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last week we looked at Jesus’ human genealogy traced back through his adoptive father Joseph
recorded by Matthew in chapter 1:1-17
the conclusion:
Jesus is the only legitimate heir to the throne of David.
(Mt 1:1-17)
Matthew devoted 17 verses to this
today we are going to look at Jesus’ divine genealogy
captured in just 1 verse!
captured in just 1 verse!
In his divine genealogy Matthew declares that Jesus was descended directly from God by a supernatural work of his Holy Spirit.
in his divine genealogy Matthew tells us that Jesus was descended directly from God by a miraculous work of his Holy Spirit
the fact that only one verse is dedicated to Jesus divine genealogy is a strong indicator this was not of human fabrication
anything fraudulent would have required all kinds of elaboration and detail to convince the victim!
anything that is true is self-evident
note what Matthew leaves out compared to Luke:
the visit of Gabriel to Mary to inform her of her being chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus
Mary’s visit to her aunt Elizabeth and her song of praise
the circumstances surrounding Joseph and Mary’s having to travel to Bethlehem where Jesus was born
the glorious announcement of the birth of Christ by the angels to the shepherds
Luke’s intent to give a complete account vs Matthew’s intent to highlight the coming of the prophesied son of David who would establish a never ending kingdom
- declaration that Jesus is the Christ, the one chosen by God and prophesied in the OT
- proof Jesus was both the son of David and the son of Abraham
essential in light of God’s covenants with them that the One chosen by God would come from them
- proof that this Son of Abraham and Son of David was also the Son of God
essential if he was to be the promised Saviour
when Christ was born the nations of the world had not idea of the history changing significance of what happened
the angels of heaven on the other hand broke forth in glorious praise and worship of the newborn king before the lowly shepherds
Jesus’ birth signalled deliverance from sin for humankind
“he will save his people from their sins” ()
Jesus descended from heaven in full awareness of his mission to be the Saviour of the world
Jesus knew he was entering the world to be the one true sacrifice for sin
his birth and his body had been specifically prepared for this purpose
essential if he was to have a never ending rule and kingdom
he would die for the sins of the world and he willingly came to do so
this was the whole point of his birth, his taking on flesh, to die in the place of repentant, believing sinners
the importance of Christmas is not so much that Jesus came, but why he came
no one would be saved from their sins by his birth, or his sinless life, or his amazing miracles
a price had to be paid for our sins, someone had to die, and only a perfect man, God in the flesh, could accomplish this vital work
Jesus’ ultimate purpose in coming to the earth as a baby was to save people from their sins
his soft little hands were made so that nails would be driven through them
his baby feet unable to walk, would one day support his body as he staggered to his cross
his sweet infant’s head with sparkling eyes and hungry mouth would someday have a crown of thorns beaten down upon it
his tender body, wrapped in swaddling cloths would one day be torn open by whip and spear
Jesus was born to die
now don’t listen to this and think to yourself, “how depressing, this is robbing me of my joy”
Jesus’ death was not a senseless tragedy!
it represents the greatest victory ever accomplished in the history of the world!
as we bask in the joy of Jesus’ birth let us not make the mistake of keeping him as a baby in the manger
remember that his birth was simply the first step in God’s glorious plan of salvation
keep in mind that it is the triumph of Jesus’ sacrificial death which gives meaning to his supernatural birth
Jesus’ Divine Genealogy
“now”
a signal to the reader that Matthew is transitioning from the royal and racial genealogy in vv.1-17
compare v.1 - “the genealogy of Jesus Christ” to v.18 “now the birth of Jesus Christ”
“birth”
from the same Gk root as “genealogy”
Matthew is giving another account of Jesus’ ancestry
Matthew traces Jesus’ ancestry through 2 persons: Joseph and God.
put another way, Jesus’ ancestors include Abraham, David, Joseph and, most importantly, God
verses 18 & following a continuation of the genealogy of Jesus, explaining the origin of the the Messiah’s birth
answers the question, “of whom was the son of David and the son of Abraham was born?”
how did this long expected One arrive on the scene?
birth from the same Gk root as genealogy so we know that Matthew is giving another account of Jesus’ ancestry
Jesus’ ancestry is traced through 3 persons: Joseph, Mary and the HS
put another way, Jesus’ ancestors include Adam, Abraham, David, Joseph and, most importantly, God
carries on from the genealogy in vv.1-17
note the introduction in v.1 - “the genealogy of Jesus Christ”
verses 18 & following explain how the Saviour, the Messiah, the son of David and the son of Abraham was born
how did this long expected One arrive on the scene?
“the birth”
like every other child Jesus was born, but in a singularly special way
every child born into the world is a totally new creature
being eternal God, Jesus existed before Mary and Joseph and all of their earthly ancestors
if Jesus was conceived and born as any other baby, he could not have been God
for the Son of God to become flesh and enter the world it had to be in such a way that the curse of sin was not passed on to him
“his mother Mary”
we already know that his adoptive father was one Joseph who was in the royal line of David
although Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, as the husband of Mary he became Jesus’ adoptive father when he took Mary to be his wife
Jesus was born through an earthly mother without the cooperation of an earthly father
as such Jesus was entitled to all the same rights and privileges of a biological son
traces Jesus biological connection to David through Mary’s lineage
note the challenge of which appears at first glance to say that Joseph’s father was Heli, a contradiction of what Matthew says
“being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph” is either a parenthesis with Jesus being the “son of” or “grandson of” Heli
“Mary had been betrothed to Joseph”
Mary had been pledged to Joseph and as such was considered legally married.
Jewish tradition indicates that marriage typically happened for a male between 18 & 24 yrs and for a female between 12.5 and 15 yrs
betrothal occurred a year or more before the actual marriage
betrothal occurred a year or more before the actual marriage
marriage arranged by the families of the bride and groom
contract made and sealed with payment by the groom’s family to the bride’s father
helped cover marriage expenses
also a form of insurance in case the groom became dissatisfied with his wife and divorced her
once the contract was made the couple was legally bound to each other they were considered husband and wife even though the marriage ceremony and consummation had not yet taken place
contract could only be broken with a formal divorce (v.19)
“before they came together she was found to be with child”
During their betrothal period the requirement was that both Mary and Joseph would keep themselves sexually pure.
Mary would have remained in the home of her parents where she would have been watched over and kept for her marriage day
“she was found to be with child”
during that betrothal period, before she had been married, Mary’s pregnancy became obvious
it is likely, given the stigma of and penalty attached to pregnancy out of wedlock, that Mary secluded herself as her aunt Elizabeth had done () so that her condition was not widely known
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