Let us pray: Lord may the words which procede from my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight. Amen.

Grace and Peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We continue this evening with the theme begun last week: The Genealogy of Jesus. Last week we discovered how the genealogy of Jesus leads us to know that God keeps His promises.God fulfilled the Old Testament Law in the person of Joseph and his two genealogies: Luke's biological one and Matthew's legal one. This week the lineage of Jesus is described in Matthew ch 1 v 5-6a

MT 1:5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, MT 1:6 and Jesse the father of King David.

We expect certain names in Jesus' genealogy. Names like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. But Rahab? One might wonder, How did she get in the list? While she may be one of the most unlikely people in Jesus' lineage, she exhibited traits for which her descendants would be known. She would not only be in the lineage of the first king of Israel, but also in the lineage of the ultimate King of Israel.

If you have ever done genealogy research on your family, chances are you found both good and "not so good" surprises. It seems that about all of us somewhere have those shining examples of those in our family trees who just make us want to go out and buy a "coat of arms" with our name on it just to remind us of where our heritage comes from. Then, perhaps also we find those in our lineage who didn't seem to hold the high standard. Those who because of decisions or circumstances, or both, ended up not looking like the "great" ancestors we hoped we would find.

The genealogy of Jesus is no different. There are good kings and bad kings in his lineage. There are giants of faith such as Abraham, and giants of idolatry like Amon, the 14th king of Judah. There is Jehoshaphat about who it is said in 2 Chronicles 22 "He sought the Lord with all his Heart" and Judah was never more prosperous that under his reign. Then there was Rahab. The unlikely Rahab. Rahab is an unlikely candidate for Jesus' family tree for several reasons:

First, she was a woman. In general, the Jewish people did not include women in their genealogies. They considered the male, not the female, as the one who kept the family lineage alive. Only five women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus-- and only in Matthew's Gospel. They are: Tamar, who tricked Judah; Rahab; Ruth, the Moabitess who married Boaz; Bathsheba (not mentioned directly by name); and Mary, his mother.

Second, Rahab was a prostitute. Under Mosaic Law she should have been stoned to death for her sin-not be mentioned in the most important genealogy of all times.

Third, Rahab was a gentile. Matthew's Gospel is written to Jewish people. In their eyes, she would be a nobody. Yet Rahab is precisely the type of person God loves to use in an important role in the salvation story.

Rahab, the Gentile prostitute, had two important traits that made her a perfect fit in the family tree of Jesus. First of all, she had faith. Rahabs faith is displayed when the spies come to her because she believed the reports of what the Lord had done for Israel at the Red Sea, as well as what had happened to King Sihon and King Og. The Red Sea story I am sure you know, the stories of King Sihon and King Og, maybe not so well remembered. Lets review. Numbers Ch 21 Briefly. Traveling towards the promised land the Israelites asked permission from King Sihon for safe passage through his land. King Sihon refused. God delivered the whole kingdom up to the edge of the sword. King Og was next. Permission asked to cross his kingdom, permission denied. He didn't learn from Sihon's mistake. His kingdom fell by the sword also. These combined victories for the Israelites gave them around 4500 square miles of land. Rahab had heard of the miracles the Lord had done for Israel. She believed that his promises would certainly be fulfilled, and there was no way of escape except by submitting to Him, and joining with His people. Her conduct showed she had the necessary faith. She understood that Jericho would soon fall and asked that she and her family be spared. Because Rahab showed great faith in hiding the spies and in asking for her life, they told her, "Our lives for your lives!" She trusted the spies would keep their word, even though she had no proof. Hebrews 11 says of this most unlikely candidate to be placed in the lineage of Jesus, God took a "nobody," a "zero"- and made her a hero.

The second trait Rahab shows that would be seen in her descendants was that she cared about other people and, as a result, she saves lives. Rahab interceded for her family saying "Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and that you will save us from death" Josh 2:12-13

Many generations later, one of Rahab's descendants would also save lives. Jesus Christ would spare many people not of physical death, but of eternal death, when he was nailed to the cross on Good Friday. His death that day was for all the Rahabs, all the sinners, who ever have or ever will live. We may not be be prostitutes as Rahab was, but we are equally as guilty of sin and as worthy of death. As Christ was nailed to the cross, he interceded for those killing him when he cried out, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). His death and resurrection provide what Rahab and all of us who stand in her shoes need most- the forgiveness of sin and a right relationship with our Heavenly Father.

So as we move deeper into the Advent season, eagerly anticipating our "Immanuel", our "God with us", That familiar question posed to us by Dr. Luther comes to mind: What does this mean?

The cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ makes "somebodies" out of "nobodies." And God still makes heroes out of zeroes. He adds some unlikely candidates-you and me- to his family tree. John 1:12-13 "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

Like Rahab, we are sinners unworthy of the grace of God. Through the Holy Spirit a gift of faith is given to us. As Christians we are called to live our faith as Rahab did. The scarlet cord in the window is mindful of the blood on the doorpost at the passover, both signs of being covered by a promise, showing a refuge from the wrath of a justly offended God. The same scarlet cord Rahab used for saving the Israelite spies was to be used to save her and her family. What we serve and honor God with, we may expect he will bless, and make useful to us.

Through our faith we can pray for those who do not know Jesus and his life-giving death on the cross. We share the faith of Rahab, and, like Rahab, become heroes of faith through the grace of God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen

Note:Some structure and content are from suggestions made by Rev M. B. Anderson in Concordia Pulpit resources Dec 2003