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

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.

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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 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)

1. 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.)
2. Which entries in the genealogy would a first‑century Jewish reader find unexpected or embarrassing, and why? [02:17]
3. 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)

1. What reasons might Matthew have for deliberately including women with scandalous or foreign backgrounds in the genealogy rather than omitting them? [05:32]
2. 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]
3. 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]
4. 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)

1. 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]
2. 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]
3. 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]
4. 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]
5. 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]