Pope Benedict XVI: Christ’s Mission Is for All

Matthew’s genealogy traces the male line, but in the course of it, prior to Mary who appears at the end, four women are mentioned by name: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and the wife of Uriah. Why do these women appear in the genealogy? By what criterion are they chosen?

It has been said that all four women were sinners. So, their inclusion here would serve to indicate that Jesus took upon himself their sins-and with them the sins of the world – and that his mission was the justification of sinners.

But this cannot have been the determining factor for the selection, not least because it does not in fact apply to all four women. More important, none of these women were Jewish. So, through them the world of the Gentiles enters the genealogy of Jesus – his mission to Jews and Gentiles is made manifest. …