It starts with a genealogy going back right to the beginning, to the first man, fallen.

The fallenness is evident in the list of real people

God has chosen to be part of his son’s very human ancestry:

The venerated patriarchs – who paved the way for those behind

but stumbled over their own lies, cowardice and cheating.

The kings – some men after God’s own heart but also adulterers, murderers and idolaters …

even upright leaders of society had their hidden sins exposed by God’s Word.

Women are mentioned – a prostitute who saved Jewish spies,

a gentile widow who followed her forlorn mother-in-law wherever she went,

a multiple widow who tricked her father-in-law into donating his sperm.

All are mentioned by name, known completely in their complexity by their creator,

who majestically stands outside and beyond.