WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.660 A very good morning, everybody. As Graeme said, my name's Craig, if we've not met already, 00:00:04.900 --> 00:00:10.560 ! And I'm a pastor and training here at Brunsfield. Yeah, it's a great pleasure of mine to start 00:00:10.560 --> 00:00:15.580 ! This new series in Matthew. Now, we're going to do something a little bit different. We sometimes do 00:00:15.580 --> 00:00:19.480 this, but I'm going to give a bit more of an introduction, and then we'll get into the passage, 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:28.879 just so that we don't get lost in this genealogy. So, I guess as a way of introduction, I wonder 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:37.879 if you have ever encountered a particularly frustrating cliffhanger. I wonder what's your 00:00:37.879 --> 00:00:41.719 most frustrating cliffhanger that you've encountered, maybe in a film or in a book. 00:00:42.759 --> 00:00:49.320 Well, I remember when I was young, I remember watching The Italian Job on repeat with my friend, 00:00:49.820 --> 00:00:55.820 and we were absolutely obsessed with cars. We absolutely loved this film. And if you have 00:00:55.820 --> 00:01:02.880 watched this film, you will know that it ends with a literal cliffhanger. So, the gang, they're winding 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:08.640 their way up into the Italian mountains with the stolen gold in the back of the bus, and then 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:15.539 suddenly they spin out of control, and the bus ends up literally hanging over the edge of a cliff. 00:01:15.540 --> 00:01:23.000 And I remember desperately wanting to know what happened next. The bus is dangling on the edge. 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:27.620 Are they going to get away with the gold, or are they going to lose it all down the cliff? 00:01:28.840 --> 00:01:36.580 But there is no sequel to this film. We don't get to find out what happened next. All our questions 00:01:36.579 --> 00:01:44.840 are left unanswered. Well, the Old Testament similarly ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:56.640 It ends with loads of questions left unanswered. Who will come and perfectly lead and save and purify 00:01:56.640 --> 00:02:04.579 and make righteous the people of God? Who can save them from their endless cycles of sin? 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:11.319 Who's going to mend the rift that has been caused between them and their holy God? 00:02:12.840 --> 00:02:19.159 Who's the one that God said would come from Abraham's descendants and bless all the people of the earth? 00:02:19.400 --> 00:02:24.419 Who's the one that would come from David's line who would rule on his throne forever? 00:02:24.900 --> 00:02:30.159 Who is the one that God said would suffer and die for his people? Who is that person? 00:02:30.159 --> 00:02:36.439 Well, by the end of the Old Testament, we have many questions about the identity of this promised one, 00:02:36.659 --> 00:02:38.620 which are not yet answered. 00:02:39.639 --> 00:02:45.900 But unlike the Italian job, this story, the story of the Old Testament, it has a sequel. 00:02:46.579 --> 00:02:50.960 And it's called the New Testament. And it begins with the book of Matthew. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:55.740 And right at the beginning of the New Testament, we encounter this story. 00:02:56.020 --> 00:03:00.379 And so this is Matthew's account of Jesus's life, Matthew's gospel. 00:03:01.180 --> 00:03:04.020 And in this story, we find out about Jesus's birth. 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:15.140 We find out about his life and his death and his resurrection and how he is the answer to all of these unanswered questions from the Old Testament. 00:03:15.139 --> 00:03:19.719 So, yeah, we're going to, as Graham said, we're starting a new series here today. 00:03:19.839 --> 00:03:22.039 So we're going to be looking at this in the run up to Christmas. 00:03:22.679 --> 00:03:28.259 And then the new year, we're going to carry on thinking a bit more about the beginning of Jesus's ministry. 00:03:30.379 --> 00:03:35.719 And the unusual thing about this story is that it begins with a genealogy. 00:03:36.519 --> 00:03:40.739 That is a list of names or a sort of family tree, but without the branches. 00:03:40.740 --> 00:03:47.500 So like one particular line from trunk all the way up to a particular branch. 00:03:48.879 --> 00:03:51.780 And you might have encountered a genealogy before. 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:56.939 But what they are really is an important record of names. 00:03:57.100 --> 00:03:59.379 So where has Jesus come from? 00:04:00.480 --> 00:04:06.660 And it's important to think about why Matthew has chosen to start his gospel in this way. 00:04:06.659 --> 00:04:16.959 Well, like a very bad cards player, Matthew begins his game by laying out all his best cards right at the beginning of the game. 00:04:17.040 --> 00:04:20.439 He lays out all his aces at the beginning of his game. 00:04:21.019 --> 00:04:26.899 And what he is doing is that he is telling us who this baby is. 00:04:27.060 --> 00:04:32.920 So before he tells us what Jesus came to do, he wants us to know exactly who Jesus is. 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:34.399 What is Jesus's identity? 00:04:34.399 --> 00:04:38.620 So that is what he is wanting to tell us with this genealogy. 00:04:39.719 --> 00:04:43.000 So just a little bit about the structure of where we are going today. 00:04:43.199 --> 00:04:46.000 So this genealogy, it is a story. 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:48.599 It tells the story of God's people. 00:04:49.500 --> 00:04:52.419 It tells the story of the crown. 00:04:53.379 --> 00:04:55.120 And it is the story of grace. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:05:05.199 And by studying this story, we will hopefully see that Jesus is the long-promised and rightful heir to God's throne. 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:07.340 And he came in grace. 00:05:08.340 --> 00:05:18.740 And if he is the king of God's kingdom today, then our only right response then is to bow before him and give him glory and honor. 00:05:18.740 --> 00:05:24.300 So now let's open up to Matthew's genealogy then. 00:05:24.420 --> 00:05:28.240 So it is on page 965 in the church Bibles. 00:05:28.460 --> 00:05:29.240 Matthew chapter 1. 00:05:30.360 --> 00:05:33.740 And we are going to read from 1 all the way down to verse 17. 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:35.500 It is long. 00:05:36.240 --> 00:05:37.079 It is repetitive. 00:05:37.079 --> 00:05:42.180 After a moment or two, you are going to be thinking, oh, come on, Craig. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.339 But I want you to look out for some names as we go through. 00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:49.779 So look out for maybe some names that are familiar to you. 00:05:50.459 --> 00:05:52.000 Look out for the royal family. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:56.120 And look out for the good kings and the crooked kings. 00:05:56.360 --> 00:05:59.399 And look out for the women in this passage as well. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:02.219 And every name is in here for a reason. 00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:05.719 So let's read then from verse 1. 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:15.880 This is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 00:06:16.760 --> 00:06:19.040 Abraham was the father of Isaac. 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:21.620 Isaac, the father of Jacob. 00:06:22.240 --> 00:06:24.560 Jacob, the father of Judah and his brothers. 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:29.980 Judah, the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. 00:06:30.900 --> 00:06:32.660 Perez, the father of Hezron. 00:06:33.340 --> 00:06:34.760 Hezron, the father of Ram. 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:36.639 Ram, the father of Aminadab. 00:06:37.379 --> 00:06:39.319 Aminadab, the father of Nashon. 00:06:40.060 --> 00:06:41.599 Nashon, the father of Salmon. 00:06:41.860 --> 00:06:45.459 Salmon, the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. 00:06:46.279 --> 00:06:50.079 Boaz, the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. 00:06:51.099 --> 00:06:53.099 Obed, the father of Jesse. 00:06:53.379 --> 00:06:56.519 And Jesse, the father of King David. 00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:02.480 David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife. 00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:05.640 Solomon, the father of Rehoboam. 00:07:06.100 --> 00:07:07.819 Rehoboam, the father of Abijah. 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:10.040 Abijah, the father of Asa. 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:12.040 Asa, the father of Jehoshaphat. 00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:14.360 Jehoshaphat, the father of Jehoram. 00:07:14.800 --> 00:07:16.379 Jehoram, the father of Uzziah. 00:07:16.920 --> 00:07:18.700 Uzziah, the father of Jotham. 00:07:19.340 --> 00:07:21.280 Jotham, the father of Ahaz. 00:07:21.640 --> 00:07:23.300 Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah. 00:07:24.280 --> 00:07:26.160 Hezekiah, the father of Manasseh. 00:07:26.780 --> 00:07:28.360 Manasseh, the father of Ammon. 00:07:29.240 --> 00:07:30.759 Ammon, the father of Josiah. 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:38.580 And Josiah, the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:44.280 And after the exile to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel. 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:46.639 Shealtiel, the father of Zerubbabel. 00:07:47.300 --> 00:07:49.340 Zerubbabel, the father of Abahad. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:07:51.759 Abahad, the father of Eliakim. 00:07:52.599 --> 00:07:54.199 Eliakim, the father of Azor. 00:07:54.459 --> 00:07:55.819 Azor, the father of Zadok. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:57.699 Zadok, the father of Achim. 00:07:58.159 --> 00:07:59.939 Achim, the father of Elihud. 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:01.939 Elihud, the father of Eleazar. 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:04.120 Eleazar, the father of Mathan. 00:08:04.680 --> 00:08:06.279 Mathan, the father of Jacob. 00:08:06.279 --> 00:08:11.079 And Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. 00:08:11.719 --> 00:08:16.180 And Mary was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah. 00:08:16.939 --> 00:08:21.159 Thus, there were 14 generations in all, from Abraham to David. 00:08:21.759 --> 00:08:24.980 14 from David to the exile to Babylon. 00:08:25.420 --> 00:08:28.959 And 14 from the exile to the Messiah. 00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:32.019 Take a deep breath. 00:08:32.299 --> 00:08:33.259 Okay, we got there. 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:34.059 We got through that. 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:38.879 Okay, so let's begin by thinking about the story of God's people. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:47.500 So this genealogy of Jesus, it tells us the story of God's people over a period of about 2,000 years, 00:08:47.799 --> 00:08:54.559 from Abraham all the way down to Jesus, with David arriving somewhere in the middle. 00:08:54.559 --> 00:09:00.479 So I wonder if you noticed how Matthew divided up this genealogy. 00:09:00.579 --> 00:09:05.919 So there are a few sort of section markers, little moments that we were able to take a breath as we read through. 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:13.679 And these sections tell us the kind of chapter markers in the story of God, the story of God's people. 00:09:14.179 --> 00:09:17.899 So the first section, as you see on the screen, it begins with Abraham in verse 2. 00:09:18.439 --> 00:09:20.559 Then we see David in verse 6. 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:26.399 Then we see the deportation of God's people into exile in verse 12. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:29.319 And then we see the arrival of Jesus in verse 16. 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:35.279 And these sections, they speak of these significant moments in the story of God's people. 00:09:35.379 --> 00:09:41.699 And we're going to have a very brief look at these chapter markers through the story of the Old Testament. 00:09:41.939 --> 00:09:44.120 So the first chapter marker, we have Abraham. 00:09:44.980 --> 00:09:50.139 And he was the father of the Jewish nation, the covenant people of God. 00:09:50.379 --> 00:09:55.120 And he was the recipient of some amazing promises from God. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:01.320 So we know from Genesis chapter 12 that God gave Abraham the promise of a land. 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:05.279 He gave Abraham the promise of countless descendants. 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:11.659 But he also gave Abraham the promise to send one individual from his own family 00:10:11.659 --> 00:10:17.879 who was going to come and be a blessing to all the people of the earth. 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:24.320 Of course, there are so many more things that we could say about Abraham 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:29.900 and how we see his promises fulfilled through the rest of salvation history. 00:10:30.020 --> 00:10:34.480 But lock those promises away in the back of your mind, those promises that God made to Abraham. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.400 The next we see is David in verse 6. 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:41.740 And so David came, as I said, about a thousand years after Abraham. 00:10:41.740 --> 00:10:48.460 And after God had brought his people into the land that he'd promised them, the nation of Israel, 00:10:48.940 --> 00:10:52.419 after he'd settled them in, after he'd fought for them, 00:10:53.159 --> 00:10:56.980 after he'd appointed countless judges to rule over them, 00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:59.799 he brought along a young man called David. 00:11:00.159 --> 00:11:05.940 And he anointed him to be the first true king over God's people. 00:11:05.940 --> 00:11:13.320 So David would be a faithful king who would not only fight for his people and lead them, 00:11:13.400 --> 00:11:15.220 but also lead them in worship as well. 00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:18.660 He was a spiritual leader for the people as well. 00:11:20.040 --> 00:11:22.620 But God also makes promises to David as well. 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:28.000 And in 2 Samuel chapter 7, that might be a passage that you know, 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:31.120 or maybe it's a passage that you don't know, you've never come across before. 00:11:31.120 --> 00:11:34.340 But this is a really important chapter in salvation history, 00:11:34.340 --> 00:11:36.919 because it's here that God makes promises to David. 00:11:37.620 --> 00:11:40.879 He promises to establish the dynasty of David. 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:45.360 He promises to establish David's throne forever. 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:49.320 And he promises to send someone from his own family, 00:11:49.560 --> 00:11:53.600 one of his own descendants, who would sit on his throne and rule forever. 00:11:54.840 --> 00:11:56.740 And more about that in a minute. 00:11:57.379 --> 00:11:59.919 So promises to Abraham, promises to David. 00:11:59.919 --> 00:12:06.679 Then the next chapter in this story is the downward spiral of the people. 00:12:06.839 --> 00:12:09.019 So there were kings that followed after David, 00:12:09.839 --> 00:12:12.579 his sons, his grandsons, great-grandsons. 00:12:12.740 --> 00:12:15.459 And these kings were not faithful like David. 00:12:15.740 --> 00:12:19.819 And they lead God's people into this downward spiral, 00:12:20.579 --> 00:12:24.839 into idolatry and immorality and injustice. 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:29.139 And the people of God and their kings, 00:12:29.259 --> 00:12:31.379 they marry people from the surrounding nations. 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:34.240 And they start following other gods. 00:12:35.040 --> 00:12:39.560 And they do all the things that God forbade his people to do. 00:12:40.300 --> 00:12:42.460 And then eventually we see in verse 11, 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:46.980 God allowed his people to be conquered by the Babylonians 00:12:46.980 --> 00:12:49.560 because of their systemic disobedience to him. 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:52.559 And they are taken out of the land that God had given them. 00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:55.959 And they are taken into the foreign land of Babylon. 00:12:57.439 --> 00:12:59.979 A bit of a low ebb in the story of God. 00:13:00.119 --> 00:13:01.359 A real low moment. 00:13:02.019 --> 00:13:03.799 But then the final chapter in verse 12, 00:13:04.299 --> 00:13:06.219 God calls his people back to their homeland. 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:10.239 And we must be thinking, hooray, they're back. 00:13:10.319 --> 00:13:11.159 They're back in the land. 00:13:11.739 --> 00:13:12.819 They've got their city back. 00:13:12.820 --> 00:13:14.060 They've got their country back. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:21.320 Unfortunately, this isn't the happy ever after that we think it might be. 00:13:22.280 --> 00:13:24.320 God enables them to rebuild their city. 00:13:24.580 --> 00:13:27.960 He enables them to build its walls and rebuild the temple. 00:13:28.620 --> 00:13:30.960 But here we reach the cliffhanger. 00:13:32.420 --> 00:13:35.260 Even though they've returned back to their land, 00:13:36.220 --> 00:13:41.540 the people of God still have those same deep problems with sin. 00:13:41.539 --> 00:13:45.240 The people still fail to worship God properly. 00:13:45.939 --> 00:13:49.639 They are still under the occupying powers of another kingdom. 00:13:50.659 --> 00:13:53.500 What about all those promises that God made to his people? 00:13:54.779 --> 00:13:58.139 Who is that heir to David's throne who will reign forever? 00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.219 But this story, it's not finished yet. 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:05.519 The Old Testament ended in a cliffhanger, but it has the sequel. 00:14:06.199 --> 00:14:07.779 And it begins in the book of Matthew. 00:14:07.779 --> 00:14:16.279 And in verse 1 of Matthew, Matthew tells us that this is the book of the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah. 00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:19.059 The story of his Genesis. 00:14:19.839 --> 00:14:21.759 The story of where he came from. 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:30.639 And by starting his gospel in this way, Matthew is declaring that this is a new beginning for the people of God. 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:35.299 So the genealogy of Jesus, it's the story of God's people. 00:14:36.419 --> 00:14:40.480 And in our next section, we're going to think about, we're going to see that it is the story of the crown. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:47.799 And I'm not talking about the popular Netflix show, The Crown, but an even more sensational royal family story. 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:49.279 So let's think about that next. 00:14:50.240 --> 00:14:51.759 The story of the crown. 00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:55.980 So, I don't know if you've probably heard this. 00:14:56.059 --> 00:14:57.279 It's been in the news a few times. 00:14:57.720 --> 00:15:04.480 But it's widely accepted that virtually everybody with British ancestry is descended from this man. 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:08.000 King Edward III. 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:10.059 And he reigned in the 14th century. 00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:16.240 Each one of us with British ancestry has a little bit of his DNA in us. 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:18.720 And this is probably because he had loads of children. 00:15:19.480 --> 00:15:21.639 And those children went on to have loads more children. 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:30.560 And to say that Jesus was descended from David doesn't actually mean all that much at first glance. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:37.299 There were many thousands of people in Jesus' day who could claim to be descendants of David. 00:15:38.360 --> 00:15:44.220 But Matthew's purpose is not to show us that Jesus is a blood relative of David. 00:15:44.220 --> 00:15:46.340 Even though he is. 00:15:47.019 --> 00:15:52.300 Matthew's purpose is to show the line of succession from David to Jesus. 00:15:53.259 --> 00:15:59.080 The legal right to the throne which had passed down over 1,000 years. 00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:03.480 Jesus is the legal heir to the throne of David. 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:06.040 The seat of God's kingdom. 00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:10.580 This means that Jesus is the king over God's people today. 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:21.940 God's people who encompass people from every nation around the world beyond the borders of Israel who have accepted Jesus as their king. 00:16:23.540 --> 00:16:26.740 And in any given kingdom there can only be one king. 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:29.680 And we even know this to be true in the animal kingdom. 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:33.340 There is only one dominant stag in the herd. 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:37.100 There is only one queen bee in the hive. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:40.540 A human king may have many sons. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:42.759 But only one can be the successor. 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:48.040 And this has led to many battles of succession down through history. 00:16:48.039 --> 00:16:55.179 But Matthew tells us that there is only one legitimate heir to God's throne. 00:16:55.779 --> 00:17:01.719 The Bible tells us that God has already chosen Jesus to be the king of his kingdom. 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:04.119 And he has no rivals. 00:17:06.399 --> 00:17:12.339 But we're just going to look at three different ways, just very briefly, at how Matthew shows us, 00:17:12.339 --> 00:17:17.439 gives us some hints as to how Jesus is this legitimate heir. 00:17:18.879 --> 00:17:26.339 And the first hint is that he calls Jesus the Christ or the Messiah three times in this passage. 00:17:26.480 --> 00:17:27.500 We see it in verse 1. 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:30.359 We see it in verse 16 and 17 at the end. 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:33.980 Now, Christ is not Jesus' second name. 00:17:34.939 --> 00:17:38.980 But it is the Greek translation of the word Messiah. 00:17:39.379 --> 00:17:42.279 And Messiah means the anointed one. 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:50.000 Now, there were many judges and kings and prophets who were anointed to be the leaders of God's people. 00:17:51.139 --> 00:17:55.279 But Jesus is the capital A anointed one. 00:17:55.980 --> 00:18:01.039 He is God's chosen one to be the king over his people forever. 00:18:01.959 --> 00:18:02.859 That's the first hint. 00:18:02.859 --> 00:18:09.299 The second hint that we see in verse 6 is that Matthew calls David the king. 00:18:10.139 --> 00:18:12.159 He calls David the king. 00:18:12.679 --> 00:18:17.159 There are many other Jewish kings listed in this genealogy. 00:18:17.619 --> 00:18:19.220 But only David is named king. 00:18:19.779 --> 00:18:20.379 It's interesting. 00:18:21.419 --> 00:18:22.480 Well, why might that be? 00:18:22.939 --> 00:18:27.339 Well, we know that David was probably the greatest king of the nation. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.519 He was a faithful king to God. 00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:36.519 But Matthew wants his readers to see this close connection between Jesus and David. 00:18:37.180 --> 00:18:40.440 He wants us to see that Jesus has come from David's line. 00:18:40.440 --> 00:18:48.640 So when Matthew labels David as the king, this should be making our 2 Samuel chapter 7 alarm bells ringing. 00:18:49.100 --> 00:18:52.019 That promise that God made to David. 00:18:52.019 --> 00:18:58.119 Jesus is that promise that David is the king of David who would rule forever. 00:18:58.119 --> 00:19:04.119 Now, the third hint that we see, and it's the way that David constructs his genealogy. 00:19:04.679 --> 00:19:06.539 And you might have seen this in verse 7. 00:19:06.659 --> 00:19:11.859 But he's deliberately constructed it so that there are 14 generations between Abraham and David. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:15.759 There are 14 generations between David and the deportation to Babylon. 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:20.640 And there are 14 generations between Babylon and the birth of Jesus. 00:19:21.599 --> 00:19:22.339 Why 14? 00:19:22.740 --> 00:19:24.140 Well, this is a little bit technical. 00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:28.980 And Graham will probably pick me up on this for going a bit too technical on you this morning. 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:34.240 But in the Hebrew language, there are certain numbers which are symbolic of certain words. 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:39.500 So in this case, the number 14 is symbolic of the name David. 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:47.660 So when we read verse 17 and we see Matthew say 14 generations between Abraham and David, 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:54.500 14 generations between David and the exile, we should be thinking, David, David, David. 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:58.460 Matthew is saying, he is the new David. 00:19:59.079 --> 00:20:00.940 There were 14 generations between here and here. 00:20:01.220 --> 00:20:02.259 He is the new David. 00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:04.180 He is the new David. 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:07.940 Matthew is asking us, are we still in any doubt? 00:20:07.940 --> 00:20:13.620 But he makes it emphatically clear that Jesus is the new David. 00:20:13.960 --> 00:20:19.920 He is the legitimate heir to David's throne, the throne of God's heavenly kingdom. 00:20:25.180 --> 00:20:27.480 And then finally, the story of grace. 00:20:27.740 --> 00:20:31.940 So just to recap, we've seen that this genealogy, it's a story. 00:20:32.080 --> 00:20:33.460 It's the story of God's people. 00:20:34.220 --> 00:20:35.720 It's the story of the crown. 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:38.819 And then thirdly, it's the story of grace. 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:44.440 And we could tell that it's a story of grace by looking at some of the names in this passage. 00:20:45.240 --> 00:20:50.640 And as we think a little bit more about their stories, let's go back to David again. 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:54.960 We've already seen that David has been labeled as the king. 00:20:54.960 --> 00:21:02.380 But in verse 6, Matthew also labels David with his greatest ever failure. 00:21:03.420 --> 00:21:09.440 It says, David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:17.880 Matthew reminds us that David bore his son Solomon through a woman who belonged to another man. 00:21:17.880 --> 00:21:29.260 A man that David had murdered to cover up the adultery that he had committed with Bathsheba. 00:21:30.140 --> 00:21:33.220 Now, David's sins in this affair, they were utterly dreadful. 00:21:33.760 --> 00:21:34.800 And they were many. 00:21:35.960 --> 00:21:37.100 We might know this story. 00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:39.400 Sins of lust. 00:21:39.860 --> 00:21:41.040 Sins of adultery. 00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:42.039 Sins of adultery. 00:21:42.039 --> 00:21:42.920 A cover up. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:44.519 A murder. 00:21:45.559 --> 00:21:46.700 And a complete denial. 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:53.399 Matthew wants us to see that David was also a dreadful sinner. 00:21:55.180 --> 00:22:00.579 Then in verse 10, we see a man called Manasseh. 00:22:01.579 --> 00:22:03.980 And he was a particularly wicked king. 00:22:03.980 --> 00:22:10.860 In the book of 2 Chronicles, it tells us that Manasseh worshipped idols, other gods. 00:22:11.279 --> 00:22:14.599 He erected altars to them in God's holy temple. 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:22.299 And he even burned his own children as offerings to these other gods. 00:22:24.059 --> 00:22:33.400 Scripture tells us that Manasseh led God's people astray to do more evil than the nations that he had driven out of the land before them. 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:39.060 Even the Gentiles over the borders were gasping when they heard about Manasseh's sins. 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:47.840 Why would Jesus enter into such a family with such a formidable track record for sin? 00:22:48.800 --> 00:22:56.080 Why would he enter into a human race bent on serving other gods and bent on murdering and hating one another? 00:22:57.080 --> 00:23:00.440 Why did Jesus want to save people like these? 00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:03.620 Why did he want to save people like us? 00:23:05.620 --> 00:23:12.320 Well, the good news is that Jesus did not shun his deeply flawed family heritage. 00:23:13.160 --> 00:23:17.100 He did not despise the human race that he had created. 00:23:18.220 --> 00:23:24.440 But instead, he loved it and he dignified it by entering into it. 00:23:24.440 --> 00:23:34.400 Jesus greatly humbled himself by becoming a man, taking on human flesh, the flesh that he had created. 00:23:35.320 --> 00:23:37.460 And this is the miracle that we celebrate at Christmas. 00:23:38.759 --> 00:23:44.380 And he did this so that he could save sinners like David and Manasseh. 00:23:44.380 --> 00:23:50.540 God has always been in the business of showing grace to undeserving sinners. 00:23:51.460 --> 00:23:54.120 But David's sin wasn't the end of the story for him. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:23:59.040 And Manasseh's sin wasn't the end of the story for him either. 00:23:59.860 --> 00:24:02.400 Both men were convicted by God of their sin. 00:24:02.920 --> 00:24:04.960 They were greatly humbled by God. 00:24:04.960 --> 00:24:07.860 And they both called out to God for mercy. 00:24:08.579 --> 00:24:10.960 And they were shown God's amazing grace. 00:24:11.319 --> 00:24:12.460 And they were restored. 00:24:13.900 --> 00:24:17.799 And there are many others on this list who were recipients of God's grace. 00:24:18.840 --> 00:24:24.079 Abraham was plucked out of obscurity and blessed with the promises of God. 00:24:24.180 --> 00:24:29.259 He had done nothing to deserve these promises, these blessings of God. 00:24:29.259 --> 00:24:35.700 And then God showed his grace to Ruth and to Rahab, who were outsiders. 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.019 And they were enemies of the people of God. 00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:39.440 They were from other nations. 00:24:40.240 --> 00:24:43.339 But God grafted them into the nation and he blessed them. 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:52.180 And then Tamar, another foreigner, was vindicated and blessed by God after being shunned by her father-in-law, Judah. 00:24:53.079 --> 00:24:58.160 And these three foreign women were grafted into the people of God through his grace. 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:01.500 And are included in Jesus' heritage. 00:25:02.240 --> 00:25:03.180 That's amazing. 00:25:04.900 --> 00:25:12.840 And as Matthew writes chapter one of his gospel account, I'm sure he can't help but remember his own story. 00:25:13.580 --> 00:25:15.840 And his own experience of God's grace. 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:20.140 Matthew had made a big mistake when he signed up to work for the Romans. 00:25:20.680 --> 00:25:23.460 And he was hated by his people for betraying them. 00:25:23.460 --> 00:25:32.420 But he found life in his king, his king Jesus, when Jesus called him to repent and to follow him. 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:40.039 And for us today, on the other side of Calvary, God extends his grace to us too. 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:50.920 God demonstrated his extraordinary grace by sending his son Jesus to die on the cross for undeserving sinners like us. 00:25:50.920 --> 00:25:58.860 And because of Jesus' perfect, sinless, righteous life and his perfect sacrifice for sins, 00:25:59.060 --> 00:26:02.180 he is now seated in glory on the throne. 00:26:02.700 --> 00:26:06.400 And he is serving us as our perfect king. 00:26:06.740 --> 00:26:12.740 And he has given us his righteousness so that we might live as his perfect and pleasing subjects 00:26:12.740 --> 00:26:15.880 if we will choose him as our king. 00:26:15.880 --> 00:26:19.640 And his coronation has already taken place. 00:26:21.180 --> 00:26:28.280 God warns all people to get on side with his chosen king and not to rage and rebel against him. 00:26:29.420 --> 00:26:31.420 King David writes in Psalm 2, 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:39.080 There are two options there. 00:26:39.200 --> 00:26:41.140 Embrace him or perish. 00:26:41.140 --> 00:26:45.020 Jesus reigns today. 00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:54.360 And he has perished on the cross to purchase forgiveness and salvation for us so that we might not perish. 00:26:55.740 --> 00:27:00.300 So just to conclude then, as we bring this to a close, 00:27:01.060 --> 00:27:03.520 Jesus' genealogy, it's a story. 00:27:04.360 --> 00:27:06.220 It's a story of God's people. 00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:09.900 It forms a turning point in salvation history, 00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:15.400 where God begins to fulfill all the promises of the Old Testament through his son Jesus. 00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:17.920 It's a story of the crown. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:24.559 The legal right to the throne of God has passed down to Jesus down through the centuries. 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:27.240 And he has taken up his throne in glory. 00:27:27.440 --> 00:27:30.279 And he rules and he reigns over all of creation today. 00:27:30.279 --> 00:27:33.700 And the genealogy is the story of grace. 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:40.019 The genealogy is littered with names of people who experienced God's grace, 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:42.599 despite the extremely rotten apples. 00:27:43.879 --> 00:27:51.599 Jesus' birth, his life, his death, and his resurrection are the greatest example of God's grace. 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:54.379 And he holds this out to us today. 00:27:55.219 --> 00:27:57.199 People beyond the borders of Israel. 00:27:58.619 --> 00:27:59.799 All around the world. 00:28:00.959 --> 00:28:08.919 And God perches people back from the slavery to sin and death that they were under with the blood of Jesus on the cross. 00:28:09.139 --> 00:28:13.359 And all those who look to him in faith and accept him as their king 00:28:13.359 --> 00:28:19.599 will be saved and swept up into his heavenly kingdom and reign with him in glory. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:23.379 There are still promises. 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:27.399 There are promises that we have been given that we are awaiting the fulfillment of today. 00:28:28.139 --> 00:28:29.899 But we know them to be true. 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:36.859 Isn't it amazing how faithful God has been down through history in fulfilling these promises to his people 00:28:36.859 --> 00:28:42.259 and bringing his son 2,000 years ago, this promised king. 00:28:42.259 --> 00:28:50.379 So we likewise can trust in the promises that we are still waiting to be fulfilled to us 00:28:50.379 --> 00:28:54.359 because we've seen God being faithful to his promises in the past. 00:28:54.740 --> 00:29:01.180 And one of those is that we will see Jesus face to face in glory at the end of the ages. 00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:04.259 And we will reign with him if we are trusting in him. 00:29:04.259 --> 00:29:09.200 So today is the first Sunday of Advent. 00:29:13.640 --> 00:29:15.839 And that means that Christmas is upon us. 00:29:16.440 --> 00:29:17.779 There's no denying it. 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:24.200 Now the other day I was feeling a bit stressed when I remembered how much I still had to do 00:29:24.200 --> 00:29:27.339 over the next couple of weeks before Christmas. 00:29:27.339 --> 00:29:29.599 Christmas, maybe you can relate. 00:29:30.299 --> 00:29:32.079 Work deadlines to complete. 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:35.500 Christmas events to attend. 00:29:36.199 --> 00:29:38.399 Christmas parties to take the kids along to. 00:29:40.299 --> 00:29:42.059 Christmas dinners to organize. 00:29:42.740 --> 00:29:45.139 And presents and presents and presents to buy. 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:51.859 At this season we know that it's very easy to take our eyes off our king 00:29:51.859 --> 00:29:54.299 in this season which is all about him. 00:29:54.299 --> 00:29:59.659 But this month, in this month, which we know goes 100 miles an hour, 00:30:00.299 --> 00:30:01.919 let's remember to slow down. 00:30:02.779 --> 00:30:08.099 And let's remember all that God has done for us through his son Jesus. 00:30:08.859 --> 00:30:11.000 Let's remember the story of God's people. 00:30:11.379 --> 00:30:13.019 Let's remember the story of the crown. 00:30:13.700 --> 00:30:16.559 Let's remember the story of his amazing grace. 00:30:17.220 --> 00:30:20.740 And let's remember to exalt him in our hearts. 00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:23.399 And let's keep telling everybody about him. 00:30:24.299 --> 00:30:26.399 Let's pray. 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:35.559 Our Heavenly Father, we just want to give you thanks this morning 00:30:35.559 --> 00:30:39.599 that you are a God who keeps his promises. 00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:42.899 You are faithful to your people. 00:30:43.659 --> 00:30:46.919 Even though your people are so often unfaithful to you. 00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:54.019 We thank you for your grace that you have extended to so many individuals down through the ages. 00:30:54.019 --> 00:30:56.319 We think of David. 00:30:56.319 --> 00:30:57.220 We think of Abraham. 00:30:57.220 --> 00:30:59.180 We think of even Manasseh. 00:30:59.460 --> 00:31:01.460 We think of many others. 00:31:01.740 --> 00:31:02.519 We think of Matthew. 00:31:03.339 --> 00:31:05.980 All people who were shown your grace. 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:10.400 And we thank you so much that you have extended your grace to us as well. 00:31:10.819 --> 00:31:13.160 People who are not of the nation of Israel. 00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:14.480 Who are not Israelites. 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:18.360 Yet we have been shown your grace as well, Lord. 00:31:18.900 --> 00:31:22.799 We thank you that you have set up your king on the throne. 00:31:23.400 --> 00:31:26.180 And that he is sitting there today, ruling and reigning. 00:31:26.839 --> 00:31:31.400 Until all his enemies are made into a footstool for his feet. 00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:36.240 Thank you that we are awaiting the day that we will see him face to face. 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:39.500 We will see Jesus in all his glory, ruling and reigning. 00:31:39.579 --> 00:31:44.039 And we thank you that we will be there with him in glory, ruling with him. 00:31:44.980 --> 00:31:51.640 Lord, we just ask that this Christmas time that you would help us to just keep our eyes fixed on our king, the Lord Jesus. 00:31:52.640 --> 00:31:59.680 And if we've not yet seen him for who he truly is, if we've not yet trusted in him, 00:31:59.920 --> 00:32:02.299 we do pray that you would encourage us to do so. 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:05.420 And to know him as our Lord and our saviour and our king. 00:32:05.420 --> 00:32:11.880 And help us also, would you embolden us to keep telling people about him as well. 00:32:11.980 --> 00:32:15.860 And to bring them along and tell them about his birth at Christmas time. 00:32:16.580 --> 00:32:18.580 We pray all these things in Jesus' name. 00:32:19.060 --> 00:32:19.340 Amen.