The Context of Christmas

Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 1

Introduction

Imagine for a moment that you walk in during the middle of a movie. You’re not sure what the movie is about—all you know is the title. “Star Wars” An odd name for a movie—”What’s it about, I wonder? Stars declaring war on each other?” As you walk in, these funny looking fighter jets are shooting laser beams and there are references made to a “Death Star.” Then, this large moon looking thing explodes and everyone screams for joy! But you’re sitting there wondering, why is everyone so happy?

See, the climax isn’t so climactic if you don’t have the back-story. That’s one of the reasons, I think, that many people just don’t get the excitement over Christmas. They don’t have the back-story! To fully appreciate the moment when the Death Star explodes, you really need to have seen the previous two movies. You need to see the evil that Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine are inflicting upon the universe. You need to watch the Death Star destroy entire planets. When you do, it all makes sense, and you can enjoy the rush of joy in watching the Death Star and the evil Empire be blasted into oblivion.

That’s kind of what Matthew chapter 1 does for us. At first glimpse, it’s just a genealogy. A list of names and who-begat-who. But, it’s there for a reason. It’s the synopsis of everything that preceded this moment. Without it, we can’t really understand what John meant when he said,

John 1:5 ESV

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

and,

John 1:9–14 ESV

9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Or Paul’s words when he said,

Galatians 4:4–5 ESV

4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

So, I have a very simple goal for you this morning. I want to open the Christmas story to you anew, so that you can experience the climax of God himself taking on human form as a baby. I want you to see the joy, the awe, the glory of Christmas.

Prayer for illumination

Matthew 1 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. 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.

The Patriarchs (vv. 1-2 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob)

Faith and failure

God chooses one old man to be the father of a nation and to carry on his plan for saving mankind

Genesis 12:1–3 ESV

1 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.”

Abram grows impatient and has a child (Ishmael) by his servant Hagar.

God is faithful even when his people are faithless

But God reaffirms his promise to Abram, and Abram believes, and we find out here that God counts faith as righteousness.

Genesis 15:6 ESV

6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

God pours out more blessings and promises upon Abram and gives him a new name

Genesis 17:1–8 ESV

1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, 2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” 3 Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. 6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 7 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.”

Abraham & Isaac point us to the manger and the Cross

But Abraham’s sins show us that we need more than a king. Even Abraham, as blessed as he was by God, was still plagued by sins. He sleeps with his maid, he repeatedly lies and pretends that his wife is his sister—even being willing for her to be taken away by another man, so long as it will save his neck! If this is as good as humanity gets, we’re in trouble!

So, Abraham still has to perform sacrifices to atone for his sin.

But one day, God asks the unthinkable.

Genesis 22:1–2 ESV

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

Abraham must have been filled with fear and doubt as he walked toward that mountain. But he shows faith.

Genesis 22:7–8 ESV

7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.

They get to the top of Mt. Moriah and Abraham reveals his intentions to Isaac. Issac, who is old enough to carry the firewood (a substantial amount of wood, no doubt), is old enough to resist, but doesn’t. As Abraham prepares to strike the death blow and kill his son, his only son whom he loves—at the last second, God provides a ram in the place of Isaac. God himself had provided the offering needed to atone for sin, and one day, he would do it again.

God’s story moves on, and the plot thickens...

The Outcasts and Sinners (vv. 3-6 Judah & Tamar, Rahab, David & Bathsheeba)

Those who ought to be righteous are often not

Judah becomes the father of Perez by accident, thinking that he is sleeping with a prostitute. Turns out, it’s his daughter in law, Tamar!

Those who are outcasts are included in the promise and made righteous

Rahab, a gentile, pagan, prostitute, gets included into the promise because she shows faith.

As the Israelites are preparing to enter the promised land, she hides the Hebrew spies as they are spying out Jericho.

Her life is spared in the following conquest. Joshua saves his people and leads them into the Promised land. Rahab marries Salmon. She has a son named Boaz.

Boaz later marries Ruth—a Moabite woman (another Gentile). Ruth had been married previously, but her husband had died. Instead of returning home to Moab, she decided to stay with her Israelite mother in law, Naomi. She chose to worship God and live with his people instead of returning home to her people. God blessed her by bringing her and Boaz together, restoring her happiness and prosperity. Boaz and Ruth have a baby, Obed, whose grandson is King David.

David, like Abraham, is godly but deeply flawed

David starts off great. He has faith enough for all of Israel, it seems, and he walks with God

God chooses him as the next king, and he consistently makes godly decisions. He spares the life of the wicked king Saul, even when Saul repeatedly tries to kill him. He refuses to seek revenge. He worships God, he doesn’t fall into idolatry.

But eventually, we see that not even David can defeat sin.

In a moment of weakness, he commits adultery. Then he lies, and even has the woman’s husband killed to cover up the affair. David repents, but the damage is done. The remainder of his life is plagued with family problems and scandals.

If not even good ‘ol David can defeat sin, is there any hope?

As we look at the next set of names on Matthew’s list, it seems not...

The sky darkens (vv. 7-11) Solomon, Rehoboam, Joram, Ahaz)

Hope is fading, the situation is growing desperate

Solomon was blessed with wisdom and knowledge, yet he lusts for more. More money, more power, more women—more of all of it.

He becomes rich beyond his wildest dreams, but his riches, women, and idols lead his heart astray.

Rehoboam follows in his footsteps. His lust for money and power leads him to jack up taxes on the people to support his empire, which leads to a revolt and civil war. The nation splits in two.

What follows are a string of ungodly kings and further deterioration:

Joram

2 Kings 8:16–18 ESV

16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.

2 Kings 8:20 ESV

20 In his days Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own.

Ahaz & Manasseh

2 Chronicles 28:1–4 ESV

1 Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done, 2 but he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. He even made metal images for the Baals, 3 and he made offerings in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom and burned his sons as an offering, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 4 And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

2 Chronicles 33:1–9 ESV

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down, and he erected altars to the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem shall my name be forever.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of the idol that he had made he set in the house of God, of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever, 8 and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers, if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses.” 9 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray, to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

The only two Israelite kings (Mannasseh being the other) said to have participated in child sacrifice

Sometime during this period, even God’s Word is lost. It’s not found for decades, until King Josiah finds it.

Despite God’s repeated warnings and many chances to repent, God’s people persist in their sin. It seems as if nothing can fix this problem.

Pitch Black (Deportation, Line of David fades into oblivion with Abiud-Jacob)

Judgment Comes, God’s people are humiliated and carried off into exile

2 Chronicles 36:11–21 ESV

11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel. 14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the Lord that he had made holy in Jerusalem. 15 The Lord, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord rose against his people, until there was no remedy. 17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

Line of David fades into oblivion with Abiud-Jacob

No mention of these names in the OT

No mention of these names in extra-biblical literature

They’re not famous people in the Maccabean revolt

As far as we can tell, they’re nobodies. Israel is in bondage under ruthless oppressors. The promised seed of Abraham seems to fade into oblivion.

There are a series of foreign empires that control Israel over the next four hundred years: Babylon & Assyria, Persia, some other rulers, and finally, the Roman Empire.

The Romans establish an uneasy peace, but they’re ruthless in putting down any notion of rebellion.

Some of the Caesars are worse than others, some even set up idols for themselves in the temple

It seems all hope is lost.

The Birth of the King

But, then a baby is born...

In the humblest of places—Bethelehem

To the humblest of people—a carpenter and his young wife, no one of any importance.

In the humblest of manners—in a feeding trough surrounded by animals

Yet, he is EVERYTHING.

The light of the world

The redeemer

The savior of mankind

Conclusion

Maybe this Christmas, your life feels like there is no hope. The light is fading, and it seems nothing can help. If the Christmas story tells us anything, it tells us there is always hope. God knew that we couldn’t defeat our sin problem. So God himself has provided the sacrificial lamb.

Many scholars think that the mountain where God provided a lamb in the place of Isaac, when Abraham was about to sacrifice him, was the same mountain where the lamb of God was later sacrificed. Once it was called Mt. Moriah, but now we know it as Calvary. God himself has provided the lamb.

So if you’re discouraged this morning thinking all hope is lost, think about that! The Christmas story is one where God himself moves heaven and earth to save his people from themselves!

Romans 8:18–32 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?