Very few people outside the original nation of Israel find great joy in reading through the genealogical lists found in Scripture. Genealogies are usually cumbersome and seem to serve as place holders in Scripture. Therefore, most people just skip over these lengthy lists of names hoping to get directly to “the good stuff”. However, Matthew’s list in the beginning of his Gospel account gives us insight into the true background of Jesus, the Messiah. While Jesus is perfect in every way, his past descendants were far from it. God used Matthew to show us, through Jesus’ lineage, how powerful His saving grace truly is.