1 00:00:01,600 --> 00:00:03,800 You're listening to the Bridgetown Church Podcast with 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:06,840 Pastor Casey Kendall, where our vision is Jesus, our mission is 3 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:09,760 people, and our cause is love. Thanks for tuning in. 4 00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:12,680 Let's dive in. Well, good morning. 5 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:14,640 Good to see you all, good to be here. 6 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,680 Would you please open your Bible with me to the book of Matthew 7 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:20,640 in chapter 1? I'll give you a title of the 8 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:25,520 messages you're turning there. The message is God's grace for 9 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:27,960 our mess. God's grace for our mess. 10 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:33,520 As Casey said, we've travelled from Australia to be here and 11 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,400 you know, one thing having travelled the globe in different 12 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:39,680 destinations and places is yes, there's differences. 13 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,840 There's all sorts of things that make each country unique and 14 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,840 special in particular. But there's something that you 15 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:49,680 see when you encounter humanity and that is the mess of humanity 16 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:53,000 no matter where you go, right? There's all sorts of problems 17 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,160 that we face. There's all sorts of things that 18 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,280 have been done to us. There's all sorts of things that 19 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:00,280 that we have done that we'd rather not have. 20 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,080 Our sins of Commission, sins of omission. 21 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,160 And all of that just creates a lot of failure, a lot of 22 00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:12,360 mistakes, a lot of guilt, a lot of burden, a lot of stress, a 23 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,120 lot of anxiety that that weighs heavily upon us. 24 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,080 And I think no matter where you go on the globe, I think that's 25 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:22,560 indicative of what it means to live life under the sun in this 26 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:27,480 fallen world in which we exist. And so I think this message out 27 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,080 of Matthew chapter 1 is something that will reveal God's 28 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:36,920 grace to us in the mess that are our lives, mess of our own 29 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:42,920 making, mess of other people's making that impacts US, mess of 30 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:44,280 governments. There's a whole heap of 31 00:01:44,280 --> 00:01:47,680 tomfoolery going on out there and in all sorts of countries 32 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,640 with whatever government, governments are in charge and we 33 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:53,480 need hope. We need something that will 34 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,520 bring a cure. We need someone that will bring 35 00:01:56,520 --> 00:01:59,280 deliverance into our lives and that's the hope that stirs 36 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:00,960 within us. No matter whether you're from 37 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:04,480 Australia, whether you're from Azusa, no matter whether you're 38 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:08,440 from Fiji, wherever you've come from across the globe, there is 39 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:12,720 within humanity a desire for change and for hope that comes 40 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:14,400 through Jesus Christ. So that's this morning's 41 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:16,960 message. Speaking of this morning's 42 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:20,880 message, I know that the youth are away and coming back today, 43 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:26,440 but it's a little PG13 You think of, whoa, what are you going to 44 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:28,640 be talking about? It's just because of the subject 45 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:31,040 matter of some of the individuals that we encounter. 46 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,880 So I think it would be helpful as a bit of a warning. 47 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,160 I'm not seeing too many children here, but parents, you might get 48 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,520 some questions afterwards about what did he mean by when he said 49 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:42,960 this and so on. So that might be helpful for 50 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:44,440 you. And So what I'm going to do is 51 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,440 we're going to focus on Matthew chapter 1. 52 00:02:46,440 --> 00:02:49,480 We're going to read verses one through to 17 and have a look at 53 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:52,640 it together and then I'll show you why this is of great 54 00:02:52,640 --> 00:02:55,440 interest to us, I think this morning. 55 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:59,560 So Matthew chapter one, verse 1 to 17, it says I'm reading from 56 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:04,240 the New King James Version, the book of the genealogy of Jesus 57 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:08,000 Christ, the son of David. You've been teaching a series 58 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,160 through the life of David out of First Samuel, right? 59 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:11,960 And on into Second Samuel, I believe. 60 00:03:12,400 --> 00:03:15,240 So you know all about this guy, one of my favorite characters, 61 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:21,080 the son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot 62 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:25,360 Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah, and his brothers Judah begot 63 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:30,120 Perez and Zerah by Tamar Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot 64 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:33,840 Ram, Ram begot Aminadab, Aminadab begot Naishon, and 65 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,960 Naishon begot Salmon. Now the trick with reading these 66 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:42,600 Jewish names is to read it fast and confidently, right Salmon 67 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:47,640 begot Boaz verse 5 by Rahab. Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed 68 00:03:47,640 --> 00:03:50,720 begot Jesse and Jesse begot David the king. 69 00:03:51,480 --> 00:03:54,960 David the king begot Solomon. By her, who had been the wife of 70 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:57,360 Uriah, we know her name. Bathsheba. 71 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:03,600 Solomon begot Rihabam, Rihabam begot Abuja and Abuja begot ASA. 72 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,320 ASA begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and 73 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,760 Joram begot Uziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham 74 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:15,240 begot Ahazen, Ahaz begot Hezekiah, Hezekiah begot Manasa, 75 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:17,800 Manasa begot Ammon and Ammon begot Josiah. 76 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,160 Josiah begot Jekhaniah and his brothers about the time they 77 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:24,640 were carried away to Babylon. Verse 12 And after they were 78 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,680 brought to Babylon, Jack and I begot shield Teal and Shield 79 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:31,280 Teal begat Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel begat Abayud, Abayud 80 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:36,080 begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azel, Azel begot Zadok, Zadok 81 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:40,280 begot Achim, and Achim begot Iliud, Iliad begot Eliezer, 82 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:44,320 Eliezer begot Methan, and Methan begot Jacob, and Jacob begot 83 00:04:44,320 --> 00:04:48,760 Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is 84 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:52,200 called Christ. So all the generations. 85 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:57,280 Verse 17, from Abraham to David are 14 generations, from David 86 00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:01,680 until the captivity in Babylon are 14 generations, and from the 87 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:06,160 captivity in Babylon until the Christ are 14 generations. 88 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:08,960 Let's pray. Lord God, we give you great 89 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:10,400 thanks for your word this morning. 90 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:13,640 We thank you for the wonderful opportunity of being able to 91 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:18,400 gather in Your name to worship you, to be washed by your blood 92 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,920 Jesus, to be able to now come boldly to the very throne room 93 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:25,520 of the Heavenly Father and obtain grace and help in time of 94 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:27,400 need. And we need you now. 95 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,320 We need you, Holy Spirit, to illuminate your scriptures to 96 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:33,280 us. Help us to have ears ready to 97 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,400 hear hearts and lives as fertile soil for the seed of your word 98 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,560 to bear much fruit. We pray and ask all of this in 99 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:46,320 Jesus name, Amen. Well, now, be honest. 100 00:05:46,320 --> 00:05:48,880 How many of you, as I was reading through those verses, 101 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,920 were thinking, yeah, I can't believe I'm sitting here, this 102 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:56,280 guy came all the way from Australia and he's going to read 103 00:05:56,280 --> 00:06:01,240 me the Jewish phone book, these names, these lists and surely 104 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:05,240 Israel, you could have come up with a better subject for us to 105 00:06:05,240 --> 00:06:09,800 focus on today. It's not just that as we read it 106 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,520 that we're thinking we don't really value this. 107 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,160 I mean, maybe in your devotionals, when these type of 108 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:19,000 passages, the genealogies come up, you go swipe, skip. 109 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:21,200 I'll, I'll come back to that. Maybe. 110 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:26,120 And it's not that we don't value these list of names. 111 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:29,400 It's just that many times we're not sure of the application 112 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:32,000 right of of the relevance as we're reading it. 113 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:37,960 If we were writing the opening to the Gospel of Matthew, you 114 00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:40,880 know, in the day and age in which we live, I used to be an 115 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,520 English teacher. So studying literature and, and 116 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:45,080 movies we've been speaking about. 117 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:48,960 That's my cup of tea. As we say, that's, that's my, my 118 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:52,160 field of expertise. Yet we know that you need some 119 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:56,120 kind of a captivating hook to bring the audience in with you, 120 00:06:56,560 --> 00:07:00,640 that each chapter also needs to arrest the reader's attention, 121 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,320 that there there needs to be something that that piques our 122 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:06,440 interest, that keeps us going, that that draws us into the text 123 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,120 and reveals the theme of it. And, and so as we're reading 124 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:16,240 this list of names, we're going, who wrote this, right? 125 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:18,840 This is not how perhaps we would have done it. 126 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:23,000 But don't you think that the authors of the Gospels knew this 127 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:25,080 too? I mean, as you read the other 128 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:29,000 Gospels, for example, I love the book of Mark, It's so 129 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,440 action-packed and and there's colorful characters immediately 130 00:07:32,440 --> 00:07:34,720 in chapter 1. And immediately is a word that 131 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:37,360 Mark utilizes because he's all about action. 132 00:07:37,600 --> 00:07:40,760 He bounces from one component of action to the other. 133 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:45,080 And and then, and then, and then I reckon he was probably one who 134 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:48,440 was drinking Doctor Pepper from the beginning of the day all the 135 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:51,280 way through to the end. He was just ready and riding and 136 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:53,280 fast-paced. And so we're introduced to the 137 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,040 colorful character of John the Baptist. 138 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:57,840 From the beginning. John the Baptist is described as 139 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:01,880 being clothed in camel's hair, as eating locusts dipped in 140 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:06,520 honey, as baptizing people in the Jordan River and crying out 141 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:09,800 a message of repentance of of calling the Pharisees for who 142 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:11,480 they are and all sorts of things. 143 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:15,040 And, and then Jesus comes onto the scene in Mark chapter 1, and 144 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:18,480 the sky opens and a voice from heaven. 145 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,000 This is my beloved son and whom I'm well pleased, right? 146 00:08:22,840 --> 00:08:25,720 And not long after that, demons are convulsing and screaming. 147 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:31,040 We know who you are, Jesus. That's action-packed, that's 148 00:08:31,040 --> 00:08:33,159 exciting. That arrests our attention. 149 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:35,960 That's how you start a book, Luke. 150 00:08:36,799 --> 00:08:39,159 Luke starts with a pretty bold claim. 151 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:42,960 He he says, look, I know that you've read many other books and 152 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:46,040 many other stories. Many volumes have been written 153 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,520 about the life of Jesus. But let me tell you, this is 154 00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:51,680 going to be the best one. I'm a historian, you know, I 155 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:53,160 know it. I've I've interviewed 156 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:54,520 eyewitnesses. So that's a pretty bold 157 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,040 declaration from the beginning. You might have read the others, 158 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,760 but this is the best seller basically as Luke's message from 159 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,280 the beginning, eyewitnesses, investigations, he says a fuller 160 00:09:04,280 --> 00:09:07,720 account I will deliver to you. That's how you start a book, 161 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:12,400 John. John starts with mystery, 162 00:09:12,400 --> 00:09:14,760 doesn't he? In the beginning was the word 163 00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:20,400 and the word was with God and you go, oh, you know, appealing 164 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:22,400 to the Greek audience and the message of that. 165 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:24,360 There's this whole mysterious element. 166 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,160 There's all these sevens that run through the book of John and 167 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,720 there's this wonderful thing. It's like a a new Genesis, you 168 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:31,880 know, in the beginning was God and he starts with in the 169 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:34,680 beginning was the word and, and there's this wonderful thing 170 00:09:34,680 --> 00:09:37,280 and, and that's a crazy good beginning that piques our 171 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:39,160 interest. But then then Matthew, we just 172 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:41,560 read the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. 173 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:48,760 So I think we're kind of missing something here, right? 174 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:53,560 Because when the Canon of the New Testament was put together, 175 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,440 the early church fathers, they said, you know what book we need 176 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:01,640 to start with? We need to start with Matthew. 177 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,120 Matthew, Are you sure you don't want to start with Mark? 178 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:06,680 You sure don't want to start with John? 179 00:10:06,840 --> 00:10:09,440 What are we missing? In fact, at the time of of the 180 00:10:09,440 --> 00:10:13,640 early writing of in the New Testament, the most widely read 181 00:10:13,800 --> 00:10:17,520 book was the book of Matthew. It was the most common, the most 182 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,840 popular. And so I think in, in, in our 183 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,720 time in in which we live, you know, 2025, some 2000 years 184 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,360 removed from, from the period of writing here, we need to 185 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,840 understand something about the significance of what we just 186 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,680 read. So here I want to try and help 187 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:34,960 you this morning. It's, it's not exactly a page 188 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:38,560 Turner by modern standards, but it is God's word and, and God 189 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:41,120 the Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to write it and we need to 190 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:46,240 understand why about it. So as I said, first two 191 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,720 centuries, this was by far the most widely read account of the 192 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,200 gospel. So I want to look now and see 193 00:10:52,200 --> 00:10:57,080 what are we as a modern reader missing about this list of names 194 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,720 that we've just encountered? What is it that we we're not 195 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:02,480 getting? Why are we tempted to skip the 196 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:04,760 intro? So I want to try and help us 197 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,280 here. First of all, I want to try and 198 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:08,280 establish what Matthew's purpose was. 199 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:10,880 That's important to know why he was writing. 200 00:11:12,200 --> 00:11:15,360 What Matthew presents all through his gospel is Jesus as 201 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:21,000 the promised Messiah King Mashiach the Christ the Anointed 202 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:25,320 1 And there's power in that. There's a a longing, a yearning 203 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,600 in the Jewish audience who would have probably initially received 204 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,080 this to, to understand all of the promises given throughout 205 00:11:32,080 --> 00:11:34,320 the Old Testament. You see, any Jewish reader would 206 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:37,960 know that if Jesus as he presents were to be considered 207 00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:41,680 the Messiah King, there would need to be a few attributes or 208 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:45,040 factors that he would need to fulfill in order to to warrant 209 00:11:45,040 --> 00:11:47,920 that claim and that title. You would have to fulfill 210 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:50,440 specifically 2 covenant conditions. 211 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:54,080 And Matthew brings that out for us in the very first verse. 212 00:11:54,600 --> 00:12:00,080 Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 213 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:04,160 Now you may or may not know, but we refer to them in theological 214 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:07,600 terms as the Davidic covenant and the Abrahamic covenant. 215 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:11,320 These are promises that God Almighty gave to Abraham. 216 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:15,800 These are promises that God Almighty gave to King David that 217 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:19,520 were to be filled by someone who would come and solve all of the 218 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:22,840 mess of humanity that would restore that which separates a 219 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:27,280 holy, righteous God from a fallen sinful human being. 220 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:32,000 That's why Matthew declares this first of all, SO2 ear perking 221 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:34,640 claims as they're reading it. For the Jewish reader, that's 222 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,400 going to grab their attention. Wait, what son of David? 223 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,280 Wait, what son of Abraham, is that the the Davidic covenant 224 00:12:41,280 --> 00:12:44,240 coming into mind, the Abrahamic covenant that he's referring to 225 00:12:44,240 --> 00:12:45,360 here? Yes, it is. 226 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:49,400 You see, these were huge promises given by God to these 227 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,160 two men and David and Abraham that had massive implications 228 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,720 not only for the people of Israel, but the entire world, 229 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:59,080 the Jewish people, you and I, Gentiles rather. 230 00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,880 So David, David, as you've been studying through you, you saw 231 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,440 that David was promised by God. You see, when David again wanted 232 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,840 to build the temple, the prophet said, Yep, good idea David, go 233 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:15,440 ahead and do it. But then God spoke to to the 234 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:17,760 prophet and said, no, I don't want David building it. 235 00:13:17,760 --> 00:13:19,120 There's too much blood on his hands. 236 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:21,640 But you tell David this, his son will build it. 237 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,040 But let me tell, tell, tell this message to David that I will 238 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:27,480 establish his name, and there will be a Kingdom for 239 00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:30,400 everlasting, and there will be one who will rule with 240 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:34,200 righteousness and with justice, and that'll be the promise to 241 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:36,120 give to David. That's the Davidic covenant. 242 00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:39,080 And this Kingdom will last forever and there'll be no end. 243 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,120 Let me read what the Scriptures say to Samuel 713 and 16. 244 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:47,320 In second Samuel 7, verse 13, God says He shall build a house 245 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,840 for my name, and I will establish the throne of his 246 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,360 Kingdom forever. That's God's promise to David 247 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,080 verse 16. And your house and your Kingdom 248 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,240 shall be made sure forever before me. 249 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,920 Your throne shall be established forever. 250 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:04,280 Man, what a promise given to David. 251 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:07,800 What a hope that this king would rule in righteousness. 252 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:12,280 In Jeremiah 23, verse 5 to 6 builds on this, says, behold, 253 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:16,080 the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up 254 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:20,080 for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and 255 00:14:20,080 --> 00:14:22,440 deal wisely. Man, isn't that what the world 256 00:14:22,440 --> 00:14:27,040 needs is somebody in power who deals wisely and shall execute 257 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,880 justice and righteousness in the land. 258 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,720 In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely, 259 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,200 and this is the name by which he will be called. 260 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:40,240 The Lord is our righteousness. Amen. 261 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,720 Isaiah 9, six to seven. You familiar with this from 262 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:47,160 Christmas typically. For unto us a child is born, 263 00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:51,680 unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his 264 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:53,520 shoulder, and his name shall be called. 265 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:58,800 Wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of 266 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:02,880 Peace, of the increase of his government and peace, there will 267 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:07,640 be no end on the throne of David and his Kingdom to establish it 268 00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:10,400 and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this 269 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:14,320 time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts 270 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:17,280 will do this. It's as good as done. 271 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:22,640 So God made this agreement with King David in the latter years 272 00:15:22,640 --> 00:15:25,960 of his reign, that there there would be a descendant of his 273 00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,840 whose Kingdom would be established and would rule and 274 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:32,400 righteousness and justice would flow and it would be forever and 275 00:15:32,400 --> 00:15:36,720 ever and ever without end. So that's what the Jewish reader 276 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:39,880 is looking for. That's what they're anticipating 277 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,560 and awaiting. And and Matthew's proclamation 278 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,800 from the very beginning is Jesus is the promised one. 279 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,440 And then Abraham, you remember how God had chosen Abraham in 280 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,240 Genesis out of air of the Chaldees told him that Abraham 281 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:56,960 out of you I will make great nation. 282 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:01,920 And out of this nation will be a seed who will be a blessing to 283 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:04,240 all of the earth. And Abraham's looking around at 284 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:06,680 he and his wife Sarah, and they've got no children. 285 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,280 And it seems an impossible thing, but it was a promise that 286 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:11,800 God had given Genesis 12 verses one to three. 287 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,200 Now the Lord said to Abram, go from your country and your 288 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,120 kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show 289 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:20,680 you, and I will make of you a great nation. 290 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,640 I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a 291 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:28,600 blessing. I will bless those who bless you 292 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,400 and and him who dishonours you. I will curse and in you all the 293 00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:34,600 families of the earth shall be blessed. 294 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,600 Abraham was given a promise that not only would he have a son, 295 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,720 but he would have multiple descendants, that a nation would 296 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:45,160 come out of it and that out of this nation would come someone 297 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:47,120 who would bless all of the nations. 298 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,480 As a consequence, there's a wonderful promise given by God 299 00:16:50,480 --> 00:16:54,400 to Abraham, the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis 22, verse 300 00:16:54,400 --> 00:16:57,280 18. And in your offspring shall all 301 00:16:57,280 --> 00:17:00,600 the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed 302 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:03,120 my voice. That's us here in America. 303 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:08,160 That's us back there in WA. That promise is to all of us. 304 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,640 So everyone knew that this Messiah who was to come, this 305 00:17:12,640 --> 00:17:16,520 promised one, that he would have to fulfill these two covenants, 306 00:17:16,520 --> 00:17:21,040 these agreements that God made with David, with Abraham. 307 00:17:21,599 --> 00:17:25,079 He needed to be a descendant of David and a descendant of 308 00:17:25,079 --> 00:17:28,359 Abraham. And God would rule through this 309 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:32,560 individual, love and bless and bring the Kingdom of God for 310 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,920 Israel and the whole world on the earth. 311 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:39,600 This is Matthew's contention. This is Matthew's purpose. 312 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:41,720 This is his point in all of this. 313 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:45,960 You see, at the time of writing, and even at the time of Jesus, 314 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,080 many had laid claim to be the Messiah. 315 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:53,280 There are messiahs here, there and everywhere and all sorts of 316 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:57,080 people laying claim to I'm the one promised to have come from 317 00:17:57,080 --> 00:17:58,440 David. I'm the one promised to have 318 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:00,120 come from Abraham. Follow me. 319 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:03,400 But Jesus is the only one that rightfully fulfilled that. 320 00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:05,680 So this is the whole point of this genealogy. 321 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,280 Now think of the Israelites, the Jewish mind in encountering and 322 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:11,880 reading this and, and knowing in the background all of their 323 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:15,440 promises that have been given to them via Abraham and, and via 324 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,600 David and this fulfillment and the hope for the future of 325 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:22,240 righteousness and justice and mercy and, and all that is wrong 326 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:23,840 in the world. All of the mess, all of the, 327 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:28,120 the, the debris of humanity being rectified and fixed and, 328 00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:32,120 and they're living for some. It's been 700 years since Isaiah 329 00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:36,920 and nothing, whereas this one, who was promised, how come it 330 00:18:36,920 --> 00:18:40,440 hasn't happened yet? It's been 400 years since the 331 00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:42,280 last Old Testament book was written. 332 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:46,840 And there's this relative intertestamental silence that 333 00:18:46,840 --> 00:18:50,320 seems to be evident in the time in which Matthew is writing. 334 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:54,080 And all through this time, you, you know, anything about the 335 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,960 history of the people of Israel is that there's been suffering, 336 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:00,720 there's been pain and they've been languishing and, and 337 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,920 hopelessness and, and wondering in hope for the Messiah. 338 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,720 But all of their circumstances, all of their situation, all of 339 00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:09,520 their experience reveals anything but that which was 340 00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:12,400 promised. And so where is it? 341 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:14,840 Where is this hope? And, and the air is thick with 342 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:17,120 expectant anticipation of the one to come. 343 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:19,800 And has he come yet? Have we missed it? 344 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,480 Are we to give up on this promise, on this hope? 345 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:25,760 And they're wondering and worrying, when will salvation 346 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:28,640 come? When will Messiah come? 347 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:30,880 When will these promises be fulfilled? 348 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,560 Where is the king? Where is the Kingdom promised by 349 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:35,640 God through to Abraham and David? 350 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:37,440 And this is what Matthew starts with. 351 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:42,280 Now, as Israel had hoped for this and longed for this and 352 00:19:42,280 --> 00:19:47,520 yearn for this in their their national psyche, they had to do 353 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:53,000 so in the midst of brokenness, as I mentioned, pain, missteps, 354 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:58,840 much trauma, abuse done against them from different people and 355 00:19:58,840 --> 00:20:03,000 nations trampled on by them. Circumstances look messy, 356 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,840 unlikely even that these promises would ever be 357 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,400 fulfilled. And so for Matthew to write 358 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,640 this, it comes at a time where it's unexpected. 359 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:15,600 It's like this radical plot twist in an introduction, in a 360 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:18,040 writing. We weren't anticipating this, 361 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,760 but now here it, here it is. Here it has come upon us. 362 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,640 The promise has finally been fulfilled. 363 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,640 You see, inherent in these promises are are things of power 364 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:30,000 and of glory and, and ruling the world. 365 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:33,600 And all of this implies prosperity and military might 366 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:37,080 and political prestige, success, prominence, victory, everything. 367 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:39,640 But what the Jewish people were experiencing at the time of 368 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:44,480 writing, Israel have been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. 369 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:48,800 They're wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. 370 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:51,400 The whole generation had died out. 371 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:53,160 They're entering into the promised land. 372 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:56,120 Things look hopeful to begin with, but then all sorts of 373 00:20:56,120 --> 00:20:59,280 conflict with the surrounding nations come in and, and, and 374 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,680 under the kings, through the descendants of David, there's 375 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:04,880 these good kings and there's these bad kings. 376 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:07,560 And there's times when maybe this is it, This is now. 377 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:10,160 But then, no, inevitably a bad king would roll around. 378 00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:12,680 I mean, you have to look no further than David's own son and 379 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,960 Solomon, who began so well. And then all of a sudden, Nick 380 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,320 minute, as we say back home, he's got 700 wives and 300 381 00:21:19,320 --> 00:21:24,040 concubines going on. God had said one Solomon and 382 00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,360 then on after king after king, after king, where's the hope, 383 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:30,400 where's the where's the promise? Where's the fulfilment of all of 384 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:35,080 this? Then captivity for 70 years, as 385 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:38,200 he mentions here, gone into Babylon, the Grecian Empire 386 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,720 taken over and now at the time of riding the Roman Empire in 387 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:44,840 power and all of the oppression that came with that. 388 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,960 And so under these kings, descendants of David, up and 389 00:21:48,960 --> 00:21:51,960 down, honouring the Lord, good king, bad king, many of them 390 00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:55,160 sacrificing to false idols, even their own children, some of 391 00:21:55,160 --> 00:22:00,800 them, the question would be for the people of Israel, this, this 392 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:03,640 is the promise. When is the promise coming? 393 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:08,720 When will the hope that has been given to Abraham and to David 394 00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:10,800 come and be our experience and our existence? 395 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,200 When will these covenantal promises come true? 396 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:17,280 And all of that to ask this question of you this morning. 397 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:22,640 Do you ever think like this when it comes to the promises of God 398 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:26,720 in your life? You hear them, you read them, 399 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:30,040 you listen to them maybe in a message or in a podcast. 400 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:35,640 And yet you look around at the mess of what is your life, and 401 00:22:35,640 --> 00:22:38,880 you go, this can't be it, God, God, what are you doing? 402 00:22:39,840 --> 00:22:43,160 And you're waiting and you're wondering and you're questioning 403 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:47,560 and you're hanging on barely for hope for, for the promises to be 404 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,360 fulfilled. People of Israel knew this all 405 00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:54,840 too well. And so Matthew's introduction 406 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,760 would tell us this, that God knows exactly what is going on 407 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,080 in the mess. The God is intervening that He's 408 00:23:02,080 --> 00:23:06,080 entering in that He's taking care of all of the mess that is 409 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:11,520 our existence, that He is able to work out His sovereign plan 410 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:16,280 perfectly, no matter what curveballs life will throw at 411 00:23:16,280 --> 00:23:20,320 you. That may seem to upset maybe 412 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,360 some of these plans put into place as you read through it. 413 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,600 Matthew wants us to understand this, and Matthew doesn't 414 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,000 include everybody in the genealogy, but he picks out 415 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,920 certain types of people to focus on. 416 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,520 There's the 14 generations, There's some symbolism and 417 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:42,000 patterns included in that 14 generations from Abraham to 418 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:46,600 David, David to the captivity, from the captivity in Babylon 419 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,600 and to Jesus. Something called grammatea, 420 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,800 which is the assigning of numerical value is going on in 421 00:23:52,800 --> 00:23:54,360 here. So there's a whole number of 422 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:58,000 symbolism and focus going on that. 423 00:23:58,200 --> 00:24:01,200 Even Dave, David's name value has 14. 424 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:03,520 And so the 14 generations derive from that. 425 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:05,680 David's names, even the 14th in the list. 426 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:08,360 So the Jewish mind is, whoa, well, Matthew, what are you 427 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:09,480 doing here? What's going on? 428 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:12,440 So they're really drawn to it in what he's writing. 429 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,720 So there's certain type of story, certain uniqueness to it, 430 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,800 a certain type of people that he desires to focus on. 431 00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:25,520 And the people included in this list might seem odd to the 432 00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:29,320 original Jewish audience. Some would even see certain 433 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,920 names here and be offended as we read through them. 434 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:35,680 You see, the Jewish mind understood in you that. 435 00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,080 Yeah, yeah, yeah. The, the Gentiles will be 436 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:40,480 blessed through it. But the promise is specifically 437 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:42,720 for us. And that was their hope, what 438 00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:44,960 they were hanging on to. And it'll be through US first. 439 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:47,720 And and we're the priority and paramount and all of this. 440 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:49,880 And so it's very much an insider movement. 441 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:54,200 But I want to consider a few individuals that are outsiders 442 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:58,640 as we dig in, many of them Gentiles who weren't seen as 443 00:24:58,640 --> 00:25:02,160 important in the story and more or less a byproduct of the 444 00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:05,880 Jewish existence going on. But Matthew, Matthew does it on 445 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:09,240 purpose. He weaves Gentiles in the Holy 446 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:10,960 Spirit, guiding him in his writing. 447 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:15,000 And there's some really messy stories included in these list 448 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,920 of names. Let me tell you a couple of 449 00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:22,880 these stories, messy stories. We'll focus on the women in 450 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,240 particular out of this genealogy. 451 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:28,920 Matthew mentioned Mary, of course, as the mother of Jesus, 452 00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:33,080 but he makes mention of a few other female names in here. 453 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,600 And it's interesting that in genealogies, women were not 454 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,880 typically mentioned. It was just the the time 455 00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:43,000 patriarchal society in which it was written that that they 456 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,160 weren't as significant to the lineages as the men were. 457 00:25:46,160 --> 00:25:50,920 And so this is way outside of the norm for Matthew to include 458 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:55,120 the the female names and references to them that he does 459 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:57,920 here and the type of women included. 460 00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:04,160 Very messy. Matthew 1 two to three. 461 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:10,520 Look again back with me. Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot 462 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:15,120 Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 463 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,520 If you know anything about the book of Genesis and the story of 464 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:26,120 Jacob, he's a shifty guy, men of his sons. 465 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:29,520 And here we have one verse 3 mentioned Judah. 466 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:34,440 We got Perez and Zerah by Tamar and this is who I want to draw 467 00:26:34,440 --> 00:26:37,360 our attention to. Her story is found in Genesis 468 00:26:37,360 --> 00:26:41,880 38. Tamar was the wife of 1 of 469 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:49,200 Judah's sons, a Canaanite woman and Judas son ER. 470 00:26:50,360 --> 00:26:51,680 That's a disappointing name, isn't it? 471 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:57,800 What's your name? Judas son ER was, was married to 472 00:26:57,800 --> 00:27:02,000 Tamar, but he was wicked, the Bible says, and God killed him 473 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:07,360 and that's God's prerogative. But God did that and, and the 474 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:11,280 custom, the practice was that without any descendants having 475 00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:16,680 been born with, with Tamar's union with ER, that the, the 476 00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:21,280 next son in line was to, to marry Tamar and that he was to 477 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:25,520 propagate and the seed and, and that would be then a descendant 478 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:27,800 in the name of Ur who had been deceased. 479 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:30,920 Well, Onan was a wicked fellow. The Bible says that when it came 480 00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:36,160 time to come into Tamar, that he would withdraw and, and his seed 481 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:38,480 would spill on the ground. And that's, that's the story in 482 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:40,440 the Bible there that it's told for us. 483 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:46,080 And so God kills him for not honoring that which he should 484 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:47,520 have done and being faithful to that. 485 00:27:47,520 --> 00:27:51,080 So, so Tamer is a victim of circumstances here at this point 486 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:52,640 in time. She's done nothing wrong. 487 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:57,280 There's been injustice committed against her and her and Onan and 488 00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:59,280 Judah has a third son, a younger son. 489 00:27:59,280 --> 00:28:01,800 And so he makes a promise to Tamer, you know, go back, live 490 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,840 with your family and, and just sort of resume life as it was 491 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:07,880 before. And I promise you that I'll give 492 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:10,240 the younger son when he grows. But Jude, I was thinking she's 493 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,440 bad, bad news. I mean, there's a common 494 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:14,560 denominator here in my two sons having passed. 495 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:16,080 I ain't giving my third one up for her. 496 00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:18,240 So he doesn't follow through with the promise. 497 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:21,920 And so Tamer, maybe you can think of her predicament. 498 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:25,120 She's been waiting and waiting and waiting in hope for a 499 00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:27,080 promise to be fulfilled that has not. 500 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,480 So she decides to take matters into her own hands. 501 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,960 She knows where Judah would come into the city and frequent and 502 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,240 see. She poses and presents herself 503 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,320 as a prostitute, a temple prostitute and and Judah 504 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:42,440 propositions her. So how's this? 505 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:47,080 She knew her father-in-law, well, type of individual he was. 506 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,680 And so they sleep together but make an arrangement for payment 507 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,880 and and she takes Judah's staff and his signet ring, sort of 508 00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,080 identifies it's kind of today the equivalent of somebody's 509 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:01,240 maybe credit card and driver's license or passport or 510 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:04,080 something. And then, you know, they they 511 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:05,920 disappear. It's like, you know, transaction 512 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:09,480 done and away they go. And, and Judah goes to send 513 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,560 payment back so he can retrieve his signet ring and staff and 514 00:29:12,720 --> 00:29:15,080 asking around, you know, where is the temple prostitute that 515 00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:17,520 was on the way? And there's no temple prostitute 516 00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:19,240 here that they're never. And he goes, yeah, you know, the 517 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,400 one that was there. No, there's never been one. 518 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:22,960 Never was one. Don't know what you're talking 519 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:25,520 about. So he's like and goes off. 520 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,400 Well, nine months later, word gets to Judah. 521 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,200 Your daughter-in-law, Tamar, is pregnant. 522 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:35,040 What's Judah's response? Bring her out? 523 00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:36,240 Kill her. Let's burn her. 524 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,960 So she comes. And I don't know how that event 525 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:46,080 took place, but you can imagine it, right? 526 00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,520 What have you done, Tamar? And what does she do? 527 00:29:49,960 --> 00:30:02,880 She presents the staff, the Signet ring, Judah tamer, an 528 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:08,400 outsider, A Gentile, victim of circumstances, yes, but took 529 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:10,880 matters into her own hands. What a mess of a life, right? 530 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:14,920 What a mess of an experience. And yet she's mentioned in the 531 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:19,280 lineage in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, her and her two 532 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:22,560 sons, despite those events and all that took place. 533 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:30,000 The next Matthew one, verse 5 says Salmon begat Boaz by Rahab. 534 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,960 You know the story of Rahab in the book of Joshua, She's a 535 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:36,440 Canaanite. And when the spies were sent in 536 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,400 by Joshua to spy out the land, they go and they reside in her 537 00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,120 residence. But what the Bible tells us 538 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:46,280 about Rahab's residence is this is that Rahab was a prostitute, 539 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,000 a harlot. I don't know what the the guys 540 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,440 were doing there. Maybe we can give them the 541 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,160 benefit of the doubt. And some suggest that's the the 542 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:56,640 place where accommodation was most easily found. 543 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:59,600 Or you could as a spy, you know, infiltrate into society. 544 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:01,440 Maybe they were having a prayer meeting there. 545 00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,000 I don't know. We can give them that. 546 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:07,000 But it does sound a little not the best place to spend the 547 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:08,520 night. But Rahab, you remember her 548 00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:11,000 story. She's one who'd heard of all 549 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:15,280 that God had done even way back in Egypt, news had travelled and 550 00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,400 and how fear is gripping the hearts of the people in Jericho. 551 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,400 And the promise was given because of the help that she had 552 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:24,280 given to these two spies, that if you would gather as many of 553 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,960 your household to enter into the place when we when we attack and 554 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:31,280 inevitably defeat Jericho and you let out that scarlet court, 555 00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:34,320 then then you'll be saved. And so by faith, she puts her 556 00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:37,000 trust in that promise and they're delivered, They're set 557 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,760 free and she becomes part of the people of Israel. 558 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:42,040 There's a story there. What a wonderful thing, but it's 559 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:45,760 a messy story, right? It's in the genealogy of Jesus. 560 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:49,080 She become somewhat of a hero in the history of the people of 561 00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,760 Israel mentioned in the book of Hebrews and the book of James. 562 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,440 But it's a messy story and it's a story that's part of Jesus 563 00:31:55,440 --> 00:32:01,680 story on through in verses 5 and 6 we're introduced to the next 564 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:04,480 lady. It says in verse 5 Boaz begot 565 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:09,560 Obed by Ruth and Obed begot Jesse and Jesse begot David the 566 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:12,120 king. You know the story of Ruth? 567 00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,200 Well, if anyone knows tragedy, it's Ruth. 568 00:32:16,760 --> 00:32:20,080 She's a Moabitess. She's married to a guy from 569 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:26,800 Bethlehem who dies. Not only does he die, but Ruth's 570 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:30,680 brother-in-law dies and Ruth, father-in-law, dies. 571 00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:32,960 You talk about tragic circumstances. 572 00:32:32,960 --> 00:32:35,960 I think many of us have experienced the tragedy of death 573 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,000 and the sting that that brings to us. 574 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:42,160 But you think of Ruth and and Naomi and and OPA. 575 00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,800 It was the sister-in-law as well and what they experienced and 576 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,040 went through it. Man victim of circumstances and 577 00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,320 in that patriarchal society in which they live, I mean, there 578 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:53,960 was no way of provision for them. 579 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,920 So they, they go back into the land of Israel, hearing that the 580 00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:00,760 famine is over and, and they they encounter this guy Boaz. 581 00:33:01,320 --> 00:33:04,040 You know, that wonderful story of redemption that is found in 582 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:06,520 the book of Ruth. But you know what Ruth's 583 00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:11,480 ancestry is? She's a Moabitess and how the 584 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:14,640 nation of Moab came about. It's told for us in the book of 585 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:19,920 Genesis at the time of Lot and, and the, the judgement that fell 586 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:22,840 on Sodom and Gomorrah. And when Lot and his wife and 587 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,120 his two daughters escaped, his wife turns around, she's she's 588 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:28,600 vaporized or turned into a pillar of salt. 589 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:32,040 That's where her heart was. And so it's Lot and the two 590 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:34,400 daughters and the two daughters are freaking out wondering, 591 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:37,080 well, where are we going to find husbands? 592 00:33:37,080 --> 00:33:41,360 So they get their dad drunk and night after night one of them 593 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:46,160 sleeps with their own dad. It's a story of incest that's 594 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:48,480 found in the Bible. And and one of these sons is 595 00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,160 called Moab. That's the nation that Ruth is a 596 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:56,360 part of the Moabites. And yet she's mentioned and 597 00:33:56,360 --> 00:33:58,600 brought into the genealogy of Jesus Christ. 598 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:03,400 What a messy story that is the story of things done against 599 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:06,280 her, a story of things done before her and the impact that 600 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:08,800 that's had what a victim of circumstances. 601 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,280 And yet she's mentioned Ruth here in the lineage of Jesus 602 00:34:12,280 --> 00:34:16,280 Christ. The last one I want to mention 603 00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:20,280 for us in verse 6, Jesse begat David the king. 604 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:25,760 David the king begot Solomon by her, who had been the wife of 605 00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:31,440 Uriah, her name's Bathsheba. You know the story in the sort 606 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:35,080 of latter more prosperous years of David's life when it says at 607 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:41,360 the time when kings go to war, David stays home and it's a hot 608 00:34:41,360 --> 00:34:44,760 night and he's walking around the palace rooftop and he spots 609 00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:48,080 Bathsheba. Bathing is her purification. 610 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:51,960 He inquires about her and word comes back. 611 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:57,360 It's Bathsheba, the son of the the daughter of so and so the 612 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,720 husband of Uriah. I think that's what the the 613 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:06,840 messaging is to to David here. She's married and David should 614 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,480 have at that point gone. Oh, but he didn't. 615 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:16,080 He brought her in, had an affair and word gets back David I'm 616 00:35:16,080 --> 00:35:19,880 pregnant. And what does David do? 617 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:25,120 He goes into cover up mode, tries to get Uriah back from the 618 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:28,640 frontline, plies him with alcohol to try and get him to go 619 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,840 home to make it look like that it was when, well, you know, 620 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:34,160 everybody knows it was when Uriah went home to the 621 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:37,360 battlefront. But Uriah's such a right man and 622 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,160 an honorable man that he goes how how can I go home and 623 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:43,280 experience the pleasures of home when, when all of my comrades 624 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:45,640 are out fighting and and serving you, the king? 625 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:48,920 And no matter it seems what David did, Uriah would not go 626 00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:54,080 home. So he had written instructions 627 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:58,240 to go to Joab, the commander of David's army, and this is how 628 00:35:58,240 --> 00:36:02,120 trustworthy Uriah was. He gave effectively Uriah's 629 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:06,080 death warrant into Uriah's hand to deliver to Joab back to the 630 00:36:06,080 --> 00:36:09,600 battlefront. Put Uriah in the frontline, and 631 00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,960 when when the battle isn't fiercest, withdraw the troops 632 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:14,560 and have it so that Uriah's left. 633 00:36:14,560 --> 00:36:16,400 And sure enough, the inevitable happens. 634 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:22,480 Uriah is killed in conflict, murdered by David, which you 635 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:24,880 can't cover up when it comes to God, can you? 636 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,720 And word comes by Nathan the prophet through the story and 637 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,200 eventually, after the story is told, when David's injustice 638 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:38,080 flares up about the story of sheep being stolen from a poor 639 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,320 man by a rich man and so on. David, you're the man. 640 00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:47,440 Bathsheba, she's brought into the genealogy of Jesus Christ. 641 00:36:47,440 --> 00:36:50,880 She eventually becomes queen. Solomon rules as king after 642 00:36:50,880 --> 00:36:54,440 David and and there's wonderful messaging there of of the 643 00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:58,920 blessing and graciousness of God despite what happens in our 644 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:02,520 lives and to us. Bathsheba's story is 1 here. 645 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:06,840 It's a messy story, but it's a story that's in the genealogy of 646 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,480 Jesus. So all of that to say, this is 647 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:16,160 the story that Matthew is telling out of this genealogy, 648 00:37:16,160 --> 00:37:19,600 this this list of names, the Jewish phone book, as I 649 00:37:19,600 --> 00:37:22,400 mentioned to you at the beginning, and he's careful to 650 00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:25,160 include these characters in his story. 651 00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:29,200 Why? What does this teach us? 652 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:32,280 What is the the impact, the application? 653 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:34,080 Why include these? Why? 654 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:38,880 Why does the Holy Spirit have David mention Matthew rather 655 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:42,280 mention these names in the the history, the lineage of David 656 00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:44,560 and of Abraham and on pointing to Jesus? 657 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:52,080 Why not some good Jewish girls like Rachel, Rebecca, Yeah, Leah 658 00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:55,960 even and on through the list. I mean, they're good stories. 659 00:37:56,600 --> 00:37:59,320 They make for a better, you know, if you're going to 660 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:02,640 highlight some women, why not highlight those wonderful women 661 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:04,960 in the stories of the Bible because of this? 662 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:09,960 You see, the purpose of the gospel message is to preach the 663 00:38:09,960 --> 00:38:15,680 good news of Jesus Christ. And Matthew begins to preach it 664 00:38:15,680 --> 00:38:19,160 from the very first line in the very first chapter. 665 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:22,240 Son of David. Oh boy, what a mess. 666 00:38:22,240 --> 00:38:26,760 David and his descendants were son of Abraham. 667 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:29,240 Oh, what a mess. The nation of Israel. 668 00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:37,600 These guys aren't worthy. They're not deserving. 669 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,480 And yet that's who the Messiah came for. 670 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:45,760 That's exactly what the promise is all about. 671 00:38:47,120 --> 00:38:52,840 You see, the Gospel is meant for is needed by those that don't 672 00:38:52,840 --> 00:38:57,480 deserve it. The story is meant for the 673 00:38:57,480 --> 00:39:08,320 Sinner, the ashamed, the guilty, the burdened, the outsider, the 674 00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:16,560 outcast, the ostracized ones, the unwanted ones, the sinful, 675 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:20,560 the broken. Jesus Himself said these words 676 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:26,040 in Luke 5I have come to call the sinful to repentance. 677 00:39:28,080 --> 00:39:32,080 These are messy stories. Let me tell you this. 678 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:40,040 These are messy stories. You know, each and every one of 679 00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:45,720 us would hesitate to have our life, if it were recorded, 680 00:39:46,640 --> 00:39:48,800 flashed up on screen for all to see. 681 00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:56,600 All of the details, all of the things done to us, all of the 682 00:39:56,600 --> 00:40:02,200 things done by us to others, the things that we've failed to do, 683 00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:05,160 maybe because of cowardice. And we know what the right thing 684 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:10,640 to do is, and we've not done it. The times where we've behaved in 685 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:15,000 certain ways and fashions in the workplace or in our families, 686 00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:18,520 amongst our friends, wherever we find ourselves, we know this, 687 00:40:18,520 --> 00:40:23,000 that man using the word mess is a polite way of describing my 688 00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:28,200 life. And so we find ourselves here in 689 00:40:28,200 --> 00:40:32,200 Matthew chapter one. We find ourselves desperately 690 00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:36,640 needing the hope of the Messiah. And so here is Matthew's point 691 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,280 is, let me tell you the story of Jesus Christ. 692 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:43,240 But the background is that's it. There's mess after mess after 693 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:45,800 mess after mess. But here's what Matthew says. 694 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:51,440 That's not the end of the story. The end of the story is Jesus 695 00:40:51,440 --> 00:40:55,920 the Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham, the 696 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:58,240 fulfillment of the promise. The time has come. 697 00:40:58,240 --> 00:41:00,960 It's now, it's here. This is what I want to declare 698 00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:02,800 to you, says Matthew in those words. 699 00:41:04,800 --> 00:41:10,200 And so the reader, the listener recognizes I'm hearing this, I'm 700 00:41:10,200 --> 00:41:15,000 guilty, I'm ashamed, I'm outcast, I'm rejected, I'm 701 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:22,520 unwanted. I need someone to fix all that's 702 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:30,320 going on, to clean up the mess. And enters in Jesus, enters in 703 00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:34,720 Messiah into them to the promised one, the blessed One, 704 00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:40,240 the one who had been given from the very beginning, enters into 705 00:41:40,240 --> 00:41:43,760 our mess to clean up. So there's hope, there's good 706 00:41:43,760 --> 00:41:45,600 news that comes through Jesus Christ. 707 00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:49,600 And when Jesus arrived on the scene, he said in Luke chapter 708 00:41:49,600 --> 00:41:53,360 4, verse 18 and 19, quoting out of Isaiah 61. 709 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:55,440 In fact, I'll finish up with this. 710 00:41:55,440 --> 00:42:02,840 You can turn with me in your Bible to Isaiah 61 and listen to 711 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:05,960 the hope that is found in Jesus Christ in this and we'll read a 712 00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:08,240 few verses. I'll jump ahead in them. 713 00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,720 But in verse one of Isaiah 61, it says the Spirit of the Lord 714 00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:16,760 God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me. 715 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:22,360 And here's what Jesus does to preach good tidings to the poor. 716 00:42:23,440 --> 00:42:27,440 He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim 717 00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:31,480 liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those 718 00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:34,680 who are bound. To proclaim the acceptable year 719 00:42:34,680 --> 00:42:36,760 of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God. 720 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:41,160 To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion. 721 00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:45,400 To give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the 722 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:48,000 garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they may be 723 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:50,880 called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that 724 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:55,880 He may be glorified. Do you think if Ruth, if Rahab, 725 00:42:56,120 --> 00:42:59,320 if Bathsheba, if Tamar could have read these words, they 726 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:01,200 would have gone, oh, thank you Jesus. 727 00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:05,280 And we read them and we say the same. 728 00:43:05,360 --> 00:43:09,480 Thank you Jesus and move ahead. Verse 10. 729 00:43:09,800 --> 00:43:11,720 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. 730 00:43:11,720 --> 00:43:15,720 My soul shall be joyful in my God, for He has clothed me with 731 00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:18,280 the garments of salvation. That's what Jesus brings. 732 00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:21,680 He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. 733 00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:26,600 That's what Jesus brings as a bridegroom decks himself with 734 00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:29,400 ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 735 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:32,920 For as the earth brings forth its blood, as the garden causes 736 00:43:32,920 --> 00:43:37,520 the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord God 737 00:43:37,520 --> 00:43:41,320 will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before 738 00:43:41,640 --> 00:43:46,240 all the nations, America, Australia, everything in 739 00:43:46,240 --> 00:43:51,120 between. See what this whole passage 740 00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:55,080 should tell us? That the one who is writing this 741 00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:59,560 story is bigger than any mistakes that we made, any that 742 00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:04,280 have been made against us. That no one is beyond the reach 743 00:44:04,280 --> 00:44:11,080 of God's grace. That our lives like Judah and 744 00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:15,360 Tamar, like Rahab the prostitute, Ruth the Moabitus, 745 00:44:16,040 --> 00:44:20,240 like David and Bathsheba. Listen to this that our lives 746 00:44:20,240 --> 00:44:24,760 like theirs can be redeemed in Jesus the Christ. 747 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:29,920 This message is about the good news. 748 00:44:30,840 --> 00:44:35,120 This is about the grace of God and about Him being faithful to 749 00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:39,080 what He has promised and of Him bringing His grace into our 750 00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:41,760 mess. It's about Jesus making 751 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:45,440 something wonderful and beautiful out of that which is 752 00:44:45,440 --> 00:44:49,720 destroyed and lifeless, and making it all new in Him. 753 00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:53,080 Let's pray. We hope you enjoyed this message 754 00:44:53,160 --> 00:44:56,240 and we'd love for you to join us in person every Sunday at 10:30 755 00:44:56,240 --> 00:44:57,840 AM. For more information and 756 00:44:57,840 --> 00:45:00,040 updates, visit wearebridgetown.com. 757 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:02,360 Thanks for tuning in and we'll see you next week.