Who is the Gospel For?
The Birth of the Savior • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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The Gospel is for those who have been wronged
The Gospel is for those who have been wronged
In Genesis 38, Judah conceives three sons with a Canaanite woman who were named Er, Onan, and Shelah. The first born, Er, married Tamar but was quickly put to death because he did what was wicked in the sight of the Lord. Judah told his second son to go and perform the duty of a brother-in-law and have a child with her. But Onan knew that the child would not be his and so he did not give her any offspring. This was also wicked in the eyes of the Lord so Onan is put to death. Judah promises the youngest, Shelah, to Tamar once he is old enough.
Judah’s wife dies, meanwhile, and he goes up to sheer his sheep. When Tamar gets wind of this, she takes off the clothing that signals her as a mourning widow and goes to meet him with a veil covering her face. She sees that Shelah was now of age but had not been notified because Judah believed that his eldest two sons had died because of Tamar.
Judah sees her on the roadside and believes that she is a prostitute and solicits her. She asks what her payment would be and he says that he will send her a young goat as payment but Tamar requires a pledge to make sure that he is true to his word. She asks for his signet and cord and staff. They have sex and she conceives a child and she goes back. Judah later sends the goat to Tamar with a friend who is in search of a cult prostitute but there isn’t one there.
About three months later Judah finds out that Tamar has been impregnated and is being accused of immorality. He immediately responds that she should be burned. However, as she was being brought out, she sends word to Judah that whoever the signet, cord, and staff belong to is the father of the child she is pregnant with.
Immediately, Judah identifies the times as his own and admits his wrongdoing for not giving Tamar to his only son as he said that he would.
Because Jesus comes from the line of Tamar, we should be reminded that the gospel is for those who have been wronged. I know there are many who have experienced hurt from Christians or the church. The reality is that Jesus died on the cross for you too. You may have been lied to. You may have been manipulated. But Jesus died for you too. Jesus is always reliable. His salvation can always be trusted in.
The next woman listed in the genealogy of Jesus and from that we are reminded that
The Gospel Uses Those Who Live in Sin for God’s glory
The Gospel Uses Those Who Live in Sin for God’s glory
Two spies are sent by Joshua to view Jericho. They stay with a prostitute whose name is Rahab. The king of Jericho gets word that men of Jericho have infiltrated the land and so he sends to Rahab to hand over the men but she hid them. She tells the king’s guards that the men did come to her but she didn’t know who they were and so they went out of the gate at dark and if the guards went quickly they would be able to catch them.
Rahab then went to the two spies and tells them that she had heard of the many wonders that God has performed and that she would hope that because of her help that her life would be delivered from the coming destruction of Jericho.
This is a woman who was living a life of sin in a land of people who did not serve God. Yet, she recognized the power of God and does the right thing by protecting the spies.
Despite the sinful lifestyle that Rahab was leading, she is still used by God in order to get the spies out of Jericho safely. They Lord spared her life because of this act of faith that she placed in Him.
The same can be said for any person who is dwelling in sin. Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we are all able to live a new life that is devoted to the Lord rather than going back to serving ourselves.
The Gospel is for those who need to be redeemed
The Gospel is for those who need to be redeemed
Ruth, a Moabite woman, is left without a husband when hers dies. She has an opportunity to be married to a man who is eligible as a kinsman redeemer but he rejects her. The one who redeems this young widow is a man by the name of Boaz. Boaz marries Ruth and the give birth to a child, Obed, who is the grandfather of King David.
This entire story is a foreshadowing of the redemption that Jesus makes possible on the cross. Because He was born on this earth, we no longer have to receive the hell that we are deserving of.
The Gospel is For Those who have displeased the Lord
The Gospel is For Those who have displeased the Lord
We all know the story of David and Bathsheba to some extent. King David is sitting on his roof when his army is off to war. He sees Bathsheba bathing on her roof and sends for her. The conceive a baby and David does all that he can to try and cover up their sin. However, everyone knew what went on. The key verse in 2 Samuel 11:27 comes in verse 27. You see, it was certainly displeasing to the Lord what David did as well as Bathsheba. While the first son that they had died, the next child, Solomon became the heir to the throne.
God still uses Bathsheba despite her sin with David. Despite the shame that she felt with all of Israel knowing what had gone on, she is still apart of the will of God.
We tend to put God in a box, assume that He can’t use us because of x, y, or z. But He can still take a bad thing and use it for His will.
You see, these women provide numerous examples about how the gospel is for everyone. Yes, they are women and that is highly irregular during the day when this was written. Three of the four of them were women from other ethnicities or countries, yet they are used by God.
Tamar was treated poorly. Rahab lived a life of sin. Ruth was alone and needed to be redeemed. And Bathsheba displeased the Lord. And all of them both needed a Savior and were used by God. The gospel is for all people. Jesus died on the cross so that sinners might be saved!
