The Christ We Proclaim

Today marks a key day in history. This is the first official worship service held on this property by The Church at River Mills.

As The Church at River Mills is a new church in the Owens and West Limestone community, the question may be raise: What will this church be? Who will this church be?

With new beginnings, defining moments take place. This is a landmark moment for The Church at River Mills. This is a moment that will be looked back upon. It is my prayer that as time progresses this moment will be a moment that is looked back up in later years with joy as the church continues in obedience to Jesus Christ.

However, as we arrive here today, we know that we are The Church at River Mills. We are a church. In that, we are a church that boldly proclaims Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected. We are a church that stands on the Bible as the authoritative, inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. We are a church that holds fast to Christ and the Word regardless of what is going on the outside in the culture.

With that, this morning we embark on our devotion to the Word by beginning our stance on biblical preaching. Preaching verse-by-verse through books of the Bible in order that God’s Word speaks to His people drawing sinners to salvation and saints to sanctification. The church shall receive a healthy diet of the Bible.

Would you take your Bibles and open with me to Matthew 1.

While you are turning there, Matthew is the author of this Gospel account, and he is writing to a predominantly Jewish audience around 50-60AD. As Matthew writes, he seeks to point his readers to the fact that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Savior of the world.

In today’s passage, Matthew recounts the genealogy of Jesus as well as His birth.

Matthew 1:1–25 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.

Pray.

While this is a text of Scripture that many of us are very familiar with, I want to challenge you to walk with seeing how the birth of Jesus applies to more than just Christmas.

This text of Scripture carries supreme weight as we seek to understand who Jesus is and what He has done for us. This passage of Scripture points both to God’s sovereignty in the salvation of sinners and our commitment to Jesus Christ.

Main idea: God is sovereign in bringing about the salvation of His people through Jesus Christ whom we proclaim.

From this passage of Scripture, we will see three proclamations that we make as Christians and The Church at River Mills.

First,

We proclaim Jesus Christ the fulfillment of God’s salvific plan.

While we are most often tempted to look over genealogies when reading the Bible, this genealogy deserves our attention. Throughout history and even today, many advocate and argue that Jesus Christ is not the Messiah or God’s Son. Most of the false religions such as Islam and Hinduism will argue that Jesus was merely a prophet. They do this taking away the divinity or divine nature of Jesus.

However, Matthew places this genealogy before a primarily Jewish audience and us today to reveal to us that Jesus is the Son of promise from Scripture that is God’s Son the Savior of the world.

Notice how Matthew begins his gospel account.

Matthew 1:1 ESV

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

He begins by identifying Jesus as the son of David and the son of Abraham. Remember, Matthew is writing to a primarily Jewish audience in which these two descriptors carry much weight. To identify Jesus as the Son of David and Son of Abraham specifically proclaiming that He is the Messiah come to save God’s people.

Matthew does not shy away. He writes to make his point clear. Likewise, Matthew does not shield his readers from the truth. In this genealogy, Matthew strategically walks through the lineage of Jesus pointing to certain ancestors particularly fourteen generations at a time. He does this for symbolism.

We know that sin entered the world through Adam and Eve. God had created the world and called it good. Yet, in the face of temptation, Adam and Eve fell to sin and disobeyed God’s command. Therefore, sin entered into the world. However, God would promise that a son would come.

Genesis 3:15 ESV

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

This son would come and bruise the head of the serpent, the deceiver.

Continuing on in Genesis, God would choose a man by the name of Abraham to make a covenant.

In that, Matthew begins with Abraham. Abraham was chosen by God to be a father of a nation that would in turn bless the world.

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.”

There is this covenant made by God to Abraham that he will have offspring that will bless the world. Now, Matthew is displaying Jesus as the Son of Abraham. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant. A blessing to all people. That is why Matthew starts with Jesus as a Son of Abraham.

Then, Matthew does not hid the sinfulness of Jesus’s ancestors by listing Tamar who deceived her father-in-law into sexual immorality, Rahab who was sexually immoral as a prostitute, and Ruth who was a Moabitess. In listing these, Matthew reveals that despite human sinfulness, God was bringing about His plan for salvation of humanity. Through humanity fell in the Garden of Eden, God had a sovereign plan to restore humanity through His Son.

Matthew does not stop at Abraham. He continues to list King David. God had made a covenant with David as well.

2 Samuel 7:12–13 ESV

12 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. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

God made a covenant to establish David’s kingdom forever through his offspring. We all know that David was king over Israel. Now, Matthew is emphasizing Jesus as the offspring of David that came to establish an eternal kingdom. This Jesus that Matthew is pointing to is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant to bless the world and the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant to establish His kingdom for ever.

Isaiah prophesied about this Son, this Messiah.

Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

The Son will be on the throne of David and His kingdom will know no end. Likewise,

Isaiah 11:1–2 ESV

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

Jesus is the fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant as the shoot off the stump of Jesse. As the earthly Davidic line ended, Jesus would be the new shoot off the stump of Jesse. He is the fulfillment of God’s Covenant. He is the Son of Promise to set His people free from captivity to sin. He is the Son to crush the head of the serpent.

And as though Matthew had not made it plain enough, he includes verse 17.

Matthew 1:17 ESV

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.

David Platt points out an important reality for us.

“Matthew has arranged his genealogy this way for a reason that goes all the way back to the Hebrew name for King David. The Hebrews recognized something called gematria, a system of assigning numerical values to certain words based on the corresponding letters of the Hebrew alphabet. When you add up the numerical values of the Hebrew consonants in David’s name, you get a total of 14. In addition, David’s name is the fourteenth in Matthew’s list.”

Matthew has pointed to the important fact that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Promised Son from Genesis 3. When man sinned against God, God made a way for the salvation of sinners through the sending of His Son Jesus Christ. God did not simply bring this about by happenstance. God is sovereignly working to carryout His purposes.

Though man sins, God is still active and working. Abraham would fail and lie in the book of Genesis. David was an adulterer. Kings such as Ahaz would have unrighteous reigns. Despite all of that, God was still sovereignly working for Jesus to come to earth to accomplish the salvation of God’s people.

Illustration: I have seen this in my own life. Whenever I think things are not going as they should be, I look back on my life and see that God has always been sovereignly working to draw me to Himself. In high school, I was wrestling with a desire to become a military officer which instilled discipline within me. I desired to move away to seminary thinking that was best for my life. Yet, God would send me to a local church to learn ministry and the absolute messiness of ministry. God would lead me to that place to learn dependence upon Him as He provided for Jesse and myself in every moment.

Application: In your life, I do not know what you are walking through. However, I do know some situations in this room. Though right now, times are hard, good, or uncertain, God is at work. We do not know His plans, but He does. This morning, many of you are visitors. You are not here by accident. God sovereignly directed you here for a purpose. Though we may not see it now, we will. Just as many may not have understood why God would use men like Abraham and David, God knew that it was to accomplish He salvation purposes. God is still sovereignly at work in His creation bringing about His purposes for His glory. God is still at work carrying out His salvific plan. Today, it may be that God has brought you here this morning to The Church at River Mills to draw you to Himself as you hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God is still working to draw sinners to Himself. He is working to bring about His salvation plan in the lives of sinners.

We proclaim Jesus Christ the Savior of the world.

After Matthew outlines the genealogy of Jesus, he moves into his account of Jesus’s life beginning with His conception and birth. Look back with me at verse 18.

Matthew 1:18 ESV

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.

After delving into the genealogy of Jesus and pointing to Him as the Messiah, Matthew begins by taking us to the birth story of Jesus. Mary has been betrothed to Joseph at this point.

Now, in Jewish customs, the process of becoming married was a bit different than it is today. The couple would be arranged to be married. Upon that arrangement, an engagement would take place in which the couple would be betrothed. In Jewish culture they were legally considered husband and wife. However, they would not yet live together. After about one year, the couple would then live together and fulfill the creation mandate to be fruitful and multiply.

In that understand, Mary and Joseph were betrothed meaning they were in the process of waiting to come together and live together as husband and wife. However, legally they were considered husband and wife. At this point in time, Joseph and Mary had not yet come together, but Mary is pregnant. If we stopped there, reason for concern would be justified. However, this is not any normal pregnancy. The child that is within her is from the Holy Spirit.

As Joseph learns that Mary is pregnant, he would assume that Mary had broken the engagement. So, Joseph resolved to legally divorce Mary.

Matthew 1:19 ESV

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

Also notice, Joseph is loving and just in this passage. He thinks about the situation and after thinking through it, he comes to the conclusion or resolved to divorce her quietly. Joseph is displaying mercy in seeking to keep Mary from shame and displaying justice in divorcing her. However, that is not in accordance with God’s plan.

Matthew 1:20 ESV

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.

An angel appears to Joseph. Notice the angel identifies Joseph as the son of David as well again tracing the lineage of Jesus to David. The angel commands Joseph to take Mary as his wife because this baby is different. This child is the child of promise. He is conceived from the Holy Spirit and...

Matthew 1:21 ESV

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

This son has a divine task. He shall be called Jesus which in the Hebrew is the name, Joshua which means Yahweh saves. Jesus will save His people from their sins. Jesus is sent to earth with one task, save His people.

This is known as the incarnation. God becomes flesh. Jesus took on human flesh. We understand the incarnation as a hypostatic union. Jesus is from the Holy Spirit making Him fully God and born of Mary making Him fully man. Jesus remained fully God and took on humanity. It was an addition.

The reason that Jesus would do so was to save His people from their sins.

One commentator writes,

“In short, since neither as God alone could he feel death, nor as man alone could he overcome it, he coupled human nature with divine that to atone for sin he might submit the weakness of the one to death; and that, wrestling with death by the power of the other nature, he might win victory for us.” (Calvin)

Jesus was both fully God and fully man in order to win sinners to salvation.

Likewise, David Platt states:

“Part of the purpose of the virgin birth of Jesus is to show us that salvation does not come from man, but from God. Salvation is wholly the work of a supernatural God, not the work of natural man. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves from our sins, which is evident even in the way in which Jesus entered the world. This baby born in Bethlehem was and is the center of all history.”

God ensured that as man fell in the Garden of Eden. God would bring about the salvation of man through sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane that would lead to the blood of Christ poured out on the cross of Calvary. The Son of Promise has arrived, Jesus Christ. He has arrive to save sinners.

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus was obedient to the point of death on a cross in order to pay for my sins and for yours. Jesus came to be the Savior of the world. Jesus came to be the sacrifice for sins in order to purchase them our of their slavery to sin. Jesus is the One to whom we must cling in order to be saved.

There is no other Savior. It is Jesus Christ and no one else. No wealth can save you. No social system can save you. No political system can save you. Christ alone is our hope in life and death. He alone can save sinners. From the vilest of offenders to the one who is not far off. Jesus saves and Jesus alone. Man cannot save Himself. Jesus came for us.

The Church at River Mills proclaims Jesus the Savior of the world born of a virgin. Fully God and fully man sent to redeem His people.

We proclaim Jesus Christ the Son of God with us.

Matthew again takes his reader back. He takes them to Isaiah 7 in verse 22 of Matthew 1.

Matthew 1:22–23 ESV

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).

Jesus is God with us. This was proclaimed in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament. God did not send just anyone to save us. God sent His Son. God sent His Son who is like us in taking on human flesh. He understands what we walk through. He knows the feelings we face. He has worked as a carpenter. He has lost friends. He has been tempted. Yet, as God, He is perfect in every way. He came to be the creation that we could not be.

Millard Erickson writes,

“For Jesus’s humanity was not the humanity of sinful human beings, but that possessed by Adam and Eve from their creation and before their fall. He was not merely human as we are; he was more human than we are.”

Jesus was the creation we could not be in order to accomplish what we could not, salvation. Jesus was God with us in order to buy us back to God.

In understanding what the angel said to him, Joseph had a favorable response.

Matthew 1:24–25 ESV

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.

Joseph chose obedience to God.

Conclusion: This morning, know that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s salvation plan, is the Savior of His people, and the Son of God who came to dwell with us. In that, God sovereignly places things into motion for His glory. Here, The Church at River Mills has been brought into existence by the pure grace of God. As God has brought it about, this church must stand upon His Word unapologetically at all times. God has saved us for His purpose and glory. Now, we are to be used by Him. That is why we proclaim Jesus Christ alone.

We do not proclaim a gospel contrary to that which is within the Bible. While the culture would love for us to get sidetracked and preach political points, we must not do so, because Jesus did not. While the world would love for us to turn a blind eye to sin, we must not do so because Jesus did not. While other churches deem it okay to relax on Gospel truth, we must not because Jesus is the way the truth and the life. While supposed tolerance is to be our motto, we cannot turn from the Word. The world wants us to preach a Christ that is all of love and grace with no justice. However, the Christ of Scripture is Jesus Christ who does provide grace and mercy through His atoning sacrifice on the cross of Calvary where His blood was spilled for our transgressions. The Christ of Scripture is Jesus Christ who will come again to judge the world. When the world and others say we should water down or soften the Gospel because of our day and age, we must not because the saving message of Jesus Christ crucified for our sin, resurrected with victory over sin, and coming again to do away with sin is the only message that has the power to save. Any other message is a message that falls short and leads only to the pit of hell.

We proclaim Jesus Christ from the authoritative and inerrant Word of God.

Application: This morning, Christian, does your live proclaim Jesus? Does the way in which you raise your children reflect what Scripture teaches? Does you language edify and point others to the Savior? Does you work life reflect your Christian life? How are you doing proclaiming Jesus?

Today, if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, the call is know Him today. Explain the Gospel.

Pray.