The King's Family Tree

Text: Matthew 1:1-17

Main Point/FCF: Jesus is the savior this world needs. God can redeem your brokenness and use you for the Kingdom.

Introduction to Matthew

We’re embarking today on a study of my favorite of the four gospels, the Gospel of Matthew.

The book which we know as the “Gospel of Matthew” is technically anonymous, just as are the other three gospels. But, early church tradition—as early as 135 AD—attributes the gospel to the disciple and apostle Matthew and church tradition is unanimous on this point.

Early church Fathers like Irenaeus recorded that Matthew compiled his gospel while Paul and Peter were still living, so most conservative scholars put the date of Matthew’s Gospel sometime in the 50’s or 60’s (10-20 years before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem).

Matthew, also known as “Levi,” was a tax collector by trade who worked for Herod Antipas. Herod was a puppet king installed by the Roman government, so tax collectors who worked for him would have been despised by most Jews as “Roman sellouts” and “traitors.”

We see in his calling as a disciple that Jesus goes and eats at Matthew’s house with him and other tax collectors, and the Pharisees were not happy about it:

Matthew 9:9–13 ESV

9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

What’s more, Matthew’s calling occurred in or near Capernaum, which was right on the Sea of Galilee. So, Matthew was likely tasked with collecting taxes from local fishermen. At least seven disciples are mentioned as having been fishermen: Peter, Andrew, James, John, Thomas, Nathanael, and probably Philip.

As a tax collector, Matthew would have been skilled in reading and writing, likely trained as a scribe.

As a Jew, Matthew would have been aware of the prophecies of the coming Messiah.

One of the unique aspects of the Gospel of Matthew is how much attention he gives to Jesus’ fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecies about the Messiah. This is one of the main things that Matthew wanted to communicate in his gospel—that Jesus was the long awaited Hebrew Messiah, the Davidic King.

While Mark dives straight into the story with almost no introduction, John starts off his gospel with an emotional word picture, and Luke writes from (and to) a very Gentile perspective, Matthew starts his gospel with something very, very Jewish: a genealogy.

Now, the temptation for us 21st century Americans is to skip over “boring parts” like genealogies. But, that would be a mistake. All Scripture is profitable for teaching, even the genealogies.

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

So the question, then is, what profit did the Holy Spirit intend for us gain when he designated Matthew 1 to be included in Scripture?

The mistake that we make as western readers is to assume that the genealogy is just there as a factual, historical record. But, Matthew’s genealogy wasn’t written just to communicate a list of names. In fact, Matthew seems to skip over a few of the kings in the OT story so that his list will be easier to memorize. His purpose isn’t to give an exhaustive, biological record, but rather to draw the reader in and help you recall the story up to this point. Matthew excludes some people that we would expect to see in the genealogy and includes some that we’re a little surprised to see included.

One thing we need to realize is that genealogies in Scripture are not just lists of names but are actually summaries to help us recall stories and important events.

They’re the Bible’s way of saying, “In the last episode, recall that...”

At first glimpse, it’s just a genealogy, a family tree. A list of names and who-begat-who. But, it’s there for a reason. It’s the synopsis of everything that preceded this moment.

So, I have a very simple goal for you this morning. I want to open the Christmas story to you anew, so that you can experience the climax, the plot twist that no one saw coming in God’s story of redemption, as God himself takes on human form as a baby. I want you to see the joy, the awe, the glory of Christmas.

So, open your Bibles with me to the beginning of the New Testament, Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1:1–17 ESV

1 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.

Prayer for Illumination

1. The genealogy reminds us our fallenness and need for a good King.

This genealogy is not just a “who’s who” of spiritual heroes.

Abraham and the Patriarchs

King David, whom Scripture describes as a man after God’s own heart

King Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived

Good King Josiah, who started a spiritual awakening and revival in Israel

But upon closer examination, we realize that it also contains many people of less-than-stellar character.

Matthew 1:3 ESV

3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,

v. 3 reminds us of the sordid story (in Gen. 38) during which Judah fathers a child by his daughter in law (whom he mistakes for a prostitute)

Judah, the chief of the 12 tribes of Israel, in the direct lineage of Jesus, fathers a child by his daughter in law, whom he mistakes for a prostitute.

Matthew 1:5 ESV

5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,

Rahab was formerly a pagan prostitute

Ruth was also a former pagan, from the rival country Moab.

Matthew didn’t have to mention these women; typically genealogies only followed the father’s lineage. But Matthew includes each of these women in the genealogy for a reason. Sometimes it’s as a judgment on the men (Tamar, of whom Judah concludes “She’s more righteous than I”), and sometimes it’s to show how God uses people from a broken background (like Rahab and Ruth) to advance his plan.

Matthew 1:6 ESV

6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

Even good ‘ol King David doesn’t get a pass in this genealogy. Matthew could have glossed over this little lapse in judgement, but he doesn’t. “the wife of Uriah” Refers to Bathsheba—the woman David committed adultery with (see 2 Sam 11). After she became pregnant, David had her husband killed and took Bathsheeba as an additional wife.

Matthew 1:7 ESV

7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,

Solomon, for all his wisdom, had so many foreign wives that he led his country into idolatry.

Reheboam was the arrogant upstart son of Solomon who was responsible for a civil war that split the kingdom in two.

Matthew 1:9–10 ESV

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,

vv. 9-10 Ahaz and Manasseh were particularly evil kings. Manasseh even participated in pagan child sacrifice rituals.

Even the “good guys” weren’t all that good.

v. 2—Abraham and the Patriarchs practiced polygamy, in blatant contradiction to God’s design for marriage, and had too many other character flaws to mention.

v. 6 reminds us that King David, whom Scripture describes as a man after God’s own heart, committed adultery with the wife of one of his closest military commanders and then basically had the man murdered to cover up the affair and steal his wife. (Also a polygamist.)

King Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived, had over 700 wives and concubines, and taxed the kingdom so heavily that a civil war erupted under his son’s rule (Rehoboam).

Good King Josiah, who started a spiritual awakening and revival in Israel, reminds us that Israel actually lost the Law for a long period of time. He also died in battle because he didn’t listen to God.

Matthew 1:11 ESV

11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

At the close of the Old Testament and at the beginning of the New Testament, things have gotten so bad that God has given his people over to captivity and subjugation to foreign rulers. They’re deported to Assyria and Babylon, and then eventually find themselves no longer serving a King of Israel, but the King of Rome.

They’re longing for the “glory days” of King David or King Solomon, when the Kingdom was united and prosperous and ruled by one of their own. No enemy could stand before the might of the Israeli army. No country had the wealth and prosperity of Israel in the time of King Solomon. Their temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world. And now, as they sit under Roman rule, they can’t help but hope for the Messiah who will come and make Israel great again.

But Matthew’s genealogy reminds us that they’d had that once before, and look how that turned out. They’d had the worldly kingdom with all the wealth and prosperity and military might, but they trusted more in that than they did in God. They’d had the glorious temple, and yet they worshipped idols. At the end of the day, even the best of them couldn’t resist their own sinful nature.

Jesus didn’t come to save his people from their foreign enemies, but to save his people from themselves.

Now, for those people of God who were discerning, those people eventually realized what a tremendous promise and blessing this is. When we look back over this genealogy, we’re reminded that the greatest enemy to peace and to experiencing God’s blessings is not foreign rulers but our own sin. It wasn’t foreign rulers that caused Israel to be split in two--it was the pride and sinfulness of Israel’s rulers and people. It wasn’t Babylon that caused the downfall of Jerusalem--it was the people of Jerusalem themselves for forsaking God and his commandments. And it wouldn’t be the Romans who bore the ultimate responsibility for crucifying the Jewish Messiah--as the high priest said in Matthew 27:25--“His blood be on us and on our children!”

The greatest need that any of us face today is not some external threat. It’s not salvation from evil rulers that oppress us and corrupt governments. It’s not salvation from poverty or physical needs. It’s not even salvation from demons or Satan himself. Your greatest need is salvation from your own sin. Your greatest enemy is you.

The greatest threat to your marriage and your family is your own sinfulness.

The greatest threat to your happiness is your own sinfulness.

The greatest threat to your church is your own sinfulness.

The greatest threat to your happiness is not something outside of you—your parents, your spouse, your finances, your circumstances, your coworkers, or whatever you’ve convinced yourself is the enemy—it is your sin.

This list of “heroes” seems to be designed to remind us that there is no human being capable of saving humanity or meeting our deepest need.

This list of people reminds us that even the best of God’s people are broken sinners who need a savior.

The people in this list seem to be increasingly immoral, depicting a downward spiral of immorality which goes from bad to worse.

Back in December 2021, I got to visit my seminary for graduation and reflect on the legacy that godly men left before me that made it possible for me to attend such a wonderful God-honoring institution. Yet, at the same time, there’s a tension in my mind as I reflect on the painful fact that the four founders of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary were slave holders. On the one hand, these men founded a wonderful institution that has been a force for good in the world for the past 150 years. They authored powerful works of theology that are still used in seminaries today and proclaim the truth of Scripture boldly. Yet, they were not without sin. They had a glaring blind spot in the area of slavery, seeing no contradiction between enslaving men and the freedom that comes through Christ to men. It’s truly baffling.

But you and I are no better. Every Christian who has ever lived is a puzzling contradiction. We profess to follow a God who knows all and has our good at heart, yet we question him when trouble strikes. We profess that God is all we need and yet we covet more than what he gives us.

The sins of believers (and unbelievers) don’t cancel out the gift God gave us at Christmas; in fact, they remind us why that gift was necessary in the first place. We need a good King. We need a Savior.

2. The genealogy reminds us that God has a plan for our redemption.

When humanity rebelled against God, God himself took the initiative to restore our broken relationship through covenants with his chosen people.

Matthew 1:2 ESV

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

When we think of Abraham, yes, we remember his polygamy and his faults. But we also remember how God called him out of a pagan land, chose him to be the father of a nation, and blessed him.

Genesis 17:3–8 ESV

3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

When someone wrongs you or offends you, whose responsibility is it to restore the relationship? The offenders, of course.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Not only did God take the initiative in offering us a way to be forgiven, he paid the price to purchase that forgiveness himself and offers it as a free gift to any who would accept it.

And God didn’t just provide redemption for Israel...

Jesus’ family tree reminds us of his grace in including Gentiles in his plan.

Genesis 17:4 ESV

4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

We see hints and reminders of this promise in the genealogy.

Rahab was a Canaanite from Jericho (v. 5)

Ruth was a Moabite (v.5)

But as of the close of the Old Testament, this promise had not yet been fulfilled, and believers outside of Israel are the exception, not the norm.

The genealogy reminds us that God has unfinished business with the gentiles, too, and that Jesus ushered in a New Covenant, one that would be extended to include even Gentiles.

3. The genealogy reminds us that our only hope is in the Messiah, King Jesus.

The genealogy portrays Jesus as the long-awaited King we’ve been waiting for.

“Christ” = Χριστος, which is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term for “Messiah”

Messiah means “anointed one,” and refers to the long-awaited Davidic King

The Messiah had to be a Jew, from Abraham’s lineage. But, he also had to be a descendant of King David. Jesus was both.

But, he needed to be more than that.

The many godly men and women who preceded Christ were insufficient to redeem humanity from the curse of sin.

If righteous Abraham who had enough faith to slay his own son at God’s command couldn’t reconcile humanity to God, what hope do we have?

If King David, a man after God’s own heart, couldn’t walk the straight and narrow, what hope do we have?

If even good King Josiah, with all his godly zeal, couldn’t remain humble to the end, what hope do we have?

If thousands of years of God’s chosen people and dozens of Kings couldn’t produce even one person who was able to reconcile himself and his people to God, what hope do we have?

We need a King who is more faithful than Abraham, more righteous than David, more powerful than King Solomon, and more humble than King Josiah. We need a kingdom that doesn’t perish with the rise and fall of earthly men. We need a kingdom that won’t just conquer our external enemies, but one that will rule in our hearts and minds and help us conquer the enemy in our flesh. We need the Kingdom of God. We need King Jesus.

Conclusion

Perhaps this morning you realize that you’ve been trusting in your own efforts to make yourself right with God. But if thousands of years of godly men and women couldn’t do it, why do you think you can? And if it were possible for us to be reconciled to God by any other way aside from Christ taking on human form and dying for our sins, don’t you think he would have spared his only son the indignity and torture of the cross? Christmas is good news because there was no other way for us to be saved.

Perhaps this morning you find yourself a bit apathetic about Christmas. I hope this morning the Spirit has helped you to remember just how desperate your situation was before that little baby in the manger. I hope you remember afresh the wonder that God himself took the initiative to reconcile you to Himself, paid your sin debt, and gave you the gift of eternal life.

As we prepare for the invitation time, I invite you to thank God for what he has done for us in the Messiah, Jesus. Thank God the Father for sending a King who reigns with righteousness and justice and mercy, and for making a way for us to be reconciled with him. Thank God the Son for humbling himself and taking on human form, being born a baby. And thank God the Spirit for moving in our hearts and opening our eyes to the true joy of Christmas.

Benediction

No matter what happens in this world, the Kingdom of God is never shaken and our King will never fail us.

Daniel 2:44 ESV

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,