1 00:00:04,800 --> 00:00:06,880 Well, good morning. It's good to see you guys today. 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:12,720 I'm going to say something to you that you haven't heard in a 3 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,680 very long time. Please open your Bibles to 4 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:19,720 Matthew chapter 1. All right, Matthew chapter one, 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,960 First Corinthians is finished. We move on to a new book, 6 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:31,120 Matthew chapter 1. I want you to know that the New 7 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:34,480 Testament does open in what we might call a surprising way. 8 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:39,400 It's not with a miracle. It's not even with a parable. 9 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,320 It's not with an angelic moments. 10 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:49,600 It opens with a genealogy. A genealogy 17 verses of names. 11 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:52,320 Side note that I will struggle with. 12 00:00:52,320 --> 00:00:56,360 All right, a few. But if you and I were writing a 13 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:59,880 biography of Jesus, you were tasked with writing a biography 14 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:03,280 of Jesus. I don't know that the first 15 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:07,400 thought we would have would be would be to say, let's make a 16 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:12,640 list of names. But Matthew does, because 17 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,360 Matthew wants you to understand something foundational before 18 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:21,480 you ever hear Jesus teach, before you hear about his 19 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,720 healings, before you see him speak. 20 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,000 Matthew wants you to know this, that Jesus Christ stands at the 21 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,920 end of a long line of God's unbreakable promises. 22 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:37,280 Jesus stands at the end of a long line of God's unbreakable 23 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,920 promises. Jesus doesn't arrive randomly. 24 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,040 He he doesn't appear suddenly out of nowhere. 25 00:01:45,720 --> 00:01:49,480 His coming is the climax of centuries of covenant 26 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:51,480 faithfulness from God to his people. 27 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,840 And Matthew doesn't hide anything in the genealogy. 28 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,880 He he doesn't paint with a beautiful brush in this 29 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,080 genealogy. He does include heroes. 30 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:08,039 He includes kings, but he also includes sinners. 31 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,200 He includes outsiders. He includes the broken. 32 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,160 He he includes those who are morally. 33 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:18,600 Complicated, we might say. The Holy Spirit wants you to see 34 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,880 that the people Jesus came from are the very kind of people that 35 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:26,040 Jesus came for. His family line is full of 36 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:31,120 grace, full of grace because his mission is to bring, to bring 37 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,000 grace to his people. You might recall that John and 38 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,840 his gospel at the beginning of it says that Jesus came full of 39 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,400 grace that that he was, that in him we have grace upon. 40 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,160 Grace. So as we begin this new sermon 41 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:50,920 series through the Gospel of Matthew, I want you to know why 42 00:02:50,920 --> 00:02:53,720 we're doing this. I want to know how we'll go 43 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:55,960 about it, how we're going to walk through this book together. 44 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:01,080 Matthew's Gospel is structured around the major movements of of 45 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:05,040 Jesus life and ministry. We'll see his arrival. 46 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:08,960 You see his baptism, you see his his baptism in preparation for 47 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:10,840 ministry. You see his Kingdom preaching, 48 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:16,120 his miracles, his parables, his passion, meaning his 49 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,600 crucifixion, and you see his resurrection. 50 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:21,840 And so we're going to follow Matthew's spirit inspired 51 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:24,960 structure as we walk through this verse by verse. 52 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:28,640 And that means that the larger series, if this works out right, 53 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:31,880 the larger series is going to unfold in several smaller 54 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,080 miniseries within the whole. OK. 55 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,360 So, for example, this opening section aligns with Advance 56 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,720 right as we consider Advent next week, the arrival of the king, 57 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:45,880 as Matthew considers the arrival of the king, Matthew gives us 58 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,480 movements like this. And so we'll turn to Advent next 59 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:51,960 week as we start our Christmas season together. 60 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,800 We'll walk through all of these movements with one another. 61 00:03:56,240 --> 00:03:59,800 So with that in mind, our series is titled The King and His 62 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,760 Kingdom, Matthew, the Kingdom, the King and His Kingdom. 63 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,480 Now the theme that carries us through this series, every 64 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:11,840 chapter is going to be this Jesus is the promised king. 65 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,360 Sorry, Jesus, the promised king establishes his Kingdom through 66 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,399 his word, his works and his people. 67 00:04:19,399 --> 00:04:23,120 All right, So Matthew wants us to see that Jesus not is not 68 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:26,880 merely A moral teacher. All right, we live in a world 69 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:32,200 today that likes to praise Jesus as he was a good moral teacher. 70 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,760 Matthew also wants you to see these, not just some other wise 71 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:40,320 rabbi. Of his day. 72 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,200 Matthew wants you to see that he's the long-awaited Messiah. 73 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,560 He's the son of David, the high King of heaven, who brings the 74 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,920 Kingdom of heaven to earth. That's what Matthew wants us to 75 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:55,040 understand in this Gospel. So Matthew shows us that this 76 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,360 Kingdom is established and expanded through the word Jesus 77 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:01,440 proclaims. We're going to see a lot of 78 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:03,400 Jesus's teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. 79 00:05:05,240 --> 00:05:08,640 He also wants you to see that this Kingdom is established 80 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,240 through the work that Jesus accomplishes. 81 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:15,720 And finally, he wants you to see that this Kingdom is established 82 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:20,120 through the people that Jesus calls, forms, and sends. 83 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,120 So his word, his work, his people. 84 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,920 My prayer is that as we move through this slowly and 85 00:05:26,920 --> 00:05:30,800 carefully, that you will see Jesus more clearly. 86 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:33,520 All right? And you might say, well, I grew 87 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,480 up in church. I know Jesus pretty clearly. 88 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,560 But I hope that all of us, whether we've served the Lord 89 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:41,880 for a really long time or brand new to the faith, that we can 90 00:05:41,880 --> 00:05:44,720 see Christ more clearly through this. 91 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:46,600 Why do we want to see Christ more clearly? 92 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,960 So that we might love him more deeply, that we might follow him 93 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,640 more faithfully. And every page reveals his 94 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:59,800 authority, his compassion, his teaching, his sacrifice, and his 95 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:01,960 triumph. And so as we see those things, 96 00:06:02,520 --> 00:06:06,320 it's my prayer that our desire for Christ, our affections for 97 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,480 Christ, grow immensely through the series. 98 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:14,200 So as we read the genealogy in a moment, we're not going to skim 99 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,600 it, which is what we might be prone to do in our Bible reading 100 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:19,680 plans, right? As we read through the Word, 101 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:22,800 we're not going to turn it out. We're going to ask the Lord to 102 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:27,080 help us see his faithfulness through every generation, 103 00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,680 leading finally and fully to Jesus Christ. 104 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:34,640 So if you're able, let's stand together now in honor of the 105 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:44,770 reading of God's Word, Matthew one one through 17, the book of 106 00:06:44,770 --> 00:06:48,450 the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of 107 00:06:48,450 --> 00:06:51,800 Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, 108 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,680 and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah 109 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:59,080 and his brothers. And Judah the father of Perez 110 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,160 and Zahra by Tamar and Perez, the father of Hezron. 111 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:07,720 And Hezron, the father of Ram and Ran, the father of Aminidab. 112 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,040 And Aminidab the father of Nishon. 113 00:07:10,280 --> 00:07:14,720 And Nishon the father of Sammon. And Sammon the father of Boaz by 114 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:17,920 Rahab. And Boaz the father of Obed by 115 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:21,040 Ruth. And Obed the father of Jesse. 116 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:23,640 And Jesse the father of David the king. 117 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,520 And David was the father of Solomon, the wife of Uriah. 118 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,440 And Solomon the father of Rehoboam. 119 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:33,760 And Rehoboam the father of Abijah. 120 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:37,360 And Abijah the father of Asaph. And Asaph the father of 121 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,240 Jehoshaphat. And Jehoshaphat the father of 122 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,320 Joram. And Joram the father of Uzziah. 123 00:07:44,080 --> 00:07:47,120 And Uzziah the father of Jotham. And Jotham the father of Ahaz. 124 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:51,160 And Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. And Hezekiah the father of 125 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:54,040 Manasseh. And Manasseh the father of Amos. 126 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:58,000 And Amos the father of Josiah. And Josiah the father of 127 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:02,440 Jaconia, Jaconia, Jaconia, Jaconia sorry. 128 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:06,200 And his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 129 00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:10,360 And after the deportation to Babylon, Jekhoniah was the 130 00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:13,720 father of Shala Tale that'll work. 131 00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,760 And Shaltale the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the 132 00:08:16,760 --> 00:08:21,440 father of Abiad, and Abiad the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim 133 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,800 the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadak. 134 00:08:24,920 --> 00:08:28,600 And Zadak the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliad, 135 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,640 and Eliad the father of Elizer, and Eliazer the father of 136 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,400 Matson, and Matson the father of Jacob. 137 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:39,880 And Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom 138 00:08:39,919 --> 00:08:42,159 Jesus was born, who was called Christ. 139 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,760 So all the generations, from Abraham to David were 14 140 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:47,840 generations. And from David to the 141 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,640 deportation to Babylon 14 generations. 142 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:54,880 And from the deportation to Babylon to cry to the Christ 14 143 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,200 generations. This is the word of the Lord. 144 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:00,560 Thanks be to God. Let's pray. 145 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:03,080 Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. 146 00:09:03,080 --> 00:09:05,080 We thank you for the time that we have in it. 147 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,480 Lord, these are things that we're so tempted to skip over 148 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:13,120 sometimes just because of the difficulty of the names. 149 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:16,360 And Lord, I ask now that you would reveal Your word to us. 150 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,200 We know that it's important because it's here. 151 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,000 It's inspired by Your spirit. It's breathed out by your own 152 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:28,480 mouth to the pen of Matthew that we would know these things. 153 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:30,840 And so we ask, Lord, that you would open our eyes and our 154 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:34,160 hearts and our ears and our spirits to understanding. 155 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,080 Lord, would you guide us and strengthen us in our walk with 156 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:39,680 Christ as we've heard this word today. 157 00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:41,480 It's in the name of Christ, I pray. 158 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:42,440 Amen. Amen. 159 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:47,800 You may be seated. So as we declare this is the 160 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,800 word of the Lord, we're saying this is God's word, right? 161 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:55,600 And at what first appears to be a bear list of names is actually 162 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:58,840 a sweeping story. Like if you're familiar with the 163 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:02,440 Old Testament even a little, you recognize a lot of the names 164 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,440 being mentioned there, right? This is a story that traces 165 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:09,560 God's faithfulness from Abraham through David all the way to 166 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,680 Jesus. And Matthew gives us not what we 167 00:10:12,680 --> 00:10:14,400 would call a theological history. 168 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,200 Sorry. Matthew gives us what we might 169 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:21,320 call a theological history in giving us a covenantal family, 170 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:25,600 in giving us a portrait of grace in the form of generations. 171 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:30,440 So Matthew wants his Jewish readers especially, and us today 172 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:34,560 to understand that Jesus is not a new religious teacher who 173 00:10:34,560 --> 00:10:39,600 appeared out of thin air, right? He's not some new rabbi doing a 174 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,680 great work. He is the son of Abraham. 175 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:46,280 He's the son of David. He's the promised king, the 176 00:10:46,280 --> 00:10:49,920 gracious Savior, right? He's the one toward whom all 177 00:10:49,920 --> 00:10:53,040 scripture in the Old Testament has been moving. 178 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:57,520 He's the one in whom all the promises of God find their yes 179 00:10:57,520 --> 00:11:00,800 and their Amen. So here's where we're going 180 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:02,240 today. First, I want to show you who 181 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:04,880 Matthew is, the man and the message. 182 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:06,480 Just a little bit about the author. 183 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,560 Secondly, I want to show you the genealogy of grace that we've 184 00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:13,800 just read where we see very, very clearly God's faithfulness 185 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:18,240 in the midst of brokenness. And #3 we want to see that Jesus 186 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:20,520 is the son of David and of Abraham. 187 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,720 And so we'll see God's faithfulness in the covenants. 188 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:26,440 But the main point that ties this together, if you're taking 189 00:11:26,440 --> 00:11:28,680 notes or you have worship God, you can fill in the blanks on 190 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:30,720 this. The main point that ties this 191 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:34,040 together is this. God's covenant faithfulness 192 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:39,720 through generations reveals Jesus as one, the promised Son, 193 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:44,040 and two, the gracious King who came from sinners for sinners. 194 00:11:44,920 --> 00:11:47,640 Right? I'll say it again. 195 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:50,280 God's covenant faithfulness through generations reveals 196 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:55,400 Jesus as the promised Son and the gracious King who came from 197 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:59,760 sinners for sinners. So with that in mind, let's take 198 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:03,160 a look at Matthew. All right, point #1 Matthew the 199 00:12:03,160 --> 00:12:06,920 man and the message. Now, before we walk through the 200 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:11,000 genealogy itself, we want to understand who's writing? 201 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,040 Why is he writing? Who's he writing to? 202 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:17,560 All right, what's the purpose of this book? 203 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:20,360 We need to understand the man who wrote it and the message 204 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,520 that he wants us to hear. I want you to understand that 205 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:27,960 Matthew doesn't waste ink. There's 28 chapters in the book 206 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,800 of Matthew, and no ink is wasted, right? 207 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:36,640 He, he begins the Gospel in the exact way that his own story, 208 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:42,640 his own calling, and his own burden was shared by Christ, 209 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,120 revealed by Christ, and saved, redeemed by Christ. 210 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:49,400 And he reveals those things because he wants his readers to 211 00:12:49,400 --> 00:12:53,120 know it. He wants us to understand that, 212 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:55,480 right? So who was Matthew? 213 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,240 Well, Matthew is also called Levi. 214 00:12:58,760 --> 00:13:01,680 Levi or Matthew was a tax collector. 215 00:13:02,680 --> 00:13:07,720 Even in our day we say right, But especially in this day, they 216 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:15,000 would say that Job meant several things to 1st century residents, 217 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:18,280 especially the Jews. Means he worked for Rome. 218 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:22,360 Rome was the Pagan empire occupying God's land at the 219 00:13:22,360 --> 00:13:25,240 time. He collected taxes from Jewish 220 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:28,880 families, and not just taxes. He would often take more than 221 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:32,120 was required to fill his own pockets, right. 222 00:13:32,320 --> 00:13:36,640 He was considered a traitor, he was a collaborator with evil, 223 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:39,480 and he was a thief. He was cut off from the 224 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:42,920 synagogue, he was treated as unclaimed, and he was socially 225 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,200 despised. All for money. 226 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:50,200 In other words, Matthew lived outside the boundaries of a 227 00:13:50,200 --> 00:13:52,400 respectable Jewish. Life. 228 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:57,160 He was the man everyone avoided. He was the kind of man religious 229 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:02,080 people whispered about. And yet Jesus walks up to 230 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:06,720 Matthew's tax booth, looks him in the eye, and he says to him, 231 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,800 follow me now. That ought to speak to our own 232 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,520 hearts. Follow me, right? 233 00:14:15,720 --> 00:14:18,440 Well, that moment changed everything for Matthew, just as 234 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:20,680 that moment has changed everything for you. 235 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:25,040 Matthew rose up. He left his old life. 236 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:29,040 He walked away from the table of Rome and joined the table of the 237 00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:33,320 king of heaven. Matthew knows what it feels like 238 00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:36,400 to be an outsider. He knows what it means to carry 239 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:38,400 shame. He knows what it means to be 240 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:41,000 regarded as spiritually unworthy. 241 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:47,800 And so Matthew's Gospel is uniquely qualified to highlight 242 00:14:47,800 --> 00:14:50,760 Jesus as the merciful King who brings grace to sinners. 243 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:53,880 Matthew's telling his own story in many. 244 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:54,760 Ways. Right. 245 00:14:55,120 --> 00:14:58,680 Matthew Henry, great Bible commentator, he said this as 246 00:14:58,680 --> 00:15:01,520 Matthew's writing. He said he writes as one who 247 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:06,440 deeply, who's deeply sensible of the mercy that he had found. 248 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,680 He writes as one who is deeply sensible of the mercy he had 249 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:13,160 found. That's going to be clear in 250 00:15:13,160 --> 00:15:17,000 every chapter. Matthew has a unique voice, just 251 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:20,240 as each gospel writer has a distinctive angle that they 252 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,360 take. Matthew's no different, right? 253 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,520 The Gospel of Mark shows Jesus as the suffering servants. 254 00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:31,000 These are just brief summaries, right? 255 00:15:31,200 --> 00:15:33,600 But the Gospel of Mark shows Jesus as the suffering servant. 256 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:37,080 The Gospel of Luke highlights Jesus as the Savior of all the 257 00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:38,920 nations and of all kinds of people. 258 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:41,960 He's particularly writing to Gentiles. 259 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:47,160 The Gospel of John reveals Jesus as the eternal Son, full of 260 00:15:47,160 --> 00:15:49,440 glory. John tells us that he writes 261 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,560 this book that you may see that Jesus is the Son of God, the 262 00:15:52,560 --> 00:15:55,080 Messiah, and having seen him, find a life. 263 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,360 In his name. All right, so John's Gospel is 264 00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:02,520 very, very evangelistic. And then the Gospel of Matthew, 265 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,200 well, it presents Jesus as the promised king. 266 00:16:06,960 --> 00:16:09,280 He's writing to Jews. And so he's going to, we're 267 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:12,480 going to see a lot of that kind of language, but he presents 268 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,680 Jesus as the promised king. He's the fulfillment of the Old 269 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,480 Testament. He's the revealer of the Kingdom 270 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,400 of heaven. Matthew quotes the Old Testament 271 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,440 more than Mark, Luke and John combined. 272 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:31,040 He says again and again after his writings in some places this 273 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:34,680 was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophets. 274 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:37,960 He's wanting to hammer home. Listen guys, this is what we 275 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,920 have been being told for thousands of years. 276 00:16:42,400 --> 00:16:44,880 Right. Matthew wants you to know two 277 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:48,440 things beyond all doubts. Number one, that Jesus is the 278 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:50,520 Messiah Israel has been waiting for. 279 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:57,200 He's the Messiah that Israel has been waiting for #2 He wants you 280 00:16:57,200 --> 00:17:02,000 to know that Jesus is the King whose Kingdom reorders or 281 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,280 reshapes the entire. World. 282 00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:12,079 And Matthew, a former traitor, A forgiven Sinner, a redeemed 283 00:17:12,079 --> 00:17:17,040 outcast, is the perfect man to tell that story because Matthew 284 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:22,400 knows personally that the Kingdom Jesus brings to earth is 285 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,720 open to repentance. Sinners. 286 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,320 It's open to people like him. It's open to people like the 287 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:32,480 ones in this genealogy. It's open to people like us. 288 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,920 Amen. Matthew writes to persuade. 289 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:39,920 Matthew isn't merely recording history. 290 00:17:40,040 --> 00:17:42,880 Matthew is preaching. Brothers and sisters. 291 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:46,400 He's exhorting. He's persuading. 292 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:51,000 The Gospel is an argument with a heartbeat, and Matthew wants you 293 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:55,440 to understand that. Matthew writes to convince us of 294 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,440 these things, that Jesus is the son of God, He's the rightful 295 00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:00,520 king. Jesus is the son of Abraham. 296 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:03,920 He's the promised blessing. Jesus is the authoritative 297 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:05,760 teacher. He's greater than Moses. 298 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,560 Jesus is the Redeemer, he said, who saves his people from their 299 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:13,320 sins. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us, 300 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:18,120 and Jesus is risen and reigning. Now these are the things that 301 00:18:18,120 --> 00:18:20,720 Matthew wants you to see so clearly in this. 302 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:23,040 Gospel. And from the very beginning, 303 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,920 Matthew wants us to see him clearly, see Christ clearly. 304 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:28,840 That's why he puts a genealogy here. 305 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:33,600 So why does a man like Matthew begin with a genealogy? 306 00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:39,360 Because Matthew knows two things intimately. 1 He knows the shame 307 00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:43,040 of a tarnished past. I won't ask for a show of hands, 308 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:45,560 but all of us could raise our hand, right? 309 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:51,400 We know the shame of a tarnished past #2 he knows the power of 310 00:18:51,400 --> 00:18:55,800 redeeming grace. He understands Christ, he 311 00:18:55,800 --> 00:18:58,360 understands salvation, He understands what it means that 312 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,320 the King has come and his Kingdom has been established on 313 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:04,360 the earth. Matthew includes sinners in 314 00:19:04,360 --> 00:19:06,640 Jesus family because Matthew is 1. 315 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:11,200 He names outsiders in Jesus family because Matthew is an 316 00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,960 outsider. He highlights grace because he 317 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,960 has received grace from the Lord. 318 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:22,440 So Matthew doesn't introduce Jesus with a Halo, not from the 319 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:25,520 beginning. He introduces him with a family 320 00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:29,720 tree that's full of sinners because Jesus came from sinners 321 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,760 for sinners. So why does Matthew write? 322 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:40,720 Well, He writes for the reason that all the authors of the 323 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,760 Bible have written. He wants to bring people to 324 00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:47,600 Christ. He wants people to see the 325 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:49,720 Savior. He wants them to know the 326 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:53,600 Redeemer's grace, right. He doesn't write to impress. 327 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:58,440 He doesn't write to entertain. He doesn't write a literary 328 00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:01,720 masterpiece as we might dub it, right. 329 00:20:01,960 --> 00:20:03,760 He's not concerned about the critics. 330 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:08,120 He writes to show us Christ. He writes so that sinners will 331 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:11,800 repent of their sins, but believe that Christ is Lord and 332 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:13,480 they'll follow the King who has rescued. 333 00:20:13,480 --> 00:20:17,480 Them. The second thing we come to the 334 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:23,280 second point, the genealogy of grace, The genealogy of grace 335 00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:29,560 and what appears at first glance to be a simple list of names is 336 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:33,560 in fact a carefully crafted theological portrait. 337 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:36,840 All right. It's, it's a portrait painted by 338 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,760 the Holy Spirit to show the astonishing faithfulness of God 339 00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:46,200 across centuries. And it shows that faithfulness 340 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:51,680 of God across centuries despite human sin, despite suffering, 341 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:54,200 despite rebellion, despite weakness. 342 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:57,120 All right. Matthew is not merely 343 00:20:57,120 --> 00:21:02,680 cataloguing ancestors. He's preaching A sermon through 344 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:06,640 a family tree. If you'll notice the structure, 345 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:09,520 there's three movements of covenant history in the 346 00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:13,680 structure. Here Matthew organizes the 347 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:19,880 genealogy into three sets of 14, as is revealed in verse 17. 348 00:21:21,400 --> 00:21:25,240 Not because there were only 14 names in each period, but 349 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,520 because he's highlighting 3 great movements in redemptive 350 00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:30,640 history. Matthew. 351 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:34,520 Henry notes this about Matthew's Gospel and and the point of 352 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,800 these movements. He says in then we see the rise, 353 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,360 the rain, the ruin, and the revival of the Jewish state, and 354 00:21:41,360 --> 00:21:46,360 that they are all pointed at in these three fourteens, right? 355 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:49,400 The rise, the rain, the ruin, and the revival. 356 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:55,680 The movements are #1 from Abraham to David, the rise of 357 00:21:55,680 --> 00:22:02,120 the promise, if you will. Verses 2 through 6A, Abraham was 358 00:22:02,120 --> 00:22:05,160 the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the 359 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:06,920 father of Judah and his brothers. 360 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,840 All right. And then we get to in verse 6A 361 00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:14,840 and Jesse the father of David, the king starts with Abraham, 362 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:19,960 gets us to David. This is the section of 363 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:25,560 patriarchs and promise. You see, God called Abraham out 364 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:29,880 of paganism. He makes him a covenant promise, 365 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:34,480 but through his seed all the nations would be blessed. 366 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:38,800 We see that in Genesis 12/1. Through three you have Isaac, 367 00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:41,200 Jacob, and Judah who follow Abraham. 368 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:44,560 These are flawed men, yet chosen by the grace of God. 369 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,000 And so here the genealogy shows us that God's plan begins with 370 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,960 God's initiative, right? It doesn't begin with human 371 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:55,440 merit. We can't point to these men and 372 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,880 say they were worthy of being called. 373 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:02,880 Abraham wasn't seeking God, yet God called him. 374 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:06,400 Isaac was weak, yet God preserved him. 375 00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,480 Jacob was deceiving and unstable, and God transformed 376 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:12,920 him. And from this line, which is a 377 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:16,680 line marked by infertility, it's marked by wandering, it's marked 378 00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:20,960 by family conflict and various sins, and all of it, God is 379 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:23,240 building the foundation for his Kingdom. 380 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:28,720 So this first section shows us God's promises do not depend on 381 00:23:28,720 --> 00:23:31,280 perfect people and all God's people said. 382 00:23:31,680 --> 00:23:32,680 Amen. All right. 383 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:38,720 They depend on a perfect God. They depend on a perfect God. 384 00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,360 The second movement we see is from David to the exile, the 385 00:23:42,360 --> 00:23:46,240 rise and fall of the Kingdom. 6 be to verse 11 there. 386 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:49,280 And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 387 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:54,000 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and then on down to verse 11, 388 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,480 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the 389 00:23:57,480 --> 00:23:59,360 time of the deportation to Babylon. 390 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:03,440 We see the rise and the fall of the Kingdom. 391 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:10,520 This is the section that you might call crowns and 392 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:16,760 catastrophes, right? It begins with King David, the 393 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,680 man after God's own heart with whom God made an everlasting 394 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:24,040 covenant in Second Samuel 7th. But after David comes Solomon, 395 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,000 and after Solomon comes division, and after division 396 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,600 comes decline. What follows in this list is a 397 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:35,080 mix of faithful kings and wicked kings. 398 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:37,600 It's men of courage and men of compromise. 399 00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,480 Some LED revival, others LED rebellions. 400 00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:44,400 Their sins, which were idolatry and justice, immortality or 401 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:48,280 immorality, ultimately brought judgement on the nation. 402 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:52,640 The Babylonian exile, which you've been learning about in 403 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:54,760 Sunday school, you've learned about it home groups a little 404 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:56,480 bit as well. But the Babylonian exile 405 00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:00,080 represents the collapse of the Kingdom, right? 406 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,040 The temples destroyed, the throne is empty. 407 00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:05,920 The line of kings have apparently been cut down like a 408 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,920 tree. But Matthew Henry notes 409 00:25:09,920 --> 00:25:13,600 something stunning here as well when he says when the crown had 410 00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:18,160 fallen from their head and the family was in the dust, yet out 411 00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:24,080 of it the Messiah spring. The exile did not undo God's 412 00:25:24,080 --> 00:25:27,280 promise. It prepared the way for God's 413 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:31,240 Messiah right. This middle section teaches us 414 00:25:32,120 --> 00:25:36,000 this middle 14 here teaches us human faithfulness cannot 415 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,960 overturn God's faithfulness. I'm sorry. 416 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,320 Human unfaithfulness cannot overturn God's faithfulness. 417 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,480 The third movement we have from the exile to Christ. 418 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,200 You might call this the Quiet. Weight of Hope. 419 00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:58,520 Verses 12 through 16 And after the deportation to Babylon, 420 00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:02,520 Tekkenai was the father man. I did it again, and the father 421 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:07,080 of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiad, and then on 422 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,520 down to 16, and Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of 423 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:11,560 Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who was called. 424 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:17,040 Christ. The this final era is what we 425 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:23,800 might call an era of silence. It's an era of watching, looking 426 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:27,680 for the true king, the true Israel, the true Moses, the true 427 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,120 David, the true Abraham, the one who's going to come and 428 00:26:30,120 --> 00:26:35,200 establish his Kingdom forever. During this time, there's no 429 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,480 prophets, there's no kings, no miracles, no revival, The line 430 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:42,560 of David continued, but it continued quietly, humbly, 431 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:47,400 almost invisibly. For generations, God's people 432 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,640 waited in the dark. And yet even in the silence, God 433 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:56,040 was working behind the scenes. Through ordinary men and women, 434 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:59,240 through obscure towns and unknown families, God preserved 435 00:26:59,240 --> 00:27:02,680 the royal line until the day that he would bring forth the 436 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:05,640 king. Until this last section here 437 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:09,320 shows us, God's silence is not God's absence. 438 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:19,080 All right, if you're going through a difficult time and 439 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:22,120 you're looking for answers, you're really struggling to find 440 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:23,440 that. You're struggling to trust the 441 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:28,040 Lord in those moments, you might think that God's silence is his 442 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:32,200 absence, but I would urge you to go and read the book of Esther. 443 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:38,040 The book of Esther shows us that God, though he may be silent, is 444 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:42,120 certainly not absent. He's preserving his people 445 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,120 through his work. There's sovereign work right 446 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,800 through Providence. He's he's preserving his people. 447 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:54,920 That's what this, this third list of generations reveals for 448 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:57,720 us. His promises may wait, but they 449 00:27:57,720 --> 00:28:01,600 never, ever, ever fail. His promises never fail. 450 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:07,560 Another thing that's worth noticing in these in this 451 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:13,320 genealogy is what we might call the scandal of grace, right? 452 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:17,680 Why these people? Why these people? 453 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,760 Why? Why does Matthew do something 454 00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:23,440 that Jewish genealogies rarely do? 455 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:28,760 He includes women, but he doesn't include the matriarchs 456 00:28:28,760 --> 00:28:31,040 you might expect. You don't read Sarah's name. 457 00:28:31,040 --> 00:28:34,560 You don't read about Rebecca or Rachel, right? 458 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,920 Instead, there's four women whose stories would have raised 459 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:39,760 eyebrows among the Jewish people. 460 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:45,960 You have Tamar and verse 3, Tamar was a widow, she was 461 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:48,880 mistreated, She was caught in a scandal in Genesis 38. 462 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,560 Her story is messy, it's uncomfortable, and yet God 463 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:55,560 brings the Messiah through her line. 464 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,520 And verse 5, you have Rahab. Rahab was a Canaanite 465 00:28:59,520 --> 00:29:03,120 prostitutes. She was a woman from the enemies 466 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:07,400 of Israel, and yet she believes the Lord and is welcomed into 467 00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:15,240 Israel #3 you have Ruth and verse 5 also, she's a Moabite 468 00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:17,680 widow. She's from a people who were 469 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:21,320 born out of incest and excluded from Israel's assembly. 470 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:26,120 Yet she clings to Naomi and to Israel's God and becomes the 471 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:32,360 great grandmother of David. Then you have Bathsheba, or as 472 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,800 it mentions in verse 6, the wife of Uriah. 473 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,280 Now Matthew emphasizes Uriah's name to highlight David's sin, 474 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:48,520 adultery, deception, bloodshed. Her story carries deep pain and 475 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,680 tragedy. And yet God brought Solomon and 476 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:56,560 ultimately the Messiah through Bathsheba. 477 00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:02,400 So why include these stories? Well, because Matthew wants to 478 00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:07,080 make something unmistakably clear for you and I today Jesus 479 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:09,320 family line is filled with sinners. 480 00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:13,040 It's filled with outsiders. It's filled with the shamed, 481 00:30:13,640 --> 00:30:17,120 it's filled with the suffering, It's filled with the morally 482 00:30:17,120 --> 00:30:20,480 complicated. And he wants you to know that 483 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,000 because Christ's mission is to save sinners. 484 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,920 It's to welcome outsiders to himself. 485 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:28,600 It's to restore the shame, to redeem them. 486 00:30:28,760 --> 00:30:31,880 It's to comfort the suffering. It's to redeem the broken 487 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:35,840 Matthew. Henry says Christ, who came to 488 00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:39,000 save sinners, was pleased to come from sinners. 489 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,800 So this genealogy is not what you might call a trophy case. 490 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:50,120 It's not holding up the best things for people to see in the 491 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:53,200 glory and people. No, it's a testimony of grace. 492 00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,680 You should also look at the pattern of this genealogy. 493 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:05,560 You might say that God writes straight with crooked lines. 494 00:31:07,720 --> 00:31:08,920 Wait, we need to see this clearly. 495 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:13,960 God used liars like Jacob. God used scandal like Tamar. 496 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,320 God used outsiders like Ruth. God used the broken like 497 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,120 Bathsheba. God used idolaters like many of 498 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:23,320 the kings. And God used failure like exile. 499 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,520 And out of all of it, out of the mess, out of the sin, the 500 00:31:26,520 --> 00:31:30,480 sorrow, the weakness, came Jesus Christ, the son of David, the 501 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,440 son of Abraham, the Savior of the. 502 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:35,960 World. So the genie Ali preaches a 503 00:31:35,960 --> 00:31:40,560 message long before Jesus speaks a word. 504 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:46,360 God keeps his covenant promises not through perfect people, but 505 00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:51,640 through his perfect grace. God's faithfulness outlives our 506 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:54,760 failures. The the people Jesus came from 507 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:57,200 are the people Jesus came to save. 508 00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:02,280 Another thing I want you to notice about this genealogy is 509 00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:04,480 it sets the tone for the entire gospel. 510 00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:07,520 Sets the tone for the entire gospel. 511 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:11,320 The list of names is not incidental, brothers and 512 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:15,440 sisters. It anticipates Matthew's entire 513 00:32:15,440 --> 00:32:20,120 message. Jesus heals the broken because 514 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:24,240 he came from the broken. Jesus welcomes outsiders because 515 00:32:24,240 --> 00:32:28,440 his story is full of outsiders. Jesus calls sinners because his 516 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:32,800 family tree is full of sinners. Jesus brings grace because his 517 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:38,200 lineage is covered in grace. You see, Matthew begins the 518 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,000 Gospel this way because he wants you to see that Jesus didn't 519 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:45,800 merely come into our world. Sometimes we just think he came 520 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,880 into our world and did his thing. 521 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:52,040 No, Jesus came fully into your story. 522 00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:55,200 He, he came fully into our humanity. 523 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,680 He came fully, fully into our shame, into our suffering, and 524 00:32:58,760 --> 00:33:03,160 into our need. And so this is a genealogy of 525 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:08,320 grace. Third thing I want you to see 526 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:11,520 today is really what I might call the most important thing 527 00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:14,720 that Matthew's trying to show here, and that's that Jesus is 528 00:33:14,720 --> 00:33:19,560 the son of David and of Abraham. He's the son of David and of 529 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:23,240 Abraham. Matthew announces 2 titles in 530 00:33:23,240 --> 00:33:25,640 the very first verse of this gospel. 531 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:29,160 Two titles that hold the entire Old Testament together. 532 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,640 Two titles that explain who Jesus truly is and why he came. 533 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:38,600 In verse 1, he says Jesus Christ, the son of David, the 534 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:43,920 son of Abraham. So Matthew places these titles 535 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:48,120 before the genealogy because they are Theo A theological 536 00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:53,680 banner over the whole book. If you misunderstand these 537 00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,880 titles that Jesus Christ is the son of David, he's the son of 538 00:33:56,880 --> 00:33:58,200 Abraham. If we misunderstand these 539 00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:00,760 titles, we will misunderstand Jesus. 540 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:06,800 All right, Matthew Henry says this verse is the summary of the 541 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:08,880 Old Testament reduced to a single. 542 00:34:08,880 --> 00:34:11,360 Line. I think that's true. 543 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:16,239 Abraham and David are not just significant names in the Old 544 00:34:16,239 --> 00:34:19,560 Testament. Their covenant heads whose 545 00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:24,000 promise, whose promises converge in Christ. 546 00:34:24,679 --> 00:34:27,560 So let's look briefly at each title. 547 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:32,159 Jesus, the son of David. This means that Christ is the 548 00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:35,800 promise king, right? The Davidic Covenants, which was 549 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:39,159 a Kingdom promise, was established in Second Samuel 7. 550 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,159 God promised David something unmatched in the ancient world. 551 00:34:43,800 --> 00:34:47,120 He promised him a throne, a dynasty, and a Kingdom that 552 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:50,920 would last forever. A son would come from David's 553 00:34:50,920 --> 00:34:52,520 line. The son would build God's true 554 00:34:52,520 --> 00:34:54,560 house. His Kingdom would be established 555 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:56,840 eternally. His rule would bring justice, 556 00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:00,960 peace, and righteousness. Israel waited for this king. 557 00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:06,160 They longed for him, they prayed for him, they suffered under 558 00:35:06,160 --> 00:35:10,320 failed kings and foreign rulers because their true king had not 559 00:35:10,320 --> 00:35:13,320 yet come. They rejected God's messengers 560 00:35:13,320 --> 00:35:17,240 and so found themselves in further a further world of hurt. 561 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:25,520 And then we get the kings after David, and then we have success 562 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:28,800 and failure. The genealogy reminds us that 563 00:35:28,800 --> 00:35:31,960 David's line is filled with kings, but many of them were 564 00:35:31,960 --> 00:35:36,360 deeply flawed men. Now some did revive the nation, 565 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:41,040 like Hezekiah and Josiah, but some let Israel into idolatry, 566 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:45,120 like Ahaz and Manasseh. Some brought judgement upon the 567 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:49,800 people, like Jeroboam. The royal line became so corrupt 568 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:52,240 that eventually the throne was empty. 569 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:56,960 The people were exiled into Babylon and it seemed that the 570 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:04,920 promise to David had died. But you might note this miracle 571 00:36:04,920 --> 00:36:08,280 that Matthew Henry points out. When the royal house seemed 572 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:11,440 buried in ruins. The root of Jesse still lived. 573 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:17,440 God was not done. The the promise still stood. 574 00:36:17,440 --> 00:36:25,040 The king would come. And so the third thing we 575 00:36:25,040 --> 00:36:31,480 observe in this part about David's title is that Jesus is 576 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:35,120 the fulfillment. He's the true and better David. 577 00:36:36,040 --> 00:36:39,200 Jesus is not simply a descendant of David, brothers and sisters. 578 00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:43,200 He is the son of David in whom the covenant reaches its final 579 00:36:43,200 --> 00:36:47,360 and perfect fulfillment. He is the rightful king by 580 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:51,800 lineage. He is the righteous king by his 581 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:55,320 character. He's the eternal king by his 582 00:36:55,320 --> 00:36:59,400 resurrection, and he's the global king by Great Commission 583 00:36:59,480 --> 00:37:03,800 authority. Throughout Matthew, you're going 584 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:07,880 to see the Magi ask where is he who has been born king of the 585 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:10,880 Jews? You're going to see Jesus 586 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:15,080 proclaim the Kingdom of heaven more than 50 times. 587 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:20,760 You're going to see that Jesus is held on Palm Sunday as the 588 00:37:20,760 --> 00:37:25,160 son of David. You're going to see that Christ 589 00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:28,680 himself declares all authority in heaven and on earth has been 590 00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:33,000 given to me. You see, Matthew wants you to 591 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,400 see that Jesus is the King that you and I were made to live 592 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:39,520 under. He's the King who reigns in 593 00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:41,920 righteousness. He's the King who restores what 594 00:37:41,920 --> 00:37:47,440 sin has broken. That second title, the son of 595 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:51,600 Abraham. Matthew now is pointing out the 596 00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:56,640 promised blessing if Son of David denounces Jesus as king 597 00:37:56,640 --> 00:38:00,120 and Son of Abraham announces him as the fulfillment of God's 598 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:05,800 covenant grace. Consider the Abrahamic covenant 599 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:09,520 for a moment, a blessing promised in Genesis chapter 12. 600 00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:16,720 God promised Abraham a land, He promised him a people, and he 601 00:38:16,720 --> 00:38:22,760 promised him a seed through whom all nations would be blessed. 602 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:27,400 We're told that Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as 603 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,440 righteousness. But the ultimate promise was not 604 00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:33,400 about land. The ultimate promise was not 605 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,720 about ethnic Israel. The ultimate promise was about 606 00:38:36,720 --> 00:38:39,960 the coming Messiah. Paul tells us this plainly in 607 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:42,560 Genesis 3. Sorry, Galatians 316. 608 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,000 He says now the promises were made to Abraham and to his 609 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:51,560 offspring, who is Christ. So Christ is the promised seed 610 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:54,040 who brings salvation to the nation's. 611 00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:58,760 Amen. The second thing we see about 612 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:03,200 Abraham is we might consider his line, right, Abraham's line. 613 00:39:03,200 --> 00:39:06,800 In it we have grace, we have weakness, and we have God's 614 00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:11,160 faithfulness. So the genealogies inclusion of 615 00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,640 Abraham's descendants reminds us this. 616 00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:19,520 Isaac was passive and fearful. Jacob was highly deceptive. 617 00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,880 Judah was immoral to say the least. 618 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:28,640 The family was riddled with conflict, and yet God kept his 619 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:32,520 promise. Matthew Henry again commentating 620 00:39:32,520 --> 00:39:33,840 on this. He says though the covenant 621 00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:36,800 seemed often in danger, yet it never failed. 622 00:39:37,240 --> 00:39:40,920 The promise to Abraham lived until it lived in Christ. 623 00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:47,800 Amen. The third thing we see about 624 00:39:47,800 --> 00:39:51,440 this title, the son of Abraham is Jesus as the fulfillments. 625 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:54,520 He is the blessing for all nations. 626 00:39:55,600 --> 00:39:59,080 Jesus fulfills the Abrahamic, Abrahamic promise in multiple 627 00:39:59,080 --> 00:40:03,360 ways. He is the true Israel, obeying 628 00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:07,000 where Israel failed. He is the light to the Gentiles 629 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:08,840 bringing salvation to the ends of the earth. 630 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:12,040 He creates a multi ethnic family of faith. 631 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:16,080 He is the one through whom all peoples, Jews, Gentile, male, 632 00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:20,640 female, slave, free, are invited into God's covenant family. 633 00:40:21,720 --> 00:40:26,160 So Matthew begins with Abraham, but he ends with in Matthew 28, 634 00:40:26,160 --> 00:40:28,920 go and make disciples of all nations. 635 00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:35,160 So from the first chapter to the last chapter, Matthew's Gospel 636 00:40:35,160 --> 00:40:37,080 is global. Brothers and sisters. 637 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:41,880 The presence of Gentile women in the genealogy, like Rahab and 638 00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:43,760 Ruth, these things are a preview. 639 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:47,160 They're a down payment, if you will, on the worldwide reach of 640 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:53,120 Christ's Kingdom. I want you also to observe in 641 00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:56,640 this genealogy that Jesus is the fulfillment of both promises. 642 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:01,560 He's the King and the Savior appearing David and Abraham. 643 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,960 Matthew is teaching us that Jesus is the King who reigns. 644 00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:08,320 He's the Savior who redeems, He's the Son who fulfills both 645 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:10,560 covenants. He's the seed who crushes the 646 00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,520 serpent, and he's the shepherd who gathers the nations. 647 00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:18,040 The genealogy's goal is not to impress you with a list of 648 00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:19,960 names. It's not even to baffle you. 649 00:41:21,640 --> 00:41:25,040 It's to show you that Jesus stands at the intersection of 650 00:41:25,040 --> 00:41:27,280 every promise that God has ever made. 651 00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:31,040 Everything in the Old Testament points to Christ. 652 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:34,720 Every covenant finds us, yes, in him. 653 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:38,640 Every prophecy converges on Christ, Every shadow points to 654 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:41,600 him, Every longing is fulfilled in him. 655 00:41:44,080 --> 00:41:46,160 Matthew Henry says this. He says all the promises of 656 00:41:46,160 --> 00:41:50,800 God's center in Christ, for he is the sum and the substance of 657 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:55,560 the covenant. So you may ask, what does all 658 00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:58,560 this mean? As we look at this genealogy, as 659 00:41:58,560 --> 00:42:00,520 we observe all these things, what does this mean? 660 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:07,360 Well, Jesus is not just the climax of Israel's history. 661 00:42:09,160 --> 00:42:11,560 Jesus is the climax of God's story. 662 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:16,720 He's the King who reigns. He's the seed who blesses. 663 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:20,360 He's the Savior who redeems. He's the point of every bit of 664 00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:25,200 it, and having seen that, we ought to rise up and call the 665 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:28,920 Lord blessed, but I'll praise his name. 666 00:42:29,720 --> 00:42:32,920 What a sing about his marvelous grace and his mercy which is 667 00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:34,960 extended to us. We ought to thank him for his 668 00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:40,520 covenant faithfulness because we are not covenant Lee faithful. 669 00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:47,760 Very often, to call Jesus the son of David, the son of 670 00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:51,400 Abraham, is to say that he is the king that you must bow to. 671 00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,040 Brothers and sisters. He's the one that we bend our 672 00:42:56,040 --> 00:43:01,160 knees to, so to speak. He's the Savior that you must 673 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:04,680 trust. He's the Christ you must 674 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:07,800 proclaim. There is therefore now no other 675 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:11,080 name given among heaven by which we must have given among men, by 676 00:43:11,080 --> 00:43:15,680 which we must be saved. He's the way, the truth, and the 677 00:43:15,680 --> 00:43:18,800 life. No one comes to the Father 678 00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:22,640 except through Christ. He's able to save to the 679 00:43:22,640 --> 00:43:26,240 uttermost all those who draw near to the Father through Him, 680 00:43:26,240 --> 00:43:29,600 because He always lives to make intercession for us. 681 00:43:30,480 --> 00:43:33,640 He's our advocate in heaven when we're guilty of sin. 682 00:43:34,120 --> 00:43:37,600 He's the one to whom we call on in our times of need, where we 683 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:40,600 need mercy and grace. We boldly approach the throne of 684 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:43,320 grace because Christ is in heaven. 685 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:46,200 He's a sympathetic, great high priest for us. 686 00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:50,440 He bids us come to him. All you who are weary and heavy 687 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:55,680 laden, and I will give you rest. You could go on and on and on. 688 00:43:57,840 --> 00:44:01,760 Christ is the fulfilment of God's story. 689 00:44:01,840 --> 00:44:03,640 He's the culmination of all of it. 690 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:12,000 And so this genealogy stands as something that ought to lead us 691 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:17,080 to worship not merely admiration, but to worship the 692 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:21,520 King Christ. Is King Amen. 693 00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:26,480 Matthew's genealogy is not simply a record of where Jesus 694 00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:30,600 came from, it's a portrait of who he came for. 695 00:44:31,640 --> 00:44:35,840 Across the 17 verses, we see roughly 2000 years of God's 696 00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:39,000 unbreakable faithfulness and unchanging grace. 697 00:44:39,640 --> 00:44:43,640 This family line filled with the kinds of people we might try to. 698 00:44:43,640 --> 00:44:46,920 Hide. It's what? 699 00:44:47,320 --> 00:44:48,760 Do you think about your own families? 700 00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:53,960 But in this family, there's people who are broken, they're 701 00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:57,000 sinners. There's outsiders, there's 702 00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:00,120 people who are overlooked, they're wounded, they're wildly 703 00:45:00,120 --> 00:45:04,480 imperfect. And yet through all of them, God 704 00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:11,840 brought forth his own Son. And so this genealogy tells us 4 705 00:45:12,040 --> 00:45:17,720 simple, life changing truths #1 God keeps his promises. 706 00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:22,640 God keeps his promises. These are the things I want you 707 00:45:22,640 --> 00:45:24,160 to know. You may write these down #1 God 708 00:45:24,160 --> 00:45:27,440 keeps his promises. Not one word of His covenant 709 00:45:27,440 --> 00:45:31,080 ever failed. Even when His people fell, God 710 00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:35,120 did not. So what does that mean for you? 711 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:40,720 It means you should trust Him with everything that you are, at 712 00:45:40,720 --> 00:45:44,640 all times, in all circumstances. Trust Christ. 713 00:45:44,880 --> 00:45:54,160 He is faithful still #2 God works through broken people. 714 00:45:55,920 --> 00:46:01,880 And all God's people said, Amen, your failures. 715 00:46:01,880 --> 00:46:04,560 I want everybody to listen to me. 716 00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:11,640 Your failures cannot will not cancel his mercy. 717 00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:18,120 Your failures cannot cancel, will not cancel his 718 00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:24,960 faithfulness. You can bring your past to 719 00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:26,880 Christ. You can bring all your 720 00:46:26,880 --> 00:46:29,920 weaknesses to Christ. You can bring all your wounds to 721 00:46:29,920 --> 00:46:32,760 Christ. In fact, I would urge. 722 00:46:32,760 --> 00:46:39,760 You to do that because he and he alone redeems what sin has 723 00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:46,960 scarred #3 Jesus is the King we need. 724 00:46:49,280 --> 00:46:56,880 Jesus is the King we need, so therefore you should bow to him. 725 00:47:00,800 --> 00:47:03,200 I don't just mean on Sunday mornings when you sing a song 726 00:47:03,200 --> 00:47:09,040 that you really like. I don't mean merely in moments 727 00:47:09,040 --> 00:47:13,560 of trouble you really feel, feel like you've reached the bottom. 728 00:47:16,000 --> 00:47:21,120 I mean, at every moment of your life, bow to the Lord Jesus 729 00:47:21,120 --> 00:47:24,440 Christ. Submit yourself to Him. 730 00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:28,040 Take refuge in His righteous rule. 731 00:47:30,520 --> 00:47:33,040 He alone is worthy to lead your life. 732 00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:41,640 Submit to Him. Fourthly and finally, Jesus 733 00:47:41,640 --> 00:47:44,360 welcomes sinners into his family by grace. 734 00:47:45,080 --> 00:47:49,480 Jesus welcomes sinners into his family by grace. 735 00:47:51,720 --> 00:47:57,680 What does that mean? It's really good news for people 736 00:47:57,680 --> 00:48:01,160 who pride themselves on trying to bring about salvation through 737 00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:05,680 their own good works. It's really good news for people 738 00:48:05,680 --> 00:48:08,600 who think that the goal of life is to stack. 739 00:48:08,600 --> 00:48:12,320 Up every good deed I can, and just hope at the end of all 740 00:48:12,320 --> 00:48:18,240 things that it weighs greater on the scale than my bad deeds do. 741 00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:30,400 You cannot earn the acceptance of God, but you can receive it. 742 00:48:35,960 --> 00:48:39,240 So come to him. Confess your need. 743 00:48:40,360 --> 00:48:43,040 Confess that you have been a terrible Lord of your life. 744 00:48:44,240 --> 00:48:47,520 Confess that you have been a terrible manager of whatever the 745 00:48:47,520 --> 00:48:51,360 things God has blessed you with, that you've ruined by your own 746 00:48:51,520 --> 00:48:56,720 inability at times, your own bad deeds, Right? 747 00:48:57,160 --> 00:48:59,960 Confess your need, Christ, I need you. 748 00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:05,280 I need you to lead me every moment of the day. 749 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:08,840 I need you to show me your word, to make it clear for me that I 750 00:49:08,840 --> 00:49:13,640 might follow you. Confess your need. 751 00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:18,880 Turn from your own sin. Believe in the name of Jesus 752 00:49:18,880 --> 00:49:24,080 Christ. Trust that he did come, that He 753 00:49:24,080 --> 00:49:28,440 did live a perfect life, that he died a sinner's death, having no 754 00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:32,200 sin of his own, so that he might rescue all those who will call 755 00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:37,600 his name from the pit of hell. Believe in his name. 756 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:44,800 He will never cast you out. You see, Matthew? 757 00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:47,440 Begins his gospel with the genealogy so that you'll know 758 00:49:47,440 --> 00:49:53,080 exactly who this Jesus is. He's the promised Son, the 759 00:49:53,080 --> 00:49:57,320 gracious King who came from sinners, for sinners, and that 760 00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:01,680 means that he came for you. So come to him today. 761 00:50:02,560 --> 00:50:04,800 Trust him today. Maybe you have come to him and 762 00:50:04,800 --> 00:50:06,520 there's something you're holding on to. 763 00:50:06,520 --> 00:50:08,760 You're trying to remain Lord over that thing. 764 00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:14,680 Trust it to God today. Lay down your fears, lay down 765 00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:18,760 your shame, lay down your sin, and receive the mercy and grace 766 00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:24,360 of the Lord this morning. You can follow him as your king, 767 00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:28,200 the power of the Spirit of God in you. 768 00:50:28,200 --> 00:50:31,920 You can walk by the Spirit just as we read in Romans 6 this 769 00:50:31,920 --> 00:50:35,200 morning. You've been buried with Christ 770 00:50:35,200 --> 00:50:37,320 and sin. You've been raised a new life. 771 00:50:37,720 --> 00:50:40,080 You can walk with the Lord. You don't have to present your 772 00:50:40,080 --> 00:50:43,880 members, your hands, your feet, your eyes, your mind, your 773 00:50:43,880 --> 00:50:45,960 heart, your words. You don't have to present those 774 00:50:45,960 --> 00:50:49,200 things as members of unrighteousness any longer. 775 00:50:50,480 --> 00:50:54,160 You can present them as members of righteousness, doing the 776 00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:55,640 works and the. Deeds of the Lord. 777 00:50:55,640 --> 00:51:00,440 God Almighty, you can serve Him with every ounce of your being 778 00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:04,680 You can. You can follow Him as your King. 779 00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:06,800 You can rest in Him as your Savior. 780 00:51:07,960 --> 00:51:12,040 You can rest knowing I don't have to stack up the good works. 781 00:51:13,480 --> 00:51:17,600 Yes, I should be driven to good works by my faith in God, who 782 00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:22,160 has been so gracious and loving and merciful to save me. 783 00:51:23,200 --> 00:51:26,080 But my good works are not saving me. 784 00:51:26,840 --> 00:51:29,280 They're just proclaiming the name of the king. 785 00:51:29,840 --> 00:51:32,440 Matthew's going to make that clear in chapter 5. 786 00:51:36,280 --> 00:51:38,160 You can walk. Forward in the confidence that 787 00:51:38,160 --> 00:51:41,160 His grace is sufficient at all times. 788 00:51:43,920 --> 00:51:45,840 You. Often don't know the grace from 789 00:51:45,840 --> 00:51:50,400 the Lord that you need in any given moments until you need it. 790 00:51:51,560 --> 00:51:56,080 And God makes it so clear that His grace is sufficient at all 791 00:51:56,080 --> 00:52:00,840 times. His promises are sure. 792 00:52:02,240 --> 00:52:06,720 His promises are yes and Amen. And with God His yes is always 793 00:52:06,720 --> 00:52:10,920 yes. His amens are always faithful. 794 00:52:13,560 --> 00:52:16,120 He cannot lie. He's sure. 795 00:52:18,880 --> 00:52:22,560 You can come to him knowing with confidence that his Kingdom is 796 00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:25,960 unshakable. You can look at the world around 797 00:52:25,960 --> 00:52:27,480 you. You can look at the world, maybe 798 00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:31,440 immediately in your own home. You can begin to think, Man, 799 00:52:31,440 --> 00:52:35,520 this unshakable Kingdom seems rather shaky right now. 800 00:52:37,640 --> 00:52:42,720 But look at that genealogy. The Kingdom of God is not 801 00:52:43,040 --> 00:52:46,480 shakable. Brothers and sisters, He's 802 00:52:46,480 --> 00:52:50,560 accomplishing His work. It's going forward. 803 00:52:51,400 --> 00:52:53,760 Many of you sit here as Christians today because someone 804 00:52:53,760 --> 00:52:58,880 preached the gospel to you some 2000 years after Christ died and 805 00:52:58,880 --> 00:53:02,880 rose again. The gospel spread to your area. 806 00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:05,520 Wherever you heard first. The gospel spread to that place 807 00:53:05,520 --> 00:53:08,240 so that God could save you from your sins. 808 00:53:08,520 --> 00:53:10,520 His work moves forward. Amen. 809 00:53:11,440 --> 00:53:14,800 He's accomplishing every bit of it for His own glory, so that we 810 00:53:14,800 --> 00:53:18,320 might rejoice in the glory of the Lord and commit ourselves to 811 00:53:18,320 --> 00:53:21,840 the good of His Kingdom. So let us go from here today 812 00:53:21,840 --> 00:53:24,440 remembering this. God's covenant faithfulness 813 00:53:25,160 --> 00:53:29,040 through generations reveals Jesus as the promised Son and 814 00:53:29,040 --> 00:53:33,520 the gracious King who came from sinners for sinners. 815 00:53:34,440 --> 00:53:37,400 And yes, that does mean he came for you. 816 00:53:37,600 --> 00:53:40,000 Brothers and sisters, let's pray. 817 00:53:40,960 --> 00:53:44,320 Heavenly Father, we thank you today for your word. 818 00:53:46,040 --> 00:53:48,400 We thank you, Lord, for a genealogy. 819 00:53:49,960 --> 00:53:53,120 We thank you for the truth that is revealed here, in which we 820 00:53:53,120 --> 00:53:58,520 have only scratched the surface of the stories that this 821 00:53:58,520 --> 00:54:01,120 genealogy tells about your faithfulness. 822 00:54:04,080 --> 00:54:06,960 But God, we ask that you would help us to see it clearly today. 823 00:54:07,840 --> 00:54:10,400 Help us to see it so that we can see that you are faithful. 824 00:54:11,080 --> 00:54:12,720 Help us to see it so that we can see that. 825 00:54:12,720 --> 00:54:17,200 You work through broken people. Like us, help us to see it so 826 00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:22,200 that we can see also that Jesus is the King we need, and help us 827 00:54:22,200 --> 00:54:25,560 to see it so that we can see that Jesus welcomes sinners to 828 00:54:25,560 --> 00:54:32,040 himself. Father, I pray that You would 829 00:54:32,040 --> 00:54:37,120 use this word in our hearts and in our minds and our souls as we 830 00:54:37,120 --> 00:54:40,040 go out this week to honor you and to glorify you. 831 00:54:41,160 --> 00:54:44,800 Help us, Lord, to build the Kingdom of God in everything 832 00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:51,760 that we do as we live, as spouses and parents, students 833 00:54:51,760 --> 00:54:57,200 and workers, churchmen and church women, a father, as you, 834 00:54:59,640 --> 00:55:02,960 as you have given us things in the day to be doing, help us to 835 00:55:02,960 --> 00:55:05,520 be mindful of your Kingdom always. 836 00:55:09,520 --> 00:55:12,520 And Father, we thank you that you have shown us so much grace 837 00:55:12,800 --> 00:55:16,120 and mercy, that the light of Christ has shown into our hearts 838 00:55:18,040 --> 00:55:22,600 what a marvelous light it is. Help us to be the light in the 839 00:55:22,600 --> 00:55:28,400 darkness. Let me give you a moment there 840 00:55:28,400 --> 00:55:34,640 with your head bowed, just to pray, to respond to the Lord as 841 00:55:34,640 --> 00:56:22,600 the Sirit's drawing you now. Heavenly Father, we thank you 842 00:56:22,600 --> 00:56:28,480 that you are ever faithful, that you're steadfast in love, that 843 00:56:28,480 --> 00:56:30,440 you are good to every generation. 844 00:56:32,040 --> 00:56:36,040 We've seen that today. We proclaim it this morning, and 845 00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:38,680 it's on our hearts as we prepare now to receive the Lord's 846 00:56:38,680 --> 00:56:41,680 Supper. In the name of Christ I pray. 847 00:56:41,960 --> 00:56:42,360 Amen.