I. Jesus is the Messiah
Text: Matt 1:1-7
The first rule of thumb in writing is that you need to catch the reader’s
attention and interest within the first few paragraphs. Matthew breaks
all the roles. He begins with a long genealogy of obscure names from
past millennia. It is an opening guaranteed to put the modern reader
to sleep. Genealogies are generally boring. Therefore, it is the last
thing anyone would ever want to open an epoch changing document
with. So why does Matthew open with a genealogy?
Matthew wrote his gospel for Jews, and Jews get excited about
genealogies. Why?
A Jew is someone physically descended from Abraham. A Jew is
someone who can trace his or her genealogy back to Abraham.
Therefore, in order to prove their Jewishness, Jews kept elaborate
genealogies.
Matthew wrote this gospel to convince the Jews that Jesus is the
Messiah. The prophets, the Psalms, and the rest of the OT, made
many claims for the long-anticipated Messiah. Two of the most
important related to his genealogy. According to the OT, the Messiah
would first be descended from Abraham, and second he would also
be a son of David.
That is why Matthew opens his gospel with this genealogy. It is not
very sexy to us, but it was of the greatest interest to Jews in the first
century. He opens this way because he wants to convince Jewish
readers that Jesus was in fact a son of Abraham and a son of King
David.
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This genealogy has three sections. Each section contains fourteen
generations. A generation was about 40 years, so Matthew doesn’t
include everyone in Jesus’ past history. The first section traces Jesus’
genealogy from Abraham to David. The second section traces his
genealogy from David to the deportation of Judah to Babylon. The
third section traces his genealogy from the deportation to Christ’s
birth.
The point of the passage is in verse 1.
(Matthew 1:1) "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David,
the son of Abraham."
Today’s sermon has one point. Jesus is the Christ.
It has two proofs. First, Jesus was a son of Abraham. Second, Jesus
was the son of David. If Matthew can prove these two points, there is
a good chance he can convince his Jewish readers that Jesus is the
Messiah.
BILLBOARD
A. JESUS THE CHRIST
The name, Jesus, is a translation of the Hebrew name, Joshua. It
means “Yahweh saves.”
Christ is a title like emperor or president. Today we might call him
Jesus, the Christ. Christ is English for the GK word “Christos” which
meant “anointed one.” Christos is a translation of the Hebrew word
Messiah. It was a title that the Jews applied to the promised Savior
because he would be the One “anointed” with the Holy Spirit. This
idea appears in Isaiah 61:1.
"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to
bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to
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proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are
bound;"
B. SON OF ABRAHAM
(Matthew 1:2–6, pg 8) "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, 6a and Jesse the father of David the king.”
The point of this passage is that Jesus was directly related to
Abraham, the first Jew. The Jewish religion started when God called
Abraham and promised to bless all the families of the earth through
him.
(Genesis 12:1–3, pg. 8) "1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your
country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show
you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your
name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you,
and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth
shall be blessed.”
There was one problem. Abraham was childless, and he was 75
years old. Despite this God had promised to make him into a great
nation. A “great nation” meant progeny. Years later Abraham raised
this issue with God, and here is how God responded—
(Genesis 17:4–8) "4 “You shall be the father of a multitude of nations… 7 And
I will establish my covenant between me and you after you throughout their
generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring
after you.”"
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A year later, when he was 100 and Sarah 99, Sarah gave birth to
Isaac. Finally, Abraham had an heir. Through Isaac God’s promise to
bless all the families of the earth. The years passed. About the time
that Isaac began puberty God came to Abraham again and tested
him.
(Genesis 22:2) "2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you
love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on
one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”"
Abraham passed the test. When it was all over God repeated his
original promise to Abraham.
(Genesis 22:18) "18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”"
As the centuries passed the prophets promised the Messiah in
increasingly intense and specific terms. It became very apparent that
the Messiah would be instrumental in the fulfillment of God’s promise
to Abraham to bless all the nations through his descendant. Exactly
how that would work the Jews were not sure. But one thing they all
agreed upon, the Messiah would be the promised Son of David who
would rebuild David’s Kingdom, i.e. the Kingdom of God.
That takes us to the second part of the genealogy.
C. SON OF DAVID
(Matthew 1:6–11) "6b 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
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Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation
to Babylon."
With King David (1000 BC) the concept of the “kingdom of God”
entered the Jewish worldview. The Kingdom of God is an important
emphasis in Matthew’s Gospel. It was important because the reestablishment of the Kingdom of David was at the heart of the Jewish
hope, and Matthew was a Jew. The kingdom concept has a long
history. It began in the first chapter of Genesis.
(Genesis 1:28) "28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful
and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of
the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that
moves on the earth.”"
God created Adam and Eve to exercise God’s servant-dominion. God
created Adam to rule planet earth as his vice-regent. In other words,
Adam and Eve were to extend God’s kingdom, his rule, throughout
planet earth.
However, Adam sinned, and when that happened his capacity to rule
was severely distorted, twisted, and disfigured. Made in God’s image
Adam and his descendants still attempted to rule, but now the end of
their dominion was personal wealth, fame, and power at the expense
of those they ruled. (A good example is Kim Jong-Un the ruler of N.
Korea, or the Vladimir Putin in Russia).
Therefore, God began working to restore the Kingdom he initially
intended for Adam to rule. Because of man’s sin, when God called
the Jewish people out of Egyptian bondage he ruled them directly.
The Jews had no king or governor. Israel was a theocracy. God
appointed a specific ruler (Moses, Joshua, the Judges). He spoke to
each of these leaders directly, and then they conveyed his will to the
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people. As long as Israel obeyed God he blessed them. When they
engaged in idolatry God withdrew his blessing.
Eventually, war arose between Israel and the Philistines. Because of
their persistent idolatry God withdrew from Israel and the Philistines
triumphed. However, Israel was not willing to accept responsibility.
Instead, they blamed their defeat on the fact that the Philistines had a
human king and Israel did not. So, they asked the prophet, Samuel,
to give them a king like the Philistines. Samuel went to God with their
request—
(1 Samuel 8:7–8, pg. 230) "7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of
the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they
have rejected me from being king over them. 8 According to all the deeds that
they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day,
forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you."
God was not happy. He showed his displeasure by giving Israel what
they wanted. That was his judgment. He gave them Saul, a king after
man’s own heart. He looked good on the outside. He was tall. He was
handsome. He looked like a great warrior-king, but on the inside he
was insecure, jealous, lacking faith, and cowardly. Gradually, under
Saul’s leadership, things grew worse. The Philistines got stronger,
and Israel got weaker. Eventually, the Philistines killed Saul and
conquered Israel.
All of this was God’s judgment for asking for a human king.
However, God is merciful and gracious. His anger subsided, and he
anointed a Shepherd boy, David, to be king. In contrast to Saul he
didn’t look the part. He was the youngest of eight sons. He was only a
teen. He was small, but he was a king after God’s own heart. David
was the King that God wanted rather than the King that the people
wanted. When Saul died David assumed the throne. He conquered
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Israel’s enemies, banished the Philistines to the sidline, and the
nation reached its zenith of power and influence. At the peak of his
power David decided to build a temple for YHWH, but God sent the
prophet Nathan with an important message.
(2 Samuel 7:11c–16 pg. 259) "11c Moreover, the LORD declares to you that
the LORD will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie
down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come
from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for
my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to
him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will
discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but
my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put
away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made
sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”"
Here is the mercy of God. God has used the sinful request of Israel
for a human king to make a covenant with King David to re-establish
God’s ultimate purpose—a human king (i.e. a Second Adam) who will
exercise the universal dominion that God created the first Adam to
exercise.
Despite God’s lavish promise, ultimately David failed. He committed
adultery with Bathsheba. Then to cover it up he murdered her
husband. For this sin David paid a heavy price. The sword never
departed from his family.
Nevertheless God did not withdraw his love from David. God did not
withdraw his promise to David that a descendant who would someday
establish God’s dominion on earth. But, David’s weakness and failure
made one thing clear. It would not work if the descendant/king was a
mortal infected with sin. No human corrupted by sin was capable of
this task. The Son of David would also need to be the Son of God, a
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man without sin, or the capacity to sin, one qualified to exercise
God’s dominion/rule perfectly.
Matthew argues that Jesus Christ’s genealogy qualifies him to be the
long-promised Son of David, the man sent to establish God’s
dominion on earth.
Finally, the last section of the genealogy (Vs 12-16) is here to
convince us that Jesus ancestors reached back to Abraham through
David.
There is a problem with this last third of Matthew’s genealogy. Luke
chapter three also gives us a genealogy of Jesus, and the names in
Luke’s last third differ from the names in Matthew’s text. Some think it
is because Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy through Mary while
Matthew traces it through Joseph. We believe they are both accurate,
but we are not sure why this last section differs.
D. APPLICATION
Again, the purpose of Matthew’s genealogy is to convince us that
Jesus is qualified to be the Messiah. Why? He is a directly
descended from both Abraham and David. This has three
applications— Faith, Mission, Repentance
1. Faith: Believe the Gospel
Believe that Jesus is who Matthew claimed him to be. He is the
Savior of Israel. He is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One.
Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah and repents can
become a Son of Abraham and a citizen in Christ’s kingdom.
The fact that there are four women in this genealogy confirms the
word “anyone.” First of all women were second class citizens.
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Genealogies generally ignored them. Yet Matthew deliberately
mentions Rahab, Tamar, Ruth, and Bathsheba.
In addition, three are disreputable women. Rahab was a prostitute,
Tamar was guilty of incest, and Bathsheba was an adulterer.
Also two are Gentiles—Rahab was a Canaanite and Ruth a Moabite.
What does all of this mean? It means that the Messiah is the Savior
of everyone who believes.
The message is clear. The gospel is not elitist: It is for sexual sinners.
The gospel is not sexist: It is for both men and women. The gospel is
not racist: It is for Gentiles, Jews, Black, Asian, and Native American.
2. Repentance: Enter the Kingdom of God
Jesus is the Son of David. He is the Son to whom God promised
David’s universal kingdom. That is why he began his ministry
declaring—
(Matt. 4:17) “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
His miracles confirmed that he was the son to whom David’s promise
referred.
(Matthew 9:35) "35 And Jesus… proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and
healing every disease and every affliction."
(Matthew 12:28) "28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then
the kingdom of God has come upon you."
With these words, confirmed by his miracles, Jesus Christ declared
himself the long promised Son of David. He is the King of the Jews.
He is the Second Adam to whom God has given dominion.
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One becomes a citizen in Christ’s kingdom when he turns his heart
upward to God in joyful submission to the Messiah’s rule—i.e. when
he comes under the Lordship of Christ.
Anecdote: My policyholder who lost his marriage.
Have you settled the issue of ownership? Have you come to grips
with Christ’s authority? What is God asking you to do that you are
resisting?
Submission is safe: Your king went to the cross to die for you.
Last, God’s kingdom is already but not yet.
It is already. It has begun. Whenever and wherever men put their
faith in Christ and walk in joyful obedience to God’s will they have
become citizens of Christ’s kingdom. Christ’s kingdom has been
enlarged.
However, it is not yet. The full consummation of God’s kingdom will
not come until the Final Day. Then Christ will judge and banish all evil
doers. He will re-create the heavens and earth. He will repopulate
the earth with billions of perfected saints. Everyone will do God’s will
perfectly. Universal joy, peace, and happiness will reign. Then in the
words of the Our Father “God’s kingdom will have come. His will will
be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
The Second Adam has come to complete the dominion that the first
Adam failed to accomplish.
3. Mission: Extend the Blessing of Abraham
All of God’s promises to bless the world through Abraham are being
fulfilled in Christ, the true Son of Abraham. This is how Paul, by the
HS’s inspiration, interpreted Jesus’ genealogy.
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(Galatians 3:16, pg 973) "16 Now the promises [Gen. 12] were made to
Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to
many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ."
Here is how it works. Belief in the gospel unites the Believer with
Christ. The Believer becomes all that Jesus was and is. He was a
Son of Abraham, and therefore, in God’s sight you also become a
son of Abraham.
(Galatians 3:29 pg. 974) "29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s
offspring, heirs according to promise."
This means that through faith in Christ, we Gentiles become children
of Abraham. We become true Jews, members of the Israel of God.
This means that all unbelieving Jews are outside the Israel of God.
To get back in they must now believe the gospel.
This is a call to evangelism. Jesus of Nazareth is the descendant of
Abraham through which God’s blessing flow to the world. The
blessings of Gen 12 now come to the world through the church, the
true Israel of God. The only way to get God’s blessing is to be rightly
related to the true Son of Abraham, Jesus Christ.
God’s crucial promise to Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth
shall be blessed” now come to the world through the church, not the
Jewish people.
That is why Jesus told his disciples to “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations.”
The promise to Abraham that the world would be blessed through him
is already but not yet.
The promise began its fulfillment on Pentecost and has been
escalating in potency for 2,000 years.
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However, it will not be completely consummated until the Last Day.
___________________
In summary, Matthew’s genealogy proves that Jesus of Nazareth is
eligible to be the Messiah. He was descended from both Abraham
and David.
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