The History of Christmas

Bottomline: Our past doesn’t define our future.

Intro- Christmas trivia

Who is Santa Claus inspired by and what country does he originate from?

St. Nicholas and Turkey

Which country first used the tradition of the Christmas tree?

Germany …possibly started by Martin Luther

True or False: Before turkey, the traditional English Christmas dinner included a pig’s head smothered in mustard.

Was Jesus actually born on December 25th?

Likely was in the spring.....Roman pagan holiday…sol invictus (birth of the son God).....January 6th -Feast of Epiphany

Who is Jesus’ father?

According to Scripture- How many wise men or magi came to visit baby Jesus?

We don’t know and they actually traditional are believed to have arrived 13 days after his birth. Jan 6th

-Matthew is all about Jesus is the continuation and fulfillment of God’s promises to the Israelite people. That Jesus is the messiah from the line of David.

Matthew 1:1–17 NIV

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

By calling Jesus the "son of Abraham,” the author is connecting Jesus to the father of the people of Israel. Abraham represents the moment when God selected and separated his family from the rest of the nations all the way back in the book of Genesis. It was through these Israelite people that God promised to bring blessing to all of humanity (-3Genesis 12:1-3 By linking Jesus to Abraham, Matthew is bringing reader’s attention back to the promise of God’s rescue plan for the world.

Genesis 12:1–3 NIV

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Jesus points us to a God who keeps His promises.

Connecting Jesus to Abraham helps connecting the faithfulness of God and His promises from long ago to the present and future.

Jesus’ identity as a descendant of David is a major focus of Matthew’s gospel. “Son of David,” is a term that the author of Matthew is very fond of. Verse one is the first of ten appearances of the phrase in the book, and it draws our attention to the royal line of King David. Abraham’s name pointed to a belonging amongst the people of Israel. David’s name tells us that Jesus was royalty.

“Go forth from your country,

2 Samuel 7:12–14 NIV

When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.

2 Samuel 7:11–14 NIV

and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.

And from your relatives

Jesus is the Messiah King long awaited whose reign will not end.

we read the genealogy of Matthew and see the royal lineage of Jesus. He’s the one who will bring the blessing of Abraham to the whole world. He’s the royal son of David that all of Israel has been waiting for. He’s the one that the prophets wrote about, and the psalmists sang about. He will be the king of Israel who blesses all of the nations of the world, especially the outsiders. We know all of this because Matthew tells us in a genealogy that carefully reveals the hope that has arrived in Jesus.

And from your father’s house,

To the land which I will show you;

More).

Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–15 Jesus’ Genealogy (Matthew 1:1–17)

But Matthew also knows that the way it has happened is very strange. He is about to tell how Mary, Jesus’ mother, had become pregnant not through her fiancé, Joseph, but through the holy spirit. So Matthew adds to his list reminders of the strange ways God worked in the royal family itself: Judah treating his daughter-in-law Tamar as a prostitute, Boaz being the son of the Jericho prostitute Rahab, and David committing adultery with the wife of Uriah the Hittite. If God can work through these bizarre ways, he seems to be saying, watch what he’s going to do now.

Judah who mistreated and slept with his daughter-in-law Tamar

Rahab the prostitute who birth Boaz

David the adulterer

God’s extraordinary is always done through the ordinary.