Job sat angry and disheveled in his misery. He was sick and tired of being sick and misunderstood.  His friends had brought no gift or comfort, only accusations.  Job ponders his life and his personal weakness and questions, “Who can bring something clean out of that which is unclean? Job 14:4.

Job never knew about Christmas but he did ask questions to which God gave answers, at the birth of Jesus.

Matthew wrote the genealogies in his gospel to establish for the Jewish readers, the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. The list stretching right back to Adam is unusual and a little disturbing.  Every one of the first four women has a shady reputation.  Tamar got pregnant by pretending to be a prostitute. Rahab was a prostitute living the town of Jericho.  Ruth was an unclean Moabite and Bathsheba committed adultery with David.

Now if we had these people in our family tree we wouldn’t shout it from the rooftops and we probably wouldn’t put it in a book if we knew it would be the best seller of all time. But it does answer that question that Job asked some 1200 years before  "Who can bring something clean out of that which is unclean?"

At the birth of Christ, God shows that He can bring something clean out the unclean.  For out of these sinful men and women, God can and did bring forth a sinless child at Christmas time.  Jesus Christ was born sinless (clean) out of an ordinary human girl Mary (the unclean). God did the same thing again when he authored the Bible through men of old. God's Word, the Bible is a perfect Word yet delivered through imperfect vessels.

The great news of Christmas, is that through Jesus, God can now bring something fresh and clean and hopeful out of the lives of unclean and hopeless people. This is good news for the world. When no one else can, God can.  Politicians have legislated to make us a better society and we still devolve. Education taught us tolerance of deviant practices and now the result is a nation with  massive family dysfunctional. World governments are trying to keep us healthy and millions are getting sicker.

Who can bring a clean thing out and unclean thing?  Only God!  2 Corinthians 5.17 wonderfully declares that whoever belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new and a clean life has begun!

Friends, thank God that Jesus is God’s gift to the world. He is the savior from sin and when we receive Him, He becomes the New man, in us. He is the Clean man in us, who can walk with God again. When we turn back to God, we discover the answer to Jobs question, Who? - God. And the how? - Jesus.