and immoral deeds into his straight plan so that suffering, wickedness, and delay do not thwart his promises but are used to bring about redemption and the final restoration in Christ. [34:03]

2 Kings 21:1-9 (ESV)

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty‑five years. His mother's name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he erected altars for Baal and made a wooden Asherah. And he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he made his son pass through the fire and used fortune‑telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

Reflection: Identify a painful situation or injustice in your life; today write a one‑paragraph prayer handing that hurt to God and list one concrete act (serve someone, forgive one person, or speak truth in love) you will do this week to trust God’s redemptive work in that pain.

Sermon Summary

Matthew opens with a genealogy many of us might be tempted to skim, but there’s treasure hidden in that list of names. In a world pining for hope, God places hope right where we least expect it—inside a family tree filled with outsiders and failures. Women and Gentiles are named in a culture that didn’t value their voice. That’s not an accident. It’s a signal that Jesus brings hope to unexpected people in unexpected ways. He doesn’t avoid the unclean or the unworthy; He makes them clean. Think of the woman with the bleeding disorder and the leper—touching Jesus doesn’t defile Him; it purifies them. That is the shape of the hope He offers.

The list also doesn’t hide scandal. It highlights David—not for his poetry or courage—but with the reminder that Solomon came “by the wife of Uriah.” The point isn’t to shame David; it’s to reveal the kind of Savior Jesus is. He came for adulterers, schemers, and the morally proud, and He seats them together at one table—equally sinful, equally loved, equally cleansed by grace. Your past doesn’t name you anymore. Jesus does.

This hope also comes on a timeline we would never choose. God’s promises to Abraham and David took centuries to ripen, and even the reign of an evil king like Manasseh couldn’t derail them. The promises might feel slow, but they are certain—because God keeps them. Matthew counts the generations in a way that points to sevens and to jubilee, the great year of release and rest. Jesus is our final jubilee—debts canceled, slaves freed, the land resting, hearts returning to God. That’s not just for one day a year; it’s for weary hearts today. When the week overwhelms you, you can cast your cares on Him because He cares for you. He doesn’t ask you to tidy up before you come. He’s the One who makes you whole.

So take heart: in Jesus, outsiders become family, sinners find a seat, and restless souls receive real rest. Hope is not wishful thinking. Hope has a name—and He has come.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus welcomes outsiders and makes clean He doesn’t sidestep unclean people; He restores them. The woman with the bleeding and the leper both show that our uncleanness doesn’t contaminate Him—His holiness heals us. If you feel outside, unwanted, or unworthy, He is not repelled by you; He moves toward you and makes you new. Come as you are; leave as someone made clean. [16:18]
2. Grace for failures, not resumes The genealogy exposes scandal on purpose—David and Bathsheba sit right in the line that leads to Jesus. That’s the point: He didn’t come to congratulate the righteous but to rescue sinners. Your worst chapters don’t disqualify you from grace; they demonstrate why grace is your only hope. At His table, the moral success and the moral failure sit as equals. [26:04]
3. Hope comes on God’s timetable Abraham waited. Israel waited. Even under evil rulers, God’s plan kept moving. The promises can feel slow, but they are never uncertain. Trust does its deepest work in the waiting, shaping us into people who hope in God, not in outcomes or speed. [36:27]
4. Jesus is our Jubilee rest Matthew’s “fourteens” point to the seventh seven—the arrival of true jubilee. In Jesus, debts are canceled, slaves go free, and we are brought into God’s presence. That’s future hope and present mercy: He invites the weary to lay burdens down, again and again. Rest is not a reward for finishing; it’s a gift for coming to Him. [40:07]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:52] - Reading Matthew’s Genealogy
[03:56] - Why the Genealogy Matters
[07:13] - Genealogies as Resumes
[08:58] - Outsiders in Jesus’ Line
[13:08] - Clean vs. Unclean
[16:18] - Touching the Untouchable
[22:10] - David, Bathsheba, and Uriah
[26:04] - Jesus Calls Sinners, Not the “Good”
[29:49] - Grace Alone for All
[31:48] - Waiting and God’s Timing
[33:49] - Manasseh and God’s Purposes
[38:46] - Fourteens, Sevens, and Jubilee
[45:04] - Closing Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 1:1–17 — 1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Observation Questions

Which names or kinds of people stand out as “unexpected” in Matthew’s genealogy (for example: women, Gentiles, obvious sinners)? What specific names did Matthew include that would surprise a first-century Jewish reader? [08:58]
Verse 6 calls Jesus “the son of David,” but verse 6 also adds “by the wife of Uriah.” How does Matthew’s single added phrase about David and Bathsheba change the immediate impression of David in the list? [22:10]
Verse 17 groups the genealogy into three sets of fourteen. What pattern or emphasis does Matthew create by counting generations this way? Where in the sermon was that pattern linked to the idea of rest or jubilee? [38:24]
Matthew’s list includes people who were ceremonially “unclean” (e.g., Rahab, Ruth) and the sermon reminded listeners of stories where Jesus touches the unclean (the bleeding woman, the leper). How do those Gospel stories (touching the unclean) help you read this genealogy? [16:18]

Interpretation Questions

What is Matthew signaling about the nature of Jesus’ kingdom by deliberately including Gentiles and women in the genealogy? How would a Jewish audience have heard that inclusion? [10:45]
What is the theological point of naming David’s moral failure (Solomon “by the wife of Uriah”)? How does that shape the reader’s understanding of who Jesus came to save? [26:04]
How does Matthew’s three-times-fourteen structure point readers toward the idea of a final “jubilee” rest in Christ? What does that imply about the relationship between Israel’s history and Jesus’ coming? [38:46]
Given the sermon’s examples of Jesus touching the ceremonially unclean, how should one understand the relationship between holiness and contact with sinners in the ministry of Jesus? [16:18]

Application Questions

Who in your life feels like an outsider right now (someone ignored by church, family, or friends)? What is one concrete thing you will do this week to welcome that person into your “table” or life? [20:01]
Name one past failure or shame that still shapes how you see yourself. What specific first step (a conversation, prayer, confession, journal entry) will you take this week to hand that past over to Jesus and let him redefine you? [28:35]
Where have you been tempted to judge people by their “resume” (background, moral record, social status) instead of receiving them by grace? Identify one relationship or one church situation where you will choose inclusion over exclusion this month. [27:59]
What hope are you impatient for (a healed relationship, a job, a child’s faith, financial relief)? Name one spiritual practice you will start this week (Scripture reading, Sabbath rest, a short daily prayer) to remember God’s “fullness of time” rather than forcing your timetable. [33:27]
When weariness or anxiety hits this week, what short, specific prayer or Bible verse will you use to cast your cares on Jesus? Decide now where and when you will use it (e.g., before work on Monday, in the car on commute). [41:45]
Is there a person you have written off as “too far” because of past sins or bad choices? What tangible step will you take in the next 30 days to reach out—invite coffee, send a message, offer a listening ear—to show them the welcome Jesus modeled? [26:57]
The sermon says Jesus’ coming cancels debts and gives rest (jubilee). What regular habit or practice can you begin that helps you receive daily rest from Jesus (for example: a weekly hour of silence, a short Sabbath routine, a daily 5-minute surrender prayer)? Put a start date on that practice this week. [38:46]

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

Why include women and Gentiles in Jesus' genealogy?

How does Jesus redefine cleanness and uncleanness?

How do Matthew's three fourteens signal ultimate jubilee?