Playing in the Leaves - Matthew 1:1-17

Introduction

A few weeks ago, Josiah and I went to Pine Glenn to just spend a few hours. Fall is my favorite time of year, and I love to see forest roads in the fall. Pine Glenn is probably one of my very favorites. We were there, and Josiah does best when you can just let him loose to do his thing, and, honestly, I love to watch him do his thing. So, I was just kind of sitting there in this gorgeous fall backdrop, and he’s playing in all of the leaves that have fallen and with the sticks that are on the ground. It’s peaceful to watch a child play, isn’t it? They’re not worried about anything in the world. They’re not thinking about deadlines at work or field lines that have to be re-dug or how the radiator is leaking coolant. They’re just playing with a free mind. It’s like they know their place in the world, and they’re at peace there. They’re comfortable with knowing that their mom and dad are going to handle everything. They’re at peace.

I think that’s why Jesus responds to his disciples the way that he does in Matthew 18. They ask him who will be the greatest in his kingdom, and do you remember how He responds? He says, “Whoever comes to me like a child will inherit the Kingdom of heaven.” That is, whoever knows their place in the world. Whoever knows that I’m the one that’s handling everything. Whoever places their confidence in me to take care of all life’s troubles and cares. That’s greatness in the Kingdom. In other words, you try to pursue greatness and importance and significance by measuring up higher than everyone else, and it’s a recipe for worry and anxiety. You know your place in the world, you understand Jesus’ greatness, you trust in Jesus’ sovereignty, and you can have a peace that surpasses understanding — the kind of peace that just lets you play in the leaves on a fall day.

God’s Word

And, that’s a big part of what’s happening in Matthew 1. There’s this long list of names so that you can know where Jesus fits, and as a result, where we fit if we’re in him. This was written during a time in which tumult in Israel had reached critical mass, and Matthew expects that if they could just understand who Jesus is and who He is offering for them to be, then they can have peace. They can know that they’ve been saved from their situation.

Out of all of the names in the genealogy, three names are meant to be highlighted above all the others. In fact, you can really see this genealogy in such a way as to understand that all the other names are in support of and connection to these three names: Abraham, David, and Jesus. And, those three names are meant to draw our minds to two covenants and how they’re being upheld. And, I contend that the purpose of us understanding this is so that we might be able to have peace — peace in relation to God and peace within by knowing our role in the world. We see Two realizations that bring peace (headline):

We are a “chosen family.”

A covenant of grace

Matthew 1:1-2 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers

The first place Matthew intends for us to start so that we can understand Jesus’ place, and then our place, is where Israel started — with Abraham. It’s a beginning that’s jarring when you read Genesis. Abraham appears on the scene of nowhere. In fact, he’s mentioned along with a list of names in another genealogy in Genesis 11, and then in Genesis 12 he’s just chosen by God out of that list of names in an extraordinary way. It gives no reason or explanation. It doesn’t say that he was a nice guy or a smart guy or a that God liked his hair. It just says, “The LORD said to Abram.....I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you.” That is, God comes to Abram and makes an unconditional promise to him for no reason other than God wanted to show somebody his goodness and grace.

There are two types of covenants found in the Bible — covenants of works and covenants of grace. Covenants of works (Adam in the Garden, Israel in the desert) are the standard type of covenant in the day. They are a king promising to bless and defend a person or nation so long as the person/nation meets the conditions. So, they’re covenants with stipulations that both parties agree to that are intended to carry forward for as many generations as the vulnerable party upholds the stipulations. And both sides, would walk through butchered animal parts as a sign of that they had agreed, saying, “Let happen to me what happened to these animals if I break the covenant.” They’re covenants that can be lost through disobedience. That’s absolutely not what we see here. What we see here is a covenant of grace. It’s where a wealthy king promises his blessing and protection without condition, simply to make known how good, able, and wealthy he is. It’s not an agreement made and kept by the vulnerable party meeting conditions; it’s made and kept by the good character and might of the king alone. That’s what we see here. In fact, they butcher the animal and have the pieces laid out, and listen to what it says: When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram…”

A family to bless all families

By his grace and goodness, God was making a covenant with Abraham. What was this covenant?

12:2-3 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. 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.”

Here’s the covenant: I’m going to make you into a family (a nation was starting with a family). I’m going to bless your family. Your family is going to bless all the other families of the earth. In other words, God wasn’t just choosing Abraham. He was choosing Abraham’s family. He wasn’t just making a covenant with Abraham; He was making a covenant with Abraham’s family. And as a result, every family on the earth would be blessed.

We learn what it means to be blessed when we see God intervene again in chapter 15 to Abraham’s doubts as to how all this is going to work out. He says, “After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” That is, to be blessed means to have a relationship with God that leaves nothing to fear. It’s to have a relationship that ensures his presence, his protection, and his provision as though you were righteous so that you can enjoy it. That is, the effect of God’s covenant with Abraham was that Abraham and his family and all of the families of the earth through him would be blessed. And, what did it mean that he and his family and the families of the world through him would be blessed? It meant that they could live in peace. It meant that they could have such a close, protecting, providing relationship with God that they would never have to worry about anything. They could play in the leaves on a fall day. They were the chosen family!

Jesus brings us into the family

That’s what brings us to Matthew 1. Do you remember how God was going to accomplish this for Abraham? It wasn’t through him manufacturing a son with a woman not his wife. It wasn’t through his own ingenuity. It was through his very own son who would come through his barren wife: And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” But, this is one of those wonderful, telescoping promises! Who is the Son of Abraham? Isaac! But, who is really the Son of Abraham? Jesus!!! And through Jesus, all of the other families can join the family by marriage as the bride! Listen to what Paul says:

Gal 3:27-28 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

When we are in Christ, we are brought into the family! Have you ever read of how God loved and protected and defended and forgave Israel in the OT and though, “Man it would be nice to be Israel”? Well, we are! We are through Christ. We are now the chosen family with all of its blessings and privileges and honors! In fact, we’re the true Israel (rom 9) by new birth, not physical birth.

So, that’s why you can have peace! That’s why you can have peace when your transmission is failing and your kids aren’t sleeping and your budget isn’t balancing. That’s why you can have peace when the news always seems bad and Facebook always seems angry. That’s why you can have peace when you have cancer and don’t know how it’s going to end up. God has chosen this family to bless in a relationship with him forever, and Jesus has brought YOU into the family. So, play in the leaves! Just play in the leaves! That’s your job. That’s you place.

We are a “triumphant kingdom”.

How the Abrahamic Covenant Will Progress

Matthew 1:1-6 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

Matthew 1:17 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.

The second name that I want to point out is the most prominent name on the list — David. In many ways, you can probably say that this is Matthew’s main point. He’s trying to show clearly that Jesus is, in fact, the Son of David. I say that’s the main point for a couple of reasons: David is listed first, even though the genealogy proves he wasn’t first. The symmetry of the generations in verse 17 show it moving from Abraham to David and from David to Jesus, the Son of David. And, it’s likely that Matthew is communicating this through Hebrew numerology as 14 is the quantitative value of David’s name (DWD) in the Hebrew alphabet.

It’s also meant to bring to mind one of the most significant covenants found in the Bible — another covenant of grace. If you were here just a couple of weeks ago, we saw the significance of the Davidic Covenant. You’ll remember that this covenant is that God is going to establish David’s line into a dynasty that will last forever by placing his Son upon this eternal throne. Remember that? And, what we’re supposed to understand is that this isn’t separate from the Abrahamic covenant to make a great nation to bless all nations; it’s a clarification of it. In fact, if you squint a little, you can see that they’re meant to go together. Listen to what He says to Abraham and compare it to what God says to David.

To Abraham, God says: 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. (12:2)

To David, God says: And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. (7:9)

He promises to Abraham that He will bless him (a relationship with God that leaves nothing to fear), and He starts with David by pointing out that He’s done just that. Then, there’s the echo: “I will make for you a great name.” So, what we have in the Davidic covenant is God clarifying how He’s going to accomplish the Abrahamic covenant. “I’ve chosen to bless you so that you will bless the nations.” How will I do that? “I will establish a Kingdom with an eternal King to rule over them with goodness and sovereignty and grace.”

Political Problems Looking for Political Answers

So, Israel understood that they would experience the blessing of God through the King seated upon David’s throne. But, when they looked up, all they saw was a vacant throne and lots of problems. They were occupied by an evil ruler. They were paying high taxes to Rome. Their way of worship always seemed to be under threat and misunderstood. Herod was paranoid and destroying much of their national identity (including many genealogies like this one). PNN (Palestinian News Network) was having a field day with wall-to-wall coverage. There was just no peace to be found anywhere.

What was their hope for peace? Peace so that they wouldn’t be worried about the world their kids grew up in? Peace so that they wouldn’t be worried that their way of life was gone forever? Peace so that they could be sure that they’d be able to retire like they planned? Peace so that they could provide for themselves? What was their hope? Their hope was that a son of David would be born and that he would bring the Kingdom back. In other words, it was that the Kingdom would come!

So, who is Matthew saying Jesus is? He’s Son of David — the King — that’s come to restore their peace. How’s he doing that? He’s inaugurating the kingdom. The Kingdom has come through Christ!

A Different Kind of Kingdom

Except they didn’t recognize him. They were looking for a political answer to what they perceived as their political problems. But, politics can’t bring lasting peace. Jesus was inaugurating a different type of Kingdom. He wasn’t going to overthrow Rome who threatened death (yet!). He was going to do much better than that. He was going to overthrow death altogether so that Rome was pitiful and impotent. How could Rome oppress people who cannot die? How can Pilate break the spirit of a people who will live forever? How can high taxes crush the hearts of those who will rule with God over the nations forever? Jesus wasn’t the kind of king establishing the kind of kingdom that they’d had before. Those kinds of kings and those kinds of kingdoms are good for a little while, but they come and go, rise and fall. Jesus was the kind of King who was establishing the Kind of Kingdom that cannot fail and will not fall. He was inaugurating a triumphant Kingdom that will never be defeated.

And, who’s in this Kingdom? Everyone who comes to him like a child. Everyone who is amazed that He would love them. Everyone who sees his might and his love and his promises and so believes them that they’re able to play in the leaves while everybody else worries themselves to death. Everyone who believes that He really has conquered the threat of death and that He really is worthy of all of life. Now, children aren’t steady. They’re up and down, hot and cold. That’s part of coming to him like a child. But, children are dependent, not independent. They are trusting, not skeptical. They are hopeful, not pessimistic. So, I don’t say, this morning, that you can play in the leaves. I ask you whether or not you will. Will you play in the leaves and trust in Jesus? Will you play in the leaves and trust the king? Will you play in the leaves and rest in the victory He’s already won? That is, will you live in peace?