Yes, Jesus was royalty. Your life actually depends on it. To discard shame, you must be connected to someone highly honored. To this end, both Matthew and Luke highlight his royal lineage. Yet Matthew also makes a point to include Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth, embarrassing limbs on the family tree that others might want to prune. One became pregnant by her father-in-law, one was an outsider and prostitute, the other was an outsider who was reduced to nothing. Plus, they were all women, who didn’t have much worth to begin with in those days.
