Lineage of Jesus

Matthew 1, verses 18-25.

Matthew 1:18–25

I'm going to be walking through the passage in the sermon,

and so I'm going to hold off on reading it.

We'll go through it together as I preach through it.

But you can see the title on the back of your bulletin.

The title is The Birth of Our King.

And the more I've thought about it,

the title probably would be more accurate if it was The Naming of Our King.

And so what we see in Matthew 1, verses 18-25,

Matthew 1:18–25

it culminates in the naming of this little baby, born of a virgin,

naming Him Jesus.

Now, as soon as you hear the word birth, though,

you might go kind of in a genetic direction.

We have great genetic variety among us.

I mean, just look at each other's earlobes.

Can you roll your R?

Can you do the little squishy thing with your tongue?

You know, the clove thing?

Some of us can, some of us can't.

Skin, color, ethnicity, there is great genetic variation among us, is there not?

There is. It's glorious.

God wants to call to Himself

from every tribe and nation and ethnicity of people for Himself.

Well, let me ask you this.

What was the genetic code of Jesus?

What were His genes?

Well, according to Matthew 1,

actually 16,

we know whose genes He didn't have.

He had none of Joseph's genes.

Look at 1.16, would you?

And Jacob, the father of Joseph,

the husband of Mary,

Matthew's very clear in saying

He was not the genetic father of this Jesus.

If Joseph,

if His genes

weren't in Jesus,

and it was through Joseph

that would come

the great title of a son of David,

how is it that Jesus

can claim that title?

If He has no genetics to David,

at least on Joseph's side,

some will make an argument

that He did from Mary's side,

but that's not Matthew's point.

How can we be confident

that Jesus is actually a son of David

and therefore claim a right to the throne?

That's what Matthew is getting at

in this passage.

If Jesus didn't have any Joseph's genes,

He didn't have any David's genes.

Think about it as gene number 14,

the number of David.

How can He be a descendant of David?

So in 1.16,

we're kind of left with that question.

Okay, how does that work?

If Jesus isn't physically related to Joseph,

how can He be a son of David?

And that's what Matthew answers here

in this wonderful passage.

We're going to see how that works out.

Who is this baby?

Who is this baby born of a virgin?

And how is He related to Joseph?

And how can He make a claim

to be David's greater son?

Well, this morning what I want to do

is walk through the passage,

give you some color on it,

help you see some things,

and then we're going to land

by making a point,

and then we're going to apply it

in four ways.

Four B's.

B-E.

Four B's.

We'll get there in a little bit.

But first,

let's just jump right in.

The birth of Jesus Christ.

Verse 18.

Now, the birth of Jesus Christ

took place this way.

And so what Matthew is doing

is going,

okay, here's how it worked out.

Now, if you are a fan

of Luke's gospel,

you may be a little disappointed.

Because Matthew doesn't get

into the details.

He doesn't talk to us

about shepherds.

He doesn't talk to us

about mangers.

He doesn't talk to us

about swaddling clothes.

He doesn't go that direction.

That's Luke,

the good doctor

who loves details.

No.

Matthew's going after

something else.

And we learn very quickly

that this birth of Jesus Christ

was surrounded by controversy.

The thing about us

and who are very familiar

with this story

is we can be too familiar to it.

There's something going on here

that is very controversial.

And we see it showing up

in that start of the second sentence

in verse 18.

When his mother Mary

had been betrothed to Joseph,

before they came together,

she was found to be with child

from the Holy Spirit.

Controversy!

Let me give you a little

kind of background.

When we think about engagement

here in our culture,

we think about it a certain way.

You don't have to go to

get an attorney

and go down to a judge

in order to get engaged.

It doesn't work that way.

It's rather informal.

And so if you get engaged

to someone,

you can break the engagement

without having to go

any kind of legal

kind of direction.

Not so in the first century.

Not so for the Jew.

What would happen?

Betrothal was actually

a legal event.

And so getting married

involved getting betrothed,

which was the committing

of one man to one woman.

And after they were betrothed,

they could talk about each other

as husband and wife,

believe it or not.

But they didn't come together

until another year later.

And that's why we see here

in verse 18

when his mother Mary

had been betrothed to Joseph

before they came together,

before they consummated

their marriage,

which would take a year

after the betrothal.

And so that whole year,

the daughter, the wife,

would be living with her father

in her father's house.

And so it's very different

from our situation today,

isn't it?

And so we've got to remember

there's something else

kind of going on here.

And so what's shaken out

is this.

Mary was found to be pregnant

after they were betrothed

and before they came together.

Do you get what's going on?

Very controversial.

So here's this legally binding situation.

And by the way,

if you read Deuteronomy 22,

13 through 24,

there are some real consequences

for one who's betrothed

and is shown to be unfaithful.

Really serious.

And so in verse 18,

the controversy starts to swirl.

She was found to be with a child, Mary.

And we're not told

how this conception takes place,

only it's by the Holy Spirit.

That's very significant.

The third person of the Trinity

has already shown up.

One other thing to note

before we move on.

Joseph must not have known

about the angel Gabriel

going to Mary.

I don't know how it works out.

I don't know why he didn't know.

But it's clear that Joseph

is finding out about this

after she is showing,

after she is obviously pregnant.

And so there's a kind of like

news to Joseph going on here.

And so if you look at now,

verse 19,

we've seen the controversy.

Now it moves to a quiet divorce.

Look at verse 19.

And her husband Joseph,

being a just man

and unwilling to put her to shame,

resolved to divorce her quietly.

Again, the divorce language

is being used.

It's kind of foreign to our ears

when we talk about engagement.

But back in the day,

it was the legal way

of undoing a betrothal.

And so it had legal force to it.

And so that's the divorce language

going on here.

But what you need to see

is that word just.

And her husband Joseph,

being a just man,

a just man,

we can move very quickly

to thinking about

how merciful Joseph was,

how compassionate he was,

how he dealt with

this very controversial situation.

We can move too quick.

Do you know what

that word just is getting at?

Joseph was looking

to be faithful to God's word.

Joseph was looking

to be faithful

to Deuteronomy 22.

Joseph was looking

to walk according

to God's word.

And then deal mercifully

and compassionately

with the implications of that.

Here his betrothed

was shown to be pregnant.

And so now he has

biblical precedent

in order to divorce her.

He's just,

he's seeking to do

the right thing.

And you know what?

Don't you just kind of wish

like there was a little bit

more detail here?

We're not told

about Joseph's wrestling

with this.

Did he have sleepless nights?

Was he feeling betrayed?

How confused was he?

Who did he talk to?

How did he wrestle through it?

We're not told any of that.

How much did he lose?

Did he lose any?

How did he reach the decision?

Well, we know at least

he was wrestling

with God's word.

What we see here in Joseph

is a man who is seeking

to do the right thing

the right way.

And so when he eventually

read there that he looked,

he didn't want to shame her.

And so he wanted

to divorce her quietly.

Here we have a man

who's wanting to have

a clear conscience

in God's word

and yet being compassionate.

He's looking to do

the right thing.

And in that,

we learn something

about this man.

He's committed

to obeying God's word

and yet he's also

going to do it

with a heart of compassion.

Can you begin to see

why God would choose

this man

to be the earthly father

of Jesus?

This is a godly man.

So there's controversy.

There's a quiet divorce.

And then we start

to see in verse 20

an angelic caller.

But as he considered

these things

is what the ESV reads.

The NIV is probably

more accurate.

It says,

but after he had

considered these things,

it's past tense,

which means

he had already decided.

So in verse 20,

but he already decided

to divorce her.

He had already

made the decision.

And so Joseph

has already drawn

the conclusion.

Alright, okay, okay.

This is wrong.

I've got to take this step.

And now it's just

a matter of

kind of arranging

the details.

And God does something.

God intervenes.

The decision's been made,

but God steps in.

God says,

uh, nope!

It's like God said,

Joseph, you know,

I really appreciate

your commitment

to obey my revealed word.

I really appreciate it,

but this situation

with Mary

is not what it looks like.

So he sends Joseph

an angel of the Lord.

And again,

we're not giving the name,

of the angel.

Again, detail left out.

So it was Gabriel

who talked to Mary

and the folks in Luke,

but we're not giving

the name of the angel here.

You're left to kind of speculate.

But he sends this angel

of the Lord

to intervene,

to change Joseph's mind.

To move him

from divorcing Mary

and abandoning the baby

to marrying Mary

and taking the baby

as his own.

And notice that

in verse 20,

but as he considered

these things,

behold,

an angel of the Lord

appeared to him

in a dream.

This happened in a dream.

Again,

this might be

a little,

little new

for several of us,

but you know what?

When it boils down to it,

God can do

what he wants to do.

He can intervene

the way he wants

to intervene.

He's God.

He can do that.

He's more than able.

In fact,

we're going to see

God showing up

to people in dreams

later in Matthew.

Next week,

he warns the Magi

in a dream

not to go back

to Herod.

Pilate's wife

in chapter 27,

she has a dream

about this righteous man,

Jesus.

I mean,

I'm not sure

if you're familiar

with what's going on

among the Middle East,

but Jesus is showing up

to people in dreams.

Story after story

of this person

coming to Muslims

in dreams.

resulting in their

conversion to Christ.

God uses dreams.

Of course,

dreams must be

carefully weighed

in light of Scripture.

Subjective experience

is submitted

to the objective reality

of God's Word.

And we're going to see

Matthew do that for us

in just a second.

But let's look at this

dream.

Let's look at what

this angel says.

And again,

we're not given details.

I mean,

if you were in the room

with Joseph

as he was sleeping,

what would he be doing?

Was he like in the

in-between dream state?

Kind of aware

but not aware?

Was he rolling over

a lot?

Was he mumbling?

Was he just silent?

We don't know.

But what we do know

is this.

The angel,

God,

through the angel,

addresses Joseph

by name.

Joseph,

son of David.

God knows this man

as he knows your name.

And he says,

Joseph,

son of David.

That rings a bell

in us,

doesn't it?

It shoots right back

to the genealogy

in chapter 1

verses 1 through 17.

Son of David

from the line of David.

The one carrying

the number 14 gene.

The number of David.

You.

Joseph,

son of David.

Do not fear

to take Mary

as your wife.

God's saying,

Joseph,

you don't need

to be fearful here,

buddy.

You're not disobeying

my word.

There's something else

going on.

Do not fear

to take Mary

as your wife.

Do not fear

to come together

with her.

And then he gives

a reason.

See that word

for

in 20?

For that

which is conceived

in her

is from the Holy Spirit.

You're not disobeying

my word,

Joseph,

because

this is my son

conceived in this woman

by the Holy Spirit.

It's amazing.

There's a miracle

going on here.

Two times now,

Matthew has emphasized

that this child

in Mary's womb

is conceived

by the Holy Spirit.

This is not

what it seems like,

Joseph.

Despite what it may

look like,

Joseph,

this is actually

me at work

caring about

my purposes.

That's why

the angel of the Lord

is there.

There's something,

there's a bigger plan

going on here,

Joseph.

She will bear a son.

The child

is actually a son.

And then he says

to Joseph,

and this is in the

force of a command,

you shall name

him Jesus.

That's from

the angel

of the Lord

who is sent

by God.

Do you know

what that means?

The naming

of this boy

originated

in the mind

of God.

God wanted

this boy

named Jesus.

God wanted

Joseph

to name

this boy

Jesus.

And what

you must see

is that

the very fact

that Joseph

is going to

name this boy,

do you know

what that means?

He's legally

taking him

as his own.

He's saying

you're going

to be my son.

And by him

saying that,

do you know

what comes

with that?

All the legal

rights and

privileges

of his house.

It's going to be

a son of David

legally.

He's going to be

legally.

We'll talk

about what

the name

of Jesus

means a little

later on.

Oh, but

God wanted

this baby

boy

named Jesus.

This boy

conceived

by the Holy

Spirit,

this God

with us.

He wanted

his name

Jesus.

Jesus.

One more

thing I want

you to

note.

Behold,

the angel

of the Lord

appeared to

him in a

dream.

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.

Notice

verse 21.

She will

bear a

son,

and she

shall

call

his name

Jesus,

for he

will save

his people

from their

sins.

He's talking

about the

Messiah,

talking about

this baby

boy is going

to be the

Christ,

is the

Christ,

but he

gets at

the nature

of his

reign,

what this

king is

going to

deliver from.

And so a

good Jew at

this time would

be thinking

the Messiah

is going

to come

and he's

going to

deliver us

from the

political

oppression

of Rome.

And what

the angel

is saying

here,

no,

this king

is going

to deliver

sinners

from the

oppression

of sin,

the presence,

power,

and penalty

of sin.

This baby

boy is going

to be a

deliverer king

from that.

Just to

make you

aware,

Joseph,

of what

this baby

boy is going

to do.

Oh,

it's so

glorious.

So in

verses 20

and 21,

God

intervenes

Joseph's

plan.

Isn't that

so gracious

of God?

He's so

sovereign.

He does

what he

wants to

do.

He

interrupts

and says,

no,

you're not

going to

divorce Mary.

You're not

going to

abandon

this child.

That's

not my

plan.

And so

through this

angel of

the Lord,

he says,

no,

no,

you're going

to take

this young

lady as

your wife.

And not

only that,

you're going

to name

this baby

that you

didn't

conceive,

Joseph.

You're going

to name

him Jesus

and therefore

give him

all the

rights and

privileges

of your

house as

your firstborn.

God has

a plan

for Joseph.

And this

is the

fulfillment

of his

glorious

plan for

the fullness

of time

to unite

all things

in Christ.

Oh,

it's so

beautiful.

As we

move on

in verses

22 and

23,

we have

Matthew

now,

the gospel

writer,

sharing some

of his

helpful thoughts

with us.

He gives

a prophetic

confirmation

of what

this angel

just said.

God.

We see

that in

verse 22.

All this

took place

to fulfill

what the

Lord had

spoken by

the prophet

Isaiah.

Behold,

the virgin

shall conceive

and bear

a son,

and they

shall call

his name

Emmanuel,

which means

God with

us.

That's

Matthew

helping us

understand

what just

happened

between this

angel of the

Lord and

Joseph.

What he's

saying is

there is

something

of tremendous

magnitude

going on

here.

This is

of such

significance

it's going

to blow

your mind.

Matthew

wants us

to see

that what

is happening

with Mary,

Joseph,

and this

baby is

the fulfillment

of God's

forever plan

to save

a people

for himself.

This quote

is from

Isaiah 7,

Isaiah 7:14

verse 14.

written 700

years earlier.

It speaks

of a virgin

and a virgin

conceiving

and a virgin

conceiving a

boy and

he's going

to be named

a certain

name.

So what

is Matthew

doing?

He's pointing

us to the

Bible to

help explain

this dream.

He's helping

us make sense,

interpret what's

going on

here.

He's linking

up this

dream

with Isaiah

7, 14

to say

this is

fulfillment

of what God

has said

700 years

ago.

This is all

part of God's

glorious plan.

Let me help

you see it.

Isaiah 7, 14

speaks of a

virgin.

Who's the

virgin?

Mary!

Fulfillment!

Isaiah 7, 14

points to a

virgin conceiving.

Matthew's

saying, yes,

conceived by

the Holy

Spirit.

Isaiah 7, 14

says this

virgin shall

conceive and

bear a son.

Matthew is

saying, yes!

She's going

to have a

son, all

right!

God with

us.

And that's

where these

accounts differ

a little bit.

Because in the

interaction between

the angel of the

Lord with

Joseph, he's to

name him

Jesus.

Do you know

what Matthew's

doing?

He's creating a

parallel and

help us make a

link.

Jesus is

Emmanuel.

Jesus, the

incarnate God

is salvation,

is God

with us.

Now, what you

need to

understand, too,

is that this

Isaiah 7, 14,

it's actually a

double fulfillment.

It was fulfilled

in the immediate

context, way back

in the 8th

century, but

its final and

complete fulfillment

was found in

Jesus Christ.

What starts in

Isaiah 7

builds and

builds through

Isaiah 9

into Isaiah

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11.

Isaiah 9, 6,

and 7, do you

remember that

passage?

For unto us a

child is born.

Remember his

name?

He's a wonderful

counselor.

mighty God,

everlasting

father, speaking

of an everlasting

king, prince of

peace, the

government should

be on his

shoulders.

He's going to

establish the

throne of David

and his

kingdom forever.

Isaiah 11 points

to this shoot from

the stump of

Jesse.

Do you know

what Matthew's

doing?

through Isaiah 17,

he's like, do you

remember the wonder

child coming?

Do you remember?

This is him.

This baby in

Mary's womb is

that wonder child

of Isaiah.

This is the

Messiah.

The Christ.

Christ.

So by quoting

Isaiah 7, 14,

this prophetic

confirmation,

Matthew draws a

parallel and helps

us to realize what

he wants us to

realize.

Jesus is the

Emmanuel, the

Christ.

This baby named

Jesus is Christ

the King.

So in verses 24

and 25, we see

Joseph's quick

response.

Boy, is he quick

to obey.

When Joseph

woke from

sleep, he

did.

He did

as the

angel of the

Lord commanded

him.

His mind was

changed.

God had

intervened.

He gets up

right away and

obeys.

He does what the

angel of the

Lord commanded

him.

He obeys God.

He obeys God.

And what I want

you to see is the

significance of the

last sentence in

verse 25.

This culminates in

that sentence.

And Joseph called

his name Jesus.

He's answering the

question of Matthew

1.16.

How can this boy,

who's not genetically

related to Joseph,

be a son of David

and therefore the

Christ?

How does that work

out?

Well, what Matthew

is saying is he

didn't need to be

genetically related.

By Joseph naming

him his son,

he was legally

an heir with all

the rights and

privileges thereof.

He was an heir to

the house of David.

He took on the

number 14, the

number of David.

He's the Messiah.

humanly speaking,

Joseph's obedience

resulted in the

legalizing of Jesus

as an heir to

David's throne.

One day in heaven,

I'm going to

approach Joseph if I

can, and I'll say,

man, thank you so

much.

Thank you so much.

All right, so the

point of this passage.

At the beginning of

the passage, Joseph was

going to divorce his

wife.

God intervenes.

And God intervenes in

such a way that

Joseph, instead of

divorcing and

abandoning, marries and

takes to himself.

He names this baby

Jesus.

And what it shows us is

that Jesus is a

descendant of David.

He is the Christ, the

King from the house of

promise.

In other words, he's

legit.

So let's ask this

question.

So what?

What difference does it

make?

This naming of a boy

2,000 years ago, what

difference does that make

for us today?

Well, it changes the way

we celebrate Christmas.

So four B's, and I'll be

really brief.

Maybe amazing.

Nah.

Four B's.

First one is this.

In light of this naming

of Christ and having

him, recognizing him as

the son of David, be

amazed.

Be amazed.

The conception of this

baby boy was a miracle.

It was a tri-supernatural

miracle.

The whole cast of the

Trinity is there.

God the Father planned

it.

Isaiah 7, from long

ago.

God the Spirit conceived

this baby in Mary's

womb.

And the one that was

conceived was Emmanuel,

the second person of the

Trinity taking on human

flesh.

The whole cast of the

Trinity is there.

Some may object, hey,

babies aren't born that

way.

They're not conceived that

way.

Yes!

That's the point.

This is a miracle.

A glorious, glorious

miracle.

So when we celebrate

Christmas, we're

celebrating a miracle

that God miraculously

conceived a baby in this

virgin's womb.

It was Emmanuel.

So be amazed.

But the amazingness

doesn't stop there.

This baby boy,

conceived by the

Holy Spirit,

is God's son.

It's not explicitly

stated, but it is

definitely implied.

Twice, Matthew says,

conceived by the

Holy Spirit.

This baby is conceived

of God.

He is God.

God in the flesh.

The second person of

the Trinity, the

eternally existent second

person of the Trinity

took on human flesh.

Fully God, fully man,

in one person.

Two distinct natures,

one person.

That's stinking amazing.

Without ceasing to be

God, he took on human

flesh without any sin.

Is that not amazing?

That's amazing.

So be amazed.

But also, be comforted.

Be comforted.

As a result of the

conception of this baby

boy, miraculously.

Fully God, fully man.

Do you know what that

means for us?

Our God is able to

identify with us in

every way.

He understands what it's

like to walk in this

tent.

We have a God who

gets it.

He gets what it's like

to be human living in a

fallen world.

He gets it.

He knows firsthand.

Again, Hebrews says it

this way.

He's a sympathetic high

priest who can identify

with all of our

weaknesses.

He's a sympathetic king.

Sympathetic.

He knows.

He became one of us.

And he's promised to be

with us.

The Emmanuel.

God with us.

Matthew 18, 20.

Jesus says, where two or

three are gathered in my

name, there I'm among

them.

Matthew 28, 20 says, and

behold, I'm with you

always, even to the end of

the age.

Do you know what's

interesting about the book

of Matthew?

It begins with Emmanuel,

God with us, and ends

with Emmanuel, God with us.

I'm with you always, even

to the end of the age.

He's with us.

It's a tremendous

discomfort.

He's with us now.

As a church.

Walking through what we've

been walking.

He's with us.

To comfort us.

He's still present.

He's still with us.

Be comforted.

Be saved.

Be saved by King Jesus.

Be saved.

Remember the name Jesus?

It means God is salvation.

salvation.

Jesus is our salvation.

King Jesus came to save.

That's his mission.

That's why he came.

He came to liberate those

oppressed by the power,

presence, and penalty of

sin.

That's why he came.

He didn't come for political

liberation.

Not yet, at least.

Second coming.

He came first time to

liberate people from the

oppression of sin.

And his people, of course,

for all who will, for all,

for he will save his people

from their sins.

His people, of course, are

all those who by faith have

bowed the knee to him.

And have experienced his

forgiveness and liberation

from sin.

And been welcomed into his

kingdom.

He did it by substituting

himself.

Emmanuel, the king, took the

place of sinners on the

cross.

Amazing.

So that we can be liberated

from sin.

Have you bowed your knee to

King Jesus?

Have you received this

forgiveness?

Have you received his

gracious liberation from the

power of sin?

If you haven't, today's the

day.

Bow your knee.

Cry out to him.

King Jesus saved me from my

sin.

He will.

And if you do, let someone

know.

Let someone know.

Because you now are part of

the kingdom of the redeemed.

Be amazed.

Be comforted.

Be saved.

Be on the king's mission.

King Jesus came to save

sinners.

It's in his name.

In our church, Christ the

King Church is made up of

the poor and powerless.

Sinners who have been saved

by King Jesus.

We bowed our knee to him.

By his grace, he has saved

us.

And now he's called us to his

mission.

Go make disciples of the

nations.

Go make disciples of King

Jesus.

Go tell it on the mountain

that Jesus Christ is born.

The king has come.

Our mission as a church is to

glorify God by making known the

life-transforming power of the

gospel, the good news of King

Jesus.

We call people to bow their knee,

to submit to him,

and experience his gracious reign in

their lives.

Jesus.

Let's be on mission together.

Let's do this together.

By Joseph naming this baby boy

Jesus, he legitimized that Jesus is

the king from the house of David.

Be amazed, be comforted, be saved.

Let's be on mission together.

Father, rejoice, your king has come.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, our king, we bow our

knee.

We are poor and powerless.

We were lost and lonely, and you

came for us.

And you're coming back, and we

rejoice.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.