A Season to Embrace
Matthew 1:1-17
December 3, 2000
Morning Service
Introduction
I. We are starting the Advent season
A. The season of Christ’s birth
B. A new message series: Discover Christ in Christmas
1. The series will focus on the message of Christmas
2. This morning’s message will be A Season to Embrace
II. The poem Can this Be Christmas?
Can This Be Christmas
What’s all this hectic rush and worry?
Where go these crowds who run and curry?
Why all the lights -- the Christmas trees?
The jolly "fat man," tell me please!
Why, don’t you know? This is the day
For parties and for fun and play;
Why this is Christmas!
So this is Christmas, do you say?
But where is Christ this Christmas day?
Has He been lost among the throng?
His voice drowned out by empty song?
No. He’s not here -- you’ll find Him where
Some humble soul now kneels in prayer,
Who knows the Christ of Christmas.
But see the many aimless thousands
Who gather on this Christmas Day,
Whose hearts have never yet been opened,
Or said to Him, "Come in to stay."
In countless homes the candles burning,
In countless hearts expectant yearning
For gifts and presents, food and fun,
And laughter till the day is done.
But not a tear of grief or sorrow
For Him so poor He had to borrow
A crib, a colt, a boat, a bed
Where He could lay His weary head.
I’m tired of all this empty celebration,
Of feasting, drinking, recreation;
I’ll go instead to Calvary.
And there I’ll kneel with those who know
The meaning of that manger low,
And find the Christ -- this Christmas.
I leap by faith across the years
To that great day when He appears
The second time, to rule and reign,
To end all sorrow, death, and pain.
In endless bliss we then shall dwell
With Him who saved our souls from hell,
And worship Christ -- not Christmas!
M. R. DeHaan, M.D. Founder, Radio Bible Class
III. How do we embrace the season of Advent?
A. We often are caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season
B. We need to recapture our focus on Christ
1. It is time that the church puts Christ back into Christmas
2. We need to take a time out from the Christmas rush and get our focus on Christ
Read Text – Matthew 1:1-17
Body
I. God deployed His Son
A. God had prepared us for a savior
1. Matthew is points to Jesus’ person
a.) Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua; which means God saves or God is my savior.
b.) Matthew is pointing out the fact that Jesus is the means that god was using to bring salvation into the world.
2. Matthew points to Jesus’ position
a.) Matthew includes the title Christ with Jesus’ name
1.) This is not an accident or just a happenstance but rather it is an intentional decision and profession of faith
2.) The word Christ (Christos) is the Greek form of the Hebrew word Mashia or Meshiac. This is where we get the English word Messiah.
3.) The Hebrew word is a royal term given to kings in Israel
b.) The deeper meaning Christ
1.) The word Mashia literally refered to the process of being anointed. These individuals were then given the title anointed one
2.) The Jewish culture had three offices that were anointed.
Prophets: These were individuals who were chosen by God as His personal spokesmen. They were in charge of speaking to the people with the word god gave to them.
Priests: These were God’s chosen religious and ritual leaders. They were in charge of worship and sacrifice.
Kings: These were God’s appointed leaders of the nation of Israel.
3.) Jesus, as the Messiah, held all three offices prophet, priest and king. Thus, He was the Anointed One of God
B. God has prepared us for His Son
1. Matthew includes Jesus’ genealogy to communicate His place as Messiah
a.) Matthew is giving us the origin of Jesus
b.) This is the line of Jesus’ family from generation to generation
2. Reasons for Matthew’s genealogy
a.) Matthew is tracing the family line of Jesus through the royal families
1.) Matthew begins this genealogy with Abraham
2.) Why did Matthew trace back so far?
b.) Matthew is making a legal claim for Jesus
1.) Matthew makes the claim that Jesus was born from the family of Abraham. This makes Him Jewish
2.) Matthew makes the claim that Jesus was from the line of David. This allows Jesus to be the Messiah
II. God distributed His Grace
A. God shows His grace in the lives of two men
1. David – The greatest king in Israel’s history
a.) David was indeed a great king and a great hero but he was far from perfect
b.) David made a number of critical mistakes
1.) David committed adultery with Bathsheba and then murdered her husband to cover it up
2.) David’s personal status as a warrior kept him from building the temple. He had shed the blood of hundreds. This was not a mistake but a fact
3.) David did not maintain his household. He did not discipline his children and there was great havok in his life
2. Abraham – The foundation of the Hebrew nation
a.) Abraham was the source of the nation
1.) He had great faith and followed God away from his family
2.) He was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac to keep his loyalty to God
b.) Abraham had a problem with lying
1.) Twice Abraham lied in foreign territory about Sarah to save his own neck
2.) Abraham schemed and plotted to try to achieve God’s plan but his own efforts led to disaster.
B. God reveals His mercy by including four women
1. The nature of the inclusion
a.) Ancient genealogies almost never mentioned the names of women. Virtually none of the Hebrew have any women’s names. The culture was oriented around men and there was no need to mention the women.
b.) Matthew gives the names of four women. This fact makes this genealogy amazing for its time. The character of these women makes it even more amazing.
2. The nature of these women
a.) Tamar pretended to be a prostitute
b.) Rahab was a prostitute
c.) Ruth was morally pure but she was not a Jew. Her inclusion mixed the Messiah’s ancestry with gentile blood.
d.) Bathsheeba committed adultery with David
3. God includes these women to show something of his nature
a.) There are no barriers to the mercy and love of God
1.) God does not base His mercy on sex, race or sin.
2.) God’s love is lavished on those who deserve it the least
b.) This is a beautiful picture of grace
1.) What an incredible living example of the love of Christ.
2.) Jesus could love the unlovable because the unlovable were in His own family.
C. God reveals His love by including both the righteous and wicked kings
1. The righteous kings
a.) Solomon, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Josiah and Hezekiah
b.) These men walked with God and followed his direction for the nation and for their lives.
2. The wicked kings
a.) Rehoboam, Abia, Joram, Manasseh and Jeconiah
b.) These kings were the height of pagans. They did a great deal to harm God’s plan for his people.
3. Some important lessons
a.) Righteousness does is not an inheritance
1.) Not one of these kings was able to pass their character to the next in their line
2.) God does not force anyone to follow Him
b.) Every person has free will
1.) Each person is responsible for themselves
2.) A person may have godly parents and godly examples but righteousness is not passed from person to person
3.) Righteousness comes only from God
III. God displayed His Power
A. God delivered His people
1. God kept His people together through the Babylonian crisis
a.) Babylonians would totally destroy nations they conquered
1.) Babylonian government scattered people across their empire
2.) This crushed any resistance. They stripped the people of their cultural identity and loyalty
b.) God preserved the nation through this attempt to destroy them
2. God returned His people to their own land
B. God delivered the Messiah
1. God protected and preserved His people
a.) There were many attempts to destroy Israel but no one ever succeeded
b.) This is a sign of hope
1.) God has a purpose and plan for His people
2.) God is going to do everything in His power to make that plan a reality
2. God is faithful to His people
a.) Many lost hope for the Messiah
1.) God was not working as many had believed it should
2.) God does not always lead as we might expect
b.) This is true today – God is still faithful
1.) We are also waiting for the Messiah. We are waiting for Him to return
2.) Don’t lose hope. Don’t lose heart. Don’t lose faith. God always does what he promises to do
Conclusion – What lessons do we learn from the family tree of Jesus?
I. God keeps His word
A. God does what He says He will do
1. God gave His word with…
a.) Abraham: God gave Abraham the promise of a great land and a great nation
b.) David: God made the promise to David that there would be an eternal kingdom from his line
2. God kept His promises through Jesus
B. God’s faithfulness in the past should bring us confidence for the future
1. Just as God sent His messiah, God will keep all of His promises
a.) God’s plan is in God’s hand
b.) God has promised the return of Jesus. It will happen when it is time and not a moment sooner
2. God’s time is not always our time
a.) God’s timing is perfect in every way
b.) We are like children and we want our way and we want it now
c.) God does His work, His way and in His time
II. God has given us the way
A. God provided Jesus for us to find salvation
1. Jesus is God’s greatest example of grace and mercy
2. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Him
B. Jesus made a full and complete sacrifice
1. He left his glory in heaven for poverty on earth
2. He lived a life of difficulty and hardship
3. He died a criminal’s death so you and I might have life
4. God raised Jesus from the dead and made Him both Lord and Christ
III. God wants us in His will
A. Christianity is a personal choice
1. No one an force a person to believe
2. No one can cover another person with their faith
B. God’s plan is that none would be lost
1. God made the provision and has given grace
2. Now is the time for our choice – will you take the time to embrace Christ this Advent season
