Who's Naughty or Nice // When the Label Doesn't Fit

Devotional

Day 1: The genealogy announces Jesus’ humble, messy origins

Matthew deliberately records a lineage that includes flawed, unexpected people, reminding readers that the Messiah enters history through ordinary—and often scandalous—lines of ancestry. This genealogy isn't a boring list to skip but a thesis statement: God's king comes from Abraham and David and from people with complicated pasts, showing that Jesus' claim to be Messiah is rooted in real human history and real brokenness. Matthew wants readers to see that being part of Jesus' story doesn't require perfection first; it requires being included. [09:39]

Matthew 1:1-17 (ESV)
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 Aram,
4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab 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 Asa,
8 and Asa 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.

Reflection: What label from your past do you find yourself hiding from others or from God, and how would seeing your story as part of God’s larger family tree change the way you tell that part of your story this week?

Day 2: Rahab’s courage marks the start of redemption

Rahab’s risky choice to hide the Israelite spies and to acknowledge the Lord’s work reveals faith emerging from unlikely places; her action is not polished piety but decisive trust that aligned her with God’s people. Her story forces a pause: God’s rescue often comes through messy, morally complicated paths, and God is willing to fold a repentant, brave outsider into the unfolding story. That reality should give hope to anyone who thinks their past disqualifies them from God’s purposes. [18:27]

Joshua 2:1-21 (ESV)
2 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out from Shittim two men secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.
2 Now the king of Jericho was told, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”
3 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
5 And when it was time to shut the gate at dusk, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
7 Then the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.
8 Before the men lay down, she came up to them on the roof
9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.
11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.
12 Now then, please swear to me by the LORD that, as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a true token,
13 and spare my father and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death.”
14 And the men said to her, “Our life for yours if none of yours is slain. If any go out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless.
15 But if a neighbor spy tells it, then we shall be free from your covenant that you made with us.”
16 And she said, “By this I know that you will deal kindly with me, when you come into the land.
17 But bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's household.
18 And if anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we shall be guiltless. And if a hand is laid on anyone who is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head.
19 But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be free from your oath that you made us.”
20 Then she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.
21 And they said to her, “Go into your house, to the mount, lest the pursuers meet you, and stay there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward the pursuers will return.”

Reflection: What would it cost you to take one concrete, risky step of trust this week—confessing a truth, asking for help, or protecting another—and how might that action align you with God’s redeeming work?

Day 3: God spares and adopts the unexpected into His people

When Jericho fell, Rahab and her family were spared and she was brought to live among Israel, showing that God’s mercy can change not just an individual’s status but their entire place of belonging. Her rescue and incorporation into Israel’s community underline that entrance into God’s family is not earned by pedigree or past purity but by God’s gracious initiative and the faith that responds. This is a concrete sign that those labeled “outside” can become members of God’s household. [24:46]

Joshua 6:22-25 (ESV)
22 But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her father's household and all who belonged to her, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho.
23 And she lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua had sent to spy out Jericho.
24 And all the spoil of the city and all its livestock and the people and the beasts they devoted to destruction with the edge of the sword.
25 But Joshua burned the city with fire, and everything in it. Only the silver and gold, and the articles of bronze and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the LORD. And Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua spared, and she lived among the people of Israel.

Reflection: Who in your life feels like an outsider right now, and what practical thing can you do this week to treat them as family—inviting, protecting, or otherwise including them as God included Rahab?

Day 4: The Christmas message is good news for everyone

The angels announced “good news of great joy for all people,” which means the gospel announces a joy that crosses barriers of past failure, social labels, and cultural boundaries. This inclusive proclamation reframes Christmas: it’s not only for the respectable or the righteous, but for anyone who needs rescue, mercy, and welcome into God’s family. Remembering this should reshape both who we expect at God’s table and how we welcome them. [32:09]

Luke 2:10 (ESV)
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."

Reflection: Whom do you unconsciously exclude from the “good news” circle, and what is one specific step you can take this week to embody the message that the gospel truly is for all people?

Day 5: Emmanuel shows God is with imperfect people

The promise “Emmanuel—God with us” anchors the whole story: God entered into messy human life, not to ignore brokenness but to redeem it, walking alongside sinners, tax collectors, deniers, and those labeled “naughty.” God’s presence does not demand first that people be perfect; it inaugurates transformation amid imperfection, proving God’s holiness and mercy operate together. Knowing God is with you changes how you carry your labels and invites you into a new identity as family. [30:35]

Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

Reflection: Which label do you most need God’s presence to heal—shame, failure, loneliness—and what is one small spiritual practice (prayer, confession, serving, or telling a trusted person) you will commit to this week to live out “God with you”?

Sermon Summary

I led us to stare straight at a simple but enormous claim: if Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John reliably report what actually happened, then Jesus and the life He offers can be trusted. One surprising tool from historical study helps us here—the “criterion of embarrassment.” If the accounts include details that make the heroes look foolish, fearful, or unflattering, that’s a strong sign they weren’t invented. The Gospels are full of such details, not least in Matthew’s opening genealogy, where instead of polishing the family tree, he goes out of his way to showcase its knots and scars.

We slowed down at names we often skim: Tamar and especially Rahab. Rahab carried two strikes—occupation and ancestry. She was a prostitute and a Canaanite, yet God folded her into Israel’s story and, astonishingly, into Jesus’ own lineage. We traced her courageous faith in Jericho: sheltering the spies, tying a scarlet cord, and trusting the God she had only heard about. Archaeology can measure walls, but only faith topples them. When the dust settled, Rahab stood—rescued, received, and rewritten into a story she never imagined.

All of this presses a deeper truth home: God’s holiness is not at odds with His mercy. He is perfectly pure and yet perfectly willing to move toward sinners; His character doesn’t shrink His compassion. That’s very good news for people with labels—ours and others’. Matthew, once “the tax collector,” smiles as he writes, because he knows what it means to be renamed. In Jesus, the people who feel most disqualified become prime candidates for grace. Your history may explain you; it does not define you. In Christ, you are given a new label—family—sons and daughters who are invited to the table. If that feels too good to be true, it means you’re hearing it correctly.

Key Takeaways

1. Embarrassing details increase credibility. The Gospels keep the failures in the frame—cowardly disciples, questioning leaders, and women as first witnesses—because they’re telling the truth, not selling a spin. No one invents flaws that weaken their case unless those flaws actually happened. The very awkwardness of these accounts invites our trust. The story rings true because it refused to be airbrushed. [02:17]
2. Your past is not disqualifying. Matthew refuses to sanitize Jesus’ family tree, and in doing so shows that God refuses to sanitize the people He loves. The lineage includes deceivers, deniers, outsiders, and the morally compromised—and God is not embarrassed by them. What might disqualify us in human eyes often becomes the very place grace takes root. Your worst chapter is not the book’s ending. [08:29]
3. Holiness and mercy hold together. God’s purity does not demand distance; in Jesus, holiness moves toward the broken. Mercy isn’t God forgetting His standards; it’s God fulfilling His heart to restore. The cross is where uncompromising holiness and unstoppable mercy meet for our good. Come as you are; He knows exactly how to make you new. [28:10]
4. Rahab shows the wideness of grace. A foreigner with a scandalous label becomes an ancestor of the King. Her trust expressed in courageous action was enough for God to graft her into His people—and His promise. Grace doesn’t require a pristine resume; it requires open hands. If it reached Jericho’s walls, it can reach yours. [25:26]
5. Receive your new, truer label. We all carry names that accuse us—some deserved, some imposed. In Christ, a greater name is spoken over us: family—sons and daughters welcomed to the table. Let that name re-narrate your past and reframe your future. Live from who He names you, not from what your past calls you. [33:24]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:29] - Why Gospel reliability matters
[02:17] - Criterion of Embarrassment explained
[04:17] - Women highlighted in the Gospels
[05:32] - Matthew’s genealogy and our series
[10:36] - Tamar’s scandal in Jesus’ line
[12:27] - Rahab: occupation and label
[16:38] - From Exodus to Jericho
[18:27] - Spies sheltered by Rahab
[20:43] - The scarlet cord conditions
[22:14] - Jericho’s walls and archaeology
[23:58] - Walls fall, Rahab spared
[28:10] - God’s holiness and mercy unite
[33:24] - New family label in Christ
[34:45] - Closing prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading (ESV)
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 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 Asa,
8 and Asa 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 Amon, and Amon 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 Christ fourteen generations.

Observation questions (3–4)

Read Matthew 1:1–17. Which women are named in the genealogy and in what verses do they appear? (Look for where the women interrupt the otherwise male list.)
Which entries in the genealogy would a first‑century Jewish reader find unexpected or embarrassing, and why? [02:17]
Matthew labels Jesus “son of David, son of Abraham” (v.1). How does the presence of Gentile or morally compromised ancestors affect the claim that Jesus is Israel’s promised king? [05:32]

Interpretation questions (3–4)

What reasons might Matthew have for deliberately including women with scandalous or foreign backgrounds in the genealogy rather than omitting them? [05:32]
In what way does Rahab’s action—hiding the spies and using the scarlet cord—function as a demonstration of saving faith that justifies her being grafted into Israel’s story? [20:43]
How should the claim that God’s holiness and God’s mercy “hold together” be understood so that both God’s justice and God’s grace are preserved? [28:10]
Why does the presence of awkward or embarrassing details in gospel and genealogical accounts strengthen their historical credibility rather than weaken it? [02:17]

Application questions (4–7)

People often carry names and labels from their past. God includes those with messy pasts in his family. What label do you still carry that you need to stop living under, and what is one concrete step you will take this week to live more from the identity “son/daughter of God” instead? [31:11]
God’s holiness does not force him to withhold mercy. In which relationships or situations are you tempted to let perceived “holiness” justify withholding mercy from others (or from yourself)? What specific act of mercy—word, phone call, forgiveness, practical help—will you do in the next 7 days? [28:10]
Rahab’s faith was expressed in risky action (sheltering the spies, tying the scarlet cord). What risky, concrete action of faith is God inviting you to take that could cost reputation or comfort? Describe the action and set a date you will follow through. [20:43]
Matthew kept embarrassing details so the story would be believable. Where does greater honesty about past failure need to grow in your life or in your small group to build trust (confession, accountability, story‑sharing)? Name one specific step to increase that honesty in the next two weeks. [02:17]
The gospel rewrites our story by giving a new label: family. What daily or weekly habit (scripture reading, worship, community, service) will you adopt to remind yourself and live out that new label? How will you make it realistic and measurable for the next 14 days? [33:24]

Sermon Clips

And so this brings up a question. This brings up a question of how do we know the Gospels are reliable? And if you're a skeptic out there and if you're a skeptic that's even watching online right now, those are questions that you might have. And they're legitimate questions. But I want to say don't measure your beliefs based on Christians that you've experienced, whether those are good or bad. Instead, this right here is all that matters, that the Gospels are a reliable account of actual events. [00:01:08] (28 seconds) #GospelsAreReliable

And I know that's hard to say, but in ancient times, for them to write this down on ancient documents about the women who were at the cross with Jesus, and the women were the first witnesses at the tomb, and that is something that is just, that would have been embarrassing for them to write because it undermines the men of the ancient times, and that's not something that would have happened. So all this is actually just one reason to believe that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the Gospels are reliable and that they're true. [00:04:49] (32 seconds) #WomenWereFirstWitnesses

Matthew goes forward and highlights the naughtiest of the naughty to introduce the nicest of the nice. And Matthew saw no need to remove Jesus from his imperfect family lineage. He saw no need to remove people who are on the naughty list. People like you and people like me. And as he's going through and giving the list that we're going to look at here in a second, he doesn't really specify or say why he makes a list. But when you look at the list, you can definitely infer that men and women with an embarrassing past are not an embarrassment to Jesus. [00:07:20] (46 seconds) #ImperfectLineage

Or maybe you might even say, you know what, I'm not happy where I am. I feel like I'm an embarrassment of myself because maybe of my job situation or what's going on in my marriage or everyone knows what I'm addicted to. But the good news, the good news of Christmas is this, that men and women with an embarrassing past are not an embarrassment to Jesus. In fact, this makes you a candidate for the greatness, to have greatness in the kingdom of God. This is the story of Christmas. [00:08:29] (41 seconds) #NotDefinedByMyPast

Matthew does not want us to miss this. Remember last week when we talked about this, that Matthew is writing to Jews. And he's saying, listen, we're not waiting for the Messiah anymore. He's come. He's here. And he wants you to know the whole story from who he came from. In fact, the early church struggled with this for the first 20 years after Jesus because they were so confused. Like, wait, wait, who did Jesus come for? Did he come for just Israel? Did he come for just the good Jews? And Matthew said, Jesus came for the world, including people like Rahab the prostitute. [00:25:49] (44 seconds) #JesusCameForAll

And you know, Matthew here, as he's writing this, he probably has a smile on his face as he's writing this. He's like, yeah, I'm gonna put Rahab in there because Matthew the prostitute and put that label in there because Matthew had his own label. And many of you guys know that story. And Matthew had his own label that stuck around for years as Matthew the tax collector. But Matthew wants you to know that God's mercy, that God's grace includes people with a messy past, includes people that broke God's laws, includes people with all kinds of different labels. [00:26:34] (43 seconds) #GraceForTheMessy

Are you getting this? It's like God is sending a message forward in time to people on the naughty list, people like me, people like you. And he's like, he's sending this message that's central to what Matthew is about to tell about the story of Jesus, about the coming of Jesus. And that message that he sent to you and the message that he sent to me and the message that he sends to all of us. He sent us all. And you might say, you know what, even if you don't need that message right now, you will need that message at some point. Because that message is that God's holiness is not at odds with his mercy. [00:27:42] (42 seconds) #HolinessAndMercy

And this is exactly how God views mankind. There's no degrees of naughty. And it does not matter to God or Jesus. Matthew experienced this and he wants us all to know, because listen, this is also Matthew's story as the tax collector. And in just a few verses from now, when we get into this, he's about to tell the story of Emmanuel, God with us, about how Jesus became human and walked with humans and spent time with sinners. And he's not afraid to spend time with people who are in sin or impure. [00:29:59] (41 seconds) #GodWithSinners

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