Crooked Line Straight to Jesus

A paradox is not a contradiction; rather, it is a generally a counterintuitive statement or scenario that jars the mind causes you to stop to unravel it with your mind until it makes sense.

Examples:

"This statement is false."

If this is true, then the sentence is false, but if the sentence states that it is false, and it is false, then it must also be true! So the sentence is both true and not true at the same time.

You can save money by spending it.

I know one thing; that I know nothing.

This is the beginning of the end.

Deep down, you're really shallow.

I'm a compulsive liar.

Here are the rules: Ignore all rules.

A paradox can be thought provoking but also fun to think about. Some examples of witty statements:

Here are the rules: Ignore all rules. The second sentence is false. The first sentence is true. I only message those who do not message.

The Christmas Paradox:

Almighty God as a helpless child

God’s love was shouted on a silent night

Jesus was the most unexpected Expected One

the Word became flesh! God became human! the invisible became visible! the untouchable became touchable! eternal life experienced temporal death! the transcendent one descended and drew near! the unlimited became limited! the infinite became finite! the immutable became mutable! the unbreakable became fragile! spirit became matter! eternity entered time! the independent became dependent! the almighty became weak! the loved became the hated! the exalted was humbled! glory was subjected to shame! fame turned into obscurity! from inexpressible joy to tears of unimaginable grief! from a throne to a cross! from ruler to being ruled! from power to weakness!

"The Son of God became man, that we might become god" - Athanasius

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.

1:17

How many of you would like to read that passage again? How many found the name of your next child in that passage? (Hezron, Abiud, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel)

One pastor has said of this passage:

“In this genealogy is everything you need to know about Christianity.” (J D Greear)

The crooked family line of Jesus leads right to new hope.

Jesus brings a new beginning. (1:1)

This first verse would have caught the ears of the Jewish audience and it should catch ours as well; however, we tend to miss it without the historical and grammatical context.

The coming of Jesus signals a new beginning (γενέσεως)

“book of genealogy” - lit., “book of origins” (Βίβλος γενέσεως)

also found in LXX account of origins of heaven and earth

also found in LXX account of origins of humans through Adam

Matthew is saying that with Jesus comes a new beginning:

God’s next step in the plan of redemption,

New Covenant

Hope

How do I know this? Look at the titles for Jesus:

(They point to Jesus as Jewish, King, God, Human)

Jesus - Yahweh Saves

Christ - Messiah - ‘anointed one’

“The colorless translation”Jesus Christ” . . . in many English versions does not do justice to the excitement in Matthew’s introduction of Jesus under the powerfully evocative title “Messiah,” the long-awaited deliverer of God’s people, in whom their history has now come to its climax.” - R. T. France

Son of David - Royal title - Jesus is King

Matthew uses this title for Jesus 17 times - more than any other book in NT -

indicates establishment of a new kingdom

Matthew also uses the word “king” 22 times - more than any other book in NT

Son of Abraham - -not only shows Jesus as Jewish, but also shows hope for whole world since promise of God through Abraham was to all nations (; )

This is a theme Matthew will carry throughout the book:

People of Israel (; )

Matthew 15:24 ESV

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Whole world (; )

Matthew 28:19 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

Matthew 21:43 ESV

43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.

What if Jesus had NOT come?

only way to interact with God was through priest

we could only hope salvation would come

there would be longing instead of resting

In chapter 4, Matthew will quote the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

They had walked in darkness, but now that Jesus has come it is like the dawn of a new day.

**We have the privilege to walk on this side of the light.

Beyond the fact of recognizing the joy of being a part of the New Covenant, this first verse of Matthew’s Gospel points to the new beginnings found only with Jesus.

**Do you need a new beginning? The New Year can’t come fast enough? Maybe it’s something in your past you want to forget or a current struggle you would like to leave behind, only Jesus can truly bring a fresh start.

Jesus brings hope to the sinner. (1:2-6a)

ILLUST - Take a look back on your own family tree and you’ll see some pluses and minuses.

I’m told I’m related to the pioneer and statesman, Conrad Weiser. I have absolutely no way to substantiate the claim, but I at least pretend it’s true.

One ancestor that we are a little more sure IS in our family tree was a Confederate soldier who was captured by the Union army during the Civil War - He was a soldier on the losing side - and apparently not a very good one at that.

For the ancient Jew, your family history was your future. A lot of significance was given to the people in your family. Your genealogy was your resume. That’s why Jesus’ genealogy is so shocking.

Look carefully and you’ll see something in this genealogy that is not unheard of throughout the rest of the Bible but it is uncommon:

Four women are listed in this section. Women during this time were considered insignificant and unimportant as far as legal matters and social status are concerned. Yet, here are FOUR (total five) listed in Jesus’ family history.

Not only that, but these four women were all non-Jewish, and even more than that all four of these women’s stories are tainted by a sexual scandal

Tamar (Canaanite) - (no flannel graph for this one) married to one of Judah’s sons who dies. His brother is supposed to take care of Tamar and give her children to continue the family line. Onan doesn’t fulfill his duty so God killed Onan. Tamar should now be given to Shelah, Judah’s last son, but Judah sees Tamar as a sort of ‘black widow’ so he delays in giving Shelah to Tamar - for many years.

Tamar figures out Judah’s scheme so she comes up with a new plan. Knowing her father-in-law’s weakness for women, Tamar disguises herself, dresses us as a prostitute, and seduces him and gets pregnant with twins, Perez and Zerah.

Judah finds out Tamar is pregnant and demands she be stoned, but before they do she claims the father of the children is the owner of the belt she had been given as payment. The belt was Judah’s.

Rahab (Canaanite) Ruth (Moabite)Bathsheba (Hittite)All four ladies were Gentile

Rahab (Canaanite) - prostitute that God saved from a city that He destroyed.

Ruth (Moabite)

Wife of Uriah (Bathsheba) (Hittite) - involved with the scandal of King David when he slept with his friend’s wife then had his friend killed to cover it up.

All four ladies were Gentile

ILLUST - You thought your Christmas family dinners were bad? Do you want to sit next to the prostitute, the murderer, woman who comes from your family’s sworn enemy, or the twins whose dad is also their grandfather?

There are two very important truths we learn from this section:

God’s good plan overrides any evil scenario.

We saw this last week.

God does not want the evil in your life, and God sees the pain and will still bring about His good through it.

(Freebie - your family doesn’t need to be perfect for God to work. He chose to place His Son into a family with a history of murderers, sexual sinners, abusers, and cheaters - HE is in control of your family)

Jesus is not ashamed to identify with sinners for the sake of the gospel.

**Jesus offers a new beginning to a sinful past

The question is, are we??

**Jesus is not ashamed to identify with sinners - Are we??

Jesus was not worried about his reputation-he was more worried about the sinner.

Jesus was not worried about what others might think.

He purposely placed himself in the line of sinners and proximity of sinners in order to reach them. He didn’t avoid it - He CHOSE it.

Maybe you identify with the sinners in Jesus’ family line. You feel like an outcast.

Jesus is unashamed of you. He came for YOU. You are not worthless - You are worth HIM.

“These names are included in the line that leads to Christ so that you can know that your name can be included in the line that leads from Christ.”

How might some of these people act differently if they knew they would be used to bring about the gospel.

Jesus brings a new authority. (1:6b-11)

David to Exile

follows the royal dynasty

**Jesus brings a new beginning to God’s Kingdom - not a physical kingdom of Israel but a spiritual kingdom of God

The people of Israel at the time of Jesus were looking for Messiah to be a political Messiah who would re-establish the physical throne of David again in Jerusalem.

David’s kingdom was marked by peace and prosperity

spiraled down with other kings

In this section there is an alternating between godly and wicked kings

.This is a genuine yet unlikely family line - this must have stunned Matthew’s readers.

This is a crooked royal line.

In this line we see God at work even in the midst of the common and unlikely

“Good or evil, they were part of Messiah’s line; for though grace does not run in the blood, God’s providence cannot be deceived or outmaneuvered.” D. A. Carson

**Given the political instability, the people would be glad to hear of a king to bring stability and peace

**As king, Jesus has a claim on your life

**Jesus brings hope of new era of a kingdom of peace

spiraled down with other kings

In this section there is an alternating between godly and wicked kings

.This is a genuine yet unlikely family line - this must have stunned Matthew’s readers.

This is a crooked royal line.

**Given the political instability, the people would be glad to hear of a king to bring stability and peace

**Jesus didn’t need to only work through ‘perfect’ people.

“Good or evil, they were part of Messiah’s line; for though grace does not run in the blood, God’s providence cannot be deceived or outmaneuvered.” D. A. Carson

Jesus “came to bring life” and abundantly

Jesus brings a new humanity. (1:12-17)

Exile to Jesus

Many of these names are not traceable for us now; however, given the Jews interest in genealogies, the line must be legitimate since it has not been challenged

We don’t know who these people are, but someone did.

They were Jesus’ uncles and cousins

**Jesus is ushering in a new humanity.

16 - notice Joseph is NOT listed as the father of Jesus but the husband of Mary “of whom Jesus was born.”

Jesus was fully God AND fully man - he is able to represent us because he is one of us

Matthew breaks up the genealogy into three sets of fourteen. This is likely to be seen as two sets of seven (perfect number).

Completeness in the 3x14s = 7 7s

Conclusion

We said at the beginning that this genealogy has everything we need to know about Christianity.

Jesus came to you - You don’t need to try to get to him. He came - that’s the point of Christmas. The real question is, have you received the gift he came to bring?

Jesus came to identify and save sinners. - He has been moving the situations and events of your life to get you to this moment for you to see and respond to the fact that he is the center of all history.

Jesus came not just as Savior but also as King. Don’t look at the little baby in the manger and think you can manipulate him. What is the Spirit telling you you need to place under Jesus’ rule as King of your life?

Jesus came for you to rest in him. Jesus came to bring completeness to humanity and specifically, to you.

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