The Origins Of A King

  

"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."

Matthew 1:1-17

 

Good Morning my beloved,

 

We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my privilege to have you here with us today. We are especially grateful for those of you who have been sharing the ministry website with all of your family and friends. Your faithfulness and commitment to share God's Word with others continues to bring about tremendous results. People are responding to God's Word! This is all so amazing. We ask you to pray that God will continue to give us boldness to speak the truth in ministry in the face of adversity in the coming days! As you may have noticed, it's becoming more and more challenging in the day in which we live.

   

I want to let all of you know how grateful I am for all of you. We are so thankful your prayers and continue to pray for all of you. Prayer is such a powerful tool, and a mighty weapon against the adversary. And through your sharing, God continues to bring a number of people to faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God! May He continue to use you and this ministry mightily to effect change in even more lives. All for His glory!

It is always my great honor and privilege to reflect upon the glories of our incarnate Savior. In our study of this marvelous book of Matthew, we will attempt to comprehend the incomprehensible. This is a tremendous book. By the time we have finished, we will have gone through all 28 chapters and see what the Spirit of God has to say to us. You can relax, we will not be doing all of that today. 

 

The book of Matthew, as many of you know, reveals Jesus Christ as King. It begins by presenting Jesus' family tree as a royal genealogy. If Jesus is to be heralded as King, then we must establish the proof that He comes from the royal line. That is exactly what Matthew does here. We know that the Jews valued their pedigrees. Thus, if anybody was going to be presented to them as a king, it was absolutely essential that he have the pedigree to be able to prove it. To the Jews, genealogies were very important. Israel’s king had to be a Jew, and not a foreigner. 

 

Later, it was revealed that he must be a descendant of David. When the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, it was important for these returned exiles to show that their roots were Jewish and were able be traced through the genealogies. In fact, no one could serve as priest whose name could not be found in the genealogical records. Rabbi Hillel, for example, was proud that he could trace his genealogy all the way back to King David. That said, I will attempt to demonstrate the usefulness of this genealogy, which was not only important for the first readers of this gospel, but also for all of us.

 

I believe that most of people do believe that genealogies are profitable information. The success of websites such as Ancestry.com and Myheritage.com would certainly validate that, large numbers of people want to know who their ancestors were. Not to mention the DNA testing kits that will trace down one's family ethnicity. And, if you've ever tried to buy a full-blooded dogs, you want to know what champions are in that dog’s bloodlines.

 

At the time when Christ was born, Israel was under oppressive Roman domination. One aspect of the oppression was the crushing Roman taxation system. Rome extracted taxes from every nation it conquered. Two taxes in particular were taken, one was the poll tax, very similar to our income tax today and the other was a ground tax, much like the property tax today. Wealthy Roman senators and predominant magistrates in Roman society would have the opportunity to buy the revenues of a certain country at public auction for a fixed price and then hold those revenues for five years. It was relentless and systematic. Needless to say, they would get as much as they could possibly get. They would then hire slaves and countrymen in the nation which had received the permission to exact the taxes. The publicans were public contractors who managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects. Because of the great financial crisis in 33 AD, Rome exacted even more taxes, creating even more tension in Israel. These publicans were considered traitors, thieves, harlots and heathen. Jesus drew this man into an amazing inner circle of twelve very unique people. Only Jesus Christ could cause such a transformation of turning a publican into an Apostle.

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, we thank You for Your Word. How thrilling this genealogy is, when you see it for what you intended it to be. Thank you for your gracious salvation and for being a forgiving God. Thank You for taking us on this exciting adventure, how devastating a blow for the self righteous of religious leaders. Lord, we love you and we praise you, we have nothing more to offer You except our worship and praise and our life long devotion. Let us lift up Your great name and exalt You before men.

In Your precious name we pray

Amen

Today's Message: The Origins Of A King

It is my great honor and privilege to be able to minister the Word of God to you today. We begin a new study in the Gospel of Matthew, which is the first book of the New Testament and is one of the three synoptic gospels. Matthew seems to emphasize that the Jewish tradition should not be lost in a church that was increasingly becoming gentile. The divine nature of Jesus was a major issue for the Matthaean community, the crucial element separating the early Christians from their Jewish neighbors; while Mark begins with Jesus' baptism and temptations, Matthew goes back to Jesus' origins, showing Him as the Son of God. Matthew’s genealogy has three divisions. It begins with Abraham and goes forward, ending with the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke’s genealogy begins with Jesus, and then going backward takes us to Adam, the "son of God." By the way, the writings of the the ancient historian Josephus, support the use of ancestral files as a part of Jewish culture around the time of Jesus Christ. One purpose of the genealogy, is to dramatically underscore the truthfulness of God’s Word. 

I encourage you to open your Bibles and turn to the Gospel of Matthew. I invite you to follow along with me as I read verses 1 through 17, to set the text in our minds, as we prepare our hearts for what the Lord is saying to us. Matthew 1:1-17. 

 

The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king.

David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.

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."

It is believed, that Matthew wrote his gospel account between 50 and 70 AD, sometime before the destruction of Jerusalem. Interestingly enough,  he always treats Matthew in a third person, the way he would treat any other individual, and he gives no particular credit to himself for anything. And, he never even claims authorship anywhere in the entire Gospel. We know he wrote, because his name is attached to all the early manuscripts, as well as the unanimous affirmation of the early church fathers. 

I believe the reason he doesn't reference himself in the first person, is because of the tremendous importance of the many events he recorded. We do know the reason why he wrote it. And, that is to rehearse the story of salvation, to demonstrate that Jesus Christ, the predicted Messiah, the Son of God, was rejected by his own people and accepted by the Gentiles. And someday, He will return to reign as King of kings and Lord of Lords.

The first thing we notice in Matthew’s Gospel is that he deal with the King revealed, Christ is presented as a king.  His ancestry is traced from the royal line and His birth was fearsome by the antagonist king. Even in His temptation, you can see the royalty of the person. Offered the kingdoms of the world by Satan, was the acknowledgment that He has a right to rule. And, John the Baptist declaring His kingdom was at hand. The next thing we notice is the King rejected. In fact, no other gospel has so much to say about his rejection as King. Matthew introduces his Gospel with the first genealogy of the New Testament. We are reminded that all in this genealogy died; all genealogies contain the record of those who have died. However, Matthew’s words seem to hint that in Jesus there begins a whole new race of people, those who are in Christ, will never die.

Matthew is the gospel of rejection. Mary, pregnant with Jesus, was in danger of being rejected by Joseph. At his birth, Herod was troubled, and sought his life, as mothers were weeping in anguish as their young males babies were being slaughtered. Jesus  would live 30 years of His life, in the obscurity of a little village called Nazareth. From the beginning to the end, Matthew's gospel describes the bitter attack on Christ. 

However, it is a gospel of triumph, as he presents the fact that He will come in the clouds with great glory; the King is returning. And, it all begin with Jesus' family tree. That is precisely what verses one to seventeen present. Another interesting thing about Matthew's gospel, it includes four women in his genealogy. This is indeed a very rare thing, especially for a Jewish genealogy. Knowing Luke, is much more likely that he would put a woman in the spotlight. But it is in Matthew’s gospel, we find these four women.In fact, these women would not typically be regarded as the most noblest of women of the Old Testament. Three of them were Gentiles by birth. And, the fourth, was a virtual Gentile by her marriage to Uriah the Hittite. 

By some self-righteous Jews, none of these women would have been considered to be "pure." However, God’s promise of salvation through the Messiah was for unworthy sinners, including Gentiles. And, in his genealogy, Matthew is teaching us that Jesus came not only for, but through, sinners. So, he highlights God's mercy in the first lines of his genealogy. Notice, Matthew very carefully details that our Lord’s lineage makes Him both a "son of David," and a "son of Abraham." Matthew is showing the legal descent of Jesus as the King of Israel. Matthew follows the royal line. In other words, lineally blood line he is of David. And, legally, He is the heir to the throne of David. Through both His mother and His father. At the time of His birth, most people thought that he was the son of some illicit affair. I believe it’s as if the Holy Spirit is saying, "Any way you look at it people, this is the one."

If Jesus had been the biological son of Joseph, He never could have sat on the throne of David. Look at Jeremiah 22, "Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, a man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah." That was the curse on Jeconiah. None of Jeconiah's offspring will ever sit on the throne of David. Therefore, God accomplished it by the virgin birth, bypassing the actual blood line of Jeconiah, yet carrying the royal right to reign. God guided every single detail. The ancient Jews, knew the curse on Jeconiah. And so, Matthew is establishing that Jesus has the right to be king!

Just look at verse 1, now, we are not going to go into all the genealogy, "The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham." In other words, this is the story of how Jesus Christ came to be. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Matthew looks back on all of this, so there is never to be a question about where He came from. Jesus is both the son of David and son of Abraham. Therefore, His connection to the Hebrews is both racial and royal. Notice, the "the son of David," is listed first, Jesus is royal first. That’s the point that Matthew is making here.

The son of David’s flesh was a disappointment, and shattered the unity of Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ, overcame both the failures of David and the failures of Solomon and with infinite wisdom, He will build a temple that shall never be destroyed. 

The son to whom Abraham looked for the fulfillment of the amazing promise of God, that seed failed and Israel failed. Issac's is a story of weakness, of failure, of idolatry and apostasy, and a story of sin. Jesus Christ, the ultimate son of Abraham, came to fulfill everything that Isaac couldn’t. God’s grace is demonstrated in one woman and two men. 

Look at verse 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." One woman, two mean, and three eras. This is extremely fascinating. The period that he mentions from Abraham to David, the period of the patriarchs. The second period is from David to the carrying away of Babylon. And, the third period is from the captivity unto Christ. That's a period shrouded in darkness, with names we don't even know. Nevertheless, it is through the nation of Israel that the Messiah comes. That is God's grace. He is the King of grace. 

Then, the grace of God is seen in the inclusion of four women outcasts. In verse 3, we meet woman number one. "Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram." We learn about Tamar in Genesis 38, "Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar." 

Verses 7 through 11, "But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord took his life. Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother." Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother. But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He took his life also. Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he thought, "I am afraid that he too may die like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

Now, look at verses 12 through 19, "Now after a considerable time Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and when the time of mourning was ended, Judah went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. It was told to Tamar, "Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." So she removed her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face. So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, "Here now, let me come in to you"; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"  

He said, therefore, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." She said, moreover, "Will you give a pledge until you send it?" He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" And she said, "Your seal and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she arose and departed, and removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments." Verse 24, "Now it was about three months later that Judah was informed, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry."

Harlotry and incest. Here's the worst part of all that, out of that conception came twins, Pharez and Zarah, the next people in the genealogy of the line of the Messiah. Guess what, it goes downhill from there.

In verse 5, we meet the second woman, "Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse." Rahab was a Canaanitess, who was unclean, outcast, Gentile, pagan, idolatress, a bad lady, and a professional prostitute. In Joshua 2, "Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from Shittim, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lodged there." And, from her came Boaz. Boaz was a wealthy man from Bethlehem. 

Ruth went to Boaz and let him know that she needed a guardian redeemer. Boaz told Ruth that he was pleased to offer her redemption, which would include marriage to her, but there was one relative who was closer in line to be the guardian-redeemer. The next day, Boaz met with the other relative and presented the situation. The man declined to marry Ruth, and Boaz then made a commitment in front of the town’s leaders that he would take Ruth as his wife. Therefore, in the role of guardian redeemer, Boaz becomes a picture of Jesus Christ. What a godly man. 

That brings us to the third woman, Ruth. She was a Gentile, a Moabite and an outcast. In fact, in Deuteronomy 23, we see that God cursed the entire nation. "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." Again, God picks a cursed woman, born of an incestuous relationship with the daughters of Judah. Ruth, herself was a lovely woman, who was pure. But, she was born of incest. She was the wife of Boaz, and the grandmother of David.

In verse 6, we meet the fourth woman, "Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah." According to II Samuel 11, she was up on a roof sunbathing, she was very beautiful in appearance. "David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house. The woman conceived; and she sent and told David, and said, "I am pregnant."

So, you’ve got two harlots, one born out of incest from a cursed nation, and one adulteress. I believe this genealogy must have been a literal knockout punch for who were so concerned with pedigree and purity. Matthew’s genealogy goes well beyond the claims elsewhere in this Gospel that Jesus’ incarnation and ministry fulfills individual Old Testament prophecies and even the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. His genealogy informs us that Jesus Christ is indeed, the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament. No matter where you look in the Old Testament, Christ is there. Coming from this degenerative history, is the King of all kings. Jesus Christ is the friend of sinners. 

In Luke 5:32, Jesus said "I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

We'll stop there and pick up next time with verse 18, with the virgin birth of Jesus.  

In Closing..

I encourage each you to pause, and look back over your own lives, and remember all the times that God has been especially gracious to you. It is easy for us to take it for granted. Amid the rush of this holiday season, take time to recall and experience thankfulness for all the we have been abundantly blessed. 

Give thanks to God, for His grace and mercy toward us and remember to extend it to others. Praise Him for the meals we will enjoy, for the means we've been blessed with to provide them. Praying for those who are less fortunate. Sharing with others what we ourselves have been blessed with, so that no one would go hungry. Give thanks for those who are present in our lives, reflect on the precious memories of those who are not. We can be angry at sin and still be thankful toward God.

May it be so..
 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen 

 

 

 

 

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