The (Back) Story of Christmas

Turn in your Bibles to Matthew 1

Introduction

Matthew 1 starts off with a genealogy. Now, genealogies tend not to be very popular preaching passages because, after all, long lists of “so-and-so begat so-and-so” can get a bit dry after a while. But, if you slow down and ask yourself the right questions, these genealogies can reveal some crucial information. For example, Scripture tells us in 2 Tim 3:16 that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” that means that even genealogies are “profitable for teaching...”

So the question, then is, what profit did the Holy Spirit intend for us gain when he designated Matthew 1 to be included in Scripture?

I think the answer comes when we realize that genealogies in Scripture are not just lists of names but are actually summaries to help us recall stories and important events. They’re the Bible’s way of saying, “In the last episode, recall that...”

Now, 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 the genealogy in 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’s story of redemption, as God himself takes on human form as a baby. I want you to see the joy, the awe, the glory of Christmas.

So, open your Bibles with me to the beginning of the New Testament, Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1:1–17 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.

Prayer for Illumination

The Genealogy reminds us our fallenness and need for a Savior.

At first glance, this genealogy looks like a “who’s who” of spiritual heroes.

Abraham and the Patriarchs

King David, whom Scripture describes as a man after God’s own heart

King Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived

Good King Josiah, who started a spiritual awakening and revival in Israel

But upon closer examination, we realize that it also contains many people of less-than-stellar character.

v. 3—“and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar” reminds us of the sordid story during which Judah fathers a child by his daughter in law (whom he mistakes for a prostitute)

v. 5—Rahab was formerly a prostitute

vv. 9-10 Ahaz and Manasseh were particularly evil kings. Manasseh even participated in pagan child sacrifice rituals.

Worse still, even the heroes in this list are complex characters with some major character flaws and sordid scandals.

v. 2—Abraham and the Patriarchs practiced polygamy, in blatant contradiction to God’s design for marriage, and had too many other character flaws to mention.

v. 6 reminds us that King David, whom Scripture describes as a man after God’s own heart, committed adultery with the wife of one of his closest military commanders and then basically had the man murdered to cover up the affair and steal his wife. (Also a polygamist.)

King Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived, had over 700 wives and concubines, and taxed the kingdom so heavily that a civil war erupted under his son’s rule (Rehoboam).

Good King Josiah, who started a spiritual awakening and revival in Israel, reminds us that Israel actually lost the Law for a long period of time. He also died in battle because he didn’t listen to God.

This list of “heroes” seems to be designed to remind us that there is no human being capable of saving humanity or meeting our deepest need.

This list of people reminds us that even the best of God’s people are broken sinners who need a savior.

The people in this list seem to be increasingly immoral, depicting a downward spiral of immorality which goes from bad to worse.

This past week, I got to visit my seminary and reflect on the legacy that godly men left before me that made it possible for me to attend such a wonderful God-honoring institution. Yet, at the same time, there’s a tension in my mind as I reflect on the painful fact that the four founders of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary were slave holders. On the one hand, these men founded a wonderful institution that has been a force for good in the world for the past 150 years. They authored powerful works of theology that are still used in seminaries today and proclaim the truth of Scripture boldly. Yet, they were not without sin. They had a glaring blind spot in the area of slavery, seeing no contradiction between enslaving men and the freedom that comes through Christ to men. It’s truly baffling.

But you and I are no better. Every Christian who has ever lived is a puzzling contradiction. We profess to follow a God who knows all and has our good at heart, yet we question him when trouble strikes. We profess that God is all we need and yet we covet more than what he gives us.

The sins of believers (and unbelievers) don’t cancel out the gift God gave us at Christmas; in fact, they remind us why that gift was necessary in the first place.

The genealogy reminds us that God has a plan for our redemption.

When humanity rebelled against God, God himself took the initiative to restore our broken relationship through covenants with his chosen people.

Genesis 17:3–8 ESV

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.”

When someone wrongs you or offends you, whose responsibility is it to restore the relationship? The offenders, of course.

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Not only did God take the initiative in offering us a way to be forgiven, he paid the price to purchase that forgiveness himself and offers it as a free gift to any who would accept it.

The Old Testament focuses on Israel as God’s chosen people. But all the way back in Genesis, God made it clear that his plan of redemption would be one day offered to all people, not just the Jews.

Genesis 17:4 (ESV)

4 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.

But as of the close of the Old Testament, this promise had not yet been fulfilled.

But Jesus’s ushered in a New Covenant, one that would be extended to include even Gentiles.

Throughout the stories alluded to in this genealogy, it becomes clear that only God himself can accomplish the salvation of his people.

Abraham didn’t receive the covenant and blessings by earning it, but simply by believing in God’s promise.

Genesis 15:6 ESV

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

The strange covenant in Genesis 15:7-21 foreshadows a day when God himself would pay the price for our redemption.

God is establishing a covenant with Abraham in this passage.

God tells Abraham to gather up some animals, kill them, cut them in half and arrange the bloody dismembered animal pieces in two lines.

Then, a smoking pot and flaming torch pass between the pieces of the animals.

This bizarre display was actually based upon a familiar practice in Ancient near Eastern culture. When two parties made a covenant, they would cut up some animals and then both parties would walk through between the pieces, symbolically saying “May what happened to these animals happen to me if I break this covenant.”

But, in Genesis 15, it’s only God who walks between the pieces, signaling that God is taking full responsibility for both sides of the covenant, and that he will pay the price if his people should break the covenant.

God reiterates this promise in Gen. 22 when he asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his only son.

God had promised to make a great nation out of Abraham, but at 90 years old, he still was childless. Miraculously, God gives him a son, Isaac, when he was 99. But some time later, God tested Abraham, saying: Gen 22:2 “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.”

Now Abraham had to be a bit confused. How could God fulfill his promise to make him into a mighty nation if he had to kill his only son before he even had grandchildren? And what kind of God asks such a thing?

But Abraham trusted God and obeyed. He gathered some firewood and a torch, grabbed a knife, and he and Isaac headed up a mountain to do a sacrifice. At some point, Isaac realizes that they’re missing an important ingredient in the sacrifice—a lamb.

So Isaac asks his father, Gen 22.7-8 “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 up the mountain, build an altar, and Abraham ties up his son and places him on the altar. He raises the knife, ready to end his son’s life, when God stops him at the last minute.

Genesis 22:12–14 ESV

12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

God himself provided a lamb for the sacrifice in the place of Isaac. But one day, on that very same hill where Isaac was spared which would later be named Golgotha, God would provide a lamb to atone for the sins of not just one person, but the whole world. In the place of many sinners, God offered up his one and only son.

So, when this genealogy mentions Abraham and Isaac, it reminds us that the penalty for sin had not yet been paid, and that God himself would pay the price for our sins and provide the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world.

The genealogy reminds us that our only hope is in the Messiah, King Jesus.

The genealogy portrays Jesus as the long-awaited King we’ve been waiting for.

“Christ” = Χριστος, which is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term for “Messiah”

Messiah means “anointed one,” and refers to the long-awaited Davidic King

The many godly men and women who preceded Christ were insufficient to redeem humanity from the curse of sin.

If righteous Abraham who had enough faith to slay his own son at God’s command couldn’t reconcile humanity to God, what hope do we have?

If King David, a man after God’s own heart, couldn’t walk the straight and narrow, what hope do we have?

If even good King Josiah, with all his godly zeal, couldn’t remain sinless to the end, what hope do we have?

If thousands of years of God’s chosen people and dozens of Kings couldn’t produce even one person who was able to reconcile himself and his people to God, what hope do we have?

In fact, as we get down near the end of the genealogy, we see humanity’s situation getting darker and darker.

While some of Israel’s first kings were good, they got progressively worse, leading the country deeper and deeper into sin and rebellion.

Finally, (v. 11) God’s judgment was poured out upon their sin and the foreign nation of Babylon invaded Israel, took them captive, and exiled them to Babylon. The Old Testament ends and then for four hundred years, there are no more prophets and no more kings.

Israel languishes under foreign rulers. Eventually, they find themselves under the thumb of the Roman Empire. It’s as if God has gone silent. It’s as if all hope has been lost.

Humanity needed a new King David. A better King David. A king who would rule with righteousness, who would uphold justice, who would defend God’s people from their enemies and restore good to God’s creation.

We like to give our politicians a hard time and hold their feet to the fire. The beauty of democracy is that our leaders are held accountable to the people. But as much as you may dislike our current president or leaders, I want you to imagine an alternative world in which the USA lost the Cold War and communist USSR invaded the USA and took over. Imagine how the people would have languished under such oppression. Imagine how you would long for a democratic president, even one from the other party! If you can imagine that, you’ll have a little taste of Israel’s longing on that first Christmas Eve. They were waiting for, longing for a new King.

And you and I need that King just as much as they did! Our fallen politicians and broken governments are a constant reminder that righteousness isn’t always upheld in this world. Sometimes our governments—which are instituted by God to uphold good and punish evil—do the opposite, punishing good and enshrining evil as law. The fallen world is a constant reminder that we’re waiting for a King.

But, God had not forgotten his promises, and he was not finished. So, as the song says:

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises

One day when sin was as black as could be

Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin

Dwelt among men, my example is He

Word became flesh and the light shined among us

His glory revealed.

When Star Wars originally debuted, it came out as a trilogy. The very first Star Wars movie begins literally in the middle of a battle between the Rebels and the Empire, and it takes a little bit before you can begin to figure out what’s going on.

Many years later, three prequels were released, set years before the original three movies, and these three new movies were designated Episodes I, II, and III, and the original three were designated Episodes IV, V, and VI. Die-hard Star Wars fans love to hate Episodes I-III because they’re “not the originals.”

But, I actually like them (except for the third one which has terrible acting) because they give the backstory. When you start off in Episode IV, you know that the Empire is bad and the Rebels are good, and you can figure out that Luke Skywalker is the hero. The movie is titled “Star Wars: A New Hope.” But, Episodes I-III help you to understand how the Galactic Empire came about. They help you understand just how evil Darth Vader and the Emperor are, and just how bleak the situation was when Luke Skywalker comes on the scene.

That’s kind of like what the genealogy Matthew 1 is like. It reminds us how desperate the situation was before Christ. It reminds us how sinful mankind is and how desperately we needed a Savior. It reminds us that we need “A New Hope.” It shows us just how dark was the darkness into which the light shined.

With that background, we can understand the awe and wonder of the Christmas story again in verses like:

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.

John 1:5 ESV

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

John 1:14 ESV

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.

Conclusion

Perhaps this morning you find yourself a bit apathetic about Christmas. I hope this morning the Spirit has helped you to remember just how desperate your situation was before that little baby in the manger. I hope you remember afresh the wonder that God himself took the initiative to reconcile you to Himself, paid your sin debt, and gave you the gift of eternal life.

Perhaps this morning you realize that you’ve been trusting in your own efforts to make yourself right with God. But if thousands of years of godly men and women couldn’t do it, why do you think you can? And if it were possible for us to be reconciled to God by any other way aside from Christ taking on human form and dying for our sins, don’t you think he would have spared his only son the indignity and torture of the cross? Christmas is good news because there was no other way for us to be saved.

As we prepare for the invitation time, I invite you to thank God for what he has done for us in the Messiah, Jesus. Thank God the Father for sending a King who reigns with righteousness and justice and mercy, and for making a way for us to be reconciled with him. Thank God the Son for humbling himself and taking on human form, being born a baby. And thank God the Spirit for moving in our hearts and opening our eyes to the true joy of Christmas.