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.
Jesus came to earth ’in human likeness’;
• Therefore he now intimately understands the problems and pressures;
• That we face day by day.
• He knew the stress and strains of family life.
• He knew the problems of making a living.
• He knew the problems of unbelieving relatives.
• He knew the pain of a loved one dying.
• He knows each and every situation we face, ‘cause he has been there!
• ill: Hebrews chapter4 verse 15;
“This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin”
(The Message):
“We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.”
Ill:
• Sir James Matthew Barrie, more commonly known as J. M. Barrie,
• The Scottish novelist and dramatist. Best remembered for creating Peter Pan,
• When his mother died he said;
• “I can look back and I cannot see the smallest thing undone”.
• For thirty years Jesus faithfully performed the smallest duties;
• Family duties, work duties, religious duties.
• By his conscientiousness in performing these small duties;
• He fitted himself for the greater task that he had come into our world to do!
Ill:
• Jesus told a parable of the talents (Matthew chapter 25 verses 21-23);
• The word to the faithful servant was;
“Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little,
I will set you over much”.
• Jesus faithfully performed the smallest duties;
• And so the greatest task in the world was given to him.
Ill:
• In Sequoia National Park in California,
• There is a big tree that stands 275 feet high and is 36 feet in diameter.
• It is called the General Sherman.
• It is known as the biggest tree in the world.
• Actually there was and still is an even taller tree than the General Sherman.
• This tree reaches from earth all the way to heaven.
• It reaches all away around the world! And extends itself throughout all eternity!
• I speak of the Tree - The Cross of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ .
Quote: Popular Christian author Max Lucado says
"[The cross] rests on the time line of history like a compelling diamond...History has idolized and despised it, gold-plated and burned it, worn it and trashed it. History has done everything but ignore it...Never has timber been regarded so sacred"
Ill:
• Video clip of this story available from www.sermonspice.com – called The Bridge.
• One summer day in 1937 John Griffith,
• Controller of a railroad drawbridge across the Mississippi,
• Took Greg, his eight-year-old son with him to work.
• About noon, John raised the bridge to let some ships pass;
• While he and Greg ate their lunch on the observation deck.
• At 1.07 p.m. John heard the distant whistle of the Memphis Express.
• He had just reached for the master lever to lower the bridge for the train,
• When he looked around for his son Greg.
• What he saw made his heart freeze.
• Greg had left the observation tower,
• Slipped and fallen into the massive gears that operated the bridge.
• His left leg was caught in the cogs of the two main gears.
• With the Memphis Express steaming closer,
• Fear & anxiety gripped John as his mind searched for options, but there were only two.
• He must either sacrifice his son and spare the passengers on the Memphis Express,
• Or sacrifice them to spare his son.
• Burying his face in his left arm, John, with an anguished cry,
• Pulled the master switch with his right hand to lower the bridge into place.
• Lord knows what anguish John Griffith had to go through,
• Whichever decision he made.
• But I know this: God values us enough to sacrifice his Son that we too might live.
• Quote John chapter 3 verse 16.
(2). It supports his authority
• Luke is the only gospel writer;
• To mention the age of Jesus at the commencement of his ministry.
• He tells us in verse 23 that he was about 30 years old.
• Aged thirty was an important age for Jewish males.
• The Jewish priests began their public service in the temple at this age
• (ill: Numbers chapter 4 verse 47),
• And Jesus (God’s great high priest) waited for this same moment;
• Before he began his public ministry.
Note: Those thirty years were certainly not wasted:
• It was during those thirty years;
• That Jesus had the opportunity to live out his own teaching!
• When he started his itinerant preaching Jesus did not say “Do as I say”;
• Instead he could say; “Do as I have done!”
• He had lived out his teaching about the family;
• In his own family.
• He lived out his teaching on relationships;
• As he mixed with sand lived among the citizens of Nazareth.
• For thirty years Jesus was able to practice what he preached;
• His words were not just ‘the truth’ it was ‘lived out, tried and tested’ truth!
Ill:
Someone once asked George Whitefield (the great 17 century preacher):
• If ‘so & so’ (one of his congregation) was a Christian.
• He replied; “Ask his wife!”
• What he meant was that he only saw the mans public side;
• A side which obviously wanted to impress and please Whitfield.
• His wife saw him at home when his guard was down;
• She could give an honest answer.
• Remember that Jesus lived out his teaching among real people.
• In family, work and in religious situations.
• For thirty years Jesus was able to practice what he preached;
• His words were not just ‘the truth’ it was ‘lived out, tried and tested’ truth!
Ill:
Chinese boy who wanted to learn about jade went to study with a talented old teacher.
• This gentle man put a piece of the precious stone into his hand;
• And told him to hold it tight.
• Then he began to talk of philosophy, men, women, the sun;
• And almost everything under it.
• After an hour he took back the stone and sent the boy home.
• The procedure was repeated for several weeks.
• The boy became frustrated. When would he be told about the jade?
• He was too polite, however, to question the wisdom of his venerable teacher.
• Then one day, when the old man put a stone into his hands,
• Immediately the boy cried, ‘That’s not jade!’“
• For thirty years Jesus was able to practice what he preached;
• His words were not just ‘the truth’ it was ‘lived out, tried and tested’ truth!
(3). It suggests his divinity
Luke stresses in verse 23; “Jesus was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph”.
• Quote “In heaven he had no mother and on earth he had no father”
• Ill: Luke chapter 1 verse 35 “Conceived of the Holy Spirit”.
Ill:
• He was the son of Mary, but not of Joseph.
• Quote: “In heaven he had no mother & on earth no father!”
Ill:
• In the late 1800’s there was no cure;
• For the highly contagious and deadly disease called leprosy.
• A disease that would attack the extremities of the body,
• The ears, the toes, the nose, the fingers.
On the island of Molaka, located in the state of Hawaii.
• In order to keep leprosy from spreading and creating an epidemic,
• The government would send lepers to a colony on the island of Molaka.
• On the island the lepers where secluded and isolated;
• From those who were not infected with the disease.
• In 1873, there was a young, brave Catholic priest named Father Damien;
• Who volunteered to spend his life serving the lepers of Molokai.
• When he arrived, he was startled to see people who were not only suffering physically,
• But socially, and emotionally, and spiritually.
• In the leper colony he saw extreme drunkenness, immorality, abuse,
• And an overall sense of hopelessness (no point in living!)
• He knew that the people needed Jesus Christ;
• They needed the new life he offers and the hope of the life to come!
• In 1873, Father Damien lived among the 700 lepers.
• He was well aware of the dangers,
• He knew the inevitable results of so much personal contact;
• With people infected by such a highly contagious disease.
• Father Damien built hospitals, clinics, and churches & he also built some 600 coffins.
• And the whole while he was giving them he gave them Jesus, he gave them life!
Whenever a church service was held.
• He would stand up in front of the lepers,
• And he would warmly, and lovingly address them as "my dear brethren."
• But then one morning in 1885, at the age of 45, in a calm clear voice,
• Instead of "my dear brethren," he began with, "My fellow lepers, I am one of you now."
• You see it was out of love that a humble priest became one of the them.
• Out of love he gave those lepers a gift that would change their life for all of eternity.
• He shared with them the answer to the ever present question...
• "Where is God?"
• And the only way he could give them the answer;
• Is by becoming one of them
THE LIST OF NAMES TELLS US TWO TRUTHS ABOUT OURSELVES.
(1). All People are important.
We know very little about most of the names mentioned.
• A few are famous but most are unknowns.
• Yet they all take their part in the Messiah’s line.
• Note: It was unusual for women to be named in official genealogies;
• (Matthew in his list names 4 of them!)
Ill:
In April 1667, English poet John Milton;
• Signed an agreement with Samuel Simmons, a London publisher,
• By which he sold the copyright of Paradise Lost for five pounds,
• Plus five pounds for the sale of each of three subsequent editions,
• An edition comprising 1,500 copies.
• Milton received a second five pounds in April 1669,
• Making a grand total of 10 pounds to the author of England’s greatest epic.
• After his death, Milton’s widow Elizabeth;
• Sold all remaining rights for eight pounds to Simmons,
• Who became perpetual copyright owner.
• It’s hard to imagine someone selling something of such great value for so little.
Unlike Milton’s publishers:
• God never rips his people off or take unfair advantage of them.
• These unknown names (& elsewhere in the OT) reminds us that God remembers his people!
Ill:
Irving Berlin was one of the most prolific American songwriters in history.
• He wrote, "I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,"
• Which still ranks as the all-time best-selling musical score.
• In a newspaper interview he was asked,
• "Is there any question you’ve never been asked that you would like someone to ask you?"
• "Well, yes, there is one," he replied.
• "’What do you think of the many songs you’ve written that didn’t become hits?’
• He then said my reply would be that
• “I still think they are wonderful."
• God, too, has an unshakable delight in what - and whom - he has made.
• He thinks each of his children is wonderful,
• And whether they’re a "hit" in the eyes of others or not,
• He will always think they’re wonderful.
(2). All People will die.
• All the people mentioned are dead.
• Apart from Jesus himself;
• All the others in the list of names are dead.
Quote: Bishop J.C. Ryle:
• “They all had their joys and sorrows, their hopes and fears,
• their cares and troubles, their schemes and plans, like any of ourselves.
• But they have all passed away from earth, and gone to their own place.
• And so it will be with us. We too are passing away, and soon shall be gone”.
Ill:
As he was preparing to leave the examination room;
• A sick man turned to his doctor and said,
• "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."
• Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don’t know."
• The man replied; "You don’t know?”
• “I thought you were a Christian and you do not know what is on the other side?"
• The doctor was holding the handle of the door;
• On the other side of which came a sound of scratching and whining,
• And as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room;
• And leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.
• Turning to the patient, the doctor said,
• "Did you notice my dog? He’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside.”
• He knew nothing, except that his master was here,
• And when the door opened, he sprang in without fear.
• I know little of what is on the other side. I know my Master Jesus Christ is there,
• And that is enough.”
Quote:
“When you were born you cried and everyone else was happy,
Make sure that when you die, you are happy and everyone else cries!”
Ill:
One morning in 1888 Alfred Noble,
• The inventor of dynamite, awoke to read his own obituary.
• The obituary was printed as a result of a simple journalistic error.
• You see, it was Alfred’s brother that had died;
• And the reporter carelessly reported the death of the wrong brother.
• Anyone of us would be disturbed under the circumstances,
• But to Alfred the shock was overwhelming;
• Because he saw himself as the world saw him. The “Dynamite King,”
• The great industrialist who had made an immense fortune from explosives.
• This, as far as the general public was concerned,
• Was the entire purpose of Alfred’s life.
• He was simply a merchant of death.
• And for that alone he would be remembered.
• As he read the obituary with horror,
• He resolved to make clear to the world the true meaning and purpose of his life.
• This could be done through the final disposition of his fortune.
• His last will and testament would be the expression of his life’s ideals and ultimately would be why we would remember him.
• The result was the most valuable of prizes given;
• To those who had done the most for the cause of world peace.
• It is called today, the “Nobel Peace Prize.”
