A Messed Up Tree

INTRO

2 of our favorite Christmas things to do.

Put up the Christmas tree (granted I just watch, and complain) but don’t tell my wife. I love watching them put on the ornaments etc.

And We love to watch movies.

What is one part of watching movies or tv that we hate…?

Commercials. Ads.

I don’t like not being able to skip them.

the other day i was watching a movie, It got to a good part and, bam… an ad.

But it was 5 minutes, the same ad got caught on repeat over and over and over.

I went online in the middle of the movie and signed up for the premium service without ads..

It’s an interruption to what i’m really wanting to watch!

When it comes to the Christmas story, that is usually how we treat the text were going to look at today.

Matt 1 the genealogy of Jesus.

A long list of names .

Let’s be honest, when we see a long list of names in the bible, it’s kind of like the ad, let’s skip it and get to the good stuff.

But if is skip it we miss the setup for the entire story.

To us a long list of names doesn’t seem important. especially names I haven’t heard of and most is hard to pronounce.

especially in a time when a family tree is interesting by not seen as very important.

Some us us don’t know the first name of a grandparent , much less a great grandparent.

to the original readers, Jewish people, family trees have incredible importance.

they kept meticulous records.

your family tree proved who you were, what tribe of Israel you belonged to, what your place was, your inheritance.

The Christmas Story tells What Happened and How Jesus came to the world.

But this section illustrates Who he was and Why he came!

there is often incredible value in what we’d normally skip over.

Matthew 1:1 (NIV)

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

The Messiah -

Messiah was the name of the Savior King that had been promised to the Jews for thousands of years.

He would come and deliver them. Lead them to victory.

Bold claim.

This would have scandalous.

This claim is what got Jesus killed.

he couldn’t be the Messiah, he was Just a poor son of a carpenter, born out of wedlock, from nowhere town Nazareth..

He didn’t look the part, like they expected.

What follows is Jesus’ resume for the position.

Family tree proving who he was.

Prophecies said the Messiah, the savior, the coming King had to come through the line of Abraham and David.

Well see that Matthew took the time to do the research, list out the lineage,

But he wasn’t just making a list, he was making a point.

he wasn’t just revealing a structure, he was telling a story.

Broken into 3 parts

Beginning with Abraham.

Jesus can be traced all the way to the founder of the Jewish family and faith, Abraham.

Genesis 12:2–3 (NIV)

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Through you Abraham will come a people and a promise that all the people on the Earth will be blessed, through your line.

Jesus is the Son of Abraham.

The son of promise to bless the whole world.

(Add part to the tree)

Centered on David.

David was the 2nd and Greatest King

David was promised his kingdom would never end.

God will send a son through him to reign forever.

2 Samuel 7:11b–14a (NIV)

“ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son.

Prophesies said the Messiah had to come through the line of David.

Jeremiah 23:5–6 (NIV)

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely

and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.

This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior.

Isaiah 11:1 (NIV)

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

He is the Son of David.

Traced to David, jesus isn’t just a Jew, he’s a King.

(add to the tree)

line of kings (add to the tree)

Next Section is after Israel is defeated, captured and exiled all the way through Jesus.

Matthew 1:17 (NIV)

Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

Jesus is the King of Promise that the has come to bless the world.

Son of Abraham, Son of David

The one all the prophets for thousands of years have spoken about.

He wasn’t just another man.

Just a fairy tale. Just another story.

He is the one that everything has built up to and all of history hinges on. Marks a new beginning for humanity.

His family tree is the resume that proves he is the Messiah. The savior.

Matthew proves (to the jews) that this man that you just skipped over is the very one you have been waiting for.

He wasn’t a commercial, he was the whole show!

And if all of this is true (which Matthew sat out to prove) it has to change how we view him and respond to him.

He is king. Every promise is fulfilled in him.

(Add star to the top of the tree)

But how often have we seen Jesus as kind of just another story.

Nothing really changes daily because of this Jesus.

We don’t have much experience with kings.

An infatuation, fairy tales, royal family...

But in real life we have elected officials that are supposed to serve us, not a King who we serve.

If jesus is the king, then it’s all about him. Everything is for him.

It’s important to know who he is. The King of Promise.

But this family tree also tells us why he came.

Ephesians 1:5 (NLT)

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

To bring us into the family.

But honestly, in this family of kings, rulers and list of important people God used...

Where do I fit?

With my seeming broken, messed up, insignificant life. (hold up handmade ornament)

Is it like when your decorating the tree to be displayed for all family and friends to see and your kid comes in with a handmade ornament with tape and construction paper, “I want this one the tree!”

We guide them to the back.. I found the perfect spot for you.

That’s how we can feel. What could I offer, how could I be chosen.

A family tree and genealogy was common in jesus day.

The religious people used it to show others how superior they were. Better than others.

Look who I came from. Look at my family. Better than others.

Jesus’ tree is much different.

This family tree lists a lot of people that we probably would have wanted to skip over, leave out.

If I was God writing my story through history, it’s people I would have not included.

Almost every person in this tree has a messed up past that God still used.

But Matthew intentionally includes 4 names that God purposefully used as well.

Names of 4 Women.

Women weren't included in genealogies.

Not only did he include these women, they had a past that should have disqualified them.

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah’s Wife

3 of these were outsiders that Jews weren’t even supposed to marry.

Tamar slept with her father in law.

Rahab was a Prostitute

Ruth was a homeless, poor, beggar foreigner.

Uriahs wife was Bathsheba, who had an affair with king david who then had her husband killed.

Why are these names included in the family line of Jesus?

For the same reason ours is.

He doesn’t hid the broken, the messed up and the outcast, he brings them front and center.

(move the ornament up)

People aren't brought into His family because of their merit, but because of his grace and goodness.

His genealogy proves his family is bigger than religion, division, race, politics, mess ups, hang ups or anything else.

It’s all represented.

His kingdom is built by the broken, the outcast, the unlikely.

There is room for us.

His grace is bigger than our Mess.

Jesus came through and for the outcast, just like me.

The promised king invites us into the family tree.

He’s not looking for perfection, he looking for people who see him as king.

He’s made a place for you.

Conclusion

Genealogy can seem boring. But there is too much value to skip, just like you.

God sees value in things that we’d normally pass over.

How can we respond today?

Maybe you need to be reminded about WHO he is.

He is the king.

Worth all of our lives.

Not just another story.

He changes everything.

Maybe you need to be reminded about WHY he came.

He came for people just like you and me.

He wants to advance his kingdom and family line through you.

And a part of the family now heirs to the kingdom.

Romans 8:17 (NIV)

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Eternal Inheritance.

Jesus the Messiah, the son of Abraham, the Son of David.