The Receipt of Joy - Matthew 1:1-17

Introduction

In the hills just outside Bethlehem is a group of shepherds gathered around a campfire. They’re doing what men do when they’re gathered around a campfire — solving all of the world’s problems. It seems like the whole world has just gone crazy to them. They’re ruled by a King who is referred to as Herod the Great, but he seems anything but great to them. He was half an Edomite and was in the pocket of the Roman emperor. Herod was a very paranoid man and constantly feared his standing because the Jews didn’t respect or admire him. He murdered his wives and sons because he believed they were scheming to take his throne from him. Caesar Augustus even once remarked, “It’s better to be one of Herod’s pigs than his son.” Herod was desecrating Jewish heritage, burning many of their genealogies because he feared that someone would be shown to be from David’s line and thus a challenger to his throne. He executed the entire Sanhedrin, leaving no one who could challenge him in all of Judea. So, you can just imagine what all the shepherds had to say as they chewed the fat around the campfire. “What kind of world are we bringing our kids into?” “How in the world are we going to pay these taxes they’re expecting?” “What hope does a man have to provide for his family?”

And, you know what they did, don’t you? They answered those questions by looking back to the olden days, days they had only read and heard about. “You know, there was a time when David was the king that they would’ve been answering to us!” “What would it have been like to live back then? When these Gentiles were shown their place?” God had promised them that a new king like David from the line of David was coming again. But don’t you know they doubted. If it was going to happen, then surely they’d never live to see it. They’d probably heard false predictions all of their lives. They lived during a time when supposed messiahs were being born every day, but they never panned out. They never proved true. So, imagine them that Bethlehem night when the glory of the Lord shone around them and an angel of the Lord appeared to them! The angel steps in and interrupts their misery with breaking news, news that the appearance of the glory of the Lord would not allow them to deny or doubt, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10-11)

God’s Word

You see, you can’t understand fully why Jesus’ birth was good news of great joy to those shepherds until you understand and feel the circumstances in which they lived. They were living hopeless lives in exile and oppression because of the sins of their forefathers. Their only hope was that God would end 400 years of silence to deliver them from this judgement of Israel’s sin. And, it’s in that moment, it’s in that setting, it’s against that dark backdrop that the hope they had in the Lord is transformed into joy by the fulfillment of his promises. The Son of David was born. The Messiah had come. He was going to make right what their sin had messed up. He was going to deliver them. He was going to reestablish the Kingdom so that they would be triumphant over all of their enemies.

That brings us back to the two reasons that bring peace (headline): (The first is that we’re a chosen family.)

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 (2 Sam 7). 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.” It was a clarification that indicated that God was still at work through Israel and upholding his covenant to Abraham and to them.

God Isn’t Finished

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). That is, it felt like God was finished with them. It had been a long time since David (1000 years), and the promise was stretching thin. That’s how it feels to us, isn’t it? It’s been a long time since Jesus came. And, when we look around, our situation is pretty similar. We’re reaping the consequences of what sin has been sown. Raising a child today is terrifying. They’re going to be asked to clarify their pronouns. They’re exposed through social media and the internet to things that grown men and women can’t handle. Pornography pursues them. Evil is normalized. It sometimes feels like God is finished with us (or never was to begin with).

God’s covenant with David required the faith of his people. And, the point of this genealogy is to show that their faith in his covenant was well-founded. That is, the point of this genealogy is to show that they can trust and rest in the certainty of what He has said. The genealogy is intended to show that hope has been fulfilled, that they had not hoped in vain, and that’s what joy is: Joy is the result of hope transforming into fulfillment, when what has been promised is realized and enjoyed. It’s to show that He’s been working the whole time to finish what He started. Look at the covenant God made with David so that you can see how this genealogy is proof of hope transforming to joy, and then, we’ll see how it helps us see our own hope turn to joy.

2 Samuel 7:12-16 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

This brings us back to our idea of telescoping promises. That is, a promise that God gives that requires a dual fulfillment — in the immediate and then in the ultimate. And, in this telescoping promise, we learn two things: 1) God is keeping his promise (immediate). 2) God’s isn’t finished keeping his promise (ultimate). God promises to establish David into a dynasty how? By placing his own son upon his throne, a son who will build a temple. So, who is going to fulfill this promise that God has made to David? The son of David — Solomon. How will we know, what’s the proof that God is with Solomon and upholding his promise to David? Solomon will be enabled to build a magnificent temple for the Lord.

But then, it’s equally as clear that the promised will be passed on through Solomon, but it won’t be completed in Solomon. That is, God won’t be finished, and He won’t be finished for a long time. Notice that it says “forever” three times in three verses. Clearly, Solomon doesn’t/won’t/can’t reign upon the throne forever. In fact, Solomon will incur the discipline of God and will result in the dividing of the kingdom and the eventual abdication of the Davidic throne. So, there’s this longing, this yearning for a King that can ultimately fulfill the promise. That’s what those shepherds were feeling in the first century. “God, where in the world is your king? Where in the world is the Kingdom? It’s been 1000 years!” That’s the purpose of the genealogy. It shows that God’s promise telescoped over 1000 years between covenant made and covenant fulfilled, but now, in Jesus, it was going to be fulfilled. Who fulfilled God’s promise to David? The son of David — Solomon! But, who would ultimately and completely fulfill the promise that God made to David that was to last forever? The Son of David — Jesus, who is the Christ!

Joy promised, assured, and completed.

Joy was promised to David (“I’m going to make you a triumphant king over a triumphant kingdom!”). Then, joy was assured through Solomon (“I’m going to verify and assure you that you can trust my word so that you can live every day with the certainty of knowing it’s true.”). And now, in Matthew one, joy is completed in Jesus (“The Triumphant King has come to deliver his people.”). That’s why the angel tells the shepherds that Jesus’ birth is “good news of great joy!” That’s why Jesus and John’s message was as good as it was simple: “The Kingdom of God has come! The Son of David is here! He’s going to deliver us by triumphing over our enemies!”

What’s the relevance to us? We’re in a situation very similar to those first century shepherds. They were living between two kingdoms — the kingdom of David and the Kingdom of the Son of David. We’re living between two worlds — this decaying world and the new world that is to come. And, here’s what I want you to see from Matthew 1: Our joy is secure until our joy is finished. This can bring you peace this morning regardless of what you see on the news or read on Facebook or experience at school and work: God’s not finished yet, but you’re already secure. How do we know? The Son of David has already come, and He’s already established a new Temple. It’s the assurance of the promise. Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and I will rebuild it in three days.” That is, Jesus would be hung on the cross as the Son of David, and there He would be destroyed. And, He would declare that “It is finished.” What’s finished? God’s wrath has been satisfied. Your atonement is finished. Your redemption is accomplished. Oh, but He wasn’t finished, was He? He was finished paying the price, but He wasn’t finished working. Three days later, He resurrects. That is, He rebuilds the temple. Now, He’s the temple where we meet God and get to God and have the sacrifice offered on our behalf. And, that temple — like Solomon’s — is the security and assurance that He is, in fact, the triumphant king establishing a triumphant Kingdom. Death won’t win. Sin won’t sin. Pain won’t win. Suffering won’t win. Tears won’t win. How do we know? Because Jesus has won! He has triumphed on our behalf.

Hold on to the Receipt!

The trouble is that we gather around campfires and have plenty of problems to talk about, don’t we? That’s because this is a telescoping promise that’s been given to us. Our redemption has been accomplished, but it’s not fully enjoyed. It’s been partially fulfilled, but we’re still waiting for it be fully fulfilled. We can look around and tell that God’s not finished. So, how do we live with peace and joy today while we wait? We hold on to the receipt! This past October, Megan and I surprised our girls with a day in Disney. When we started telling them about it, they didn’t believe us. And, do you know what we did? We showed them the receipt. It was our proof. It would feel like we’d never get there, and then we’d just show them the receipt again. And, every time we’d show them the receipt, their joy would be renewed. It would start all over again.

In the resurrection, we have the receipt of our redemption. It feels like we’re never going to get there, does it? It feels like these tears are never going away. It feels like this suffering is never going to end. But, it’s coming to a close. We have the receipt! Just look to the receipt this morning and treasure it in your heart. The Son of David has come! He has overcome death for us! And, He’s coming back! We have the receipt!