[Matthew 1:1-17]
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
This is the first of a four part series.
This passage, of course, is a genealogy. Not particularly interesting. Not something we tend to spend time on. But here's the thing, 2 Timothy 3:16 reads: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness," Here's the thing, genealogy is trying to convey something. If you took the time to go through the genealogy, it shows some things.
Jesus came to bring outsiders in.
Matthew was tax collector. Consider that for the Jews, ancestry is important. It was very important to know how Jewish Jesus was. The genealogy is framed around David and Abraham. Why is it framed this way? Because Matthew is trying to show that Jesus comes from the house of David and the house of Abraham. Matthew is trying to show that Jesus is Christ, the Messiah. In the midst of all these Jewish references, a King was coming. Not only a king of the Jews, but a King over all nations. All people would be blessed by this king. Gentiles, non-Jews, would be drawn near to God. This was hard for the Jews to see this. Throughout the Old Testament, God called them a special chosen people, His treasure, called to be separate for other people. He told the Jews not to intermarry. Why? So they would not follow foreign gods. God always wanted to drawn outsiders in. How do we see this in the genealogy? Women are listed... usually they were left out of genealogy. Not only this, there were Gentile women. Foreign women were usually frowned upon by Jews. But Matthew listed them to draw attention to God's desire to draw those outside the kingdom of God in.
Unless you are ethnically Jewish, you are a Gentile. An outsider. But through Christ, we are brought into the family of God. So as Christians, we should be sensitive to those who our society rejects and marginalizes. Because that is our story. We should not be centered about Christian culture and other Christians. We should be reaching out to bring people into the family of God.
Jesus came through the worst of sinners to save the worst of sinners.
Matthew includes not only the best of the ancestors, but he also includes people we would want to hide. He does not exclude those who are embarrassing. Judah & Tamar. Tamar pretends to be a prostitute so her father-in-law can sleep with her so she can get pregnant. Rahab was a career prostitute. Not pretending, but a real hooker. David & Bathsheba, wife of Uriah. David took another man's wife and arranges for this same man to die in battle. This lineage is filled with people with dark history, jacked up lives, and messed up people. This is humanity, the sinners who are the "best" of us.
Jesus is not surprised by any sin. Murder, Adultery, prostitution. This is a display of God's powers of redemption and grace. Through this genealogy, God brought salvation to the world. We often get paralyzed by our guilt. We look at our sins and we question if God can really forgive our sins. But I hope for those of us who are there, I hope you will find comfort in Jesus' family line. Christ's blood covers even our most heinous of sins. Jesus does not condemn, but redeems.
Jesus came to save in unseen and unknown ways
Jesus comes while the Jewish people are under the oppression of the Romans. He is born to a poor couple. His mother, Mary, is not married and is pregnant. A scandalous situation. He lives the life of an outsider. He was condemned by the religious leaders and eventually dies naked and shamed on a cross. Who would have expected a Savior like this? No one. Look at the genealogy again and we find all these obscure people listed. How obscure? Some of the people listed only show up in the bible once... in the genealogy. In the years before Jesus, nothing happened. It seemed like God was silent and doing nothing. But God was at work in the background.
We love explanations. We want to know how things work. Wouldn't it be great if God gave us the whole plan? But life doesn't work that way. That's not how God works. There will be many times where God will be working and we have no clue what is going on. God will seem to be quiet and nothing seems to be happening. We don't know why. So what then? Instead of always trying to find the why, we should take refuge in the who. A God who keeps His promises. A God who sent His son to die for us in ways unknown and unseen.
God Moves In A Mysterious Way
God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.
Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill
He treasures up His bright designs,
And works His sovereign will.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust Him for His grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain;
God is His own interpreter,
And He will make it plain.
-- William Cowper
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