The Son of David

We're going to begin our worship this morning. Let me read to you from God's Word in Zechariah chapter 9.

Zechariah 9 · chapter mention

! Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you, righteous and having salvation as he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, full of a donkey.

Today we'll be thinking about the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. We'll be thinking about the title, the Son of David, and how it applies there.

And so as we do so, we're going to gather this morning, raising our voices, along with the crowd who welcomed Jesus to the city on that day, in the words of Psalm 118.

This is in Sing Psalms, page 156 in the Blue Book.

We're going to sing from verse 15 through to verse 24.

Please stand to sing, if you're able.

singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing

He does all things well.

I shall not die, but I shall live.

The Lord's great works I will proclaim.

The Lord's of the air rechastened me.

I've rescued me from death's domain.

Oh, like the gates of righteousness,

I tell the fear, thanks to God.

This is the gate of God through which

the righteous come before the Lord.

You answered me, I will reply.

Salvation comes on you alone.

The stone that filled the child refused

Has not become the cornerstone.

The Lord himself has done all this

Ages of marvel in our sight

This is the deed the Lord does need

In the dark's secret delight

Let's bow our heads in prayer to God.

This is the day the Lord has made.

We thank you, Lord, and we rejoice today

That we can say these words with confidence

That you have appointed this day

As a day of salvation.

You have appointed it as a day of worship.

You have appointed it as a day of memorial and rest

Giving thanks for the finished work of your hands.

We thank you, Lord, today that we gather, therefore,

As people who have all of these reasons to rejoice and worship.

Today we remember that you have made this world

In which we live, in all of its beauty and intricacy

And its marvel and wonder

That we can see your handiworks in it

As the psalmist says,

It is a world which continually speaks

To God's glory and to your character

That we can see so much of you

In what we see around us

But we thank you that today

We also remember the finished work

Not just of creation

But the finished work of Jesus

We thank you for the resurrection

We thank you that

Early in the morning

On the first day of the week

That the tomb was found to be empty

That that earth-shattering truth

Had come to pass

That death was defeated

And hope abounds now to the children of man

And so we pray today

That you would fill our hearts with thanksgiving

That as we worship you today

We would lift up and glorify your name

That you would help us

To resound to the praise of your glory

We come confessing before you today our sin

We know we need the cleansing blood of Jesus

To wash away all iniquity

And so we ask today, Father

That you would give us a true sense and vision

Of Christ Jesus

That we would recognize in him

The one who takes away the sin of the world

And so we ask and pray

That today each one of us

Would in our own hearts

Acknowledge our sin and our shortcomings

That we would not seek to hide from you

The things that we have done amiss

But that rather with that full confidence

Of knowing that there is salvation

And forgiveness and hope available

That we would come clinging only

To the blood of Christ

And not our own self-righteousness

Help us therefore we pray

In our worship today

To look to Jesus for cleansing and healing

Help us to see him as the one

Who has mercy upon us

And may we therefore be blessed

In receiving today the mercy

And the grace of almighty God

Renew us and refresh us in this we pray

In Christ's name

Amen

So I have with me today

An item from our house

It's kind of hard to believe

Six months and we're still

Working on the house

And what I have with me today

Is the stage we are at at the moment

We are laying

New hardwood floors

In our living room

And so I have brought with me today

The sample block

It has the sticker on the back

That tells you all the information

About this wood

And tells you what colour it is

And what strength it is

And how you should lay it

And everything else

And on the front you can see

What it's going to look like

And so we were quite impressed with this

And thought that's the wood

That we want for our floor

You might be thinking to yourself

Well why Gordon have you brought

A piece of wood with you today?

Why on earth have you brought

A piece of wood?

And Roddy was certainly asking me

That question this morning

When I was coming into church

But my piece of wood is a reminder to us

That today is Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is a Sunday

On the Christian calendar

It's called the liturgical calendar

So the Sunday before Easter

Is always called Palm Sunday

And this isn't a piece of palm

Obviously

This is a piece of oak hardwood

Floating

Engineered timber

So you wouldn't want to

Wave this at somebody

If it was Palm Sunday

That's what people did though

On the first so-called Palm Sunday

Jesus was going into Jerusalem

And people were waving palm branches

And singing Hosanna to God

We can read about it actually

In Matthew's Gospel

It's in Matthew chapter 21

Matthew 21 · chapter mention

We'll read verses 1 to 11 just now

Just very briefly

So that you'll get the picture

And when they came near to Jerusalem

And they came to Bethpage

In the Mount of Olives

Then Jesus sent two disciples

Saying to them

Go into the village in front of you

And immediately you will find

A donkey tied

And a colt with her

Untie them

And bring them to me

If anyone says anything to you

You shall say to them

The Lord needs them

And he will send them

At once

This took place to fulfill

What was spoken by the prophet

Saying

Say to the daughter of Zion

Behold your king is coming to you

Humble and mounted on a donkey

And on a colt

The foal of a beast of burden

The disciples went and did

As Jesus had directed them

They brought the donkey

And the colt

And put on them

Their cloaks

And he sat on them

Then most of the crowd

Spread their cloaks

On the road

And others cut branches

From the trees

And spread them

On the road as well

And the crowds went before him

And that followed after

Were shouting

Hosanna

To the son of David

Blessed is he

Who comes

In the name of the Lord

Hosanna in the highest

And when he entered Jerusalem

The whole city was stirred up

Saying

Who is this?

And the crowd said

This is the prophet Jesus

From Nazareth

Of Galilee

So

What's happening there is

Jesus is riding into Jerusalem

And he's riding

On a donkey

And all the people

Are going around

And they're getting

Not hardwood flooring

To put down on the floor

That wouldn't be very practical

But what they do is

They get their coats

So instead of grabbing bits

Of wood

They're grabbing their coats

Like this

They're taking their jackets off

And they're throwing them

On the road

In front

I'm not going to throw

This jacket

Because I'll probably

Get in trouble for that

But they would throw

Their jackets onto the road

And then when Jesus

Rides by on the donkey

He's walking

Not on the road

But on the jackets

And you think

That's a very strange

Thing to do

Isn't it?

But it's just like

Laying hardwood flooring

The people thought

The roads are too dirty

For the king of kings

To walk on

The roads are too dirty

For this

Exalted holy person

To come on

We will put our jackets

On the floor

And he can walk on them

And the reason

They're doing that

Is because they want

To show

That they recognize

Jesus as their king

They want to be able

To say

This is Jesus

He's above us

He's over us

He's the one

That we listen to

And that we follow

And that we

Will go after

And so by throwing

Their jackets on the ground

They're saying

It's okay for Jesus

To walk in our jackets

Because we are beneath him

He is our king

It's quite a strange thought

Isn't it?

But that's what was happening

On

Palm

Sunday

They wanted to show

That Jesus was over them

Because they realized

Jesus

Was their king

And so they were singing

These words

Hosanna

Which means save me

It's a cry to God

To save us

Hosanna

To the one who comes

In the name of the Lord

Hosanna

To the son of David

They're recognizing

That Jesus

Is a king

Who brings

Salvation

And so for us today

We're going to be thinking

About that a wee bit

In the sermon

We're going to be thinking

A bit about Jesus

As the son of David

But the simple thing

If there's one thing

I want you to remember today

It's this

That we can show

Every day

That Jesus is our king

That we should ask

For God

To give us

The wisdom

And the strength

Every day

To live for Jesus

And to show

Jesus

Is the one

That we follow

And that doesn't mean

That we throw our jackets

On the road

When we're coming to church

But it does mean

That every day

We say

Jesus

Your word

Is over me

Your word

Is what I'm going to follow

Your ways

Are how I'm going to go

Where you call

I will follow

And when you offer

Salvation

I'll listen to you

And I will believe

In you

And I will trust you

We're going to say

The Lord's Prayer

Just now

One of the things

That we say

In the Lord's Prayer

Remember is

Your kingdom come

And your will be done

On earth

As it is in heaven

So these are important

Words to remember

Because Jesus

Is our king

And it's his kingdom

And it's his will

Being done

That we're praying for

So let's pray

Our Father

In heaven

Hallowed

Be your name

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth

As it is

In heaven

Give us this day

Our daily bread

And forgive us

Our debts

As we forgive

Our debtors

Lead us not

Into temptation

But deliver us

From evil

For yours is the kingdom

The power

And the glory

Forever

Amen

We're going to continue

Singing just now

To God's praise

This time from

Psalm 130

In the Scottish Psalter

This is page 421

In the Blue Book

When Jesus arrived

In Jerusalem

It looked as if

Everyone was

Greeting him

And welcoming him

Gladly

But not everyone

Recognized their need

Of him

And this is a psalm

Which is really about

Us recognizing

Our need

Of God

Our need of the

Cleansing

The cleaning

The washing

That God alone

Can bring to us

And that he brings

Through the blood

Of Jesus

So we're going to sing

The whole of this psalm

To God's praise

Lord from the depths

To thee I cried

My voice Lord

Do thou hear

And to my supplications

Voice

Give an attentive year

Lord who shall stand

If thou

O Lord

Shouldst mark iniquity

But yet with thee

Forgiveness is

That feared

Thou mayst be

Please stand

If you're able

I will sing

The whole of this psalm

Lord from the depths

To thee I cried

Lord from the depths

To thee I cried

My voice Lord

Do thou hear

Of the voyance

O Lord, who shall stand if thou, O Lord, should smile in me?

Iniquity, but yet with thee, forgivenesses, that fear thou mayest be.

I wait for God, my soul not wait, my hope is in His word.

More than they lie, for morning watch, my soul waits for the Lord.

I say, Lord, I may not do watch, the morning light to see.

Let Israel open the door, for within her trees be.

Unplenteous redemption is ever unquited.

And from all its iniquities, He is the child redeemed.

Would you turn with me, please, in your Bibles to read in Matthew's Gospel, Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

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 Nashon, and Nashon 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,

and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat,

and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,

and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz,

and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

and Manasseh the father of Amos,

and Amos the father of Josiah,

and Josiah the father of Jehonichai and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

And after the deportation to Babylon, Jehonichai was the father of Shealtiel

and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud

and Abiud the father of Elakim and Eliakim the father of Azor

and Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim and Achim the father of Eliud

and Eliud the father of Eliezer and Eliezer the father of Mathan

and Mathan the father of Jacob and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary

by whom Jesus was born who is called Christ.

And so all the generations of Abraham to David were 14 generations

and from David to the deportation to Babylon 14 generations

and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ 14 generations.

Amen.

This is God's word to us today.

Let's bow our heads once again in prayer.

Heavenly Father, as we have today read in your word a long list of names,

most of whom we barely know anything about,

we have to come, Lord, in the wonderful mystery of your great providence

and recognize that in all of that story,

in all of these centuries, in all of these generations,

you were working out a plan to bring the Christ into the world.

And you did this in sending your son, Jesus,

to be a savior,

to be a firstborn of many brothers and sisters

so that today we can come to you in the words that Jesus taught us

and say,

our father in heaven.

As a privilege, Lord,

that has been worked out

through the unmistakable hand of your providence,

not just in the generations that we've read about

in Matthew's gospel,

but in the mystery of the generations that have gone before us.

We can think of our parents.

Many of us received the gospel from them.

We can think of a long line going all the way back

to days of awakening and revival

and reformation in the church.

And we see throughout all of that

the mystery of your purposes being unfolded.

We can truly see your kingdom coming.

We can see the emergence of the kingdom of God.

And so as we pray today,

your kingdom come,

help us to remember that

what we are praying for there

is something you yourself

are already intimately involved in

and care about

and are working towards.

We thank you that today

we can see evidence

of the Holy Spirit working in people's lives.

We can see the marvel of the rebirth.

We can witness and pay tribute

to regeneration,

awakening the hearts of men and women

to the great truth that is in Christ Jesus,

and enabling men and women

to express faith and trust in him.

And that, Lord, today is our prayer

for our community,

for our church family,

for our home families,

for the extended family

of the nation in which we live.

We cry to you, Lord,

and we pray that you would remember us

in your mercy

and that you would bring many

to know Jesus

as their Lord and as their Savior.

We want today to be able to say

not only that your name is hallowed,

made holy,

thought of in a special and unique way

by the people of this world,

but that we would see

that your name, Lord,

is worthy of honor

because your ways

are worthy of honor.

And so we long to see

your will being done on earth

as it is in heaven.

We think, Lord, today

of the issues

that are before us as a nation.

So often, Lord,

the headlines in the news

will focus on the economic situation.

And we know, Lord,

that there is a reality to that

that affects many people.

We know many people

are in danger with jobs

and lack of security.

We know people long for employment

and hope in that respect.

And we pray for these things.

But we also remember, Lord,

that the moral heart of our nation

is at stake as well.

We see, Father,

the decisions of our politicians

and our leaders.

we fear, Lord,

that their ways are not your ways,

that their priorities are not yours.

We see it in the stripping away

of the sanctity of life

more and more in our culture.

And as we lose more and more

of that biblical rootedness

that has informed

how we think about the world,

we're losing sight

of what makes humanity

special and precious

and worthy of fighting for

to the end.

And so we pray, Father,

for wisdom for those who lead.

We pray for our own MP and MSP,

that you would give them

a heart that seeks

after your ways.

We pray for our counsellors locally.

We ask that you would bless them

in the decisions that are taken

in our local authority.

And we pray, Father,

for those who serve

in our community

in these public roles as well.

We think especially this week

of teachers going back

this week after a break,

we ask that you would bless them.

Pray for them as they

are used to shape

the minds of young people

in our community,

that you would help them, Lord,

both with their educational

responsibilities,

but also the character

that they will pass on

in that environment.

We ask and pray, Father,

today that you would bless us

each day with our daily needs

being met.

We think, Lord,

of those in our community

who are lonely

and who are going through

difficult times emotionally.

We ask and pray, Father,

that you would speak

into their lives

with compassion and tenderness.

Give to the lonely friendships

that are valuable

and trustworthy.

Give to those who are isolated

a lifeline of hope

and connection

with other human beings

who care passionately

for their welfare.

We know into that, Lord,

again, we think of those

who have public responsibility

in that.

We pray for our health service,

for those who are involved

in care for the elderly,

and for adult social care

in other ways as well.

And we ask, Lord,

that in all of these ways

that compassion and grace

would be shown,

that your concerns

would be reflected

in what we do

and in how we live.

We want to pray today, Father,

for your ongoing blessing

on those who are struggling

through the turmoil of life.

So often, Lord,

the traumas that we carry,

the things that have been done

to us in the past,

and that the things

that we have experienced,

they remain with us

and they blight our lives.

We pray, Father,

that into such darkness

you would bring your light.

Release people, therefore,

from the chains of addiction,

but also, Lord,

the chains of sinful patterns

that are unrelenting.

So often,

we don't forgive

when we should.

We don't let go

of past wrongs

that continue to hinder us

as we move on in our lives.

And so we ask, Lord,

that you would bless

and prosper

those who seek

to bring reconciliation

in people's minds

and relationships

and experiences as well.

We want to pray, Father,

for our world today.

It is a broken world,

we know.

We see it so often

on the news,

in the reality

of what happens

in the world around us.

We remember, Lord,

that there are many places

where there is violence today,

where there is uncertainty,

and that in so many

of these places,

your people

are very often

at the heart

of the distrust

and the affliction

that is visited

in these lands.

We remember the church

in parts of sub-Saharan Africa today.

We pray for the church

in places like Nigeria

and Sudan.

We ask and pray

that you would remember

your children there

and remember them

in the midst

of affliction

and sorrow,

persecution

and violence.

Bring relief,

we pray.

We want to pray today,

Father,

as well,

for the peace

of the world.

We pray for an end

to conflict,

and we pray

that that would come

through reconciliation

and blessing.

We think,

therefore, again,

of the witness

of the saints

in places of conflict,

that they would be

given the grace

to set examples

of forgiveness

and hope,

that you would see

good done.

In all of this,

Lord,

we ask that your name

indeed would be hallowed,

that your reputation,

your fame among the nations

would grow,

that men and women

would bow the knee

before you

and recognize

that you alone

are God

and there is no other.

Help us then

to worship you,

to declare you,

to witness for you,

to make Jesus known

in our lives

day by day,

and we ask all these

things in his name.

Amen.

We're going to sing

once again

to God's praise

before we turn back

to the word

in Psalm 72.

This is in

Sing Psalms,

page 92

in the Blue Books.

We're going to sing

the first two stanzas

and then the last

two stanzas

of this psalm.

It's a psalm

that recognizes

the lordship,

the reign of Jesus

ultimately,

and he is the one

who is very much

in mind

as the royal

character

at the center

of the psalm.

Endow the king

with justice,

Lord,

the royal son

with righteousness,

your people,

your afflicted ones.

He'll judge

with truth

and uprightness.

The mountains

will bring peace

to them,

the hills

the fruit

of righteousness.

He will defend

and save the poor

and crush all those

who them oppress.

And then

the last two

verses of the

two stanzas

as well,

verse 17,

forever may his name

endure,

may it continue

as the sun,

all nations

will be blessed

in him

whom they will

call the blessed

one.

It's interesting

that this psalm

echoes the promise

given to Abraham,

we'll note it

in just a moment,

promise given

to Abraham

that in his seed,

the offspring

of Abraham,

all the nations

of the world

would be blessed

and it's through

Jesus ultimately,

this royal son

through whom

all the nations

will be blessed.

So we're going

to stand and sing

to God's praise

and do the king

with justice,

Lord.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

singing voy voy voy

voy

!

voy

as the sun.

All nations will be blessed in Him,

whom they will call the Blessed One.

Thanks to the Lord, to His blessed God,

His awesome deeds proclaim to man.

His name He prays eternally,

His glory fill the earth. Amen.

Please turn with me in your Bibles back to Matthew's Gospel.

We read there these opening words,

the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,

the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Jesus Christ, the son of David.

Let's bow in prayer before we study the Word.

Heavenly Father,

as we turn our attention for a moment just now

to the Word of Truth,

we pray, Lord, that you would speak into our hearts today

encourage us with a knowledge of who our Savior is.

Help us to see Jesus clearly,

to see who He is and what He has done,

to recognize Him in His titles,

and to worship Him for what He has done

and how He has proved Himself worthy of worship

in the way He fulfills that office and title as well.

We ask that you bless us in this,

in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

One of the most groundbreaking movies in my,

in fact, technically just over my lifetime,

was released in the UK the Christmas before I was born,

is the film Star Wars.

It was an absolutely marvelous piece of cinematic theater,

and I would encourage you,

if you get a chance to watch it,

you will enjoy yourself.

But George Lucas, the director of Star Wars,

does quite an impressive feat at the beginning of it.

He launches that movie right into the action

after what's called a cinematic crawl.

Some text appears on the screen that you have to read,

and the act of reading draws you in

because you're concentrating on the words

as they scroll past on the screen.

And you're drawn into the story

and immediately plugged into this amazing adventure

that is taking place in the movie as it unfolds.

And strangely, Matthew is doing exactly the same thing

with his introduction.

And you may be thinking,

well, hang on a minute, Gordon.

There are a list here of 42 names,

most of which you've probably got wrong

as you were reading them this morning.

How on earth is Matthew catapulting us

into the action of the gospel

with this fairly long

and fairly boring list of names.

But in fact, Matthew wants his readers

to understand the importance

of one of the titles he uses of Jesus.

And what he's doing is he's drawing attention

to this title, the Son of David,

in these verses.

David and this title, the Son of David,

is central to Matthew's understanding

of who Jesus is

and who it is

who on that first Palm Sunday,

all of these years ago,

went into Jerusalem riding a donkey

and around whom the crowds shouted,

Hosanna!

Blessed be the name of the Lord

for the salvation he brings.

He does it, first of all,

by telling us about the titles,

Son of David, Son of Abraham.

And both of these refer back

to promises that were given.

Abraham was promised a seed,

an offspring.

God had taken Abraham out

and said to him,

Abraham, look up at the stars

of the heavens.

See the sand on the seashore.

Such will your offspring be.

But then the promise kind of narrows

in a little bit as well

because Abraham's given more.

He's told,

in your seed,

all the nations of the world

will be blessed.

And so Matthew,

as he's writing his gospel

to the church,

which is not just a Jewish church,

but is a Gentile church

spread throughout the world,

across the whole of the Roman Empire

and in some places beyond

by this point.

Matthew is writing and saying,

the blessing of the nations

comes and flows through Jesus,

the son of Abraham.

He's the one who fulfills

the promise given to Abraham.

But then he also uses

this other title,

the son of David.

And again,

it's one of these covenant promises

that's given in the Old Testament

that David was given

a promise by God

that the Lord would establish

his throne forever.

So not that David would have

a constant line of descendants

after him into infinity,

but that eventually someone

would sit on the royal throne

of David forevermore.

That David's ultimate,

final son would reign forever.

And that covenant promise,

that commitment on God's part,

that's a covenant.

It's a commitment

that's made by a sovereign.

The Lord makes that covenant

with Abraham

and promises that Abraham

will have a descendant

who will reign forever

in his name.

This is Jesus.

And so when Matthew

gives us this long list

of names,

he's catapulting us

into that story.

He's saying this story

about Jesus

is, you know,

which so often we tend

to think is just this little bit

of the end of our Bibles,

is actually all about

the big bit

at the other end.

That the story of Jesus

doesn't just come into

a vacuum.

Jesus comes

as the fulfillment

of these promises.

And then Matthew

just kind of underlines

that for us a little bit.

And he does it

with 14 reasons why.

And the 14 reasons

are these little blocks

that he gives

of generations.

14 generations

from Abraham to David,

14 generations

from David to the exile,

and then 14 generations

from the exile

to the present,

to the days of Jesus

2,000 years ago.

And each time

he's reiterating

this structure,

14 generations,

14 generations.

They're not literal

because we know

some of the sequence

of the kings

are missed out.

There was actually

an extra three kings

in the descendancy.

So it's a rhetorical structure

he's using,

a literary structure.

It's not meant

to be a true reflection

of the exact number

of generations involved.

But nonetheless,

he uses this structure

to point us

at something important.

And the likelihood

is that it's pointing us

at the name of David himself.

Because if you were

a scholar of Hebrew numerology,

you would know

the number of David's name

is 14.

Hebrew text writes

only the consonants,

and the name of David

has four consonants in it.

D, V, D.

And so you work through it.

A D is the fourth letter

of the alphabet,

so that's number four.

V is the sixth letter

of the alphabet,

number six.

The other D,

a four again.

Four plus six plus four

gives you 14.

And if you were

a student of that,

then you would think

immediately,

oh, wow.

there's 14 generations

and there's 14 numbers

in David's name

and they must be connected.

And it's pointing

firmly and squarely

to David

as the significant person.

So Jesus,

when he comes onto the scene,

is fulfilling

and doing something

relating to David

in terms of who he was.

And there's really three things,

just to note very briefly.

There's fulfillment,

there's status,

and there's mission.

There's fulfillment

because a promise

has been fulfilled.

A covenant promise

made to David

has been fulfilled.

The covenant bond

between God

and his people

through their head,

through their representative,

is now

more firmly established.

The covenant

made with David

was a promise to David

that the people

would be well led,

that the people

would be secure,

that there would be

a champion

who would fight for them,

that there would be

a leader

who would direct them,

that there would be

blessings found

in the path

that the leader

would take them in.

And as long as the leader

walked in God's way

and kept his covenant

responsibilities

and obligations

as a king,

blessing would flow.

And obviously,

the descendants of David,

we know this,

were failures.

None of them lived up to it

until eventually

the kingdom itself

was removed.

And after the days

of Shealtiel,

things just disappeared

completely.

The kingdom

disappeared,

vanished,

visibly.

There's still records

of descendants

charting through them.

Jews took pride

in their heritage

in that way,

so they had a record.

And that's what Matthew

relies on

when he has the genealogy

of Jesus.

And Luke relies on

when he has the genealogy

of Mary.

But it's pointing back

to this truth

that the promise,

the line of promise

is unbroken.

even if the people

in there

hadn't kept

their side

of the bargain.

And so God

does something merciful.

He steps in

to establish

his covenant

more fully.

There's a fulfillment,

therefore,

of the covenant.

There's a status

that is confirmed

as well

because the status

doesn't come

from the palatial

setting

of what happens.

Matthew

tells us about that.

That's why he tells us

about the bit

after the exile.

Once the palace

is lost,

the palace

is gone.

So when Jesus

comes into the world,

he isn't born

in a palace.

You remember,

that's what the magi,

the wise men

from the east,

they thought

when the king

who has appeared

has come into the world,

he will be found

in the palace.

So they go to Jerusalem,

they go to Herod,

and they say to Herod,

where is the king

of the Jews?

Because we have seen

a star in the east.

And Herod's like,

what are you talking about?

Interestingly,

Herod thinks,

this king who has been born,

this son of David,

is a threat to me.

He must be eradicated.

But the wise men,

Herod asks the religious leaders

and says,

well,

where will the son of David

be born?

Where will the king come from?

And they say,

oh,

Bethlehem.

And so off the wise men

go to Bethlehem,

and they discover

in Bethlehem

the king of kings

and lord of lords.

They discover him

lying in a manger.

They present to him

their gifts,

their gold

and their frankincense

in their mirror.

This is the son of David.

A status is conferred,

not because of where

he is born,

but because of what he does.

Because this son of David,

he receives

the father's affirmation.

Remember,

just a couple of chapters on

in Matthew's gospel,

Matthew tells us

that Jesus went

and was baptized

by his cousin John.

And when he's coming up

out of the water,

the Holy Spirit

descends on him

like a dove,

and a voice is heard

from heaven saying,

this is my beloved son

with whom I am well pleased.

The father announces

the status of Jesus.

Right at the outset

of his public ministry.

And Satan sweeps in

almost immediately,

takes him away

into a desert place

and tempts him

and says,

you can have the glory,

you can have the power,

just bow the knee before me.

Just do things my way.

Forget the path

that the father

has given for you

and follow in my steps instead

and I will lead you

and I will take you

to a place

where all the outcomes

will be good.

And Jesus says,

no, get behind me,

Satan, and so on.

But the point is

in all of this,

the royal status

of this person

is established

by the father.

The father says,

this is my beloved son

with whom I am delighted

and well pleased.

And he is therefore

on a mission.

It's interesting in fact

because Jesus

at the end of Matthew's gospel,

he confirms this.

We call it

the great commission.

He's talking to the disciples

and he sees all authority.

In heaven and on earth,

everywhere,

it's all mine.

Therefore,

I am sending you out

to make disciples

of all nations

and all peoples.

And Jesus is claiming

that authority

because he is in fact

the son of David.

And so what Jesus says

at the end of the gospel

flows out of

what Matthew tells us

at the beginning.

That Jesus has

this fulfillment,

thrust upon him.

He has this status

afforded him.

He has this mission

to go out

and to gather in

the flock of God's people.

And that is today

what he commissions

the church to do.

So Matthew is telling us

right at the outset,

this is important.

This matters.

This title,

the son of David,

is what Jesus

is all about.

And then he goes

through his gospel

and gives us

lots and lots

of examples.

And the examples

are all of people

reacting to,

normally because of

his reputation,

reacting to Jesus

and realizing

he is the son of David.

And it's fascinating

when you go through

Matthew's gospel,

there's two categories

of people that Matthew

wants us to see

and I suspect that today

that remains the case.

There are two categories

of people in the world,

there's two categories

of people in this church.

There are those

who get it,

who see that Jesus

is the son of David

and what that means

and there's those

who don't.

And who reject

everything,

in fact,

that it means.

So first of all,

there's those

who get it.

One of the things

you can track

through Matthew's gospel

is those who get it.

There is particularly

the blind.

So Matthew,

on three occasions,

tells us about

the blind who come

to Jesus

and call him

the son of David.

Matthew 9,

you've got two men,

blind men,

shortly after Matthew

himself is called

by Jesus,

who come to Jesus

and say,

son of David,

have mercy on us.

And then a little bit

later in the gospel

in Matthew 20

is Jesus is passing

through Jericho.

In some of the other

gospels,

there's the story

of Bartimaeus

who uses the same

language.

There's also another

two blind men.

It's interesting,

the other side of Jericho.

So it's as if

Jericho is bracketed

by blind men

who say,

Jesus,

son of David,

have mercy on me.

But there in Matthew's

gospel,

in Matthew 20,

you can read about it,

two blind men in Jericho

who cry out,

Jesus,

son of David,

have mercy on me.

And then in Matthew 21,

when Jesus has gone

into Jerusalem

after the triumphal entry,

he goes to the temple

and there's blind

and lame people

there in the temple

who come to Jesus

and ask for mercy.

And they use

the same formula,

son of David,

have mercy on me.

Among those

who get it,

there are simply

the blind.

And they recognize

that the son of David

is an instrument

of God's mercy.

You know,

today,

that's what God's

doing with us.

He's come to us

with Jesus

as an instrument

of his mercy.

And it's a fulfillment

of the promises

of the scriptures,

particularly of Isaiah,

where Isaiah says,

the servant of the Lord

will come

and one of the things

he will do

is he will bring sight

to the blind.

And it's interesting

that the cry for mercy,

it's a word in Greek

that means

give me relief.

Release me

from this miserable experience

that I have been afflicted with.

And Jesus brings

that relief,

he brings that

freedom

into the experience

of these blind people.

Same in Matthew 12.

And Jesus,

on this occasion,

casts a demon

out of someone.

And the crowds

are astonished.

And they ask themselves,

they ask the question,

could this be

the son of David?

Because once again,

what you see there

is the people recognize

the son of David

is the one

who brings

this messianic hope,

the hope of the Messiah

breaking into this world

as the one

who has the authority

to drive out Satan

and bring to an end

all of his destructive works.

He just brings

deliverance

to people.

The promised

son

of David.

There's another category

of children

running around

at the temple

when Jesus arrives there.

The children run about

saying,

this is the son of David.

And they're singing,

Hosanna to the son of David.

And the scribes

and the Pharisees

hate this.

And they want to rebuke

these kids.

They want to say,

no,

don't let children

speak this way

about you.

And Jesus

quotes the words

of Psalm 8

and says,

out of the mouths

of infants

will come praise

to God.

I say that today

to young people here.

Don't ever

think

you're discounted

from following Jesus.

That you're disallowed

or that there's a barrier

or there's something

that says

you're not entitled

to join in

in the praise.

It's not.

It's for you as well.

Salvation is for us.

That God has brought us

redemption

in the person of Jesus.

And for all of us,

therefore,

to love and respond to him

and worship him.

There's another interesting

category as well

in Matthew,

in Matthew chapter 15.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

There's a Canaanite woman

comes to Jesus.

And she's very interesting

because she's a pagan.

It doesn't mean

that she's ethnically Canaanite.

It means that she's

religiously Canaanite.

She still worships

the Canaanite gods

from the Old Testament

who are still worshipped

at this point

in places like Tyre and Sidon.

And Jesus goes up

towards Tyre and Sidon

in Matthew 15.

And there he meets

a Canaanite woman

who says,

Son of David,

have mercy on me

and on my daughter

because she's grievously ill.

And the impression you get

is she's tried

the Canaanite gods.

She's tried going

to the Canaanite god

of,

do I find the name

in my notes here?

The Canaanite god

of

of Eshnum.

It's a huge temple

of Eshnum in Tyre.

Just three miles away

from where that incident

took place.

And she's gone

hoping that the Canaanite gods

would bring deliverance

to her grievously ill daughter

and found them

to be empty,

false,

worthless,

powerless

to help.

But she's heard

about Jesus.

And she says,

Jesus,

Son of David,

have mercy on me.

And so once again,

there's that sense

that someone

who has found

everything else

to be empty

and worthless

and in her desperation

turns to Jesus,

discovers that

the Son of David

is the one

who can help,

who can bring

deliverance.

And today,

I'm sure

there are people

here like that.

There's people

who've turned

to Jesus

in their desperation

and have said,

have mercy on me.

I'm sure

you've worked

with people

like that.

You've ministered

in people's lives

like that.

I'm sure

you've experienced

it yourself.

People have discovered

that Jesus

is trustworthy.

There's another group

though,

and that's the ones

who don't get it.

And there's an interesting

couple of categories here.

On the one hand,

there's the scribes

and the Pharisees.

Throughout Matthew's gospel,

the scribes

and the Pharisees

repeatedly say,

shut up.

When someone says

Jesus is the Son of David,

they know full well

what that claim means.

And their response is,

nah.

We're not having it.

Rebuke the children.

Tell the woman

to be quiet.

Who on earth

do these blind people

think they are

saying that Jesus

is the Son of David?

The Pharisees

see Jesus

as a royal threat

to their power.

I think that's

the bottom line

with them.

Jesus had said

that they were

enslaving the people,

that they were

misleading them

and misdirecting them.

so they see

Jesus as a threat.

And maybe today

there's people

like that here.

Maybe today,

quite simply,

you're quite happy

being in control.

Maybe today

you're quite happy

saying to yourself,

I know how my life

is mapped

and charted out.

I know what's up

in front of me.

If I was to recognize

Jesus as my Lord,

then that might

make changes.

It might mean

I have to stop

some things.

I have to part

with some things.

It might mean

that my life

is no longer my own,

that I no longer

have authority

and control.

And I don't want

to figuratively

bow the knee

to someone.

I don't want to

listen to somebody

else's instructions

and call on my life.

Maybe even as a Christian

you're a bit like that.

You don't want to

recognize the authority

of the Son

of David

and his call

on your life.

Maybe because

it's a call

that's expensive.

It's costly.

It means giving up

something that you find

very comfortable.

So he calls us

into ministry.

Or he calls us

into service.

Or he calls us

into giving.

the Son of David

is not someone

to be trifled with

because his call

is costly.

but he's worthy

because of who he is.

The other group of people

and this is quite

where we hit

Palm Sunday

just briefly

just at the end.

The other group of people

are the crowds

on Palm Sunday.

So as Jesus

comes into Jerusalem

and as the crowds

throng around

and as

they see

something

of the significance

of here

is a man

entering Jerusalem

riding a donkey

and they remember

the prophecy

of Zechariah

and they say

hang on

Zechariah says

that the king

will come

humble

riding on a donkey

and here's Jesus

entering the city

riding a donkey

and so they make

this connection

they say

this must be

the son of David

this must be

the promised Messiah

the one who's going

to come

and do what?

well he's going

to come

and he's going

to restore

the throne

the Jews

had this massive

expectation

that God's purposes

for them

were to re-establish

them as an

independent nation

of their own

so he's the one

who's going to win

the referendum

for us

and by referendum

they mean

armed military revolt

he's the one

who's going to

get independence

for us

he's the one

who's going to

boot out the Romans

he's the one

who's going to

re-establish

the sanctity

of the temple

he's the one

who's going to

remove the

gentile influence

from our nation

he's going to

make it all well

that's what the

son of David

is going to achieve

and so when

they're singing

Hosanna

to the son of David

as Jesus

enters Jerusalem

you can be pretty

sure they don't

mean David

have mercy on me

they don't mean

we are blind

and we need to see

they don't mean

we are oppressed

by demons

and we need your

authority to cast

them out

they don't mean

have mercy on me

for my daughter's

sake

because she is

ill and I

cannot find a

cure

they mean

boot out the

Romans

I want to say

this particularly

to young guys

today

there's a younger

generation

that are discovering

this in you

the folk who

listen to

Jordan Peterson

they find that

Jordan Peterson

and his

like

will say

very appealing

things about

Christianity

about even

Jesus

that Jesus

has a good

influence to play

in shaping

people's moral

outlook and

perspective on the

world