Today we launch a special time for you and our church. You’ve Got the Time is more than a sermon series, it’s a spiritual growth campaign. It’s time where you are empowered to finally finish the entire New Testament in a little more than a month. Surveys reveal that many people spend more time showering and talking on the phone than reading their Bibles in a given week. You’ve Got the Time is a simple tool aimed to fix your spiritual inertia.
You’ve Got the Time is taking 28 minutes a day to listen to the New Testament on mp3. You’ll cover the entire New Testament in just forty days. You listen on your iPod, your computer, as you exercise, or on your way to work. 28 minutes a day for forty days – it’s just that simple. You can pick up free mp3s at any of our exits as you leave today. Our entire church family is beginning today. If you’re doing with me, just put on one of the wristbands to remind yourself. If you have questions, see anyone in the green shirts. I’ll be preaching on selected Scriptures throughout 40 days as you listen. In addition, you can check http://www.scottmaze.com where you’ll find short articles explaining some of the more difficult passages.
Today, I want to tackle a passage that for many of you might be thought of as dull genealogy. You might be tempted to think the first words of the New Testament are just throwaway words. Many would simply dismiss this passage as boring and irrelevant. Yet, we would make a serious mistake if we thought lightly of any single sentence in pages of the New Testament. Why?
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
The Power of the Bible
Why should you devote a month to listening to the New Testament? Even the most prejudiced person against the Bible would admit that the Bible is a unique book. If for no other reason than this Book, though it has existed for many centuries, is the most taught, bought, distributed, and loved book in existence today.
It is not an exaggeration to say that no text has been criticized as much as the Bible. During the Stalin era in Russia, the Marxist government derided the Bible as a book full of legends, myths, and old wives’ tales. Stalin’s government even established an anti-Bible museum in Moscow to try to convince the people. Why would a government take time to build and maintain such a museum? Because they knew that this One Book had the unique power to change people’s lives.
Scripture is God’s very words. It has the power to change lives. The book you have on your lap is a living book and it is unlike any other book in existence today. It has the power to change your life.
Let’s dig in…
In place of reading today’s text, I want you to hear the passage read as you would listen to it in the campaign. Play mp3 of Matthew 1:1-17.
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.” (Matthew 1:1-17)
Listing a person’s family tree is an odd way of starting the most significant book of all time. No other Gospel begins the way Matthew’s does. Yet, for Jewish readers of Matthew’s day, it wasn’t unusual. Genealogies were a big deal for the Jewish people; Jewish families commonly kept private family records. Against the common notion that these words are boring and irrelevant is to see their importance. Genealogies were significant because they communicate a person’s social’s standing and status. A person’s family line, if it was prominent, conveyed his importance. And Jesus’ family tree shows His pedigree. Jesus’ family line travels through many of the Old Testament luminaries such as Solomon, David, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. All Jewish people took great pride from descending from the great patriarchs such as Abraham. Again, this family tree is important because it shows Jesus’ pedigree.
You can think of these as three pivot points to Jesus’ family tree. The first pivot, in verses 2- 6a, lists Jesus’ family from Abraham to David. The second pivot, in verses 6b- 11, lists Jesus’ family from David to the deportation (or Solomon to Jechoniah). And the third pivot lists Jesus’ family from the deportation to Jesus Himself (or from Shealtiel to Jesus Himself. You’ll see the sketch of these three pivots by looking again at Matthew 1:1: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (Matthew 1:1) It’s here that you see the progression of Jesus’ family tree only in reverse. So verse one is the brief outline while verses two through seventeen fill out of the details of what has already been sketched in verse one.
So how can you be spiritually nourished by a Person’s genealogy?
1. Skeletons in Jesus’ Family
Jesus’ family tree focuses mainly on men but with four notable exceptions. You’ll note the listing of four woman’s names: Tamar in verse three, Rahab in verse five, Ruth also in verse five, and Bathsheba at the end of verse six. All of these women were involved in some kind of scandal. Yet, all were chosen by God to form an essential part of history’s greatest story. Let me introduce you to these four ladies.
1.1 Tamar (Matthew 1:3)
Tamar’s story is found in the first book of the Bible, Genesis 38. Tamar was married to a wicked man. So wicked that God killed him to rid the earth of his sin. God commanded his brother, Onan, to father children with Tamar. This was the custom in the days of the Old Testament as children would grow up and eventually provide for their mothers. Yet, Onan, the brother-in-law, would not comply with God’s command. Therefore, God killed him because of his wicked and selfish heart.
Because both of his two sons were killed, Judah, Tamar’s father-in-law, tells her to live as a widow in her father’s home until his third son is old enough to father children with her. Yet, Judah wrongly forgets about his daughter-in-law. In time, Judah’s wife dies and he goes to the city of Timnah where Tamar has dressed up as a prostitute. Unknowingly, Judah sleeps with his former daughter-in-law as she had covered her face with a veil. Before he leaves, Judah leaves some of his personal effects with this unknown prostitute as a pledge that he would send a payment for her services.
Allow me to quote from Genesis 38:24-26:
About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” 25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” 26 Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again. (Genesis 38:24-26)
She gave birth to Perez and Zerah, the son of Tamar and her father-in-law, Judah. You’ll find the names of Judah, Tamar, Perez, Zerah in verse three. The product of this unseemly relationship is a great-grandfather to Jesus Christ. Yes, this family is part of Jesus’ family three.
1.2 Rahab (Matthew 1:5)
The second woman we meet is Rahab. Rahab’s last name is not known. Yet, if you studying her life for any length of time, you’ll soon hear her referred to as “Rahab, the Harlot.” Rahab was a prostitute. She is best known for assisting the spies of Israel as they sought to occupy the territory (Joshua 2). Rahab lived in Jericho, a military town nestled into the interior of the Promised Land. Prostitutes would often run inns and so visitors would visit find rest there even if they had no intention of procuring the lady’s services. The Bible says that Rahab feared God and therefore protected the slaves. Only her family’s lives were spared of all the citizens of Jericho (Joshua 6:22-25).
According to Matthew 1, Rahab’s child is a great-grandfather to Jesus. Yes, one of Jesus’ great-grandmothers is a prostitute.
1.3 Ruth (Matthew 1:5)
The third woman we meet is Ruth. Ruth is morally the least questionable of the four women. She has her own book in the Bible that describes her story in considerable detail. Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi, lived during the time of a great famine. Naomi’s husband and two sons died, including Ruth’s husband, causing them to travel to Israel from Ruth’s native Moab. But the story doesn’t end there. Instead, we learn that Ruth is savaging for food on the outskirts of the farmland of a man named Boaz. It was there that she soon caught the eye of Boaz and later married him. Boaz rescued both Ruth and her former mother-in-law from the grips of poverty.
What makes Ruth unique is her bloodline. She was not Jewish as she was from the country of Moab. A closer look at these women shows that all four were foreigners. Tamar was from Aram, which made her a Canaanite. Rahab was from Jericho, which also made her a Canaanite. And Bathsheba (more on her in just a minute) was a Hittite.
You might remember that magi came to visit Jesus at His birth. God led these non-Jewish men to see His Son by a star. You see even at Jesus’ birth, He was to be the Savior of the world and not just the Jews.
1.4 Bathsheba (Matthew 1:6)
The fourth woman we meet is Bathsheba. At the very thought of the fourth women’s name, even Matthew blushes to name her directly but only says, “by the wife of Uriah.” Bathsheba was identified as an exceptionally beautiful woman. David, the king of Israel, saw the beautiful Bathsheba bathing as he walked on his roof. We’re not told how long David deliberated over his plan, but the king sent messengers for her and “took her” (2 Samuel 11:4). What David hadn’t considered is that Bathsheba became pregnant. In order to conceal her pregnancy, David had her husband killed in battle. God sent a preacher named Nathan to confront David and God took the life of the child as punishment for David’s sin. Only the story doesn’t end there as David and Bathsheba have another child: Solomon And yes, their child, Solomon, is in the family tree of none other than Jesus Himself. David, Bathsheba, and Solomon are great grandparents to Jesus. Her story is told in the Old Testament book of 2 Samuel 11-12.
Now, how can a genealogy feed me spiritually?
Three of these women were involved in immoral sexual relationships. These three women were notable sinners: Tamar plays the prostitute to seduce Judah; Rahab is a prostitute; Bathsheba commits adultery with David These women were women with tawdry pasts.
The inclusion of these four women’s names is all the more remarkable as you contrast the names of certain women who are not listed. For example, nowhere does Matthew mention such good women as Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, or Leah. These four matriarchs were the wives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are conspicuous by their absence. For the patriarchal Jewish society of the day, you might have included the names of certain women if the woman’s purity or dignity would have enhanced the pedigree. Yet, one gets the impression that Matthew pored over his Old Testament until he could locate the most questionable relationships possible.
You see Matthew wanted to preach the Gospel even when telling the story of Jesus’ family. By including these four women, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, the Bible tells the story of God’s deep forgiveness and wide mercy.
Had all of the descendants been alive and gathered together in one place, Jesus could have introduced you to His family: a possible rape victim and adulterer, a prostitute, and Tamar, who forced herself to sleep with her father in law to keep in order to avoid the shame of being barren. Quite a family reunion. Reminds me more of a Jerry Springer show than a family. Jesus is no ordinary Savior. He has the power to flip the most entrenched sinners and make them whole.
2. God Funnels History
Those of you who have been around a couple of months, know some of us in the church have been reading a book together called Through the Gates of Splendor. Recently as was wrapping up my reading and putting the finishing touches on the blog, I came across the story of Steve Saint. Steve was just five years old when his father, along with four other missionaries, was martyred in Ecuador more than a half-century ago. In just two short years, two of the widows lived among the very people who killed their husbands Steve became family friends with the very man who killed his hero, his father. In fact, he calls this man his grandfather today. But at five years of age, Steve saw little of this. At five years of age, his father had promised him that he would teach him to fly. And now, he had no one to teach him. His fascinating story was recently made into a movie, The End of the Spear.
In the process of making the movie, Steve explained that a replica of his father’s plane was needed. Although his father didn’t have the time to teach him how to fly and build a plane, Steve had figured it out through the years. So Steve built the plane that was used in the movie. More than this, there was no one around who wanted to fly the plane in the remote jungles of Ecuador. Someone to land the plane in 300-foot airstrips and along jungles rivers. So Steve Saint, the son of Missionary Pilot, Nate Saint, flew the plane for the movie. He landed the plane on sandbars and in a tight place.
Where did Steve learn to fly now that his father died? God arranged it. When Steve when to Wheaton College outside of Chicago, he bought an old WW II airplane for $2,200. He offered free rides unless you got scared. If you were scared and grabbed a hold of the two bars in front of you, then you paid $10, Steve. He paid his way through school giving free rides. Although Steve never learned to fly from his father, God had arranged for him to learn.
“Everything happens for a reason,” is something we often say. A young boy’s father isn’t around to teach him to fly and yet he builds a replica of the very plane his father flew in order to tell his father’s story. Even though his father died trying to reach the Auca people with the Gospel, Steve calls the man who killed his father, “grandfather.” The Gospel of Jesus’ death brought reconciliation.
The Puritans knew this as Providence. Providence refers to God’s invisible hand where orders the seemingly random and chaotic events of life into His order. Providence literally means “to see beforehand.” Where God orders history to a point. Or, God funnels history.
You can see this clearly when you examine Jesus’ family tree. This family tree displays God’s grand purpose throughout history. Jesus’ family embraces the whole history of God’s work with His people. It brackets the calling of Abraham to the end of time. This is significant because the numerous people involved and the number of years involved.
If you met the person who pulled off the Super Bowl… The person who coordinated all of the bands, the concessions, the media, and the VIPs involved… I think you would be impressed. So too with Jesus’ tree as God presents His coordination ability as He compresses thousands of years into this one family tree. Like the Amazon River snakes through the jungles of South America, God weaves His purpose through the lives of misfits and the downtrodden to arrive at His Son.
The skeletons just didn’t happen to appear in Jesus’ family tree. God placed each one on purpose. Who else but God could bring purity out of such scandal?
After His birth, He would turn peasant fisherman and a tax collector into men of great honor by making them among His Twelve Disciples. Even in your life, God has not made accidents. What seems to you like chaos, but if you look through God’s lens, you’ll see the steady and sure hand of God. God never has a plan B. All things work out as He has planned.
