THE KING IS COMING
MATTHEW 1: 1-17
INTRODUCTION
This is a question we all ask at some point. Is their any hope I’m going
to get a meaningful job? Is there any hope my boss will finally notice
my contribution? Is there any hope my marriage will improve? Is there
any hope I’ll pass these classes? Is there any hope the other children
will stop picking on me? Is there any hope I’ll find a friend? Is there
any hope I’ll ever get better? Is there any hope I’ll ever get out of
debt? Is there any hope I’ll ever figure out what to do with my life?
Is there any hope I’ll overcome my sin?
No one can live without hope. Discouragement, cynicism and despair are
the result of a loss of hope. Many lose hope because they have a false
hope, they trust someone or something that is not dependable. Others lose
hope because they have unrealistic expectations. Whatever, the cause,
the loss of hope takes all the pleasure out of life.
Hope is the confident expectation that good will come to me. It is the
twin sister of faith. Wherever you find a strong and vibrant faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ you will find confident hope because God is called
the "God of all hope". In the opening chapter of Matthew (In the pew Bibles
this is page 681.), God records, through Matthew, the ancestral tree of
Jesus. This genealogy is given to us to inspire hope and to instruct us
as to where hope is found. This genealogy also is given to rebuke us for
placing our hope in things that are certain to disappoint when there is
One who will never disappoint.
Turn to Matthew 1:1, page 681 as I read a portion of this genealogy of
Jesus. I’ll be reading vv. 1-6 & 15-17.
MAIN POINT
Jesus Christ is our only hope because…
I. God sent him
Most of us, when we come to these lists of names in the Bible skip over
them or quit reading. I can’t tell you how many times people have told
me that they have read the Bible up to the lists of names in Genesis 10
& 11 and then they quit. All of these lists have meaning. They all
are part of the story. It takes time and diligence to figure out what
the point is, but they all have a point to make besides just listing somebody’s
family tree. That is especially so in this list. Matthew wants us to see
that God has set Christ before us as the only certain hope in life. This
list tells the story of how God, over thousands of years, worked out his
plan to bring a Savior to the world. The God who was able to orchestrate
the events and people this list enumerates is surely able to give Christ
to you as your source of hope for good in the future. The God who kept
his promise in sending a Savior is surely able to keep all of his promises.
This list reveals the wisdom and the power of God in remarkable ways.
It shows us how determined God was to fulfill His promise to send a Savior
to deal with the ravages of human sin. Consider with me an example of
God’s work in sending Jesus to us.
- First, look with me in v. 2. Matthew begins with Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob. These three are among the most mentioned people in the OT. They
are called the patriarchs, the fathers of the nation Israel. Jacob had
twelve sons, one of them, the fourth one born, was named Judah, as you
see in v. 3. God promised that it would be through Judah that the Savior
would come. In Genesis 38 we are told the story of how God worked to
bring an offspring from Judah. Please turn there, it’s on page 29 in
the pew bible. He had three sons. According to ancient custom, Judah
found a wife for his oldest son, named Er. The name of his son’s wife
was Tamar. We are not told what Er did, only that he did evil in the
eyes of the Lord and so God killed Er, before he had any children (v.7).
So, according to custom, Judah gave his second born son, Onan, to Tamar
as her husband. It was his duty to father a child with Tamar who would
then be the heir in place of Er, who was the firstborn. Well, Onan realized
that if there was no firstborn heir he would get more loot when his
dad died. So he refused to have a child with Tamar. God didn’t like
that and so He killed Onan (v. 10). Well Judah had a third son who was
too young to marry and so he told Tamar that she should go back to her
father’s house and live as a widow and when Shelah, his youngest son,
was old enough she could marry him. However, Judah decided there was
no way he was going to risk losing his third son and so he never gave
Shelah to Tamar. Now, the only one who can carry on the line of Judah
from whom the Savior is supposed to come is a child born to Tamar. But
she’s living as a widow in her father’s house and will never be married
again. She disguises herself as a prostitute and Judah, her father-in-law
purchases her services without knowing who she is and she gets pregnant
and has twin boys from their union, Perez and Zerah. I’ve left out lots
of details that you can read on your own, but can you see the power
of God working in spite of and through human stupidity?
God is not thwarted by human sin and foolishness. He was determined to
send a Savior through Judah and in his great wisdom and power was able
to make sure that Judah had a son to carry on the line. This is just one
of dozens of stories represented by these names. This whole list is meant
to assure us that God is able to accomplish all he promises. His will
cannot be thwarted. It is his will that Jesus fulfill all of his promises
to his people. It is his will that all those who call on the name of Christ
live a life of hope and joy on earth and be saved from eternal death in
the end.
Illustration: Imagine that you are the child of a very wealthy man. You
are kidnapped and held for ransom. The kidnappers have taken you to a
cabin in the wilderness and have left several of their men to guard you.
In the middle of the night you are gently awakened and a strong hand is
placed over your mouth to keep you from shouting. A voice whispers in
your ear, "Your father has sent me to get you out of here". You look to
see who it is that has awakened you. A man dressed in black about 6’2"
tall and weighing about 220 pounds of muscle and carrying numerous weapons
on his body beckons you to follow him out the window and into the night.
Would not your heart fill with hope and confidence knowing that your father,
who is wise and resourceful, has sent this man for you? Would you not
be happy to go where he leads and do as he says because you can see how
well your father chose this man to come and save you? The farther you
got from your kidnappers the more you would realize how much preparation
your father and this man went through in order to rescue you.
Matthew wants you to know that the Father has sent a strong Savior for
all who will trust in him. For all who will recognize they are imprisoned
by sin and who long to be free and who will follow this one who has been
sent to set us free. The Father has gone through centuries of preparation
to send the Lord Jesus Christ to set the captives free. Won’t you follow
this one whom He sent and so escape from sin and its devastating consequences?
Jesus Christ is our only hope because God sent him and because…
II. Jesus can save anyone
There are two ways this genealogy shows that we should place our hope
in Jesus alone because he can save anybody. First, notice in v.1 that
Matthew picks out two names from the genealogy for special mention. Jesus,
we are told, is the son of David and the son of Abraham. Why does he pick
these two out? He picks them out because it was to these two men that
God made his most significant promises about the coming Savior. We are
going to look at Abraham in this point and David in the next.
Steve read the promise God made to Abraham from Genesis 12. God told
Abraham, when he was still childless, that he was going to make him into
a great nation and that he was going to bless him and through him, all
peoples on earth would be blessed (i.e. receive God’s favor). This promise
is a reference to the coming Savior, who would be one of Abraham’s descendants.
By highlighting that Jesus is the son of Abraham, Matthew is asserting
that it will be through Jesus that people from every race, language, class,
every way you can subdivide humanity will receive God’s favor. God is
the ultimate promoter of multiculturalism. His intention has always been
to save people from every category of humanity. There is no "kind" of
human that God cannot save and in fact you can be sure that some from
every "kind" of human will be saved.
This is further highlighted in the genealogy by the inclusion of 4 women,
three of whom are non-Jewish and the other one was married to a non-Jew.
See Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Uriah’s wife (Her name was Bathsheba, Urriah
was a Hittite). Ancient genealogies never contained the names of women.
Jewish genealogies never contain the names of non-Jewish people, except
when they are trying to make a point. Matthew is including the names of
these mothers as evidence of God’s commitment to save not only men, but
also women, not only Jews but also Gentiles.
In our democratic culture we have a hard time understanding how radical
this assertion by Matthew was and is. Matthew is saying you don’t have
to be Jewish to know God. The way to relate to God is open to all who
will admit their need for forgiveness and will trust in what Christ has
done for them on the cross. It is not limited by race or religious practice,
by economic status or marital status, by age or gender. God will receive
all who will come to Jesus as the Savior of the world.
As you read about those who make up Jesus’ family tree you will discover
that while some are completely rebellious towards God and some are shown
to be people of faith, there isn’t a single name in here that doesn’t
have some sin exposed in the pages of the OT. From Abraham who lied twice
and allowed other men to believe his wife was his sister to David who
committed adultery and had the husband killed to cover up the crime, not
one of these men and women are without sin. There is an implicit message
here. Jesus has come to save men and women from their sins, just like
the ones committed by his ancestors. There isn’t any sin that cannot be
forgiven except the sin of refusing to trust and love Christ.
Three implications to the fact that Jesus can save anyone:
- Tell about Matt: couldn’t come to Christ because he helped his girlfriend
get an abortion. There may be some here who don’t believe they can be
forgiven and they can be different. Not true.
- Tell about Lynn, the Buddhist, who was concerned about her family.
Keep praying and loving because God can save anyone. Jesus has purchased
God’s blessings for all the people’s of the earth.
- We are told in Revelation that people from every tribe and tongue
and language and nation will be in heaven praising God. This is the
fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. God is going to save people
from all over the world. It is not an accident that this gospel that
begins with telling us that Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise
to bless all the peoples of the earth also contains the Great Commission.
Turn to Matthew 28: 18-20, page 706. We are a part of the means God
is using to take the blessing of Christ to all the peoples of the earth.
Are you going to be a part of His work of saving his scattered people?
Jesus Christ is our only hope because God sent Him, because He can
save anyone and because…
III. He alone has authority to save and to destroy
What does it mean to call Jesus the "son of David"? It means to say that
he is the descendant of David that God promised would sit on David’s throne
forever, as Steve read in I Samuel. Remember how God promised David he
would not fail to have a descendent to sit on his throne forever? This
promise is restated in a passage made famous by Handel in his work, "The
Messiah", in the book of Isaiah, chapter 9. Vv. 6-7, "For to us a child
is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will
be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing
and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and
forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this."
Think with me for a moment about the functions of a king. A king makes
the laws and he executes the laws. He rewards those who serve him well
and he punishes those who flaunt his authority. He provides for his subjects
when they are in need and he protects them from their enemies. The king’s
word is the rule of the kingdom, he alone is sovereign in it.
Matthew is making clear that Jesus, this one born of Mary, is the long
awaited eternal king of Israel. He has come to establish his rule in the
lives of his people. He calls men and women to submit to his lordship,
to enter into his kingdom by taking his word as the rule for their lives.
What difference does it make to us that Jesus is the king? First, what
does it mean to call yourself a follower of Christ when Jesus is the king?
Second, how does the fact that Jesus is the king give us hope?
Most Americans, if you were to ask them if they are a Christian, would
answer in the affirmative. Now, if Jesus is a king, to say that you are
a Christian is to say you are a subject of his kingdom. To be a subject
of a king is to say you are submissive to his laws, loyal to his kingship,
dependent on his protection. To proclaim yourself a member of a kingdom
and to ignore the laws of that kingdom, to ignore the king himself and
to muster all your resources in order to protect yourself is a contradiction.
To say that you are a follower of Jesus the king is to assert: I love
his law and love to obey it; I love the king and am loyal to him above
all other allegiances; I depend upon him for everything.
I want you to see that I am not just making this up. Turn to Matthew
7: 24, page 686 in the pew bible. (read it) Notice that the evidence that
you really are a follower of the king is that you do the will of the king.
You cannot be a Christian and ignore his law, because he is the king.
- Illustration: Mickey Cohen
Turn to Matthew 10: 32-39, page 688. (read it) Notice the evidence that
you belong to the king is an absolute loyalty to the king. He will accept
no competitors. He is to be supreme in our affections, chief among our
loves. To call yourself a Christian is to love Christ above everyone and
everything else.
- Illustration: My struggle to receive Jesus as a sophomore in high
school. Mary Sue was the competitor
Finally, turn to Matthew 11: 25-30, page 687. (read it) Notice the proof
that you have a real faith in Jesus is that you have come to him for rest.
You are living in dependence upon him to provide what you need in life.
You don’t go to anyone or anything else to relieve the burden of sin and
the anxiety of life. You depend upon the king to provide for you and to
protect you. You don’t go and raise your own army to guard yourself.
If I have Jesus as my king I have hope. He promises to provide for me
and protect me (Mt 6:33). He gives me direction for living. He tells me
what it means to be a parent, to be husband, to be a citizen, to be a
neighbor, to be an employee. When all hell breaks lose around me at home
or on the job, I have a refuge and a guiding principle. What must I do
to please my king? I don’t need to defend myself, that’s his job, He’s
the king. I don’t need to retaliate, he will see that justice is done,
He’s the king. I don’t need to fear the collapse of the economy or of
American culture, he’s the king. I can look forward to death because He’s
the king. I can have confidence that I will overcome my sin, He’s the
king. I need not fear suffering of any kind for the king sovereignly controls
all that comes to me and is able to safely bring me through to his eternal
kingdom.
If all you have to trust in is your own resources, the kindness of other
humans and good luck, you can have no real hope. The sovereign king alone
can give you hope. My prayer for all of us as we look forward to Christmas
is that we will use this time to focus our hope, our expectation of good
not on our job, our family our vacation time, but upon the only one who
is able to give us hope, the Lord Jesus Christ who alone can give us hope
because God sent him, because he can save anyone, and because he is the
king.
Let’s pray.
APPLICATION
One of the chief ways we express our hope in Christ and find greater
hope is through spending time personally and as families reading his word
and praying. I have put together a reading program for the month of December
based on the genealogy. If you didn’t get one in the mail you can pick
one up at the info table. One of the chief reasons we fail to read God’s
word together as families and personally is that we do not plan. I’d like
the families to gather and discuss when, during the next 4 weeks you are
going to read these stories of Jesus’ ancestors together. Singles, gather
together and tell each other how you plan to seek God through reading
his word. Discuss how you are going to overcome the barriers to finding
hope in Christ by seeking him in his word. Use these calendars to actually
schedule the days and times you will read by yourself or as a family.
© Copyright 2000 John Swanson.
You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material
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If you would like to post this material to the web or if your intended
use is other than outlined above, please contact River Hills Community
Church, 2843 West Court Street, Janesville, WI 53545. (608) 758-0943.
mail@riverhillsonline.org
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