Matthew Ch1v1-17 - The Promised King

Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 1.

I hope you'll see a theme.

Thanks, Rob.

Do you remember we did Genesis?

Genesis was the first book of the Bible, of the Old Testament.

A theme of beginnings.

Well, Matthew is the beginning of the New Testament.

And it also has themes of beginnings as well.

And, yeah, maybe we'll go to the end of the Bible after we've done Matthew and we'll do Revelation.

And we'll connect it all together.

But I want to just point out to you a little booklet that we have.

You'll find it on the table as you go out the door on your way out.

Pick up a copy, one per family at least to start with.

This booklet is an overview of Matthew's Gospel.

I put it together to help me in my studies so I know where I'm going and what it's all about.

But it will help you too as well as we go through our studies.

It will give you the big story, the big picture of what it's all about.

Some of the big themes to look out for.

And if at any point as we go through Matthew you'll forget, how did we start?

Where does this bit fit in?

How does it all connect?

Well, you can just dip in and check the sections out and read the paragraphs.

And it'll help you remember where we are and what it's all about.

So please do pick up your copy of Matthew's Gospel.

It'll help you and it will be good for you.

Well, we're going to read Matthew chapter 1, verses 1 to 17 together.

Matthew 1:1–17

Let's read God's Word.

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.

Perez the father of Hezron.

Hezron the father of Ram.

Ram the father of Aminadab.

Aminadab the father of Nashon.

Nashon the father of Salmon.

Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.

Obed the father of Jesse.

And Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife.

Solomon the father of Rehoboam.

Rehoboam the father of Abijah.

Abijah the father of Asa.

Asa the father of Jehoshaphat.

And Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram.

Jehoram the father of Uzziah.

Uzziah the father of Jotham.

Jotham the father of Ahaz.

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

Hezekiah the father of Manasseh.

Manasseh the father of Amon.

Amon the father of Josiah.

And Josiah the father of Jeconiah.

And his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

After the exile to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel.

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.

Zerubbabel the father of Abiud.

Abiud the father of Eliakim.

Eliakim the father of Azor.

Azor the father of Zadok.

Zadok the father of Achim.

Achim the father of Elihuud.

Elihuud the father of Eleazar.

Eleazar the father of Matan.

Matan the father of Jacob.

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

and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

Thus there were 14 generations in all

from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the exile to Babylon

and 14 from the exile to the Messiah.

Well, interesting start.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for your word.

Words that have been written down, preserved and recorded for us.

And we thank you now for this gospel,

the good news about Jesus according to Matthew,

written down so that we can read today

and learn about Jesus the Messiah.

And we pray that this would not just be an information exercise,

but that as we learn about the person of Jesus,

as we discover who he is,

what he came to do,

what it is to follow him and walk with him,

that we would experience the person of Jesus

in our own life,

day to day,

throughout our work,

whether we're at school or wherever we are,

that we would know him personally

and intimately.

And that this would be a time of growing,

perhaps for the first time,

stepping out

in a relationship with Jesus.

So, Holy Spirit,

be our teacher.

Shine your light upon Christ

so that we see him in all his greatness.

And would you apply all that we learn to our life

so that we love you

and worship you.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

So, how has your new year gone so far?

One week into it.

In many ways,

the new year gives us an opportunity

for that fresh start,

a new beginning.

The past,

all put behind us,

and with wonderful hopes

for the future.

And so,

with so renewed enthusiasm,

we step out

into our new year.

And we say to ourselves,

yes,

this is going to be different.

This is going to be a good year.

But the problem is,

sooner or later,

our past catches up with us

and our hopes for the future

come crashing down around us.

The memories we so desperately want to leave behind

have a habit of resurfing once again

as people fail us

and we fail ourselves.

And the hopes and dreams we have of the future

come to a shuddering end

as we receive unwanted news from the doctor

or from our employer.

The new beginning,

the fresh start,

eludes us

once again.

Or has it?

Because Matthew begins his gospel

with some good news.

Look at verse 1.

This is the genealogy of.

Now, to our minds,

that's not the best introduction

or the most inspiring opening

for a book.

If Matthew is trying to entice us

and excite us

to continue on

with his writing,

it seems to have

the opposite effect.

A list of unpronounceable names,

most of whom we've never heard of

and we know nothing about.

Well, with a little patience

and careful attention,

we will discover that Matthew

is introducing us to someone

who can give us a new beginning

and a fresh start.

Something that we all long for.

Whether we say,

I'm a follower of Jesus

or I've been following him

for 40 years.

This fresh start

deals with all our past.

Gives us a new hope

for the future

and makes our life possible today.

So as we get into this big list of names,

we're going to look at three things.

A new creation,

a promised king,

and a great saviour.

Three things.

Here's the first one.

A new creation.

The introduction takes us on a journey

that brings us right

to the very start

of the Bible story.

Look at verse 1.

This is the genealogy of.

Now that little phrase,

the only place

that phrase appears

is at the beginning of Genesis.

You can follow on the screen.

This is what it says.

This is the account of,

literally,

this is the genealogy of

the heavens and the earth

when they were created,

when the Lord God

made the earth

and the heavens.

Matthew is intentionally

bringing us back

to the creation of the world.

John's gospel

does something similar,

doesn't it?

In the beginning

was the Word

and the Word was with God.

He's taking us

back to the beginning.

Matthew's doing

exactly the same.

He's bringing us back

to the creation

of the world.

Because we know

that in the beginning

the world was

formless

and empty.

There was darkness

and chaos

and then God spoke

bringing order,

design and beauty.

Something new

had begun.

And that's what

should trigger off

in our minds

as we start

into Matthew's gospel.

This is the genealogy

of here's a new beginning,

here's a fresh start,

a new creation.

Not such a boring

introduction anymore,

is it?

Because you see,

left to ourselves,

our life is very often

formless

and empty.

Without meaning,

without purpose.

So often we experience

darkness and chaos

as terrible things

happen to us.

And in our desperation

to change it all,

we try new things,

we start new projects,

we make ourselves

new promises.

In our longings

to be filled

and satisfied,

we stuff ourselves

with new comforts,

new relationships,

new jobs.

But it's into

all this

restless noise

and into this

relentless striving

that we're introduced

to one person

who can bring about

a new creation

of our lives.

And when we listen

to this person,

when we hear

his words,

he brings about

an order,

a design,

and a beauty.

When we trust him,

he heals us

of all our past,

he secures

our future,

and he gives us

a way to live

today.

It's the kind

of fresh start,

a new beginning

we desire

every day.

Every day

we wake up.

A new creation

formed

out of our

broken,

messed up lives.

So who is

this person?

Who's the one

who brings about

the new creation?

Well,

here we are,

second,

a promised

king.

The new creation

comes through.

Look at verse 1.

This is the genealogy

of Jesus,

the Messiah,

the son of David,

the son of Abraham.

Jesus is the person

who brings about

the new creation

in life.

And to help us

understand

who Jesus is

and why he's

qualified to do this,

Matthew begins

by tracing

his family line

from Abraham

to David

to Jesus.

That's what

the list of names

is.

So from 2

to 6,

Abraham to David

and from 6

through to 16,

David

down to

Jesus.

So let's

follow the family

line

and see

why Jesus

is qualified

to be this

promised king.

first,

Jesus is

the son

of Abraham.

So we read

in verse 2

that Abraham

was the father

of Isaac

and Isaac,

the father

of Jacob

and so on.

You see,

Matthew

intentionally

starts with

Abraham

because that's

where we hear

God's great

promise

to the world.

Do you remember

the great promise?

Go back to

Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

in your Bible.

First book

of the Bible,

Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12.

Here God

promises

to bring

blessing

to the nations,

to the peoples

of the earth.

Genesis

Genesis 12:1

chapter 12

verse 1.

Abraham.

The Lord

said to

Abraham,

later he

would be

called

Abraham.

The Lord

said to

Abraham,

go from

your country,

your people

and your

father's

household

to the

land I

will show

you.

I will

make you

into a

great nation

and I

will bless

you.

I will

make your

name great

and you

will be

a blessing.

I will

bless those

who bless

you and

whoever

curses

you I

will curse.

And here

it comes.

and all

peoples on

earth

will be

blessed

through you.

What a

grand

promise.

God makes

the promise

to Abraham

that through

his family

the nations

of the world

all the

people groups

would be

blessed.

Now if we're

going to make

sense of this

promised blessing

we need to

remember that

God had brought

a curse

upon the

world

and the

people.

A curse

because of

people's

rebellion.

We read

about that

in Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3.

A curse

that left

people

separated

from God

living in

a world

full of

disorder

decay

and death

and now

in Genesis

12

God makes

this great

big announcement

his promise

to undo

and reverse

the curse.

I'm going

to bring

blessing.

And how

is God

going to

do that?

Well God

not only

promised to

Abraham that

he would

bring blessing

he promised

Abraham that

from his

family there

would be a

bunch of

kings that

were going

to come

from his

family.

So go on

a couple of

pages to

Genesis 17

Genesis 17

and verse

6.

Again God

is speaking

more promises

to Abraham.

Genesis 17

Genesis 17:6

verse 6.

God says

to Abraham

I will

make you

very fruitful

I will

make nations

of you

and kings

will come

from you.

Go on

to verse

15.

God also

said to

Abraham

as for

Sarah

your wife

you are

no longer

to call

her Sarah

her name

will be

Sarah

I will

bless her

and will

surely

give you

a son

by her

I will

bless her

so that

she will

be the

mother

of nations

kings of

peoples

will come

from her

so can you

get this

grand big

promise

God says

I'm going

to bless

the nations

and the

blessing is

going to

come through

a bunch

of kings

that are

going to

come from

you

so he

starts

with

Abraham

Jesus

the

son

of

Abraham

and then

it's

Jesus

the

son

of

David

Matthew

records

for us

that from

Abraham

comes

the king

of David

and so

we continue

on with

David

because

that's

where we

see

God's

great big

promise

being

worked

out

so let's

jump ahead

to

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

just keep

going

to

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

if you're

using a

church

bible

it's on

page

310

310

if you're

using the

church

bible

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

you see

as the

generations

pass by

all the way

from Abraham

through all

these people

and you can

read about

all these

people in

the old

testament

we're

introduced

to one

of the

kings

that had

been

promised

from

Abraham

and that

king

is

David

and God

restates

the promise

to king

David

but this

time

there's

something

different

the promise

is tied

to

one

person

to come

so let's

pick it up

in chapter

7

the end

of verse

11

God is

speaking

to David

he says

the Lord

declares

to you

that the

Lord himself

will establish

a house

for you

when he

talks about

a house

not such

a physical

building

but a

nation

a people

he says

I will

establish

a house

for you

when your

days are

over

and you

rest with

your

ancestors

I will

raise up

your

offspring

to succeed

you

your own

flesh

and blood

and I

will

establish

his

kingdom

he

is the

one

who will

build

a house

for my

name

and I

will

establish

the throne

of his

kingdom

forever

verse

16

your

house

and your

kingdom

shall

endure

forever

before me

your

throne

shall

be

established

forever

you see

God is

promising

to bless

the nations

but that's

going to be

fulfilled

in one

person to

come

one king

who was

to come

a king

who would

establish

a new

kingdom

a new

creation

kind of

kingdom

a kingdom

of new

beginnings

and fresh

starts

a kingdom

that would

last

forever

where there

would be

no more

curse

let's go

back to

Matthew

so

Jesus

is the

son

of Abraham

the son

of David

Matthew

gives us

all these

lists of

names

and he

traces the

genealogy

from

verse 2

Abraham

to David

and then

all the way

let's read

verse 16

and Jacob

the father

of Joseph

the husband

of Mary

and Mary

was the

mother of

Jesus

who is

called

the Messiah

Messiah

is a

Hebrew word

simply means

anointed one

well we're

familiar with

the other

phrase

aren't we

Jesus

the Christ

Christ

is Greek

for

anointed

one

so when

someone

became

king

they were

anointed

oil

was

poured

on

their

head

it was

affirmed

and confirming

their position

of absolute

power and

supreme

authority

well here

Jesus

the king

Jesus

the Messiah

the anointed

one arrives

he's the

promised king

over all

the nations

the one

that was

promised

way before

through Abraham

through David

who was going

to bring

blessing

the one

who was

going to

bring a

new

beginning

and a

fresh

start

he has

now

come

he's

here

he's

arrived

you see

the genealogy

of Jesus

shows us

that the

coming of

Jesus

into the

world

was planned

purposed

and all

promised

by God

he didn't

just show

up out of

nowhere

this is

no mistake

it wasn't

that Jesus

arrived and

they're thinking

I wonder

what job

will give

him to

do

what

could he

possibly

do

no

Jesus

is not

an

afterthought

he is

not some

desperate

attempt

by God

to try

and fix

everything

he is

the

promised

king

who has

now

come

for you

and for

me

the king

promised

from before

time

and who

now enters

into

time

that day

that day

has arrived

he's here

he's the

king

who brings

about a

new creation

of individual

lives

the fresh

start

that we

all long

for

but how

will this

happen

how do we

get to

experience

this

promised

king

bringing

about a

new creation

in our

life

how am I

going to

experience it

how are you

going to

you

well that

brings us

to number

three

a great

savior

you see

genealogies

are very

helpful

in tracing

your family

line

you probably

have

a genealogy

at home

tracing your

family line

back to a

certain date

well in

those times

a genealogy

not only helps

you trace

back your

family line

it also

acted like

your CV

your curriculum

vitae

it was a

way of

showing

this is

who I

am

these are

your

credentials

so in

Ezra

Ezra 2:6

chapter 2

verse 6

you can look

it up

later

we read

of an

account

of a

priest

who wants

to go

working

in the

temple

because

that's

where

priests

work

they work

in the

temple

and he

shows up

for work

and guess

what

he's not

allowed to

serve in

the temple

why

because he

can't find

his

genealogy

he's got

no record

to say

it's me

I'm a

priest

check me

out

it's

really

true

we have

something

similar

today

don't we

if you

go for

a job

it helps

if somebody

knows your

family

it's important

that isn't

it

they go

oh

Alex

you're

you're

you're

Robin's

dad

oh we

know the

Unums

oh we'll

give you

a job

or

Graham

you know

you're

you're

a

daunt

oh

perfect

no problem

get him

in there

quick

it's

helpful

isn't it

that you've

got a

pedigree

of your

your

family

and they

go yeah

that's

that's

great

but when

we read

Jesus's

genealogy

when we

when we

look at

his

credentials

it's

really

not so

great

it reads

more like

a rogues

gallery

there's

skeletons

falling

all over

the place

open every

door

and another

skeleton

pops out

it's

shameful

and

embarrassing

you don't

want to

read this

in public

but you

know what

rather than

disqualify

Jesus

this only

helps us

to see

what a

great

and amazing

saviour

he is

three

things

it tells

us

first

that

Jesus

comes

for

outsiders

and

failures

surprisingly

Matthew

includes

the names

of four

women

it's not

normal

to do

so

but he

does

five

including

Mary

but we're

going to

come back

to her

and what

all these

women

have in

common

is

they don't

really

fit in

to put

it politely

they've

all led

a very

colourful

life

so look

at verse

three

Judah

was the

father of

Perez and

Zerah

they were

twins

whose

mother

was

Tamar

well we

can read

about all

these names

in the

Old Testament

Tamar

tricked

Judah

who was

her father

in law

to sleep

with him

it was

an incestuous

relationship

look at

verse five

Salmon

the father

of Boaz

whose

mother

was

Rahab

Rahab

who was

she

well she

was a

pagan

prostitute

operating

in a

dangerous

business

reserved

for the

lowest

of the

low

continue

on in

verse five

Boaz

the father

of Obed

whose

mother

was Ruth

well Ruth

was a

Moabite

she came

from those

people

over there

people who

were known

for their

sexual

immorality

and wild

living

look down

at verse

six

Jesse

the father

of King

David

whose

David

well he

was the

father of

Solomon

whose

mother

had been

Uriah's

wife

we're not

told who

Uriah's

wife was

we're not

given a

name but

again we

can read

about it

in Kings

her name

was Bathsheba

and David

ended up

having an

affair with

her and

she with

him

all these

women

they're not

the kind

of people

you would

want to

associate

with

they're all

outsiders

ostracised

excluded

rejected

they're all

damaged

goods

they're the

talk of

the town

the whisper

in the

street

but it's

not just

the women

who have

this

reputation

look at

the men

they all

may be

kings with

great

power and

political

persuasion

but it

doesn't hide

who they

really are

again let's

look at

verse 6

David

the greatest

of them

all

the father

of Solomon

whose mother

had been

Uriah's

wife

well you

know what

David enjoyed

his affair

so much

that he

arranged for

Uriah

to be

murdered off

so that he

could take

Uriah's

wife for

himself

what a

scandal

a political

scandal

front pages

of the

Jerusalem

times

king

murders

except for

nobody really

found out

did they

or verse

7

Solomon

well Solomon

was a

disaster

mistreating

his people

and accumulating

women and

wealth all

for his own

pleasure

or verse

7

Rehoboam

he single

handedly

turned the

people from

God and

appointed his

own priests

and places

of worship

he ruined

the nation

or jump

down to

the end

of verse

9

Ahaz

Ahaz

in desperation

sacrificed

his own

son in a

fire in a

pagan act

of worship

could you

imagine the

thought of

picking up

your own

son and

placing him

in the

fire that

was his

desperation

oh they

may have

great titles

they may be

recorded in

history of

positions of

great power

but they're

all failures

morally

spiritually

socially

they're not

the kind of

man that you

would turn

around and

go that's

my dad

all these

people

every name

in this

list

they're all

outsiders

and failures

but yet

they're all

here

it's like

Jesus is

saying to

us

look at

my family

this is

who we

are

in all

its mess

and all

its

brokenness

and I

have come

for people

just like

this

and we

may be

here this

morning and

we can look

back into

our own

families

and we

can think

of things

that are

embarrassing

and shameful

and we

don't want

anybody to

know

but not

just our

families

we look

into our

own life

and we

remember

things we

have done

and things

we have

said

and actions

that have

taken place

and Jesus

is saying

I've come

for you

for moral

outsiders

for spiritual

failures

I have

come

for broken

and messy

people such

as us

Jesus

comes

not just

for outsiders

and failures

Jesus

has come

to save

by repentance

and faith

he comes

to rescue

moral outsiders

and spiritual

failures

jump ahead

to verse

21

Mary had

been told

by the angel

that she was

going to

have a son

and she's

told

verse 21

she will

give birth

to a son

and you

are to

give him

the name

Jesus

because he

will save

his people

from their

sins

that's what

this king

has come

for

this is the

primary purpose

of Jesus'

arrival

this is what

he has come

to do

when Jesus

died on the

cross

he became

sin

for us

just as we

read or

Ralph reminded

us that

Jesus came

into the

world to

save

sinners

people like

you and

I

Jesus as

he died

on the

cross

was treated

as a

moral

outsider

he was

rejected

as a

spiritual

failure

he was

punished

for my

sin

and your

sin

so that

we could

be

forgiven

he's

saying

come to

me

and I

will deal

with your

past

once and

for all

all those

secret

things that

you hang

on to

that trip

you up

and come

back to

your memory

time and

time again

and don't

allow you

to move

on

I will

deal

with it

all

and I

will give

you a

new

beginning

and I'll

give you

a new

future

for now

and

forever

how

he says

come to

me

look at

chapter 4

verse 17

as Jesus

began to

preach

as he

began to

explain who

he was

and what

he did

this is

his message

chapter 4

verse 17

from that

time on

Jesus

began to

preach

repent

for the

kingdom

of heaven

has come

near

the new

creation

that you

are all

longing

for

has now

come

and you

find it

in me

you find

it as

you repent

repentance

is always

a double

response

it's turning

from one

way of

living

and turning

to trusting

in

someone else

something else

trying

turning from

trying to

save yourself

to trusting

in Jesus

the saviour

or we put

it another

way it's

no longer

putting faith

in self

but putting

faith in

Jesus

it's owning

our past

it's owning

our sin

it's taking

responsibility

for how we've

responded and

what we've

done

and coming

to Jesus

and saying

you need to

deal with it

you need to

take it all

because I

can't do it

that's

repentance

that's faith

it's how we

begin our

journey with

Jesus

and it's how

we continue

with him

and if you're

here today

and you've

never done

it

listen to

his words

repent

come to

me

if you

have

and you're

struggling

come back

to the

words again

and see

the new

creation

that he

gives

we don't

have to

live

shaped

by our

past

we are

now

living

a new

way

for a

better

future

so

Jesus

comes

for

outsiders

and

failures

and he

saves

by repentance

and faith

and then

third

he works

through

weakness

humility

go back

to chapter

one

verse

sixteen

chapter

one

verse

sixteen

Jacob

was the

father

of

Joseph

the

husband

of

Mary

and

Mary

was the

mother

of

Jesus

who

is

called

the

Messiah

you know

God

could have

chosen

any

number

of

ways

for

Jesus

to

come

into

this

world

he

could

have

come

through

a

family

of

influence

and

power

he

could

have