Here is the first expository work of Rev. Sang Ho Bae on the Gospel of Matthew:

Source

The first book of the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew, begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This genealogy is continued to Christ through Abraham and David. This genealogy is the most glorious genealogy to which a person can belong. Although kings are included here, it is truly glorious not simply because it is a royal genealogy but because it is the genealogy of the Messiah.
Yet in this genealogy, five women appear in particular: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and Mary. From a human standpoint, all of them are unfit to be included in the noble genealogy of the Messiah. Tamar bore a child through her father in law; Rahab was a prostitute from Canaan; Ruth was from Moab, whom God had cursed; Bathsheba committed adultery with David; and Mary was a lowly woman betrothed to a carpenter. It is astonishing that such people are included in the glorious genealogy of the Messiah. There must surely be a clear reason why Matthew, inspired by God, excluded many devout women and recorded only these five women who had blemishes. What is that reason? If we look carefully at Scripture, although they had flaws from a human perspective, there is one thing they all have in common: the trace of faith found in them.

Tamar

Tamar was not originally an immoral woman. Her act of disguising herself as a prostitute and lying with her father in law was a crime punishable by death according to the social laws of that time, but her purpose was not lust. Judah had three sons. Tamar’s husband died without children, and she was given to the second son according to the levirate marriage custom, but he also died. Then she should have been given to the third son, but Judah, fearing that the third might also die, used the excuse that he was too young and never gave him to her. Even after time passed and the son had grown, he still did not permit it. Therefore, Tamar approached her father-in-law in order to obtain a child. This was not a mere act of adultery but a life-risking venture to continue the family that had received God’s covenant.

Rahab

Rahab was a Canaanite woman and a prostitute, yet she firmly believed that the God of Israel is the one true God in heaven above and on earth below. She betrayed her own people and risked death to hide the Israelite spies, and the writer of Hebrews highly praises this as an act of faith (Hebrews 11:31). Rahab’s action was clearly a decision of faith.

Ruth

Ruth came to know God through her in-laws, and even after losing her husband, she followed her mother-in-law and left her homeland, Moab, to enter Israel. She confessed:

Your people shall be my people, and your God my God (Ruth 1:16).

She served her mother-in-law's God as her own God. This was not a simple choice but a decision of faith. Her husband had already died long before, and there was no special guarantee for her in the land of Israel, and, in fact, she suffered much in the early days after entering Israel. Moreover, the Israelites despised Gentiles and especially treated the Moabites like dogs. Going to such a place was impossible without faith. But Ruth left Moab by faith and chose Israel, and by that faith she received the glory of becoming an ancestor of the Messiah.

Bathsheba

Scripture does not tell us much about Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. It is true that she committed adultery with David, but it was due to the coercion of the king, not her voluntary choice. Rather, Scripture hints through several clues that she was a woman of deep faith. Among the children born to David’s various wives, many were spiritually lacking, but Solomon, whom Bathsheba bore, grew up as one who feared God. This shows that she raised her child in faith. Also, the fact that she was close to the prophet Nathan supports Bathsheba’s deep faith.

Mary

Mary was a woman without moral blemishes. Yet the fact that she was betrothed to a carpenter, a profession considered lowly at the time, suggests that she came from a poor and insignificant family. From a worldly standpoint, she was of a status unfit for the glorious lineage of the Messiah. But Mary was a woman of faith. In the strict Jewish society, she knew all too well what consequences would follow if she conceived a child who was not that of her betrothed man, yet she willingly accepted the angel’s word. It was obedience that could not be done without faith.

Important Lesson

The important lesson we learn here is that faith covers a person’s flaws. In this genealogy, the faults of the five women are not mentioned at all and are entirely hidden. The overall flow of Scripture consistently testifies to the truth that “faith overcomes morality.” Even if there were moral mistakes, if they were acts arising from faith, their faults were covered. This is like overlooking a fault simply because there is some merit.

Especially in Jewish society, the fact that someone was a Gentile was the greatest blemish. But in the New Testament era—the world of Jesus Christ, the world of faith—there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. Even a Gentile, even a sinner, can participate in the family of Christ. In the past, one had to receive the blood of Abraham to become his descendant, but in the New Testament era, anyone who has faith becomes a descendant of Abraham. Scripture says:

Know then that those who are of faith are sons of Abraham (Galatians 3:7).

And then he adds:

If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise (Galatians 3:29).

In the Gospel, when the Lord’s mother and siblings came looking for Him, Jesus said:

Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother (Matthew 12:50).

In the New Testament era, the one who lives by faith becomes a member of the Lord’s family.

The Gospel of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament written in the age of grace, clearly reveals the essence of the gospel. Even people with many flaws in the Old Testament are not spoken of regarding their faults in the New Testament. The Old Testament records many of Samson’s mistakes, but in the New Testament the writer of Hebrews hides his faults and says he was a man of faith. When seen through the eyes of the gospel, faults are covered and the good points are seen.

The perspectives of a prosecutor and a defense attorney toward a sinner are entirely different. If we look at others not with the eyes of a prosecutor who condemns faults, but with the eyes of the gospel that covers them, the world will become a brighter place.