The Purpose of the People of God - 1:1-17
The Purpose of the People of God - Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 50:34
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The Purpose of the People of God
The Purpose of the People of God
All stories have a beginning:
See if you can guess these:
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”
Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
- Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice
“Call me Ishmael”
Herman Melville Moby Dick
“Every one has heard people quarrelling.”
C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity
“In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit.”
J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit
All stories have a beginning, as does the Gospel of Matthew.
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Let’s Pray
We get to start today with a section of the text that I know you all read with great anticipation for today, the genealogy.
Let’s get to it!
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Matthew wastes no time!
Given a title - the Messiah
“Ιησου Χριστου”
Marked as King - Son of David
Marked as Jewish - Son of Abraham
The Patriarch
How would this read to a Jewish Believer in the 1st century?
Messianic Expectation:
Priest
12 “Then say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the Lord. 13 “Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the Lord, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices.” ’
Zechariah is prophesying with the completion or after the Temple
King
5 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The Lord our righteousness.’
Jeremiah prophesying during the exile, there is no king
Prophet
18 ‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
Quoted by Peter in Acts 2 referencing Jesus as the Messiah.
It is believed at Qumran that they were searching for 3 or 4 different Messiahs, different people, as one person could not fulfill all of these roles. Yet they were not looking for God incarnate.
This is evidenced by Matt 22:41-46 that the expectation was for the Messiah to be a man.
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”
43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet” ’?
45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.
This is why Jesus is crucified. He quotes Dan 7:13 in response to Caiaphas the High Priest claiming to be God!
We need to understand Jesus Christ to be Jesus the Messiah, the Anointed One, the coming Priest, King, and Prophet.
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
What else rings out from the cultural understanding we’ve discussed prior?
Covenants
Mosaic
Davidic
Abrahamic
Davidic and Abrahamic are easy, their names sakes are in the verse.
Where is the Mosaic covenant?
Anointed (masiah)
Who were the anointed ones in Scripture?
The Kings
The Priests
Anointed by the Prophets
Priesthood coincides with the Law
Covenants:
Mosaic (Priests)
Davidic (Kings)
Abrahamic (Prophet)
God’s words to Abimelech about Abraham
7 “Now therefore, restore the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”
Abraham is the first person referenced as a prophet in Scripture
The term Messiah brings up the idea of Covenantal Fulfillment
So though David and Abraham are listed by name, do not miss the idea that the term Messiah brings with it an understanding of the culmination of these covenants.
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
This is a Messianic statement by Jesus.
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
The book of birth/existence
βιβλοσ γενεσεωσ
Phrase is only found two other places in Scripture, in the LXX:
4 This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven.
1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God.
Matthew starts his account with a call back to the creation of the world and the creation of man tying it in with the person of Jesus.
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
In this single, opening sentence, Matthew has packed in all the honor and expectation that could be given!
Now that we’ve made it through verse 1, lets continue with the rest of our text!
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.
Before we dive into the rest of the genealogy, lets look at why this is important.
First, the idea of genealogies in general:
Genealogy was weapon of Honor. Lineage was important, so all Jews kept track of their lineage. The “master” copy was kept at the temple.
Luke chapter 2 shows us Jesus’ presentation at the temple according to the law (Ex 13.2 and Lev 12).
When a male is presented at the temple, he is recorded in the genealogy that is kept there.
Meticulous records of lineage of tribes because lineage is important.
Second, we want to recognize the three divisions:
3 Divisions:
Abraham to David - Patriarch to the King
David to Exile - Era of the Kings
Exile to the Messiah - Exile and Intertestamental Period to the Messiah
Third, Matthew is recalling to mind the history of Israel in this account.
This would be akin to someone recalling your family history, or the Presidents of the United States. You probably begin to conjure up memories, quotations, stories or others at the listing.
George Washington
John Adams
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
James Monroe
John Adams
etc
So instead of reading through this section verse by verse, I want us to recall the history of Israel associated with each of these people. The verses will be on the screen, but I will not be reading them again.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.
Abraham - Covenant
Isaac - Covenant
Jacob - Covenant
Judah - Blessed by Jacob saying the scepter will not depart
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.
Perez - (Mother - Tamar)
Hezron - Two prominent clans of Judah, the first is the Calebites from whom Bezalel would come, the designer and craftsman of the Tabernacle.
Ram - Recorded in the generations of David within the book of Ruth
Amminadab - Father of Elisheba, the wife of Aaron
Nahshon - Chief of Judah in the wilderness wanderings
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.
Salmon - Married Rahab believed to be from Jericho
Boaz - (In the line of Rahab and Salmon) Marries Ruth in an illustration of being the go-el, the Kinsman Redeemer
Obed - Grandfather of David
Jesse - A native of Bethlehem - fathered David along with his 7 brothers
David - KINGS
6 Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.
David - Starts well, strays heavily with Bathsheba, repents and finishes well
Solomon - Builds the temple, finishes poorly.
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.
Rehoboam - Kicks off the divided kingdom
Abijah - was an apostate, deserting the Lord
Asa - Reigned 41 years and instituted religious reforms, influence over Edom
Jehoshaphat - followed the Lord, reigned 25 years, held significant influence over Edom
Joram - Fought rebellion by Edomites and perhaps was a Baal worshipper through wife (Athaliah - daughter of Ahab and Jezebel)
3 Generations skipped here due to the curse on Ahab (Ex 20.3 curses last 4 generations)
Ahaziah
Joash
Amaziah
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.
Uzziah - Reigned 52 years, did what was right, did not remove high places, died with leprosy (Isaiah)
Jotham - Served as Regent while his father had Leprosy, then became king. Did what was right, but left high places
Ahaz - Submitted to the Assyrians as a Vassal State to prevent Judah from exile like the Northern Kingdom, but did not trust the Lord. Revived the Cult of Child Sacrifice
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.
Hezekiah - Issued Religious Reforms and sought independence from Assyria. Good King (Isaiah)
Manasseh - age 12, ruled 55 years, very bad king, pulled Judah back to the abominations of Canaan
Amon - Ruled 2 years and was assassinated
Josiah - age 8, righteous king. Turned Judah back
Jehoiakim is skipped here, not a rightful king, appointed by Pharaoh Necho
Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) - reigned 3 months, surrendered to Nebuchadrezzar
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.
Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) - EXILE
Shealtiel -
Zerubbabel - Governor of Judah under Darius, led Jews back to land to rebuild, During prophetic time of Haggai and Zechariah, probably fueled Messianic Expectation.
Abihud
Eliakim
Azor
Zadok
Achim
Eliud
Eleazar
Matthan
Jacob
Joseph - Father of Jesus
Mary - Mother of Jesus
Jesus - the Messiah
A little background to understand these names
Assyrian Exile:
722 BC - 186 Years in Captivity (536 BC)
Northern Kingdom
10 Tribes (Some Levites)
Thousands Killed
Assyrians implement pluralization
Undermines Cohesion and Culture
Polytheistic Society, but a form of Judaism remains prominent
Origin of Samaritans?
Mixed Lineage/Not at Temple (Some did travel to Jerusalem still)
Babylonian Exile:
605 BC - 70 years in Captivity (536 BC)
Best and Brightest carried off
Judah as a Vassal State
Temple is Destroyed
“True Jews” - Sabbath, Circumcision, and Purity
Tensions between the Samaritans and “Jews”
1 Now when these things had been completed, the princes approached me, saying, “The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, according to their abominations, those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians and the Amorites.
2 “For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has intermingled with the peoples of the lands; indeed, the hands of the princes and the rulers have been foremost in this unfaithfulness.” 3 When I heard about this matter, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled some of the hair from my head and my beard, and sat down appalled.
4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel on account of the unfaithfulness of the exiles gathered to me, and I sat appalled until the evening offering.
Ezra goes on to speak of God’s grace in preserving a remnant.
8 “But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.
Sidebar:
Passages like this have historically been used to condemn Interracial Marriage
Wrong Interpretation
Ezra follows this because it is the law, but also for the right intent.
3 “Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.
4 “For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.
Not about purity of blood, about purity of faith
Rahab - Canaanite
Ruth - Moabite
This principle is one we should hold to today. Choose who you marry wisely.
14 Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
___________________________________________
Back to our conversation of the Exile:
Assyria Enforced Pluralism, Babylon kept units in tact
Why is this important?
Ezra shows us tensions between the Samaritans and Jews
Shows how Judah’s lineage would have been preserved through the Babylonian Exile
Honor associated with Lineage
So as such, Jesus, having a lineage in Judaism is important. It identifies his line as part of the faithful remnant while tying him back to David and Abraham.
This would have been extremely important to the Jews
So when we look at the names in the last section of Jesus’ genealogy, there is less emphasis on who they are as individuals, and a ton of emphasis on the fact that Jesus comes from the faithful remnant and has a lineage that can be traced through the exile.
16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
“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.
Three sections of 14 Generations
The Number 14
Completeness
Repeated 3 times
Hebrew Numerology: DVD = 4+6+4
Common Divisions
Why is this here?
Messiahship
Covenantal Promises
Priest, King, Prophet
Paralleled with Torah - which Matthew will use heavily
Recognized the Lineage
Matthew, has expertly opened his gospel by answering the Jewish expectations for the Messiah.
He has defined his terms! So when we read Christ, it is not Jesus’ last name, it is a proclamation the He is:
The fulfillment of the covenantal promises
Our Priest, Our King, the Prophet
This is a proclamation that Jesus is the Messiah!
