Just A List Of Names?

Outline:

THREE TRUTHS ABOUT JESUS:

it shows his humanity

it shows his authority

it shows his divinity

TWO TRUTHS ABOUT OURSELVES:

all people are important

all people will die

Sermon Text:

Ill:

• “Who Do You Think You Are?” is a BBC television documentary series,

• In each episode, a celebrity goes on a journey, in order to try to trace their family tree.

• Four series have currently aired and a fifth series will air in 2008.

• Already planning a sixth series in 2009.

• Some of the celebrities have discovered they are related to royalty;

• Others that there was a rogue or two in the family tree!

Ill:

The children in a prominent American family;

• Decided to give their father a book of the family’s history for a birthday present.

• They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work:

• Carefully warning him of the family’s ‘black sheep’ problem:

• Uncle George had been executed in the electric chair for murder.

The biographer assured the children:

“I can handle that situation so that there will be no embarrassment,

I’ll merely say that Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important Government Institution.

He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties and his death came as a real shock.”

• To the casual reader of the Bible;

• These verses are about as interesting as reading the telephone directory!

• But if we give them time we discover they are more than ‘Just a list of names’;

• Those names relate to people who play an important part in world history!

In the four Gospels we have two different genealogies (family trees):

• One by Matthew and one by Luke;

• And if you put the two together you will see some big differences.

(a).

• Matthew’s genealogy begins with Abraham and moves forward to Jesus.

• Luke’s genealogy begins with Jesus and moves backward to Adam.

• Matthew’s genealogy is descending from Father to Son.

• Luke’s genealogy is ascending from son to father.

(b).

• Matthew’s genealogy goes back to Abraham.

• Luke’s genealogy goes back to Adam.

• Matthew is writing primarily to a Jewish readership (Abraham – Father of the Jews);

• Luke is writing to a world-wide readership (He shows Jesus linked to the first man).

(c).

• Matthew genealogy contains 42 names.

• Luke’s genealogy contains 77 names (if you include the names Jesus, Joseph & God).

• Many scholars believe that Matthew gives us the genealogy of Joseph.

• While Luke gives us the genealogy of his mother Mary.

• ill: The stories recorded in the opening chapters of each gospel show;

• Matthew focusing on Joseph & Luke seems to focuses on Mary.

(d).

• Although there are differences in the lists;

• Both family trees show the ancestry of Jesus was through King David.

Ill:

• What you cannot do is just add up the ages of those on the list;

• And find out how old humanity is – some have tried that!

• It was the accepted norm to only record key or certain people;

• Some generations are deliberately missed out, but not the key individuals.

• Now although there are differences in the lists;

• Both family trees show the ancestry of Jesus was through King David.

The lists clearly show that both his earthly father and mother:

• Are clearly related to King David;

• Without this link Jesus would not be qualified to be the Messiah.

• So these genealogies are important;

• Because they prove that Jesus of Nazareth has the legal right to David’s throne.

THE LIST OF NAMES TELLS US THREE TRUTHS ABOUT JESUS.

(1). It shows his humanity.

• The fact that Jesus had a family tree shows to us that;

• He was not a figment of the imagination.

• He was not super-myth, super-man or super-star!

• He was one of us!

• He was born as a real baby, grew into a child, a teenager and a mature man;

• He knew what it was to be hungry (Luke 4:2), thirsty (John 4:7) and tired (John 4:6).

• He was neither super-man, super-myth, or super-star.

• He was flesh and blood just as we are flesh and blood!

The key two names in the list for us are the first and the last names;

• The first being Jesus. The last being Adam.

• The point those two names make is that he is one of us!

• Jesus is not simply one with the whole Jewish race;

• He is one with the whole human race! He is a son of Adam.

• He belonged to the human race, to a particular nation and tribe,

• And even to an actual human family in an actual Palestinian village.