Prison- Matt. 1 (12/10/2018)

Q: Prayer Requests?

Pray

Introduction

This will be the last Monday of this year that we will be meeting so I do wish each of you a good Christmas and may the Lord be with you. You all will be in my heart and my prayers till we meet again.

I was a bit unsure of what text I wanted to share with you all today. I was stuck between continuing with Philippians or doing something more in-line with the Holiday. I have decided to study the genealogy of Jesus with you all. To be honest, for the longest time, I loathed reading the of the genealogies. Not only are there confusing and long names but also we get an ear full every year about it. Now look at me. I am preaching through it.

I want to because this text is important and I want to uncover it’s truths for myself rather than someone else feeding it to me. Also the fact I have learned so much more since the last time I have read it I might see some new things. So with that, let us begin.

Background

Author: The author of the Gospel of Matthew is Matthew, the apostle and now evangelist.

Chamblin, J. K. (2010). Matthew: A Mentor Commentary (p. 120). Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.

Purpose: Matthew’s purpose in writing this account is for his readers to understand Jesus in light of the OT and the OT in light of Jesus. For him, you can not understand one without the other. He is also pointing out that Jesus is the fulfilment to the promise God gave to Abraham, ( Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” )

Genre: The Gospel of Matthew is a testimony, or a witness to the life of Jesus Christ. It claims to be and is a historical document. It is laid out in 7 Narrative-Discourses. In other words, (explain).

Audience: Jews

Body

Now with all that behind us, let us begin reading.

Read

English Standard Version Chapter 1

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

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.

:1-11

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

So what do we see?

42 Generations

14 from Abraham to David (v.1-6)

14 from David to the deportation of Babylon (v.6-11)

14 from the deportation to Babylon to Jesus (v.12-16)

Many of these people are awful people. (I am simply going to name a few)

Abraham was previously a pagan.

Jacob tricked his father and brother out of blessings and blasphemed God.

David killed a man in order to have his wife.

Ahaz was a terrible king and did much evil.

The lineage goes from quite prestigious to quite poor.

From men of renown to kings and finally to poor laborers known as Joseph and Mary.

The genealogy is incomplete.

There are omissions of four generations between Uzziah and Jotham (ie. Ahaziah, Jehoash, and Amaziah).

The genealogy differs with Luke’s.

In names

In number of generations

In style

In depth

In purpose

Legal (Mt.) vs Biological (Lk.)

Few women are mentioned.

Most of whom were gentiles.

Some of whom were great sinners

Yet all God had worked through in extraordinary means

Joseph is excluded as the biological parent of Jesus (v.16)

Q: Why the genealogy then?

To show that Jesus’ claim to kingship is more than simply natural, it is supernatural. It also carries legal ramifications to the kingship.

Application

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Every word of the Word is there for our benefit. Don’t be like me and skip over the seemingly boring parts.

God has placed each word with purpose for the readers then and the readers now. The reason Matthew listed only 46 generations is for his purposes in the book. He is painting an accurate but also unique portrait of Jesus Christ. That is one of the reasons we have 4 Gospels. If we skip parts we are skipping over pieces of the portrait.

God uses the ordinary for extraordinary purposes.

Many people in the genealogy were awful people. God could have made it where Jesus would only come from the cream of the crop. Only the best of the best. But that is not how God chose to interact with His creation. He chose to interact with ordinary people to do His extraordinary work. So the greatest prophet, king, and redeemer comes from a line of terrible people and out of a dirt poor family.

For those of you who do not know Jesus the Christ, you can know Him. And those who trust in Him for their salvation are made part of His family. Not in the biological sense but in the legal sense. He adopts us into His family, even the worst of us.

If we want to be good students of the Scriptures, we must understand the OT in light of the NT and the NT in light of the OT.

The Bible is interconnected. It is a beautifully woven garment of God glorifying Himself with His creation. Nothing in the Scriptures is isolated.

Prison- Matt. 1 (12/10/2018)

Prison- (12/10/2018)