Making A Difference In Our Generation Series

Making a Difference in Our Generation

The Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 1:1-17

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - December 5, 2012

(Revised August 11, 2020)

BACKGROUND:

*Tonight we begin a verse by verse study of Matthew, and John Phillips gave this background:

"The Gospel of Matthew presents Christ as King. It was written by a Jew first and foremost for the Jewish people, whose great hope was for the coming of the often promised Messiah. This Messiah would come to restore the former glories of the kingdom, elevate Israel to the head of the nations, and reign "from the river unto the ends of the earth" (Psalm 72:8).

*Such a King would restore the world to the splendors of Eden and bring blessings to all mankind. Jerusalem would be the capital of His global empire and the center of universal worship of the LORD. Many Old Testament prophecies foretell these events.

*The Jews, however, ignored the spiritual side of those prophecies. They were so captivated by the promises of a Messiah coming to reign that they forgot the promises of a Messiah coming to redeem. They wanted a militant King who would break the power of Rome and inaugurate a new world order based on Judaism, but God sent them a meek King. The Jews wanted a Sovereign, but God sent them a Savior.

*And although Matthew wrote firstly for the Jews, his Gospel is surely also for every nation, tribe, people and tongue in the world (Revelation 7:9). Matthew saw beyond Israel to the church, which was already a power in the world when he wrote. He saw the Gentiles coming into the blessings of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

*Matthew’s book, which begins within the narrow limits of Jewish thought, soon opens up, for the second chapter introduces the wise men from the East who came to worship the Christ. And the book ends with the Lord’s Great Commission to take the gospel into all the world." (1)

*We see this in Matthew 28:18-20, where God's Word says:

18. Then Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.

19. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

20. teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'' Amen.

*With this background in mind, let's begin by reading Matthew 1:1-17.

MESSAGE:

*In these verses God tells us about the generations from Abraham to Christ. But does this Scripture say anything about our generation? The answer is yes, because it shows us how to make a difference in our own generation.

1. THE FIRST THING TO DO IS FOCUS ON FAMILY.

*God's plan has always been to work in and through families. In vs. 1, God led Matthew to begin by saying: "The book of the generation (or genealogy) of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham." All through the first 17 verses, God's Word focuses on the Lord's family. Families matter to God, and they always have.

*Your family matters to God, and that's good, because family life is not always easy. As they used to say: "Living in a family ain't beanbag."

*Raising children ain't beanbag. There are going to be problems from generation to generation. So, Abraham had to put up with Isaac. Isaac had to put up with Jacob. And Jacob had to put up with Judah and his brethren.

*Raising children is a challenge. Proverbs 10:1 tells us that "A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother." And Proverbs 17:25 says, "A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him." Some of us have been through that grief. And I certainly gave more than my fair share of grief to my own parents.

*Raising children is a challenge. Luke's Gospel tells a story from the Lord's childhood. It happened during one of the family visits to the Temple in Jerusalem. Jesus was 12 years old, and as His family returned home, they discovered that Jesus was missing. Listen to the story from Luke 2:41-50.

41. His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.

42. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast.

43. When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it;

44. but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances.