A Messiah of Heritage
Text: Matt. 1:1-17
Introduction
1. Illustration: A Jewish father was concerned about his son. He had not truly raised him to be grounded in the faith of Judaism… So, hoping to remedy this he sent his son to Israel so the boy could experience his heritage. A year later the young man returned home. He said, "Father, thank you for sending me to the land of our Fathers. It was wonderful and enlightening. However, I must confess that while in Israel I converted to Christianity." "Oh (groan) what have I done?" the father thought. So in the tradition of the patriarchs he went to his best friend and sought his advice and solace. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated his friend, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian." So in the traditions of the Patriarchs they went to the Rabbi. "It is amazing that you should come to me," stated the Rabbi, "I too sent my son to Israel and he returned a Christian. What is happening to our sons? “Brothers, we must take this to the Lord," said the Rabbi. They fell to their knees and began to wail and pour out their hearts to the Almighty. As they prayed, the clouds above opened and a mighty voice stated, "Amazing that you should come to Me. I, too, sent My Son to Israel..."
2. Most of us when we come upon a list of genealogies in Scripture have a tendency to skip over them because they a long, difficult to pronounce, and what can we really get out of them anyway?
3. However, we must remember that "all Scripture is God-breathed and useful to teach what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives" (2 Tim. 3:16).
4. For example, from the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel we learn that Jesus had a:
a. Royal Foundation
b. All-inclusive Foundation
c. Grace Foundation
d. Second Chance Foundation
e. Hopeful Foundation
5. Read Matt. 1:1-17
Proposition: The coming of Jesus was the fulfillment of the promises of God.
Transition: Most importantly, Jesus had...
I. A Royal Foundation (1)
A. Descendant of David and Abraham
1. Matthew’s whole purpose in writing this gospel was to prove that Jesus is the long awaited Messiah of Israel.
2. He begins this gospel by saying, "This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah..."
a. Matthew makes his point clear in the opening words of his genealogy: a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, literally, the "book of the genesis of Jesus the Messiah."
b. Does the name Genesis ring a bell for anyone?
c. Matthew gets this phrase from passages in Genesis ("the book of the generations of" in Gen 2:4; 5:1; 10:1, translated "account of" in the NLT), but his use of the phrase contrasts drastically with the use in Genesis.
d. Genealogies like those in Genesis typically list a person’s descendants after this phrase, rather than his ancestors.
e. Matthew’s point here is profound: so much is Jesus the focal point of history that his ancestors depend on him for their meaning (Keener, IVPNT Commentary: Matthew, 53).
3. He goes on to say that Jesus is "a descendant of David and of Abraham."
a. Matthew calls Jesus son of David, a title of the rightful heir to Israel’s throne. Other lines of evidence support the claim that Jesus’ family stemmed from this royal lineage, and ancient Jewish scholars never bothered to try to refute it (Keener, 51).
b. This is important because God had made a promise to David that the Messiah would come from his lineage.
c. Thus Matthew opens and closes the genealogy with a title for Jesus that is significant but rare in his Gospel: Messiah.
4. Next Matthew calls Jesus son of Abraham.
a. This is especially significant because subsequent chapters further portray Jesus as Israel’s representative, the epitome of its history.
b. As the heir of Abraham par excellence, Jesus can communicate Abraham’s promised blessings to his people (Keener, 52).
c. Genesis 12:3 (NLT)
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
B. Royal Priesthood
1. Illustration: People will pay big bucks to be royal. A scrap book that once belonged to Britain’s Queen Victoria is now up for auction, and the current high bid is £53,400 (101,117.42 dollars). One of the bidders is hoping to prove royal heritage through a hair that belonged to Victoria contained in the memorabilia. But, to be of regal birth, one doesn’t need to be descended from the great kings and queens of history. One only needs to believe in Jesus Christ.
2. 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
3. We need to realize who we are in Christ.
a. We are not a bunch of rag tag vegrants.
b. We are not a collection of second-class citizens.
c. We are not an assortment of worthless, meaningless castoffs.
d. We are the royal children of the King of Kings!
e. John 1:12-13 (NLT)
12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
13 They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
4. We need to realize what we have in Christ.
a. In Christ we have authority.
b. In Christ we have every spiritual blessing.
c. In Christ we have a glorious future.
d. In Christ we have victory!
Transition: In Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus we learn that Jesus has...
II. An All-Inclusive Foundation (2-6)
A. Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba
1. This next section is important for two reasons.
a. As important as Jesus’ family background may have been, that was not quite what a reader who read the genealogy would emphasize.
b. In this section Matthew is most interested in Jesus’ spiritual ancestry in Israel’s history (Johnson 1988:209-10).
c. The names in Matthew’s genealogy-like Judah, Ruth, David, Uzziah, Hezekiah, Josiah-would immediately evoke for Matthew’s audience a whole range of stories they had learned about their heritage from the time of their childhood.
d. By evoking great heroes of the past like David and Josiah, Matthew reminds his audience of the ultimate hero of Israel’s history to whom all those stories pointed (Keener, 53).
2. However, no list of names shows this more distinctly than v. 2: "Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers."
a. The list of names in this verse are generally referred to as "The Patriarchs."
b. No name is more important in the history of the Jewish people than Abraham.
c. It was to him that the promise of the Messiah began and Covenant with God was established.
d. Genesis 12:1-2 (NLT)
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others.
3. However, another important aspect that is stressed in this section is the inclusion of all people in the gospel.
a. Genealogies need include only men, so the unexpected appearance of four women draws attention to them.
b. Had Matthew merely meant to evoke the history of Israel in a general way, one would have expected him to have named the matriarchs of Israel: Sarah, Rebekah, Leah and Rachel.
c. Or to evoke supernatural births as a prelude to Mary’s, he could cite Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel, whose wombs God opened.
d. Instead he names four women whose primary common link is their apparent Gentile ancestry: Tamar of Canaan, Rahab of Jericho, Ruth the Moabite and the ex-wife of Uriah the Hittite (Keener, 54).
4. In v. 5 it says, "Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse."
a. Rahab was the prostitute who befriended the Israelite spies in Jericho, and later was welcomed into the community. She was not only a prostitute but a Gentile.
b. Ruth was the Moabite woman whose life is the basis of the Old Testament book which bears her name.
c. Even though Moabites were forbidden by the law of Moses to enter into the house of the Lord until the 10th generation, she became the great-grandmother of King David (Horton, CBL: Matthew, 21).
d. Even more interesting is the fact that Rahab was the mother of Boaz, the husband of Ruth, and therefore, Ruth’s mother-in-law. They must have had an interesting relationship (Horton, 21).
5. Matthew continues this theme in v. 6 when he says, "Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah)."
a. "Widow of Uriah," whom we know as Bathsheba, is the fourth woman named in the line of Jesus.
b. She was a person of questionable ethical and moral character, like Tamar and Rahab before her (Wilkins, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Matthew, 61).
c. She was an adulteress who was the downfall of King David, and yet she was included in the genealogy of Jesus.
B. For All People
1. Illustration: In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India. So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own people. Gandhi left the church and never returned. "If Christians have caste differences also," he said, "I might as well remain a Hindu." That usher’s prejudice not only betrayed Jesus but also turned a person away from trusting Him as Savior (Our Daily Bread, March 6, 1994).
2. Luke 2:10-11 (NLT)
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
3. Jesus is a Messiah for all people.
a. For the poor
b. For the rich
c. For the outcasts
d. For the sinners
4. Jesus is a Messiah for all who call upon Him.
a. Acts 2:21 (NLT)
But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
b. Jesus will accept all who call upon Him.
c. Jesus will save all who call upon Him.
d. Jesus will forgive all who call upon Him.
Transition: However, Jesus also comes from...
III. A Grace Foundation (7-11)
A. Rehoboam, Ahaz, Jehoiachin
1. Jesus lineage also includes those who rebelled and sinned against God.
a. There is, in other words, no pattern of righteousness in the lineage of Jesus.
b. Adulterers, prostitutes, heroes, and Gentiles are all found in the genealogy from Abraham to David (Wilkins, 61).
2. This infamous section of Jesus family begins with "Solomon was the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam was the father of Abijah. Abijah was the father of Asa."
a. The dynasty of David did not begin well.
b. It began with Solomon who was known for two things: 1)he was the wisest man that ever lived, and 2)he built the magnificent temple that bore his name.
c. He proved that great wealth is not all that it is cracked up to be.
d. Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 (NLT)
18 I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned.
19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless!
e. His words came true as his son, who succeeded him on the throne, was indeed a fool. It was because of him that the 10 northern tribes seceded and formed the northern kingdom of Israel.
3. This section also includes, "Uzziah was the father of Jotham. Jotham was the father of Ahaz. Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah."
a. Uzziah was a military and economic genius, however, he forced his way into the holy of holies to offer incense which was forbidden by anyone but the High Priest.
b. As a result God struck him with leprosy, and he spent the rest of his life in quarantine in a house that was specially built for him (Horton, 23).
c. Ahaz was a wicked king, you might recall his wife, a woman named Jezabel, and about the only good thing he did was to be the father of Hezikiah.
d. The two of them co-reigned for a time until Ahaz’s death in 715 BC, but his father was so evil that Hezikiah did not recognize that those years were worth counting (Horton, 23).
4. This section concludes with "Josiah was the father of Jehoiachin and his brothers (born at the time of the exile to Babylon)."
a. Matthew’s second set of fourteen generations descends from the glory of King David to his shameful and sinful successors which leads to Israel’s exile to Babylon (Turner, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Matthew, 34).
b. It is proof that you reap what you sew.
c. It was their constant sin and rebellion that led God to allow His people to be taken into captivity.
d. Yet, in spite of all this, God promised to redeem them.
e. Jeremiah 23:3 (NLT)
But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number.
B. Sinners Saved By Grace
1. Illustration: During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net.
2. Ephesians 2:4-5 (NLT)
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
3. The coming of the Messiah is all about God’s grace.
a. We didn’t deserve it, yet He came.
b. We didn’t earn it, yet He came.
c. We rebelled against Him, still He came.
d. We rejected Him, still He came.
4. The Salvation from the Messiah is all about grace.
a. We cannot earn it, but we don’t have to because Jesus has earned it for us.
b. We cannot work our way into heaven, but we don’t have to because Jesus has already done the work for us.
c. All we have to do is receive His grace.
Transition: This also leads us to Jesus...
IV. A Second Chance Foundation (12-16)
A. Zerubbabel
1. Why is the Babylonian captivity so prominent in the genealogy of Christ?
a. Matthew wants to stress a great fact. God alone could save a nation of people through so great a trial.
b. The Babylonians took the people of the nations they conquered and scattered them in mass all over the world.
c. By such methods they destroyed the conquered nations.
d. Succeeding generations forgot their identity and loyalty to the old land and attached themselves to their present country.
e. But not so with Israel; Matthew is saying that God preserved the Jews through the impossible—an attempt to stamp them out as a nation (Preacher’s Outline and Sermon Bible - Commentary - Matthew).
f. God kept his promise and gave Israel a second chance.
2. We can see this in v. 12 which says, "After the Babylonian exile: Jehoiachin was the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel was the father of Zerubbabel."
a. Jehoiachin fathered Shealtiel, who in turn fathered Zerubbabel, the leader of the first group allowed to return to Israel from the Exile.
b. Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah under the Persian king Darius I and is held in high esteem as a man of renown in Jewish tradition (Wilkins, 62).
c. This is the fulfillment of God’s promise to bring back a remnant after 70 years of exile, just as God had promised.
d. It was a chance to start over; a second chance to get it right.
B. Messiah of the Second Chance
1. Illustration: There’s a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father. On Saturday 800 Paco’s showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers.
2. Romans 3:23-24 (NLT)
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
3. We all need a second chance.
a. None of us is guiltless.
b. None of us is without sin.
c. We all need a second chance to get it right.
4. Fortunately, we have a Messiah of the second chance.
a. He gives us a chance to be forgiven.
b. He gives us a chance to start fresh.
c. He gives us the ability to get a clean slate.
Transition: This leads us to the greatest part of the geneology...
V. A Hopeful Foundation (17)
A. Fourteen Generations
1. Matthew concludes the genealogy by saying, "All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah."
2. Matthew indicates that there are fourteen generations between Abraham and David, fourteen between David and the Exile, and fourteen between the Exile and Jesus. Why is fourteen so significant?
a. There are a number of reasons that have been suggested over the years, but the most likely one is that fourteen is a mulitple of seven (7X2=14).
b. The number 7 is generally considered to be the number of perfection in Scripture.
c. There were seven days of creation and the seventh day is a day set aside as holy to the Lord, known as the Sabbath.
3. However, there is another way in which the fourteen generations is significant.
a. Three fourteens is six sevens, and a sequence of six sevens points to the coming of a seventh seven: Jesus the Messiah - the Perfect One (France, 31-32).
b. Jesus is the hope for which we have been waiting! He is the hope of Christmas.
B. Hope
1. Illustration: Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all...As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength (G.K. Chesterton, Signs of the Times, April 1993, p. 6).
2. Psalms 25:5 (NLT)
Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
3. Jesus is our hope.
a. Hope to forgive our past.
b. Hope for our present.
c. Hope for the future.
4. Jesus gives hope where there is no hope.
a. On our own we have no hope.
b. No hope for the present; no hope for the future.
c. However, Jesus gives us hope when everything looks bleak.
d. Jesus gives us hope when all else fails.
Transition: Jesus is mankind’s only hope!
Conclusion
1. Do you need grace?
2. Do you need a second chance?
3. Do need hope?
4. Jesus can give you all this and more.
