Is this the most meaningless and boring Gospel of the whole year?! But, looked at more closely, it has many layers of meaning which can barely be touched on here. It begins with Abraham, described as the 'father of the nations' and it will be through his descendant Jesus that God's invitation will be extended to people everywhere. The second set of names begins with David, the kingly ancestor Jesus, who will in turn be a King, the King of Kings, the Saviour King.

Unusually for this type of genealogy there are four women listed -Tamar, who had twins through her father-in-law; Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute; Ruth, was a Moabite, who entered into a marriage in a rather unorthodox way. What is striking about this genealogy is the mix of people in Jesus' ancestry. There were many skeletons in the cupboard!

The last woman is Mary, who also became a mother in an unusual way. While the list indicates what father actively produced what son, in the case of Joseph, we are told that he is simply the 'husband of Mary'. He is pointedly not the father of Jesus who 'was born' of Mary. The passive indicates that the real fatherhood was from God.

All in all, it shows how deeply Jesus was part of our sinful world that He might save us from it.