1.2.2 12.8.2024 OT Survey Matthew 1.1-17

Start:

Entice: Most of this fall I have travelled to OBCSC to teach OT survey. I have tried to make regular reports to keep this congregation informed because I think the work is a valuable and necessary extension of my ministry. One of the things I did not but should have expected was how much impact the process would have on my own preaching. Much of what I intend to say this morning about this text has been jelling over the last 14 weeks or so.

The reason is simple. Matthew begins his gospel with a similar course of Old Testament Survey! His course did not take weeks, but can be read in only a few

moments…

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.

We cannot really know Jesus if we do not seek to understand

His social,

His cultural,

and

His spiritual background.

Our OT supplies much of that background.

Engage: In the Church we routinely hear the preacher tell us that the whole of our Bibles is inspired, that it all matters. So, a guy like me tells people like you that these words, matter. We preachers maintain that this seemingly endless list of names is something we need in scripture, that this passage is not a mere summary of random names—some obscure, some famous, some notorious. It is more than that! It is not just a list of half-remembered names from the far-off past. Then we tend to ignore it and get to the “good bits”.

If you thought that was what I am going to do…That’s not quite our approach this morning.

We do need, however, to not just go through the motions of hitting Matthew’s beginning to say that we did it. In fact, you can’t really understand Matthew’s ending—or even his middle—if you don’t know what he knows about the story of Jesus…before Bethlehem.

Expand: We call it the Old Testament. It was originally known as the Hebrew Bible, and for Hebrews—just the Bible. For us it is both. It is God’s intentional, inspired record of His dealings with people since the beginning. Yet it also functions as the necessary prelude to and background for the story of Jesus. Matthew could have simply told his audience “Before you read my story of Jesus, you need to first read the entire Hebrew Bible.” Instead, he supplies a compressed, orderly, compact, powerful review of our Old Testament scriptures.

Excite: Like his colleagues, the other Apostles, Matthew was taught by Jesus that His story—His Gospel fulfills the promises and meets the expectations of the Old Testament. The Bible, all of it, is a book about one individual…Jesus. Matthew uses a list of names 17 verses long to remind us that….

Explore:

The entire Old Testament prepares us for the coming of Jesus.

Expand: Matthew’s telling of the story is shorter, but still profound because he is willing to engage with three realities which unite the OT and the story of Jesus.

Body of Sermon: First, the story is

1 Specific in intent.

1.1 His name in historical context.

Matthew 1:1 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

1.2 His office, role, and purpose in historical context.

Matthew 1:17 ESV

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.

Covenant,

Lordship,

Dominion.

Matthew’s Gospel will show how Jesus realizes all that the OT promised.

We know enough to understand that God was intentional. Matthew, in a sense, begins before the beginning reminding us that the whole Hebrew Bible was designed to prepare humanity for its rescue.

As important as his specificity, we must also admit that Matthew is

2 Sprawling in extent.

All those names remind us of how Jesus fulfills the OT prophecies…

2.1 The story of Jesus is rooted in covenant.

2.2 The story of Jesus is routed through the stories in the Old Testament.

2.3 The story of Jesus realizes the promises and perspective of God.

Finally, for all the space and time it takes the story of Jesus as it is embedded in the OT is

3 Scandalous in content

There are some issues we would rather not consider germane to the topic of salvation nor the person of our savior! There are

unsavory truths,

unrealistic expectations,

and underreported realities.

3.1 Sin.

3.2 Women.

3.3 Gentiles.

Shut Down

God inspired Matthew to tell a story which is real, earthy, and in many ways typical. We cannot choose our ancestors. We all have scandal, sprawl, and specificity.

Every one of us is from a mixed background yet we all share the singular distinction of being made in the image of God.

So, Matthew writes a story about Jesus which includes all of us who respond in faith. In this most Hebrew of formats, the most Jewish of presentations there is a universal scope. Jesus realizes all the prophecies, promises, and purposes of Israel. Everything in the Hebrew Bible leads to Him.

During Christmas we will share many celebrations. We will remember many significant people. We will participate in traditions handed down from our forefathers and mothers. For each of us the central focus should be the Son of Man, Son of David, Son of God. This Jesus our eternal savior.