“Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar…Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife” (Matthew 1:3-6).

There is a valuable nugget of truth on the first page of the New Testament. It is remarkable that four women are named in the genealogy of Jesus. It was rare to find women listed in a genealogy from those days. On the first page of the New Testament, the message is clear—God doesn’t discriminate against women.

What’s even more remarkable is the women who were selected. The genealogy includes four women with checkered histories. Tamar seduced her father-in-law, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth was a Moabitess and Bathsheba was an adulteress. Is that God’s way of saying that our lifestyles don’t matter? Of course not! It is God’s way of saying that the New Testament will be about grace. Jesus came to live and die for people with tainted histories and questionable behavior.

These women were changed and became participants in Jesus’ family tree. The gospel isn’t about good people who need no help. It’s about sinners who need salvation. From the time that Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden God has been on a mission of deliverance. Jesus was His ultimate plan to rescue us.

These four women needed Him and so do we. I’m amazed that God reached out to these women. I’m even more amazed that the gospel of grace has reached me. God has a plan to make bad people good. He does that when we believe in His Son, Jesus, and we embrace Him and what He’s done for us by faith.