Matthew 1 & 2, A Genealogy and a Baby

[0:00] I turned 68 in a little while, so when someone says, why don't you introduce yourself, I think, well, there's a lot to remember now. It's getting longer and longer, so I don't know.

[0:12] I'll tell you, getting towards the topic, one of the things about going to region college is it gives you an ability, it gave me an ability just to read theological literature.

[0:23] That's a great gift that the place gives you. It gave me that gift, at least. And I'm very happy that it gave me the, I hope, the ability to read a theologian.

[0:33] I'm not going to mention him much today, but someone I've been immersed in for a little while now, alas, the late John Webster, has given me a lot of things to think about.

[0:45] He's a real theologian. If something in any way by the Lord's grace today feels weighty, it's not me, it's probably John Webster.

[0:59] And he would say, it's not him, it's the gospel of Jesus Christ that he'd been called to serve. So that's what we're here today to do. learn more about together the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[1:14] Just by way, before I say a word of prayer, just by way of a preface. I hope a good preface. Revelation 1, 12 to 18 goes like this.

[1:28] Now I've got to find the passage. Revelation 1, 12 to 18.

[1:39] Then I turned, says John, then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me. And turning, I saw seven golden lampstands.

[1:53] And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.

[2:04] The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace.

[2:16] And his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword.

[2:28] And his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

[2:41] But he laid his right hand on me, saying, fear not. I am the first and the last.

[2:54] Fear not. I fell at his feet as one dead. But he said to me, fear not. Thank goodness for theologians who say the obvious.

[3:12] Jesus Christ is alive. Gloriously and resplendently alive. risen from the dead.

[3:22] Neither inert nor absent. Neither a piece of the past. Nor one who possesses himself in solitude or remoteness.

[3:37] He is majestically and spontaneously present. What John describes, he continues, is the fundamental situation of the church.

[3:59] That's who we are today. That's who we are today. What John describes is the fundamental situation of the church. The divine voice speaks.

[4:12] And the church announces what has already been announced. There's a solemn word. What the church announces is what has already been announced.

[4:25] Yes. So if today, again by way of preface, we are listening to the divine word, which is what we intend to do in this place, this church, the divine word, may we put it like this, in the humble form of Holy Scripture.

[4:45] In the humble form of Holy Scripture. It is indeed a loud voice like a trumpet. It is a divine word. There it is.

[4:56] That might appear somewhat unnerving as a way to begin to look at a text that Holy Scripture, as the church confesses it to be, a bit unnerving.

[5:08] But we announce, as John announced, that the divine majesty, causing us to fall at his feet as dead, says to us, says to us here this morning, fear not, I am the living one.

[5:22] The Lord is majestically present in his church and is speaking to us today. The prophet of, Jesus is the chief preacher of the church.

[5:33] It's prophet. Fear not, I am the living one. So, leading us into a moment of prayer now. In prayer, let's ask, and we do ask, Lord, you, the living one, Jesus Christ, this morning, speak to us through the humble instruments that you use.

[5:54] Speak with us and to us on this, the Lord's day, in your holy church. We pray, our Lord, in your name, to your Father.

[6:05] Amen. Speaking of the past, moving on right to today's talk. I apologize for the state of the handout today.

[6:19] That's a photocopying job done for me by someone at a photocopy shop. I'm surprised that it didn't come out better than it did, but this is the passage we're looking at today, starting with the genealogy in Matthew's gospel.

[6:33] The canonical New Testament, we're looking at the opening words of the New Testament as we open it. You know, we're used to the New Testament, hopefully as Christians. It begins with a look at the past.

[6:48] For sure. Jesus Christ, according to our theologian teacher, is not a piece of the past, but nevertheless, the witness to him in the New Testament, Matthew's gospel, begins again with a look at the past.

[7:06] The past, of course, as you see there, in the form of a genealogy. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David begins, Matthew, the son of Abraham.

[7:19] Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac, the father of Jacob. Jacob, the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah, the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez, the father of Hezron, and Hezron, the father of Ram.

[7:33] Ram, the father of Abinadab, and Abinadab, the father of Nishan, and Nishan, the father of Solomon, and Solomon, the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz, the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed, the father of Jesse, and Jesse, the father of David, the king.

[7:49] continues our gospel writer 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 asap asat the father of jehoshaphat and jehoshaphat the father of jerom and drum the father of uziah and uzziah the father of jotham and jotham the father of ahaz and ahaz the father of hezekiah hezekiah the father of manasah manasseh the father of amos and amos the father of josiah and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

[8:25] And after the deportation to Babylon continues the gospel writer. Jeconiah was the father of Shealtel and Shealtel the father of Zerbebel. Zerbebel the father of Abiud and Abiud the father of Eliakim and Eliakim the father of Azor.

[8:39] Azor the father of Zadok and Zadok the father of Akim and Akim the father of Eliud and Eliud the father of Eleazar and Eliezer the father of Mathan and Mathan the father of Jacob. And Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary of whom Jesus was born who is called Christ.

[8:58] He summarizes for us. So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations and from David to the deportation to Babylon 14 generations and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ 14 generations.

[9:17] That sounds quite different from the first reading from the book of Revelation doesn't it? Wow does that ever sound different. Reading a genealogy.

[9:30] Come on tell me now for sure did your eyes glaze over just a bit then? Maybe the eyes do glaze over just a bit. Especially when the reader is obviously faking his knowledge of how to pronounce strange Hebrew words.

[9:46] And then to top it off as the New Testament begins we have the strangeness of numbers you'll recall it. Again at verse 17 we're reminded the gospel writers goes out of its way 14 14 14.

[10:03] And then maybe we're a little bit further embarrassed if that's how you sort of respond to this opening of the New Testament. We're a bit embarrassed when commentators tell us it's standard issue in the commentators you know tell us that the name David has a numerical value of 14.

[10:25] An art known as gematria. The Hebrew people did this kind of thing with names and numbers. And you kind of go wow. You know.

[10:36] There you go. 14. 14. 14. 14. 14. Says the gospel writer. Get that? Folks in those times just did apparently attend to numbers.

[10:50] Whatever we're called to do with that I really don't know in many ways. Like little steps that may be getting something out of that. But these folks did that.

[11:02] Jesus attended to this kind of thing in some measure. Jesus had as we all know 12 disciples repeating Israel's 12 tribes.

[11:13] If the learned Tom Wright is correct. I don't know if the learned Tom Wright is always correct. He thinks that the Lord's inner circle. Peter, James and John.

[11:24] Is a repetition of an inner circle. That surrounded. David. A kind of public symbol. Symbol drama if you will. Not quite the same.

[11:36] As a numbers issue. But something like it. That the public use of numbers and outward drama. Was the way that these people would communicate with one another.

[11:48] I have 12 disciples Israel. Why? I have an inner circle around me. Does that remind you of the fact that King David had an inner circle of bodyguards.

[11:59] To protect him. He had an outer circle. But an inner circle. I don't know. I do like summaries. Summaries. That Matthew gives us there. An author.

[12:10] Helping. A reader. Is why a good author. I take it. Gives summaries. Are you following me here? The author is saying. I take it. Let me help you reader.

[12:21] Here's a summary of what I'm doing. Paul. Does summaries. Doesn't he? Paul does summaries. In his epistles. At times. To read them carefully. You know he's. Catching up.

[12:32] Sometimes with beautiful rhetorical force. What he's just been saying. To Timothy. Chapter 2. Verse 18. Is one of Paul's. Remarkable summaries.

[12:43] Of the gospel. I always sort of. It always hits me. With a bit of. Wow. That's an interesting summary. Of the gospel. You'll remember. I know I'm talking to people. Who know everything. That I'm saying.

[12:54] When I talk at Learners Exchange. It's one of the nice things. Folks already know. What you're saying. But Paul says. And just for reminder's sake. Timothy 2. Verse 18. Here Timothy.

[13:06] Get this straight. Here's a kind of summary. Remember. Jesus Christ. Okay. Gotcha. That's what the church does. Remember. Jesus Christ. Risen from the dead.

[13:18] Okay. That sounds real. That's central. And then he says. The offspring. Of David. As preached. In my gospel.

[13:30] That last bit. Sort of. Takes me up a bit. Okay. That's interesting. Paul thinks. When he summarizes. The gospel. Timothy. You're a preacher. The gospel. You're teaching. Other people.

[13:40] To preach. The gospel. Remember this. Just. Just keep. These things straight. Remember. Jesus Christ. Risen from the dead. A descendant.

[13:51] Of David. That is. Central. To the gospel. Forget that. And you're sort of. Distorting the gospel. Risen from the dead.

[14:03] Descended from David. Amazing. David. Is. Apparently. Essential. Background. To Jesus. David. Matthew.

[14:14] And Paul. Appeared to be. If you will. On the same page here. David. Is. Really. Important. When you think. About Jesus. That's. That's. I say that.

[14:25] To myself. That's. I. I need to hear that. That's a bit strange. Maybe. David. Is. Really. Important. Matthew. Again. To repeat. Isn't this interesting.

[14:36] He begins. With the past. As the new testament. Opens. The church. Decided. Matthew. Is. Somehow. First. First. First. The gospel. First. To be heard.

[14:46] I don't want to overstate that. But he begins. With the past. A kind of. Thick reference. In other words. Just quite a few names here. He. A lot. Of the past. Is remembered.

[14:57] Not all of it. By any. By any means. But. Quite a bit. Of the past. Matthew. Decides. To remember. As he wants. To unfold. The mystery. Of Jesus Christ. Some names.

[15:08] Won't go into this. In any detail. Here today. I would be a good talk. To go through. Every blooming name. On the list. Some. Had. Difficult. And troubled. Lives.

[15:18] To put it. Mildly. Very. Strange. People. On this list. People. Who had. Really. Difficult. Lives. Adultery. And rape.

[15:29] And. Betrayal. And. Ugliness. In human behavior. Is. Up. Is. Front and center. In this. Genealogy. Some had.

[15:40] Difficult. And troubled. Lives. Others. Are. Just virtually. Unknown. Really. But. Matthew. Mentions. Them. And. Yet. We. Are. Called. Like. John.

[15:51] On. Patmos. To. Turn. And. Attend. To the divine. Voice. As it. Speaks. To us. In holy. Scripture. This. Is.

[16:01] The divine. Trumpet like. Voice. The voice. Of many. Waters. Speaks. To the church. In this. Way. Today. As. With church.

[16:11] Looks at. This particular. Moment. In holy. Scripture. We might. Ask. How many. New. Folks. On this. List. How many. Of them. Knew. That they.

[16:23] Were. A link. In a divine. Salvation. Story. Which we. Can safely. Say. Matthew. Is unfolding. Here. How many. Of them. Knew. That they. Were. A link. In such.

[16:33] A story. They. May. Have. Thought. I would. Think. No such. Thing. Or very. Few. Of them. They. Just. Weren't. Those.

[16:43] Kind. Of folks. But. They. Were. Part. Of. Without. Knowing. It. Part. Of. A divine. Salvation. Story. That God.

[16:54] Was. Working. Into. History. A genealogy. This genealogy. Certainly. Means. At least. That. Trying. To. Ponder. This genealogy. From. Out. Of. The genealogy.

[17:04] Itself. Letting. It. Speak. Not. Just. Random. Observations. About. It. Our. Lives. Are. Transparent. To. Our. Creator. This.

[17:15] We. All. Believe. If. We're. Christians. We're. Jews. Our. Lives. Are. Transparent. To. Our. Creator. They. Are. Not. Transparent. To. Us. I.

[17:27] Think. We. Can. Safely. Say. Is. Very. Where. Our. Lives. Are. Simply. Not. Transparent. To. Us. The. Big. Story. That. We're. In. Has. Yet. To. Be. Unfolded. Then.

[17:38] We. Shall. See. Him. As. He. Is. We. Shall. Be. Like. Him. We. Shall. It. Not. Our. Our. Meaning. Has. It. Yet. Unfolded. Our. Lives. Are. Not. Transparent. To. Us. And.

[17:49] Israel. Always. Knows. This. And. The. Church. Knows. This. Because. The. Divine. Voice. Of. Holy. Scripture. Says. Things. To. Us. Like. You. Have. Searched. Me.

[17:59] And. Known. Me. Such. Knowledge. Is. Too. Wonderful. For. Me. My. God. Knows. Me. Perfectly. It's. Way. Beyond. My. Knowledge. How.

[18:09] God. Knows. Me. And. What. Is. The. True. Story. That. I'm. In. Here. Yeah. In. The. Future. A. Gift. Of. Knowledge. Our. Gift.

[18:19] Of. Knowledge. Will. Be. Great. Then. Shall. We. Know. Even. As. We. Are. Known. Says. Paul. There's. Coming. A. Time. When. We'll. Be. Known. In. Some. Measure. As. God. Himself. Knows.

[18:30] Us. That. Is. An. Amazing. Thought. A. Great. A. Greatness. To. Live. Towards. Isn't it. That. Were. Mysteries. Great. Astonishing. Mysteries.

[18:40] Creatures. That. God. Created. Out. Of. Nothing. And. Said. Get. To. Know. Me. Get. To. Know. Me. Let's. Get. To. Know. One. Another. There. This. Genealogy.

[18:53] Teaches. Or. Reminds. Us. About. The. Past. To. Say. Again. An. Obvious. Thing. The. Past. Is. Obviously.

[19:03] And. Again. Allowing. This. I. I. Trust. Allowing. The. Genealogy. To. Speak. Not. My. Random. Thoughts. About. The. Past. Or. Genealogies. The.

[19:14] Past. Is. Obviously. A. Place. Of. Contention. And. It. Provokes. Much. Consideration. Matthew. Is. Considering. The. Past. When. He. Puts. Together.

[19:25] This. Genealogy. The. Genealogy. Contains. People. Whose. Lives. Were. Filled. With. Contention. And. Trouble. And. Difficulties. David.

[19:35] Is. There. To. Put. The. Obvious. Ones. David. Bathsheba. Raya. A. Woman. Who. Was. Raped. Tamar. Troubled. People. Troubled. People. The.

[19:47] Past. Is. A. Place. Of. Contention. And. It. Makes. Us. Think. A lot. It. Is. Strange. To. Be. Indifferent. To. The. Past. I. Don't. Know. If. There. Are. Cultures.

[19:58] That. Have. Been. Indifferent. To. The. Past. I. Like. To. Talk. To. George. Edgerton. About. Them. As. An. Historian. He. Could. Say. That. Maybe. There. Were. Cultures. That. Were. But. It.

[20:08] It. Hard. To. Imagine. Any. That. Were. Really. Indifferent. To. The. Past. The. Past. Is. A. Place. That. You. Always. Want. To. Visit. Collectively.

[20:18] We. Do. It. And. Individually. Our. Cousins. To. The. South. Of. Us. Are. Revisiting. Their. Past. These. Days. Let's. Tear. Down. That. Statue. I. Don't.

[20:28] Like. That. Past. Don't. Like. The. Way. It's. Remembered. And. We're. Doing. That. Now. In. Our. Country. Too. Sometimes. In. Times. Of. Great. Social. Cultural. Political. Change. The. Past. Comes. Back. Into.

[20:38] Contention. It's. Very. Odd. Past. Never. Goes. Away. In. Our. Time. This. Goes. On. In. The. Time. Of. Israel.

[20:49] The. Past. Must. Have. Been. Fought. Over. Who's. Telling. The. Story. Of. Israel. Correctly. In. 2011. I. Just. Came. Across.

[20:59] This. The. Other. Day. A. Most. Wondrous. Book. Oxford. University. Press. Published. The.

[21:10] Title. Is. The. Title. The. Title. Says. It. All. The. Jewish. Annotated. New. Testament. The. Jewish. Annotated. New.

[21:20] Testament. Yes. Every. Verse. In. Every. Book. Of. The. New. Testament. Commented. On. By. Jewish. Scholars. I. Proves. That. Very. Deep.

[21:31] Stuff. Very. Respectful. The. Editor. Talks. About. How. We. Experience. We. Jews. Sometimes. Read. The. New. Testament. He. Says. We. Experience. Holy. Envy. You. Christians. Have. A lot. Of.

[21:41] Beautiful. Stuff. In. Your. Book. There. It. Is. Given. Appropriate. Resources. Every. Community. Every.

[21:51] Tribe. Race. And. Nation. May. Seek. To. Unfold. The. Past. Its. Own. Past. And. Maybe. They. Look. At. Other. People's. Past. And. Maybe. Comment. On. It. That's. Interesting.

[22:03] Who. Who. Tells. This. Story. Of. The. Past. Who. Gets. To. Tell. It. Who. Owns. It. To. Use. A. More. Polemical. Term. That's. Sometimes. Used. In. Certain. Kinds.

[22:13] Of. Talk. About. All. You. Who. Own. The. The. Past. Do. Own. The. Past. Does. Your. Community. Own. The. Past. You. Can. You. Tell. The. True. Story. About. It. Do. You. Maybe. We. Tell. The. True. Story.

[22:23] About. The. Past. Or. Maybe. All. Stories. About. The. Past. Are. True. Another. Kind. Of. Observation. That's. Made. In. Our. Time. The. Church. The. Synagogue. The.

[22:33] Heirs. Of. The. Enlightenment. Right. Now. All. Have. Various. Big. Stories. To. Tell. Us. About. The. Past. Even. Even. A. A.

[22:44] Minimalist. Story. About. The. Past. Still. Remains. A. Story. About. The. Past. As. One. Writers. Surveying. Certain. As. They. Used.

[22:56] To. Be. Called. Post. Modernist. Writers. Late. Modernist. Wherever they are. That. Said. The. Only. Thing. That. Matters. Is. That. Nothing. Matters. Is. A. Kind. Of. Summary.

[23:06] Of. The. Past. By. Some. Thinkers. And. Our. Culture. Once. Say. No. Nothing. Matters. About. The. Past. But. To. Make. That. Assertion. Is. A. Kind. Of. Story. About. The. Past. You.

[23:17] Can't. Escape. Telling. Some. Kind. Of. Story. About. The. Past. Strange.

[23:31] Battles. That. Go on. In. Our. Culture. Right. Now. About. The. Past. But. Maybe. They've. Always. Gone. On. I. Wonder. Why. Matthew. Says. I'm. Going. To. Tell. The. Story. Of. Jesus. And.

[23:42] Well. I'll. Start. With. The. Genealogy. I'll. Tell. The. Story. Of. The. Past. This. Genealogy. Does.

[23:53] Not. Deny. Of. Course. That. The. Past. Is. Dark. We've. Already. Mentioned. This. The. Past. Is. Discouraging. Even. A.

[24:03] Threat. To. Meaning. At. Times. The. Postmodernist. Has. That. Old. Cliché. Label. Has. It. Like. To. Get. Rid. Of. It. Some. People. Find. Find. That. You. Really. Can't. Find. Meaning.

[24:13] In. The. Past. You. Just. Projecting. An. Obvious. Kind. Of. Thing. To. Say. There's. No. Meaning. Back. There. But. It's. Sort. Of. Convenient. To. Pretend. There's. A. Meaning. There. But. Really. It's.

[24:23] Just. One. Thing. After. Another. And. That's. It. There's. No. Meaning. There. Sort. Of. A. Fake. God. Nietzsche. Would. A. Small. G. God. We. Don't. Believe. In. God.

[24:33] Anymore. But. We'll. Still. Believe. That. The. Historical. Story. Has. Meaning. So. Marxism. Tells. You. That. The. The. Past. Has. This. Deep. Meaning. And.

[24:44] If. You. Know. The. Right. Text. To. Read. You. Can. Find. Out. It's. Meaning. You. But. There. You. Go. Uncertain. Is. The.

[24:54] Past. It's. Liquid. I. Love. That. Term. From. A. A. Critique. Of. Modern. Culture. At. The. University. Of. London. Past. As. We. Understand. That.

[25:04] Was. Liquid. It's. A. Shifting. Landscape. The. Preferred. The. Preferred. Modern. Model. Of. Inquiry.

[25:15] That. Is. It's. Been. Called. The. Uncommitted. Distant. Analytic. Gaze. That's. How. That's. The. Most. Prestigious. Form. Of.

[25:25] Knowledge. And. Our. Culture. Focused. On. Usually. The. Campus. The. University. Campus. Exalts. I'm. Uncommitted. I'm. Distant. But. I.

[25:35] Have. The. Power. Of. An. Analytic. Gaze. And. I. Will. Look. At. Any. Past. You. Talk. To. Me. About. Like. That. I'll. Be. Suspicious. Of. Any. Meaning. That.

[25:46] You. Try. To. Tell. Me. About. The. Past. So. Matthew. Has. A. Kind. Of. Makes. A. Nod. In. The. Direction. Of.

[25:56] Some. Of. Those. Truths. This. Is. An. Unusual. List. Of. People. It's. Almost. It's. Almost. If. You're. In. A. Certain. We. Say. Matthew. Is. Saying. What. A. Mess. The.

[26:06] Past. Is. But. God. Might. Give. It. A. Meaning. He. Might. Be. Sovereignly. Working. Out. A. Meaning. In. This. Messy. Past.

[26:17] It's. An. Unusual. List. There. Are. Kings. Missing. From. Each. Section. Definitely. The. Numbers. Don't. Really. Add. Up. To. Fourteen. It's. A. Sort. Of. A. Stylized.

[26:29] Genealogy. It's. A. Jewish. Genealogy. Containing. Non. Jews. Which. A. Bit. Odd. Jewish. Commentator.

[26:40] About. This. Genealogy. From. That. Annotated. Jewish. He says. You know. We Jews. Have always thought of Abraham. As the first. Jew. But also.

[26:50] A Jewish. He was a convert. He's sort of an outsider. And an insider. At the same time. That's a very interesting comment. From. A. Jewish. Commentator.

[27:01] Wasn't a Jew. But God made him one. In a sense. You know. A very interesting comment. And. Again. Non. Jews. It's unusual. In the Jewish tradition.

[27:12] To cite women. Four women. Four women. In it. Details. May be inaccurate. Maybe there's been copying errors. Made here somewhere. Somewhere. Is that Asa. Or did the copyist mean Asaf?

[27:23] There's questions about that. So. This is a bit of a messy. Genealogy. When looked at. With that. Distant. Analytic. Gaze. That you might.

[27:34] Find habitual. And only allowed. Really. In a studies. A religious studies course. Don't want any believers here. Or if you are a believer. Stifle it.

[27:46] While in. While you're in a religious studies course. Matthew. Almost creates. However. Don't you agree. Coming back again. Going over. Stating the same things.

[27:57] Over and over again. He almost creates. Really. This. This. This genealogy. A frame. For highlighting. The name. Again. David. It's what.

[28:08] He wants to really put in front of us. David. David. David. I'm going to just. Pause and say. I don't have a watch. So I'm not aware. Of what time it is.

[28:19] Could someone give me a watch? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Because. I don't want somebody. Standing up and saying. Time to stop. Thank you.

[28:31] Beth. That's great. That's right. 935 issue there. From 300 BC. From 300 BC.

[28:42] To 200 AD. To use the old ways of talking. 300 BC. 200 AD. That's 500 years.

[28:52] Isn't it? There is no evidence. That the names. Moses. David. Or Elijah. Were ever bestowed. On Jewish children. 500 years.

[29:03] Of written witness. Jewish writings. No evidence. Whatsoever. That any child. Was ever named. Moses. David. Or Elijah. Jewish. Biblical history.

[29:14] Is for. For sure. Deeply. Chaotic. But. More deeply. It is. At least.

[29:24] For sure. Filled with. An expectation. What you can't. Deny. About. Jewish history. Is that. They always said. Something's coming. That's going to make sense.

[29:35] Out of this whole story. That's why. Matthew. Wants to put the name. David. In front of us. Apparently. The word. David. Was so. Redolent.

[29:46] Of. Messianic. And kingly. Divine. Kingly. Expectation. That. They. They. They. Just wouldn't. Call their boy. David. Ever.

[29:57] This fact. You can look it up. It's magnificently. Written about. By. Richard. Bauckham. Great scholar. He's an expert. On names. In the.

[30:08] Jewish world. Amongst other things. Matthew. Writes. For people. Who. Just might. Entertain.

[30:18] An expectation. Of meaning. Still. In our world. Isn't that something. That. All cultures. Share. There's an expectation. Of meaning.

[30:29] I think. Do you ever meet. Real. Nihilists. Who say. No. Life. Has no meaning. You might. But I think. Deep down. They. Hope.

[30:40] That there just. Might be a meaning. That will show up. Someday. Only a God. Can save us. As one modern. Can put it. We hope. For a meaning.

[30:51] A purpose. That there might. Just be. A rational. Outcome. To this. Strange. Story. Called history. That we're in. Matthew.

[31:01] Writes. A strange. History. But he says. There is. Strangely enough. A meaning. To all this. There is a meaning. Here. Yeah. In fact.

[31:13] To anticipate. There might be. An astonishing. Meaning. Beyond. Beyond. Beyond. Beyond. All. Expectation. That might. Show up. In history. Astonishment.

[31:24] Is what the life of faith. Is about. In a sense. Isn't it? Astonishing. But somehow. Expected. Why? Somehow. Expected. Well.

[31:34] Here. I'll go back. To usual. Christian. Biblical. Talk. Isaiah. Chapter 11. Verse 1. We rehearsed a lot of this stuff during the Advent Christmas season.

[31:47] Just to rehearse it again. Again. Stuff that we all know. Isaiah. Chapter 11. Verse 1. Matthew may very well have been thinking concretely of this moment in Jewish divine scripture.

[32:03] We know it so well. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse. There it is. Isaiah had said that. Whatever you make of that.

[32:14] In other words. We might gloss that as. There might come in amongst us. Matthew says. A unique presence. From David's line. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse.

[32:28] And that passage you'll want to remember from Isaiah 11. Isaiah 11. Says at verse 10. Not long after the stump of Jesse reference.

[32:38] It says this. In that day. The root of Jesse. Will stand. As a banner. For the people. Stand as a banner for the nations.

[32:52] Stand as a banner for the. I believe it's ethne. The ethnics. E-T-H-N-E. Ethne. You know. You know. Matthew's gospel ends how?

[33:04] It ends with the great commission. Go into all the world now. My people. Go to the ethne. Go to the nations. Stand as a witness amongst the nations.

[33:17] Matthew might very well be thinking about that. But that's again. Christian meditation. We see that as. What Matthew's probably thinking about. I will raise up for David.

[33:28] A righteous branch. Jeremiah 23 verse 5. I will raise up for David. A righteous branch. For David. In 2 Samuel 7.

[33:39] Verses 12 and 13. I believe the context here is David's passing. His physical. The historical David's dying. And we hear there that. There is a throne.

[33:51] And a kingdom. For David. There will be a throne. And a kingdom. Kingdom established forever. Israel has woven through its story.

[34:04] An expectation. That there's some kind of outcome. To the mess of history. That will confer upon it all. The deepest and most profound meaning. There it is.

[34:16] Yeah. This is how. Of course. This is how the church of Jesus Christ. sees it all. Of course. That's how we see it all. So what is going on here.

[34:28] When we Christians talk this way. It's. How do we think about. This. Kind. Of knowledge. Now come to the heart of. Sort of. Now.

[34:38] The thesis theme. That I wanted to sort of. Talk about today. It can always be better stated. Corrected. But. And I look forward to that. How do we think about.

[34:50] This kind of knowledge. We have a genealogy. It leads to a guy named David. We have background stuff. That we go to Isaiah. And Jeremiah. And second Samuel. And we say. See. It all speaks to one.

[35:00] And it all holds together. That's our faith. Is there a gospel clarity. Anywhere for us. About gospel knowledge. Does the gospel tell us.

[35:12] About gospel knowledge. Is there a way to seek clarity. About that. After all. Those learned ones.

[35:24] That we can now. Pick up a book by them. And listen to. Learned Jewish scholars. Very sympathetic. Learned.

[35:35] Open minded. Wanting to discuss. With Christians. With Christians. The things. Of our faith. Who will write. Deeply learned. Commentary.

[35:47] An annotated. Big book. By them. About. The Christ. In our book. But they don't. Say. Oh. We're going to start. Coming to church. He must be our Messiah.

[35:59] They don't. How come. How come. You know. How come. That's just the reality. Of a pluralist culture. That we live in. This again.

[36:10] Is how the church of Jesus Christ. Sees it all. The genealogy. The background stuff. From prophets. The mystery of the word. David. Again. What's going on here. This. Knowledge.

[36:20] About. This knowledge. That we have. In front of us. Which we call. Matthew's gospel. And we start. Matthew's gospel. By reading. His. Genealogy.

[36:32] And his. Obviously. His vision. Of prophecy. Fulfilled. And then. Following on. From this. In just a moment. His story.

[36:43] About the birth. Of a baby. How do we. Deal with this. With some gospel. Clarity. I think. We can say it.

[36:53] Like this. It is. Firstly. And this is obvious. I think. Once you think it through. But you people. Already done it. You're way ahead of me.

[37:03] On these things. This knowledge. Is a socially. Embodied. Knowledge. That is to say. This is a message.

[37:15] Which is preached. By appointed. Authorities. And their message. Forms. Automatically. A community. The gospel.

[37:27] Has never been. Without a community. In a sense. So one. Great. Catholic. Theologian. Lubac. Sometimes. French names. Still puzzle me.

[37:38] He says. When we look at the New Testament. It's always. Yes. We watch. The mystery of Jesus. But Jesus. Jesus has already. Called people around him. To watch him. So I call those 12.

[37:51] It's the gospel. Watched. By a budding. Forming community. It's already. A socially. Fancy language. But it just means. Folks. Together.

[38:02] Have forms of knowledge. We're one of those. Social. Communities. That has a form of knowledge. That we call. The gospel. We believe.

[38:12] We're called to it. The appointed ones. Who teach us. This knowledge. That we live by. Are called. Classically. Prophets.

[38:23] And apostles. I've already been to church. 730. So I'm up on this. More than you lazy folks. Who are going at 11. Because I was. Reminded.

[38:33] Minded today. By the creed. That tell us. That we belong. To an apostolic church. That is. I'm being told. How did I get my knowledge.

[38:44] How did we get our knowledge. It comes from. Those guys. Called apostles. That Jesus gathered around him. We have. That knowledge. And. We're also taught.

[38:55] By the folks. That Matthew. Appeals to. Today. Those prophets. We're told. In the creed. That the Holy Spirit. Spoke. By the prophets.

[39:06] So the creed. Reminds us. The creed is the. A beautiful. Summation. Of the whole mystery. Of scripture. And the gospel. Nothing less than that.

[39:17] It tells us. What's the authority. Why are we using. The words we use. Out there in church. And in here. Well. Apostles and prophets. Taught us how to say this. That's how. There you go.

[39:29] One of them. Was on an island. Called Patmos. And heard a voice. Behind him. And it was the divine. Speaking voice. Like mighty waters. And like trumpet sound.

[39:40] In other words. It's a divine voice. The church is formed. By listening to this divine voice. Second. This community. Produces.

[39:50] Folks like us. It produces. Hearers and readers. That's who we are. When we come to church. I hear. I heard a wonderful. Homily today. I heard.

[40:02] The head leader. Of our liturgy. As he always does. Leading us today. Through the words of scripture. And prayer. Pointing us to the sacrament. Of bread and wine. He does that work.

[40:13] So well for us. He's appointed in the church. To just keep pointing us. At the same. Over and over again. It never changes. Every week. We should have a word with him. To keep at it.

[40:23] We should have a word with him. To make sure you keep at it. Don't change. Don't give us any novelties. Yeah. So we hear. A voice.

[40:33] Today. If we're instructed. By our theologian. I think he gets it right. Mr. Webster. We here today. Have been hearing. The voice. Which is the voice. Of many waters.

[40:46] Jesus. Preaches in the church. Through the. Instrument. Of holy scripture. There's very few of them. Holy scripture. Water.

[40:56] Baptism. And bread and wine. At a holy table. All things. A few other things. Orbit around those things. But that's essentially it. Apostles.

[41:06] Prophets. Preaching. Out of the word. Baptize people. Bring them around. Bread and wine. Think of the libraries. Of books. That have been written. About those.

[41:17] Few little actions. And they should be. I'm glad they're there. Because it's a divine mystery. That unfolds. And unfolds. And unfolds. It's just so endlessly rich.

[41:30] The past. These readers. These hearers. Come to believe. I love this idea. Drawing to a close. Need to have conversation today. Learn this phrase.

[41:41] From Ephraim Radner. The. Another theologian. At. At Wycliffe College. At the University of Toronto. It's a very simple thought. And. I love new words.

[41:51] For certain ideas. They sort of. Focus. The mind. On some gospel truth. But Radner. Says that the past. Is a form. Of God's presence.

[42:04] Isn't Matthew. Telling us. That here's this messy past. But in fact. It was a form. It is still a form. Of God's presence. That's why we read it.

[42:15] It isn't just. A bit of bizarre. Religious. Curiosity. That makes us read. A funny thing. Like a. Old. Genealogy. It's. God's presence.

[42:27] Was with. David. And the adulteress. He turned to. And the woman. Who had. Sexual violence. Inflicted upon her.

[42:37] And this. Strange. Unfolding. Excuse me. Of. This story. God was conferring. Upon it. His presence. And meaning. And Matthew's. Telling us that. How wonderful.

[42:48] Holy scripture is. It's just. Burgeoning. With life. It is. Even this. Boring. Genealogy. Is. Telling me. To turn. And listen. To.

[42:59] Trumpets. A trumpet. Like voice. Like many. Waters. This is. The divine. Presence. That speaks. To the church. In the church. All the time.

[43:11] Yeah. The lord. Of the church. The one. Who spoke. To john. On patmos. And he speaks. To the church. He is. If you will. The church's.

[43:21] Form. Of knowledge. Witnessed. To. By very. Strange. Instruments. Holy scripture. Baptism. Bread. And wine. Hearing.

[43:32] The word. Read. And unfolded. A bit. That. That. Is. The voice. Of many. Waters. Wow. It sort of. Takes your.

[43:42] Breath. Your breath. Away. Voice. Like a trumpet. Like many. Waters. Mr. Webster. Again. A late. He always speaks. Of our lord. As he is. Self.

[43:54] Presenting. In. Freedom. We don't have to worry. About invoking him. Will you come out of the past. Please. Jesus. Are you in prison there. Back in Matthew's gospel. Do we need.

[44:04] Brilliant historians. Like Tom Wright. To make you real for us. No. No. In the church. Where this form of knowledge. Is given to the world.

[44:15] The voice of many waters. Continues to speak. In the church. Of Jesus Christ. He is known. He is lord. That's our form of knowledge.

[44:26] And we invite. Other people. To listen in. To our form of knowledge. We invite. Jewish scholars. It's a great turning. In our time. That Jewish scholars. Will pay attention. To the new testament.

[44:37] That's a hopeful sign. We don't have to coerce. We don't have to be anxious. The church. Webster dares to say. And it's. In a holy manner.

[44:48] May relax. We are announcing. A divine word. That's already been announced. That's all we do. Jesus is lord. He will draw. Draw all to him.

[44:59] When I am lifted up. I will draw all to me. He will do it. He will do it. Great confidence. In the word. The word.

[45:10] Removes. All historical distance. It removes. In principle. All irony. It removes. All unbelief. When you're in the presence.

[45:21] Of the divine word. All of that. Begins to disappear. The divine word. Is the divine word. This is the divine word.

[45:32] That spoke us. Into existence. And now speaks to us. About. Our perfect. Reconciliation. And the fact. Of our perfection. That's coming.

[45:44] So the Christian's hope. Is inviolable. The Christian's hope. Is perfect. Says our theologian. Yeah. A servant of the word.

[45:55] That's why we listen. To theologians. The ones who serve the word. We listen to them. They start. Wandering away. From the word. Stop listening to. Just the word of God.

[46:06] That's what we need to hear. That's what theologians serve. So with John. With our whole selves. With our minds. We fall. It's invisible.

[46:18] Spiritual things are invisible. They're witnessed to. By a very visible church. Today. Today. As we listen. To the word of God. We in a sense. Fall dead at his feet. But we hear him saying.

[46:28] Fear not. Fear not. I'm the first and the last. I'm the one who brings salvation. I'm the one who originates the world. And brings it to its completion.

[46:40] I'm the one who reconciles all things to the father. This is the voice we hear. So just a brief postscript. Just a brief postscript today.

[46:50] At verse 18. If you're following along. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When the mother. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph. Before they came together.

[47:01] She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph being a just man. And unwilling to put her to shame. Resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things.

[47:11] Behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. Saying Joseph. Son of David. Do not fear to take Mary as your wife. For that which is conceived in her. Is from the Holy Spirit.

[47:23] She will bear a son. And you shall call his name Jesus. For he will save his people from their sins. All this. All this. Says the gospel writer.

[47:34] Took place to fulfill. What the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold. The virgin shall conceive and bear a son. They shall call his name. Emmanuel.

[47:45] Which means. God with us. Joseph woke from sleep. He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife. But knew her not until she had given birth to a son.

[47:56] And he called. And he called his name. Jesus. What a postscript. The Bible.

[48:07] Is that really. The same one. This baby in Mary's womb. Who John met on Patmos. With the voice of many waters. With a divine trumpet voice.

[48:19] That it annihilates all doubt. All irony. All distance. Yes. Isn't the Bible amazing? That one on Patmos. That one on Patmos. Used to be in Mary's womb.

[48:33] What a world. Of understanding. Is the Bible. It's. It's. Why it's. It's. It's so big. And wonderful. And it's got so many points of entry.

[48:44] Our creator. Invites us. Into a gracious. Mutual understanding. Of the mystery. Of the divine. And ourselves. He.

[48:55] That divine mystery. Gave us our existence. He loves us. We're his creatures. He created us for a purpose. And. He wants.

[49:05] Us. To just. Give ourselves. Over. And his short little life. I'm running out of it. Day by day. Look at me. Boy. It's just going by.

[49:16] But we. Give ourselves. Over. To this reading. This trumpet voice. Speaking to John. This baby. In Mary's womb. Is speaking to us.

[49:27] No distance. No doubt. No irony. No problems. We're under the authority. Of a divine word. Which puts us to death. But then raises us up. Because he lives forevermore.

[49:39] God's glory. God's glory. Mr. Bauckham says. I'll give you. Mr. Webster says. I love this little phrase. From his. Where is it now?

[49:52] God's glory. Is God's work. Now. We can never. Out of our own resources. Get to know God's glory. But God's glory. Has come. To us.

[50:03] It's his work. To show us. Himself. There it is. What more do you need? The baby in Mary's womb. God's glory. Reveals God's glory.

[50:14] So. Today. I didn't feel like. I'm sitting in the front row. In case you're interested. On the right hand side. Always get a certain view. Of our pastor. From there. It's really quite impressive.

[50:25] And then. I was thinking of it today. Am I really. To believe. And I do believe. That today. Sitting in that pew. I fell as one dead. But the Lord said. No.

[50:35] Fear not. Yes. Do fall dead. But fear not. I'm the first and the last. I have conquered for you. And you're my own child. And you're coming to be with me.

[50:46] I've loved the world so much. That's what I'm doing for you. That's all I wanted to say today. And. You're now going to jump on me. And tell me why a lot of this is disordered.

[50:58] And a bit creamy. But before. Yeah. I just want to say that. If there's a theological structure. Theological horizon. Which all of this disordered presentation.

[51:09] Tried humbly to serve. And this is from. This is from. The late John Webster. Wonderful theologian. He puts the whole. Of every doctrine of the Christian faith.

[51:21] The sacraments. Baptism. Holy Scripture. The. Name any doctrine you want. There's so many. The mission of the church.

[51:31] The orders of. Of pastors. Preachers. Whatever denomination you belong to. They have different names sometimes. Every one of it.

[51:41] Every bit of it. Is. Is about God. Electing. Electing to save. Reconciling.

[51:52] Comes to us to reconcile. And to perfect us. The whole story of the gospel. Always fits in. To the. Those. Those categories.

[52:04] This is the. This is the logic of the gospel. Is there judgment? Yes. Is there hell? Yes. Is there heaven? Yes. Is there. All the things that our faith speaks to us about.

[52:16] But never think of them. Standing on their own. If you do. You'll distort them badly. God is an electing God. A reconciling God. A perfecting God.

[52:27] However we understand those. Every aspect of the faith. As it's unfolded for us. It never will slip. Outside this glory of the gospel. Election.

[52:39] Reconciliation. The perfecting. The perfecting. Of the creation. The Holy Spirit. Who sanctifies the faithful. So. That's why I put these. High.

[52:51] Sounding. Theological terms. In front of you. Just to. Because you people like. Big fancy terms. I know I talk to you. Over coffee. It's great stuff. I should end with a brief prayer.

[53:02] Before we. Before we have a little bit of time. For talk. Lord. Thank you for your gospel. We. Confess that we are not. Really competent readers. Or hearers of your word.

[53:13] In and of ourselves. But we would know and believe. What you work into us. By announcing it. In your divine voice. Mighty waters.

[53:24] A mighty presence. Over us. And bringing us. To. That perfection. For which you have created us. Oh Lord. What a hope we have.

[53:35] In the messiness of the world. In the difficulty of our lives. This is our perfect. Unshakable hope. And. We thank you for your many gifts to us.

[53:47] Amen. Please. Please. Oh. Please. Please. I've been reading through the book of Chronicles. And. As you know.

[53:59] There are a lot of genealogies there. As well. And this is timely. For me. Because I just see a lot of. Typology. Here. As well. You get this sense. As you. Mentioned.

[54:09] There are. Comments about. Women. In here. And it always seems to underscore something. I think. In underscoring something. About the importance of. Of who you're married to.

[54:20] And. Of mothers. As well. In these various things. Because. Um. In the book of Chronicles. For example. Uh. Jehoshaphat. Was.

[54:31] Chastised. Because. Of who he allied himself to. And. What did that alliance result in? Well. Joram. His son. Was conceived by. The daughter of Ahab. And.

[54:42] They mention that. Specifically. In the genealogy. He did evil. In the sight of the word. For he was married. To the daughter of Ahab. Um. And it's almost like. God is underscoring. It's important who you're.

[54:53] Aligning yourself to. And what struck me here. Just this morning. Thinking about this now. Is when they mentioned Tamar. For example. Tamar was more righteous. Um. Than Judah. Um. She was like.

[55:04] It was almost the reversal. Of what Christ did. Um. Um. She was waiting. As the bride. For her bridegroom. To fulfill what he was supposed to do. Um. But. He wasn't fulfilling what he was supposed to do.

[55:16] And she had to use cunning. To get him to do what was righteous. And though he charged her with. Debauchery. It was actually she who was more righteous. And then he confessed that.

[55:26] Now she ends up in that genealogy. And Jesus I think is. Is. What Matthew is underscoring here. Is. You see this massive human mess. Of all of these failures.

[55:37] Throughout this. Where. The bride. The bridegroom. Judah should have acted righteously. But Tamar. But he didn't. But Jesus did. Right. He's. He's going to take all of this. And redeem that.

[55:47] And I just find it very enriching. When. When. When the woman is mentioned. When the mother is mentioned. I would just say. Read a little more about that. Because it's often. There's something. Under the surface there.

[55:58] That might not be immediately evident. Yeah. Yeah. Why did that son or daughter. That came from that person. Act that way. And it can happen. Yeah. You know. For righteous reasons. Or for unrighteous reasons. No.

[56:08] That. Thank you. That's. Before we go. The question is more important. But thank you. That's. You remind me so much. Tom Wright. If I've learned anything from Tom Wright. Unless I. He would just go right.

[56:20] As I hear him. Right to the heart of it. Israel always finds herself. Faltering into disobedience. And as Deuteronomy says. When you disobey me. In time.

[56:30] God. The God of Israel. You will be cursed. And Israel keeps on experiencing. Forms of obedience. But then. The curse comes back.

[56:40] Because of disobedience. So. How is this story going to be perfected? Someone in Israel must become the curse. And God provided the one to be cursed.

[56:53] His own son. He became a curse. For us. Paul says. Paul's thinking exactly of the end of Deuteronomy. If you disobey me.

[57:03] You will be cursed. Jesus becomes the sin bearer. Forsaken. By his father. He bears the curse. For us. And for the world.

[57:15] The curse has been. Dealt with. You know. It's so the mess of the story. Yes. It's all kind of curse like. Even the guys who get it right. Sort of.

[57:25] You wonder. Did they really get it right? So. This story has a deep meaning. Boiling up from it. It's productive. Yeah. Sir. Yeah. I was going to say.

[57:36] We tend to regard genealogies as boring. Because they aren't really important to us. But other cultures have a very different perspective. For some. The genealogies are actually the best parts of the Bible.

[57:49] If you were to read a Christ genealogy to a Judean congregation. They'd be saying. Allegedly be saying. That's true. That's true. There you go. Because of course. Genealogies.

[58:00] Is a man's identity in that place. Yeah. Sure. You know. You know. You know. You know. You know. You know. You know. Sure. Sure. Sure. Sure. And of course. With establishing Christ's validity. Yeah. Well. Sure. Sure. Although.

[58:12] Would you agree. At. Say. At. At. At. Nine lessons in carols. I would be a strange choice. But I'm maybe showing my own cultural.

[58:23] Cultural prejudice. Is. George. And then Colleen. George. This is probably an answer that everybody knows. Oh. I'm a bit ignorant. So. I'll ask it anyway. Do we have any knowledge about genealogy of Mary?

[58:39] And an ally question is. When Mary married Joseph. Was she absorbed into his genealogy?

[58:50] Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No. No. No. No.

[59:01] Well. I don't. I can't answer that in any detail. I'm sure there are New Testament scholars who've studied the genealogy issue and its interpretation. I know obviously Luke's genealogy goes back to Adam famously.

[59:16] So you could have a genealogy. It's just going back to everybody. You know that we're in this genealogy according to Luke. You know. So I don't know.

[59:26] The twists and turns of the genealogy revealed mystery is something to look into. George. Thank you very much. We look forward to your talk. Well.

[59:38] At least genealogy is Mary's genealogy. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Everybody has. My background. Do you go back far enough you don't want to know anymore. Cattle, steel, rustle. Colleen.

[59:48] Please. Yeah. In my misspelled youth. Uh oh. Yeah. I know. You're great. Oh yeah. Thank you. I was engaged to a person of Jewish heritage and I decided to go through conversion.

[60:03] To Judaism. Wow. Which lasted all about three weeks because I am one of nature's angels. So. Ah. You're going. But what I remember very interestingly about these lessons was the importance of being born of a Jewish woman.

[60:16] Yeah. Yeah. Now. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You are Jewish because you're born from a Jewish woman. Mm. Mm. You know. That was the thing. You know. And I thought how clever. It's a patriarchy. You all know it's all about the patriarchs.

[60:28] It's all the guys. Yeah. Yeah. But to be a Jew is to be born of a Jewish woman. There you go. And I thought how interesting is that. You know. And they said.

[60:38] Yes. So you know you're doing a conversion here and just so you know you're always going to be a bit of a second class citizen in our religion because. Yeah. Your mother was not Jewish. Yeah. So you can look through purification rates and stuff and.

[60:49] Yes. And you're kind of Jewish. But really to be born a Jew is to be born of a Jewish mom. And I thought what the quintessential Jew in our lives was born of Mary.

[61:02] Yeah. Yeah. And depending on what her genealogy. The main thing is she's a Jewish woman. Yeah. So anyway. I just. No. I think it's very interesting. It's this patriarchal. Yeah. And it's all the men.

[61:13] The men. The men. Yes. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. The men. You know. But it's. I just find that fascinating. You are. Thank you for that. That is. That you are instructing me.

[61:24] So wonderful. Thank you. Oh you are. Because it left out of me. The Jewish annotated New Testament. Just in passing. The Jewish guy said. Oh yeah. You know. Abraham was always regarded as both the first proselyte and the first Jew.

[61:38] Who was Abraham's mom. But he's the Jew Jew. Yeah. Even when you die.

[61:49] You go to his bosom. Somehow. Wow. There you go. Joseph. You provoked me this. Oh. Uh oh. That's why I came here.

[62:01] That's why I was. No. No. It's good. That good. Good. Good. Good. Good. It made me think. And my. I ended up with sort of two trains of thought. Oh. The first train of thought is.

[62:12] Who is David anyway? According to Holy Scripture. Well. Anyway. Uh. You look. Immediately. Before. And after David.

[62:24] At Saul. And. At Solomon. Uh. And you see a little blip. Uh. A tiny mountain peak. Uh. Uh. That becomes something special.

[62:36] Uh. Uh. Because. Before Saul. No kings. Uh. And after Solomon. Two kings. Okay. Uh. Israel became. It was kind of the moment.

[62:48] Hmm. As far as scripture presents it. Yeah. Where. Israel had it together. Yeah. Yeah. Even though David had his problems. Yeah.

[62:58] So. How. David. Came to have. That aura. Yeah. Yeah. Would be. Would be something to.

[63:09] Uh. To really pay some attention to. But then I started looking. At. The genealogy. That you've given us. Uh. To copy of. Uh. And there is something.

[63:20] Parallel. To David. There. Which. Is. As you. Already. Sort of know. Is one of my themes. And that is.

[63:31] Where the paragraph breaks. At the time. Of the deportation. To Babylon. And after the deportation. To Babylon. Uh. That is.

[63:42] In a way. A parallel. To David. Which is kind of. Yeah. The low point. Oh yeah. As opposed to. The little p. Yeah. Yeah. No I hear you. Well on.

[63:53] So much what you provoked me. No thank you. Well. On. To go back. Oh. Tom Wright. He believes. That all Jews.

[64:04] More or less. In the time of our Lord. Jews from Philo. A sophisticated. Hellenistic Jew. Writing. Philosophical tracts. In Alexandria. To Josephus.

[64:15] To the Dead Sea Scroll people. To Essenes. To Sadducees even. All of them. Probably shared. More or less. The conviction. That they were still.

[64:25] In exile. The temple was there. There was a priesthood. There was a religious life. Going on. But Wright thinks. They still thought of themselves. As in exile. Because.

[64:36] The. The. The. Yahweh's glory. Had not returned. To the temple. And therefore. He would read. Matthew is saying. From. From the deportation.

[64:47] To the Christ. Is really this. Story of. From our continuing. Exile. To finally. The end of our exile. Finally. Jesus.

[64:57] Ends. Ends. Our exile. He dies. The perfect curse. Of Israel's. Judgment. But he rises. From the dead. In perfect covenant. Fulfillment. Israel is now.

[65:08] What she was called to be. And. And what happens next. Is. The nations. Start to gather. Around. The Messiah. And that's. Why we're here today. We're Gentiles.

[65:19] Who are gathering. Around the Messiah. That's all. That's who we are. Matthew kind of. Anticipated us. Even though. He never. He never heard of Vancouver. Or. Poor guy.

[65:31] Please. Is that. I know that doesn't go directly. To your issue. But that's a talk. For you to give. My friend. You got a lot of talks. It's popping up. Okay. When I was really. I'm asked.

[65:41] Chapter one. It's a talk about. The generation. Of Jesus Christ. And it looks like. It's the mother's side. In the baby's side. I'm just wondering. What is. His mother's side.

[65:53] Larry. There's no names. I mentioned. So. I'm kind of. This question. Is a boundary. And when I look at. One of my medical books. It's.

[66:04] Generic. Genetic engineering. And they found. Is the cross. The white cross. Miles. Is. Carries. All the. Generations.

[66:15] So. I'm kind. Okay. They are. 28. Males. Here. So. If we can do. Genetic. DNA. From their. Samples.

[66:26] And. Their white cross. More. Will be the same. And. That's why. I think. This is the reason. Why. Matthew. Put in here. Only the. Male side. Instead of.

[66:36] The female side. Thank you. That's very clear for me. Thank you. No. That's what. I. There's. There's things to unfold here. That. The word of God.

[66:47] Is. An unfolding. Mystery. In our midst. Isn't it. That's. Thank you. Thank you. I. I don't. Oh. Yeah. You're saying that David. Worked out to number 14.

[67:00] There's a Jewish. Numera. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. Well.

[67:20] There's a Kabbalah. Yeah. Yeah. Theor. My customers. Yeah. And the women thing too. He's from the Shlere staff. But the women thing too. The first nations they do things through the women.

[67:33] It? It's a. It's a matriarch also. There's certain cultures where it's. It's more through the female. Uh huh. Then the all says. And they absolve the Virgin Mary quite highly too.

[67:45] Mmhmm. Mmhmm. Yeah. That's good. That's great. They'reblue of heaven and stuff like that. Okay, so they're playing the full sleuth. There are some more quick questions. Rose Mary, then Barbara, and then you'll thank Travis.

[67:58] Barbara. Okay. My really quick question, I don't know if I can't remember in the reading or just sort of made an assumption. I had the impression that Mary was actually related in some way to Joseph in a same kinship and was in a standard of data as well and was going to register.

[68:24] I don't know. I mean, I think it's totally awesome. Yeah, I don't know. But these observations are all good, though, but thank you. Yes, so this is the Fini, is it?

[68:35] No, but I'm short, very short. Oh, I know, I know, I know. Yes, yes, yes, yes. The question was, Mary and her kinship, remember when she was a girl in trouble, she hightailed it to her cousin Elizabeth.

[68:56] And so that gives us a clue. And I just wanted to say, Harvey, that all of this all over the place, it's brought me great comfort.

[69:10] Greatly. Because I now don't feel like I've, you know, maybe never had a mind in the first place. No, no. All I've had is I've lost it. But is this feeling is just part of the process and it's just great to be here in this community.

[69:30] It is. Thank you very much. Well, I'll say I'll be bold and have the last postscript. I am remembering the past as I get older. And thank you, Gladys, because you remind me that I had region college professors who would say to me with a bright, friendly look on their face, Harvey, this essay is all over the place.

[69:50] Which I found out was usually not a helpful opening line from them. I'm just, you know, I'm being silly. So let's thank Harvey for his time. Thank you.