The Pedigree of the Prince of Peace
Matt. 1.17
Dec. 2, 2013 Chester FBC, Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson
Introduction:
A Matthew 1:1-17 (NASB) 1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. 4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
1 There are 14 generation between Abraham & David, David & Babylonian Captitivity, & Captivity & Jesus.
a Geneology means “genesis, beginning, origin.”
b Jesus’ name is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word “Yeshua” (Jehovah Saves)
aa It is the name the angel told Joseph to name his son because He would “save His people from their sin.”Matthew 1:21 (HCSB)
bb Christ (Gk.) for the Hebrew “Mashiah”; Messiah/The Anointed one.
cc In OT times prophets, priests, & kings were all anointed. . . Jesus was anointed as all three!
2 He was “The” anointed ONE, “The” Messiah whom the Hebrews had long expected to come as their great deliverer & King.
B When Jesus arrived the majority of the Jews rejected Him as King/Messiah.
1 Some rejected Jesus because they knew His parents
Matthew 13:54-56 (NASB) 54 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 55 "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 "And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"
a Some did because He came from Nazareth
John 7:26-27 (NASB) 26 "Look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? 27 "However, we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from."
b John 7:40-41 (NASB) 40 Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, "This certainly is the Prophet." 41 Others were saying, "This is the Christ." Still others were saying, "Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?
2 Others didn’t know what I’m going to share w/ you this morning; His lineage & birthplace
John 7:42 (NASB) 42 "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"
a Matt. 1, establishes Jesus’ royal lineage.
b Matthew didn’t put the geneology of Jesus first so we’d study each of the people, but rather that each of the people pointed to the royalty of Jesus.
aa The family closet is filled with hard to pronounce names & a few skeltons.
bb Matthews geneology ascends from Abraham; Lukian account descends from Jesus.
cc Matthews account confirms Jesus royal right to the throne of David; Luke’s account confirms the blood right to the throne of David.
C Jesus’ origin story is interesting for many reasons, one being there are 4 women mentioned (highly uncommon.)
I Tamar (The salvation Jess brings is for sinners.)
Matthew 1:2-3 (NASB) 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
A Judah was Tamar’s father-in-law: Tamar’s first marriage to Er ended so Er’s brother was next to ease right on in.
1 He, Onan, refused to take Tamar as his wife & the youngest boy (Shelah) either forgot or refused his responsibility . . . so Tamar disguised herself as a hooker (Gen. 38.15) and tricked Judah into thinking she was a prostitute so as become pregnant.
Genesis 38:15 (NASB) 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face.
a She had twins (Perez & Zerah.)
b This whole story is in Gen. 38 is quit fascinating if not out and out weird. (What’s most bizzare is that the story in the origin story of Jesus.)
2 What Tamar’s story reminds us of is that our Savior is a friend to sinners! (Didn’t just come for sinners; He came from sinners.)
a In His ministry He associated with prostitutes, tax collectors, & drunkards (Matt. 11.19.)
Matthew 11:19 (NASB) 19 "The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
aa He choice of friends made church people furious (Matt. 9.13b.)
Matthew 9:13 (NASB) 13 “...for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
bb Judged Him by the company that He kept.
b He didn’t mean people could be righteous enough to get to heaven on their own . . . rather the Pharisees were sinners who needed a Savior as much as any tax collector, drunk, addict, prostitute.
B We may think, “I’m not as sinful as a hooker or swindler. I’m not a bad person; definitely better than those people.”
1 If this is your mind set, you are in danger of being like a Pharisee & their self-righteousness caused them to miss the Savior.
a All of our good deeds, righteous acts will never make up for a single one of our sins.
b To recognize/realize the reason Jesus came we must recognize we have sinned against a Holy God & we need a savior.
2 IL
II Rahab (Salvation is through faith)
Matthew 1:5 (NASB) 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
A When you think of Thomas you think “doubter”, when you think Rahab you think “prostitute.”
1 She was a working girl in Jericho (BTW; She was a Canaanite woman/exluded from God’s covenant with His people.
a Joshua 2:1 (HCSB) 1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.
b She came to believe in the God of Israel, gave safe harbor to the Hebrew spies, & begged the spies to spare her and her families life when everything hit the fan.
2 In Heb 11.31, we see her “faith;” James 2.25 tells us her “works.” (NOT CONTRADICTION)
Hebrews 11:31 (NASB)31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
James 2:25 (NASB) 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
a James is making a case that saving faith is more intellectual assent. (The demons/devil believe in Jesus & they’re lost.)
b Saving faith always results in a life of obedience.
c Rahab demonstrated her faith by protecting the Hebrew Spies.
B The balance we find in what Hebrews & James says about Rahab is of great importance for us today.
1 We tell people to believe in Jesus as Savior, then they’ll be saved and go to heaven. (That’s all true . . . but they fail to understand what it means to “believe” in Jesus.)
a Believe DOES NOT mean to agree that Jesus is Savior and go on living as you always have.
b Genuine saving faith ALWAYS includes a turning away from sin.
aa 1 John 2:3 (NASB) 3 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.
bb Matthew 1:5 (NASB) 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
Rahab has a husband—shows she turned from her life as a prostitute.
2 By faith in God’s promise, she experienced God’s salvation.
a By His grace, she even became an ancestor of the Savior.
b It makes no difference where you’ve been or what you’ve done . . . when you really get God and He really gets you . . . you have a new future.
III Ruth (God’s salvation is for gentiles)
Matthew 1:5 (NASB) 5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
A Ruth, unlike Tamar/Rahab/Bathseba) was a really good, moral girl.
1 She too was a gentile (Moabite) who married a Jew (He died.)
a She moved to Bethlehem when her mother-in-law returned to Israel.
b She makes a great confession
Ruth 1:16 (NASB) 16 “... for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
2 Ruth was a good, moral woman, but the Law excluded her from the people of God
Deuteronomy 23:3 (NASB) 3 "No Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of the LORD; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, shall ever enter the assembly of the LORD,
a No matter how good, moral she was . . . she couldn’t break the curse of the Law
James 2:10 (NASB) 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.
b Long story short: Ruth found grace/love in the eyes of Boas (Kinsmen Redeemer) who purchased her to be his bride.
aa She didn’t deserve/earn the grace & love of Boaz.
bb This gentile woman was bought so she could be under the blessing of covenant.
B Ruth is a picture of what our kinsmen redeemer paid for us to be apart of His flock!
1 Jesus, our kinsmen redeemer, paid for us with His own blood to redeem us!
2 As a result of what Jesus did on Calvary, we Gentiles, who were formally excluded from God’s people, even if we were good/moral people, were condemned by His Law, were bought into His family as His chosen Bride.
IV Bathsheba (The Salvation Jesus brings is sufficient to preserve His people in spite of their sin.)
Matthew 1:6 (NASB) 6 Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.
A Bathsheba’s name is not referred to as “her who had been the wife of Uriah.”
1 Alludes to her & David’s sin of adultery.
a She was probably a Jew
1 Chronicles 3:5 (NASB) 5 These were born to him in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan and Solomon, four, by Bath-shua the daughter of Ammiel;
b She was a believer & yet fell into gross sin.
aa We should never justify/excuse her sin, her story is proof of God’s preserving grace.
bb She, although she really messed up, still had a place in the story of salvation.
2 Luke 22:31-32 (NASB) 31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat;32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."
(Peter, you’re gonna fall— you’ll come back.)
a Christian, I’d never justify/excuse sin . . . but you can always come back home again!
b You can still be in the story!
Philippians 1:6 (NASB) 6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
B IL
Conclusion:
A These four women illustrate from four different angels the great news that God saves sinners.
1 If you’ve failed . . . God sent a savior for you!
a Maybe you skeletons in your family closet (maybe you are the skeleton in the family closet.)
b This origin story invites you to come to Jesus & ask Him to save you from your sins.
c Maybe you’re saved and have fallen into the snare of sin . . . this story tells you that you can come back home.
d There’s still room in the story for us!!!
2 Jesus’ genealogy should give us hope as we think on His birth.
a It was 2,000 years before God fulfilled His promise to Abraham, 1,000 years to fulfill His promise to David. . . . God kept His promises on God’s own time.
b 2,000 years ago, Jesus promised to come back.
aa
bb I for one, still believe!!!
B The stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth & Bathsheba proves Jesus’ salvation is for sinners of every shape, size, & color: The covenants God made with Abraham & David proves God keeps His promises.
1 This is the day of salvation, tomorrow may be the day of judgement.
2 Come to Christ while you can.
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