Our Family History Leads to Hope

Our Family

This week we are beginning a new series titled “Our Family.” It’s a series that leads us into the season of Advent. Some might ask, “What is Advent?” For the church, Advent is a season of preparing yourself to rightly celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. It is a time when we look forward with anticipation, recognizing the need to prepare our hearts and our minds. During this time of the year many believers will

be intentional about meditating on scripture,

Many will enter into a regular habit of prayer and fasting.

I want to encourage you to join me in preparing our hearts to celebrate the coming of Jesus. To be purposeful in how you worship the Lord in reverence. To engage in prayer fasting and meditation on scripture. Finding reverence before God doesn’t happen on accident. Let’s be intentional to be reverent in our love for God as we prepare to celebrate this Christmas.

One of the reasons, I am excited for this series is, we are going to embrace an important truth. “It is by understanding the past that we will know how to live and have hope for the future.”

You may have noticed that our series graphic is in form of a family Crest. The family crest originated in Europe in the 11th century. They were symbols that were passed down from one generation to the next, communicating a a great deal about the family, their wealth, and accomplishments. But the family Crest had more to do with where you allegiance lies.

This family crest communicates much of the same and reflects where we are heading in this series.

The palm tree’s represent God’s goodness and victory. That it is out of His goodness that He came on our behalf overcoming and conquering sin and death.

The staff is used for rescue, protection, correction, and direction. It reflects God’s ongoing relationship and care for His people.

The Crown of course represents royalty. Jesus invites us into an eternal, all powerful, royal family line. Where He adopts us as son’s and daughters of God to reign with Him.

The Shield symbolizes God’s protection of His family from evil.

The manger reminds us to embrace the fulness of our heritage, keeping us humble before Him.

Then of course we have the scroll which is reflective of scripture. That we can stand on the word of God and learn to point to Him in all that we do, just as scripture points to Him with every word.

Through this series, we are going to learn more about what it means to embrace the family crest. What we are going to find is that we have a rich history and it is out of our rich history where we have been blessed by God that we are called to bring the blessing to everyone we encounter. These are some basic truths for the children of God. That as we seek Him in His word, trust Him with our lives, and pursue His cause, God stirs up our hope and our affections for Him are stirred up, and our confidence grows.

Family Lineage:

Today, we are studying Matthew 1:1-17, I want to encourage you to turn there if you have your Bibles. Before we read this passage, I want to ask this question, “Have you ever considered what it would be like to have grown up in the first century?” Perhaps this morning, we could try to imagine what it would have been like.

In Turkey, there is a small town called Priene of about 4-5,000 people. Near the coast, not far from places that Paul visited on his missionary journey's. A farming community known for its architecture and arts.

Let’s imagine growing up there in about 9 BC as a young Jewish person. In that year a statue was erected by a man named Paullus Fabius Maximus. He came with craftsmen and Roman guards to build a statue of Caesar Agustus, who happens to be a friend of Paullus. Paullus is not from Priene, in fact he is a Roman senator from Rome, functioning as the proconsul; which is the highest office for a public official in Rome. But Paullus comes to Priene to make a significant claim. He says, “with the birth of the new Caesar, comes a new yearly calendar. The base of the statue reads:

“Providence (A greek God) has ordered all things and set them in order by giving us Caesar Augustus, who she has filled with virtue that he might benefit all humanity, and has sent him as a savior for us and our descendants, that he might end war and bring order to all things…. The birthday of the god (Augustus) was the beginning of the good news (Euangalleon) for the world…” The inscription goes on to say that these lands will now abide by a new imperial calendar that starts with the Caesar's birthday.”

Another politician claiming to be divine. Claiming that you should listen to all he has to say, even to the point that you re-arrange your entire context and framework for understanding the seasons of the year. You see, for the Jew, who is waiting for the savior, they have heard this from all kinds of politicians who controlled their lands. They were used to hearing about how these foreign god’s, how did these miraculous works that had never actually carried out miracles, it was just a another person. At the same time, the Jews were waiting for a savior. Waiting for the Messiah to come from God. So they were open to the possibility, but they knew it wasn’t come from anyone but Yahweh. They knew when to listen and when not to listen, because God promised that the Messiah would come through Abraham and David. Anyone with a different origin story.... not worth my time.

Now you have grown up in this town and seen the statue, read the inscription a few times, but now something has changed. As you have aged you have heard rumblings of a Jewish Messiah. You have heard bits and pieces that seem consistent with the Old Testament but you have never heard enough to be convinced. And one day, a messenger shows up in the synagogue and starts reading from a scroll titled “The Gospel according to Matthew.”

Jew’s would have immediately recognized the names, their stories. There would have been an immediate understanding of connection and within this text, they would see that this Jewish Messiah comes through the right line of people....

As modern day readers, it is easy to lose sight of the power... the surprise..... the shock.... and the delight that the first century hearers of the gospel. But lets try to embrace this narrative and read this for the first time:

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.

Matthew starts by saying, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

This line would be eye popping for a first century Jew.

Genealogy was more important to the Jews than any other people group in all of history. Bionically we see it all through the Old Testament. But we get a in depth picture in books like Genesis, numbers, 1 Chronicles, Luke, and Matthew.

Lineage came with certain rights. Each tribe was given specific portions of land.

There were certain roles, like being a priest, that was reserved for the tribe of Levi.

If you could not prove your lineage, you could miss out on rightful inheritance. Your lineage in some ways functioned like a legal document that revealed your family rights. It could speak to who you marry.

Perhaps what was most important to the Israelites is that God gave a promise that a savior would come and that He would come through the line of David.

So we had people, eagerly tracking, waiting, and looking for the possibility of the savior to come through their very own family.

I think in some fashion we can relate to this. We all want to come from valuable people and to leave a legacy that will matter to the coming generations. We want to be proud of our family and we want to see them serve God. What a better way to serve God than to be the family that He came from?

So as we look at this opening line by Matthew, we see a bold, and powerful claim “to anyone who reads these words, “if you have been waiting, if you have been looking, if you are ready to meet the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the savior who will save and redeem you, then come and read these words. Come and know the savior.”

Not only does Matthew make this claim, but he also says, “The son of David, the son of Abraham.” Now this is a key line, God first made the promise to Abraham. That the savior would come through his family line. Then, we later see a promise that the savior will come through the line of David. You see, Matthew just made a qualifying statement. He recognize’s that he just declared Jesus as the savior and if he doesnt quickly show evidence people are just going to roll their eyes. But the moment he writes David and Abraham any man or woman of Jewish faith would have sat up straight with big eyes, attentive to what was about to be said.

So Matthew begins to list one name after another, after another, after another...... All along the way leaving breadcrumb hints while painting a clear picture of evidence. Matthew knew they could fact check him so he wrote carefully. As clearly as possible, he draws in every Jewish reader’s attention.

Friends, we could spend the rest of today recalling the significance of the people who are listed here.

You need to know that Matthew is very intentional about every word in this passage. We could consider how there are three sections of fourteen generations. This is a significant pattern that points to being concise with the line of David. In Hebrew, the numeric value of David’s name is 14.

We could consider how Matthew claims there are 3 sets of 14 but the last set only has 13. Leaving us with a total of 41. Friends, it’s not accident or mistake. The numeric value of Abraham is 41.

He is purposefully showing how this Jesus is perfectly in line with the rich history of Israel and the unfolding of God’s plan.

We could take note of verse 2 where we see the phrase “Judah and his brothers” in the first set of names. Then in verse 11 during the second set we see “Jechoniah and his brothers.” Which leaves any scholar looking for the “Brothers” in the third set. But there isn’t any. You don’t find brothers again until Jesus starts speaking of His disciples. You see its a word picture that illustrates the birth of the nation of Israel through the 12 tribes, how they came from 12 brothers. To the fall of Israel, as Jechoniah and his brothers were the last kings before the Babylonian exile. Giving us the creation of a nation to its destruction. But then through Jesus, the nation is reborn.

Meaning that just in how Matthew gives the genealogy of Jesus, he shares of God’s plan for his people.

This is where reading your Bible daily matters. It’s where the history of the Old Testament confirms the teaching of the New Testament. “It is by understanding the past that we will know how to interpret and live and have hope for the future.”

Throughout history, God has led His people. He has revealed the direction we are going and made promises to help us see the signs of our times so that we know how to love God as we walk with Him.

As we consider this list, I want to point out the reality of humanity. Some of you here in this room might have a hard time believing that God loves you. Last week, we heard from Rick Lorenson, a powerful word about how God loves us and how we are to love God. That in loving God first, we will then love others.

But some doubt. Some struggle to believe.

Instead, you have come to feel that you are unlovable. An outcast, someone who comes from brokenness and has only ever known brokenness. You know “God so loved the world that He sent his one and only son,” but assume it is for other people. People who have it together.

Friends, I am here to tell you that God loves you deeply...... It doesn’t matter where you came from. It doesn’t matter what you have done. If you are willing to confess your sin and repent because you want to submit to Jesus, He will not only forgive you, but He will redeem you, restore you, put you on a path to righteousness. He will help you learn how to invite light into your life instead of darkness.

And you might ask, “how do you know that?”

and I would say, “look at this list of names....... Read their stories....... Look at where they came from..... What they did......

If you understand how God loved these people you will come to believe. God loves you, trust and hope in Him.

Lets take a look at a few of these.

Abraham - The very first person listed. A man who by faith left everything he ever knew, to be a wanderer in an unknown land where he would go wherever God asked Him. But Abraham had a problem, one that many of us have..... Abraham feared men. He feared men and he had a beautiful wife. He allowed his fear to get the best of him.

Has your fear ever got the best of you?

In Genesis 12 God calls Abraham and says “I am going to bless you, so that you will be a blessing to the world.” Just 10 verses later, Abraham is entering Egypt and tells his wife Sarah that she is to beautiful and people might kill him so they can take her as their own. He told her to tell others that she was his sister. They embraced this fearful lie to the point of giving her to Pharoah to be his wife.

Then again in Genesis 20 Abraham was afraid again and he gave Sarah away to Abimelech to be married.

Twice, he feared men, lied, and gave his wife away to another man.

Can you imagine if God had not intervened? What type of darkness was Abraham inviting into his families life?

Lets also consider Judah, one of the 12 sons of Jacob.

Judah’s son who was married to Tamar died and it was Judah’s responsibility to provide another son to care for Tamar, so he promised his youngest son to her but never followed through. So one day, Tamar heard that Judah was traveling, she disguised herself as a prostitute, saw Judah coming and started hitting on him. He told her he had no money, so she asked his staff, his signet ring, and his cord - It was his forms of identification until he could pay her.

A little while later, Judah found out that Tamar was pregnant. He was angry and wanted to punish her. So he called for her to come to him. She came and told him and everyone else there, that she is pregnant by the man who owns this staff, this ring, and this cord.

You see, both Tamar and Judah are on Matthew’s list of names. Both engaged in wicked immorality.

David raped and murdered

Manasseh was a wicked king who was a murderer and built places of worship for false gods.

Rahab was a prostitute.

This list is filled with people who entered into wickedness, who created brokenness in their families. These people where consistently dysfunctional! You see, it does not matter what you have done. If you honestly confess your sin and repent before God. If you invite Him in to be the Lord of your life, why because as Matthew said, He is the savior. It all ends with Him. There is a reason that Jesus isn’t a name in the list but is thee name in the list. Where the list of names comes to end.......

Maybe you have lost hope. You believe in grace, truth, and love - but that it is meant for other people. I am here to tell you, that God’s love for you is deep. That He is ready to lavish His grace on you. To show you a measure of mercy that will change your life. God not only cares for you, but wants to walk through life with you. This life is one of growing dependence on Him, where He takes the murderer, the prostitute, the liar, the thief, the broken, the hopeless, the poor.... and He gives them strength for today and hope for tomorrow.

You see, the only reason to be hopeless towards God’s message of salvation, is to believe it is up to you to restore the relationship. But here is the gospel for you, God didn’t ask you to fix the relationship. He didn’t ask you to mend it, restore it. God asks that you finally admit you can’t. That you stop pretending you are able to do what only He is able to do.

You and I cannot overcome sin. We cannot overcome death. But He can and He did. Now, He invites us to join Him in right relationship, where we can experience His victory in our lives. Are you ready to be set free?

God wants you to live in hope. Hoping in His strength, His Salvation.

Will you consider this long line of broken people? People He has saved in the past so that you and have Hope and Trust Him today?

For those in the family of God, our rich, hard history has always pointed in the direction of hope. Knowing that God is faithful!

God cares about our relationship with Him. As we learned last week, that also means, He cares about our relationship with others. Biblically speaking, we are all called to steward our relationships. Particularly, we are called to steward our relationship with God and then our relationship with our spouse. When we operate rightly with God and with our spouse, we will with our kids and with our community.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we are starting a marriage ministry here at Grace.

It is a ministry that will enable you to function biblically within your marriage and learn to find greater joy and enjoyment with your spouse. I believe that we live in a time and a place where very few of us understand how to operate biblically within our marriage. We are in need of a generation of healthy, God honoring marriages that can shine as a light to all of the hurting relationships around us. Ones that not only function biblically but can model it for others to see.

In the coming weeks, we are going to be talking about it more. But for today, I want to encourage you to listen carefully to this video and I want to strongly urge you to consider signing up for a ministry that has potential to elevate your marriage to new heights.