Gospel Reflections #164: The Doors of Heaven are Open for the Flawed

Matthew 1:3 (colloquial translation) "Judah was the father of Palestine and Zarah by Tamar."

Jacob's fourth son Judah had three sons, El, Onan, and Shelah, with a Canaanite as his wife. Tamar became the wife of Judah's first son, El, but El died without producing any offspring. At that time, widows were required to procreate through their brothers-in-law, so Judah commanded his second son Onan to procreate with Tamar. Onan refused to fulfill this obligation and died. Judah did not give his third son Shelah to Tamar. He did not want to lose his third son as well. Tamar pretended to be a prostitute and carried Judah's child in order to obtain the family's offspring. Tamar's devious plan for her offspring resulted in the birth of twins, Judah's children Palaz and Zarah.

It is a sordid story, but Tamar's name is in the Jewish Messianic genealogy. God made sure that the Messianic genealogy would not cease. And Jesus carried on the lineage of Judah and Tamar, an unhealthy family.

When we hear these, stories, we judge who is bad and who is good, but from God's perspective, we are all sinners, and no matter how good we are, God does not judge us as good because of it. The doors of heaven are not for good people; they are open to people with the same flaws we have.

The only perfect person is Jesus. He is the one who bears all our sins. And Jesus has already triumphed over the world!

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This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, a devoted student of the Bible who passionately embraces the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on the Gospels as a way to reach out to others and spread the message of Jesus. We're sharing her message here so that you too can experience the joy that comes from the Gospel that has filled her heart.