WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.240 Well, good morning, everyone. 00:00:01.580 --> 00:00:02.980 Great to be in church with you this morning. 00:00:03.140 --> 00:00:05.400 If I haven't met you before, my name's Steve. 00:00:05.780 --> 00:00:10.439 I'm a senior pastor at St. Paul's, and I chose that Bible reading. 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:15.540 And well done, James, wherever you are. 00:00:17.940 --> 00:00:20.260 I've got a confession to make. 00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:29.359 Right from the very beginning of the show, I have been an avid fan of The Simpsons. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:33.439 So I've been an avid fan for over two decades. 00:00:34.460 --> 00:00:42.019 And I think that they are probably the sharpest cultural critics that America has ever produced. 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:44.539 So I watch it for the intellectual content. 00:00:47.579 --> 00:00:57.900 But one of my favorite episodes is the episode where Homer Simpson eats the blowfish, 00:00:57.899 --> 00:00:59.960 or at least part of the blowfish. 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:03.699 And they thought that he'd eaten the poisonous part of the blowfish. 00:01:04.039 --> 00:01:07.620 And he had a certain amount of hours before he was going to die. 00:01:07.980 --> 00:01:12.879 And so he quickly comes up with a bucket list of everything that he wanted to do in life. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:19.939 And he spends the day sort of, you know, really racing around, doing all this sort of thing really quickly. 00:01:19.939 --> 00:01:24.640 And then he gets to the end of the day, and he's still got some time before he dies. 00:01:24.859 --> 00:01:28.319 And so he grabs an old Walkman. 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:30.060 This is how long ago the episode was. 00:01:30.120 --> 00:01:36.039 He puts a recording of the Bible into it and starts listening to the Bible. 00:01:36.979 --> 00:01:41.280 That's what you do when you've got nothing else to do, and you're about to die, apparently. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:46.500 And so he gets to the bits in the Bible where it is the judgment of God. 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:48.439 He fast forwards through the judgment of God bits. 00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:52.560 And then he gets to the genealogies, and it goes, you know, so-and-so beget so-and-so. 00:01:52.820 --> 00:01:57.060 So he fast forwards that bit, and then it comes up, and so-and-so beget so-and-so. 00:01:57.120 --> 00:01:59.480 And he fast forwards it again, and so-and-so beget so-and-so. 00:01:59.560 --> 00:02:05.799 Then he just, and so-and-so beget so-and-so. 00:02:05.799 --> 00:02:10.939 So, and you're tempted to do the same. 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:13.359 I mean, I resonate with that. 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:17.900 When it comes to the book of Numbers, there's this list of names and names. 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:23.000 You just go, okay, I'm just going to fast forward beyond that bit and get to the meaty stuff. 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:28.340 When in actual fact, you know, for most of us, when it comes to the birth of Jesus, 00:02:28.340 --> 00:02:32.240 we begin at verse 18 of Matthew chapter 1. 00:02:32.240 --> 00:02:36.560 And I wonder, why did Matthew include this list of names? 00:02:37.780 --> 00:02:44.800 This year, we are looking at Christmas through the eyes of those who are in the Christmas event for the first time. 00:02:44.900 --> 00:02:47.640 And today, our focus is on the mothers of Jesus, 00:02:48.180 --> 00:02:52.320 and how the mothers of Jesus reveal the meaning of Christmas. 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:53.760 And so there's three things. 00:02:53.820 --> 00:02:56.219 If you're someone who's writing stuff down, you've got a notepad in front of you. 00:02:56.439 --> 00:03:00.960 There are three things from this list of names that I want us to see this morning. 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:08.340 Number one, Christmas is good news, not good advice. 00:03:09.360 --> 00:03:15.060 Secondly, Christmas turns our values upside down. 00:03:15.659 --> 00:03:19.580 And thirdly, Christmas is the promise of ultimate rest. 00:03:19.719 --> 00:03:20.540 They're the three things. 00:03:20.640 --> 00:03:25.060 So firstly, Christmas is good news, not good advice. 00:03:25.300 --> 00:03:29.100 Notice when Matthew, if you've got your Bibles open, be really good, 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:32.479 because you're going to need it this morning, as you will every Sunday. 00:03:32.699 --> 00:03:36.659 But Matthew chapter 1, I'd like to have a look at these lists here of the names, 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:37.639 because I think it's really important. 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:43.240 Notice it doesn't begin with once upon a time. 00:03:45.319 --> 00:03:49.620 That's how fairy tales and legends and myths begin. 00:03:49.620 --> 00:03:57.379 You see, once upon a time sends the signal that this probably didn't happen. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:02.860 That's how I tell stories, you know, all this one time. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:04.920 It probably didn't happen. 00:04:05.920 --> 00:04:16.100 Matthew begins, this is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:25.980 So Matthew grounds who Jesus is and what he does in history. 00:04:26.939 --> 00:04:28.420 Jesus is not a metaphor. 00:04:28.660 --> 00:04:29.879 He is real. 00:04:30.660 --> 00:04:35.840 The biblical accounts of Christmas are about what happened in history. 00:04:37.080 --> 00:04:42.820 The birth of the son of God into this world is therefore a gospel. 00:04:43.320 --> 00:04:45.100 It is good news. 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:51.300 It is an announcement of good news that proclaims to the whole kingdom. 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:59.220 And so the birth accounts of Jesus are not telling us what we should do, 00:05:00.020 --> 00:05:03.920 but what God has done in history for us. 00:05:04.660 --> 00:05:08.720 Jesus is described here as the Messiah, the son of Abraham. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:16.460 You see, centuries earlier than this, God made a promise to a bloke named Abraham 00:05:16.460 --> 00:05:22.280 that all the people of the world will be blessed through him. 00:05:23.880 --> 00:05:34.220 Through a descendant of Abraham, God would reverse the devastating impact of sin for all time and eternity. 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:45.020 And Matthew declares in the opening words of his gospel that that time has come in Jesus. 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:49.620 That's what makes this news good. 00:05:50.500 --> 00:05:51.839 Jesus is the Messiah. 00:05:52.060 --> 00:05:55.859 Jesus is the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation. 00:05:56.759 --> 00:06:02.000 You see, the heart of the Christian gospel is that you do not save yourself. 00:06:02.139 --> 00:06:03.839 That's what makes this good news. 00:06:04.279 --> 00:06:09.979 God came to save us in the person of Jesus on that very first Christmas. 00:06:09.980 --> 00:06:18.600 And so Christmas tells us that Jesus and Christianity are unique. 00:06:20.140 --> 00:06:25.520 See, I would suggest that other religions and philosophies of life are good advice. 00:06:26.460 --> 00:06:33.300 You see, the founders of the great religions say in one way or another, in various forms, 00:06:33.780 --> 00:06:38.600 I am here to show you the way to spiritual reality. 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:44.640 Do all of this, whatever it is that I suggest you do, and you will find it. 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:47.500 You see, that's advice. 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:50.180 And some of it is helpful advice. 00:06:50.340 --> 00:06:52.680 But nevertheless, it is still advice. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:58.460 Christianity is not primarily about self-improvement. 00:06:58.459 --> 00:07:08.219 We begin with Jesus, not by adopting an ethic, even adopting the ethic of love your neighbor as yourself. 00:07:08.859 --> 00:07:15.219 We don't begin with Jesus by turning over a new leaf or by joining a community. 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:20.839 We begin by believing the report about what has happened in history. 00:07:20.839 --> 00:07:26.639 Did God really become a human being? 00:07:27.679 --> 00:07:32.039 Did Jesus really live and suffer and die for us? 00:07:32.739 --> 00:07:37.059 Did he really rise triumphant over death? 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:43.720 So firstly, Christmas shows us that Christianity is not good advice. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:45.339 It is good news. 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:47.860 It is a pronouncement for all. 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:55.100 Secondly, we see here that Christmas turns all of our values upside down. 00:07:55.100 --> 00:08:08.960 We live in this country in an individualistic culture where we commend ourselves through performance and accomplishments. 00:08:09.240 --> 00:08:12.879 And that's not how it operated in the first century in the Middle East. 00:08:13.860 --> 00:08:18.420 In the first century Middle East, a much more of a collective society, a traditional society, 00:08:19.080 --> 00:08:22.560 a family tree operated like your resume. 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:32.940 It was, that is, your heritage, your clan, your family, your pedigree constituted your resume. 00:08:34.379 --> 00:08:47.200 And as we do nowadays, where people adjust their resumes to leave out the parts that they might find a little embarrassing 00:08:47.200 --> 00:08:53.520 or a little less impressive, we do it in funerals as well. 00:08:53.620 --> 00:09:00.020 We tend to leave out more the bad details of someone's life and focus on the positive stuff. 00:09:00.520 --> 00:09:04.700 We tend to always put our best foot forward, whether it be our resume or our eulogies. 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:10.620 We know that they did exactly the same in the first century when it came to their family trees. 00:09:10.620 --> 00:09:21.879 We know for a fact in history that King Herod, Herod the Great, eliminated, literally, but also many names from his public genealogy 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:28.960 because he did not want anyone to know that they were connected to him by family. 00:09:29.960 --> 00:09:32.299 He wiped them out. 00:09:33.100 --> 00:09:35.259 Took them out of the public records. 00:09:35.259 --> 00:10:05.240 Took them out of the public records. 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:07.399 To the family, he was Uncle George. 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:10.840 Uncle George was a convicted criminal. 00:10:11.819 --> 00:10:17.759 He had been executed by electric chair for murder in the United States. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:22.139 And the biographer assured the children that he would be able to handle the situation 00:10:22.139 --> 00:10:25.419 so that there would be no embarrassment to the family. 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:32.399 And so when it came to the bit in the biography about Uncle George, he wrote this. 00:10:32.399 --> 00:10:38.819 Uncle George occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:45.939 He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties and his death came as a real shock to everyone. 00:10:45.940 --> 00:10:57.600 You see, we tend to cover up the skeletons that we all have in our closet and put our best foot forward. 00:10:58.080 --> 00:10:58.820 We do it. 00:10:59.320 --> 00:11:08.640 The reason we do it is because we suspect people will value us less if they know the true us. 00:11:08.639 --> 00:11:10.779 That's why we do it. 00:11:11.179 --> 00:11:14.919 That's why we put our best on a Sunday, which is so ironic. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:16.980 This is the place where we should not do it. 00:11:19.379 --> 00:11:24.139 We think they will value us less if they knew us warts and all, as we say. 00:11:24.139 --> 00:11:29.879 And Matthew does the exact opposite with Jesus. 00:11:30.899 --> 00:11:31.960 The exact opposite. 00:11:33.500 --> 00:11:39.279 And it helps us to see that God's value system is so different. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:42.759 So first of all, I want you to look at this list of names. 00:11:43.439 --> 00:11:46.899 And notice firstly that there are five women listed here. 00:11:47.419 --> 00:11:49.720 They are all, if you like, the mothers of Jesus. 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:51.919 They're all in Jesus' family tree. 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:58.699 See, what's unusual about this is that in ancient patriarchal societies, 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:01.779 as it was in the Middle East in the first century, 00:12:02.219 --> 00:12:07.000 a woman was virtually never named in a list like this, 00:12:07.419 --> 00:12:11.599 unless they were literally a sitting queen. 00:12:12.899 --> 00:12:18.399 Virtually never named, let alone to put five of them in, 00:12:18.959 --> 00:12:20.519 is highly unusual. 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:27.319 In first century Palestine, women were gender outsiders. 00:12:28.459 --> 00:12:29.899 They had no legal rights. 00:12:30.339 --> 00:12:31.879 They couldn't inherit property. 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:34.659 And they weren't allowed to give testimony in a court. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:40.860 And yet, they are named here in Jesus' genealogy. 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:48.159 And what's more, three of them are Gentiles. 00:12:48.639 --> 00:12:51.060 Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth. 00:12:51.720 --> 00:12:57.399 And to the ancient Jew, who's the first recipient of this genealogy, 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:01.980 they were regarded as unclean. 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:06.019 Why would you mention them at all? 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:12.080 And they were also racial and religious outsiders. 00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:20.879 And yet, Matthew deliberately includes them in the family tree of the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:33.700 And by deliberately including them, Matthew recalls some of the most sordid and nasty and immoral occasions in the Bible. 00:13:33.700 --> 00:13:42.040 It says in verse 3 that Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah and the mother was Tamar. 00:13:44.040 --> 00:13:54.020 Tamar was Judah's daughter-in-law and she tricked him into having a sordid relationship late one night. 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:58.199 It was an act that was against the law of God. 00:13:58.819 --> 00:14:04.600 And even though Jesus is a descendant of Perez and not Zerah, 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:10.639 Matthew includes both of them in the family tree. 00:14:12.340 --> 00:14:14.559 Why does he include both of them? 00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:20.299 Because Matthew wants us to remember the details of the sordid affair. 00:14:21.139 --> 00:14:21.899 That's why. 00:14:24.019 --> 00:14:28.879 The saviour of the world came into this world, 00:14:29.220 --> 00:14:32.659 into a family like all of yours. 00:14:34.340 --> 00:14:35.019 Dysfunctional. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:37.279 And mine too. 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:39.439 Dysfunctional family. 00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:43.059 Remember Rahab? 00:14:44.039 --> 00:14:45.460 Mentioned in verse 5. 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:49.799 She wasn't just a Canaanite, a Gentile, she was also a prostitute. 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:53.559 But the most interesting story is in verse 6. 00:14:54.019 --> 00:14:55.579 It mentions King David. 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:57.659 Royalty in the family line. 00:14:57.720 --> 00:14:59.120 And you go, well, that's got to be good. 00:15:00.120 --> 00:15:01.480 That's one up for the resume. 00:15:02.659 --> 00:15:10.840 Except in one of the most, I think one of the greatest and ironic understatements of the Bible. 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:18.180 Matthew adds that David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah's wife. 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:20.660 Her name was Bathsheba. 00:15:20.740 --> 00:15:22.560 She's not even mentioned by name here. 00:15:22.740 --> 00:15:23.840 Such was the details. 00:15:23.840 --> 00:15:33.259 And by not naming her and mentioning her first husband Uriah instead by name, 00:15:33.800 --> 00:15:42.639 Matthew is calling us to remember this tragic and terrible chapter in Israel's history. 00:15:42.639 --> 00:15:50.580 Before he was king, David was a fugitive running for his life from King Saul. 00:15:51.480 --> 00:16:01.480 And a group of all the nation of Israel, only a group of 37 loyal men went on the run with David. 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:05.279 They sacrificed their lives for David. 00:16:05.639 --> 00:16:08.500 They were willing to give up everything for David. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:15.899 And they wanted to protect him as the future king of Israel. 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:22.879 And in 2 Samuel 23, we know that Uriah was one of those 37. 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:31.179 And when David was finally made king years later, he sees Uriah's wife. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:32.480 He wants her. 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:33.740 He took her. 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:34.819 She got pregnant. 00:16:35.079 --> 00:16:39.120 And then he arranged to have Uriah killed in order to marry her. 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:43.000 Another dysfunctional family. 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:53.559 And it was out of this dysfunctional family and this deeply flawed human being that the saviour of the world came. 00:16:55.039 --> 00:17:03.179 This list of names includes moral outsiders and cultural outsiders and racial outsiders and gender outsiders. 00:17:03.820 --> 00:17:07.799 And rather than being excluded, rather than being covered up, 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:15.019 rather than coming up with an Uncle George story or doing a King Herod and putting white out on the history, 00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:18.799 Matthew unveils it. 00:17:20.419 --> 00:17:24.500 Publicly acknowledges this is the ancestry of Jesus. 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:30.839 It's such an unusual genealogy. 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:34.959 Why include it when he didn't have to? 00:17:37.059 --> 00:17:38.879 Well, there's one verse in the Bible. 00:17:39.019 --> 00:17:44.099 There's many, but there's one verse in the Bible that gives us a really significant clue. 00:17:45.379 --> 00:17:46.839 2 Corinthians 5.21. 00:17:46.839 --> 00:17:57.279 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:09.359 That is, the saviour of the world jumped right into the middle of the sinful, sordid, evil, unjust affairs of human existence 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:12.059 in order to rescue us out of it. 00:18:12.059 --> 00:18:18.440 He identifies with our weakness and our brokenness and our sinfulness in order to rescue us from it. 00:18:18.659 --> 00:18:25.179 And so the Christian message is that if you repent and you believe in Jesus Christ, 00:18:25.679 --> 00:18:33.619 his grace covers all of your sin and unites us with him in his saving work. 00:18:33.619 --> 00:18:41.179 And so there's not a single great individual who doesn't need his grace. 00:18:42.379 --> 00:18:49.559 And there's not a single rotten individual who can fail to receive the grace of the Lord Jesus. 00:18:51.059 --> 00:18:57.679 You see, all the gifts that we receive at Christmas are symbols of the greatest gift of all, 00:18:58.059 --> 00:18:59.599 God's grace to us in Jesus. 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:10.359 And yet some gifts that we receive in a couple of days will appear to have no point to them whatsoever. 00:19:12.119 --> 00:19:14.099 They're generally the Kris Kringle kind of gifts. 00:19:14.699 --> 00:19:16.059 You get those ones. 00:19:16.059 --> 00:19:34.359 Imagine, you know, you've got a gift from a friend under the tree right now. 00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:36.039 You open it on Christmas Day. 00:19:36.419 --> 00:19:39.440 And it's a book titled, Ten Easy Steps to Lose Weight. 00:19:39.440 --> 00:19:44.600 You're offended. 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:46.500 You put it down. 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:51.259 But you're not as offended as the next gift that you get from your spouse. 00:19:52.100 --> 00:19:56.000 It's another book called Overcoming Selfishness. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:20:13.140 Now, if you say, thank you for those gifts, there's a sense where you're admitting that you are overweight and obnoxious at the same time. 00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:15.900 You've got to kind of wrestle with that. 00:20:15.900 --> 00:20:25.100 So to receive some gifts is to admit flaws, to admit weaknesses, and that you need help. 00:20:25.600 --> 00:20:32.680 And the message of Christmas, the message of Christianity is that there has never been a gift offered, 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:46.220 never a gift offered that makes you swallow your pride to the depths the gift of Jesus Christ requires us to do. 00:20:48.019 --> 00:20:55.380 Christmas means that we are so lost, so unable to save ourselves, 00:20:56.080 --> 00:21:01.580 that nothing less than the death of the Son of God Himself could save us. 00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:07.699 And to accept the true Christmas gift, we have to admit that we are sinners, 00:21:08.399 --> 00:21:17.679 that we are unworthy of the gift and in need of being saved by His gracious gift to us. 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:28.859 And that, unfortunately, is a descent that is much lower than any of us, many of us, are willing to go. 00:21:28.859 --> 00:21:39.779 You see, Christmas totally humbles us because it proclaims that nothing less than the death of the Son of God can rescue us. 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:47.919 And yet Christmas also affirms us because He was willing to do it for us. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:57.240 The greatness of Jesus is seen in how far down He came to love us and to lift us up. 00:21:58.680 --> 00:22:01.740 And so Christmas turns all of our values on their head. 00:22:02.800 --> 00:22:05.860 God isn't attracted by our impressive resumes. 00:22:06.660 --> 00:22:12.960 He's not attracted by our religious performance or our moralistic performance. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:23.400 The only way to get God's approval is by acknowledging our brokenness, our sin, our frailty, our flaws, 00:22:23.799 --> 00:22:29.200 and our desperate need for the gift of Jesus and His mercy to us. 00:22:31.600 --> 00:22:40.160 So thirdly, if we accept that gift, Jesus' grace gives us ultimate rest. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:49.480 Now, if you've got the list of names in front of you, there is an obscure verse right at the end of the list in verse 17. 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:51.300 It says, 00:22:51.299 --> 00:23:08.359 Now, for us, and I'm assuming most of us here, if not all of us, have got no Jewish heritage at all. 00:23:09.379 --> 00:23:12.919 So for most of us who don't have a Jewish heritage, that doesn't mean a whole lot. 00:23:12.920 --> 00:23:22.740 But for the Jewish person who first received this from Matthew, this is significant news. 00:23:24.100 --> 00:23:28.480 See, in the Bible, the number seven is a very significant number. 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:32.740 Right at the very beginning of the Bible, God did the work of creating in six days. 00:23:32.820 --> 00:23:36.500 And it says that on the seventh day, He rested from all of His work. 00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:41.859 That's not because He was like you and me and tired after six days of work. 00:23:42.700 --> 00:23:47.259 Rest simply means that He enjoyed all of His creation. 00:23:48.299 --> 00:23:51.339 He enjoyed the perfection of everything that He made. 00:23:52.200 --> 00:23:53.839 Everything was perfect and in order. 00:23:54.220 --> 00:23:57.720 And the seventh day was never meant to an end. 00:23:57.819 --> 00:24:00.460 That is, you don't get to the end of the seventh day. 00:24:00.579 --> 00:24:02.039 You don't get to the creation account. 00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:03.740 It says, and there was morning and night. 00:24:03.740 --> 00:24:06.680 And then the eighth day came and we're back to Monday and we're done to do it all again. 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:17.299 That is, the seventh day is the high point of all of God's creative work. 00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:19.120 It's the goal of His creative work. 00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:21.559 But then sin entered the picture. 00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:26.620 And the first people decided to reject God's loving rule over their life. 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:31.180 They chose for themselves how they thought that life should work and how they're going to live their life. 00:24:31.259 --> 00:24:32.420 God, you take a back seat. 00:24:32.420 --> 00:24:33.900 I'm going to take it from here. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:38.820 And this rest was destroyed. 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:41.820 There was no longer harmony and peace. 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:44.900 And the world in which we live is a classic picture of that. 00:24:47.720 --> 00:24:51.019 And yet God still graciously provided for His people. 00:24:51.560 --> 00:24:58.080 He instituted a seventh day rest as part of their normal weekly cycle. 00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:06.179 But He also instituted this thing that was designed to be an ultimate rest. 00:25:07.480 --> 00:25:11.099 It was called in the Old Testament the year of Jubilee. 00:25:11.099 --> 00:25:18.539 At the end of the last year of the seventh period of seven years. 00:25:18.659 --> 00:25:21.959 So take a seven year period and add it by seven times a day. 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:25.119 That is the 49th year. 00:25:25.639 --> 00:25:29.859 It saw the beginning of the year of Jubilee. 00:25:29.859 --> 00:25:34.779 And every Israelite looked forward to the year of Jubilee. 00:25:34.779 --> 00:25:38.919 The year began on the day of fresh beginnings. 00:25:39.339 --> 00:25:43.339 When the whole nation had just received forgiveness for their sin. 00:25:43.339 --> 00:25:48.599 And the year of Jubilee was characterized by freedom and return. 00:25:49.259 --> 00:25:51.199 You were set free from burdens. 00:25:52.019 --> 00:25:59.119 And labor and debt were to go hand in hand with restoring broken family ties. 00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:01.779 And repossession of lost families. 00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:08.099 It was a year of all debts being wiped clean and returning. 00:26:09.639 --> 00:26:10.660 Clean slate. 00:26:14.480 --> 00:26:21.559 And the year of Jubilee meant that the people of Israel just kept looking forward to the 49th year. 00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:25.480 They just looked forward to the year of Jubilee. 00:26:25.639 --> 00:26:28.940 Every 49 years they knew that no matter what my circumstances, 00:26:29.299 --> 00:26:31.000 I was going to be set free. 00:26:31.779 --> 00:26:38.139 And verse 17 tells us that there were three lots of 14 generations 00:26:38.139 --> 00:26:46.079 or six lots of seven generations with Jesus as the beginning of the seventh seven. 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:53.220 There's no more recording of generations after Jesus. 00:26:57.420 --> 00:26:59.759 Verse 17 is saying, 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:18.119 No more counting of generations happened after him. 00:27:18.119 --> 00:27:21.660 In him there was rest. 00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:26.200 Harmony, peace, hope, security can be found in him. 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:32.640 And if we grasp that Christmas is not a once upon a time story, 00:27:32.840 --> 00:27:36.620 but that Jesus has broken into time and space, 00:27:36.840 --> 00:27:39.740 and that he has accomplished our salvation, 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:44.700 so that prostitute and king are equal in his eyes, 00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:46.700 then you can have rest. 00:27:46.700 --> 00:27:47.960 Then you can have rest. 00:27:47.960 --> 00:27:48.880 Now. 00:27:50.740 --> 00:27:56.259 Total, enduring, final rest is what every one of us needs. 00:27:56.840 --> 00:28:04.220 The rest that Jesus secures for us is a rest that we get to both enjoy now and forever with him. 00:28:04.220 --> 00:28:07.759 Jesus gives us rest for our souls right now. 00:28:07.860 --> 00:28:10.339 In fact, a little bit later on in Matthew chapter 11, 00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:11.640 he writes, 00:28:12.360 --> 00:28:13.079 Jesus says, 00:28:13.079 --> 00:28:14.240 Come to me, 00:28:14.240 --> 00:28:14.279 Come to me, 00:28:15.279 --> 00:28:17.879 all who are weary and burdened, 00:28:17.879 --> 00:28:20.679 and I will give you rest. 00:28:21.879 --> 00:28:24.480 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, 00:28:24.539 --> 00:28:26.319 for I am gentle and humble in heart, 00:28:26.439 --> 00:28:29.279 and you will find rest for your souls. 00:28:31.019 --> 00:28:32.699 So many people today, 00:28:33.259 --> 00:28:35.119 there's books written all about this. 00:28:35.339 --> 00:28:39.359 I have this deep hunger in the human heart. 00:28:39.359 --> 00:28:42.000 People are hungry for love, 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:43.119 and hungry for security, 00:28:43.339 --> 00:28:45.659 and hungry for significance and meaning. 00:28:46.039 --> 00:28:46.899 And Jesus says, 00:28:47.099 --> 00:28:49.599 I am the bread of life. 00:28:49.799 --> 00:28:50.419 Feed on me, 00:28:50.500 --> 00:28:52.000 and you will never hunger again. 00:28:53.319 --> 00:28:56.679 Many in our world are walking in darkness, 00:28:56.919 --> 00:28:57.959 and disillusionment, 00:28:58.079 --> 00:28:58.819 and despair, 00:28:59.039 --> 00:28:59.839 and confusion, 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:03.019 and wondering what is the meaning and purpose of life. 00:29:03.419 --> 00:29:04.219 And Jesus says, 00:29:04.359 --> 00:29:06.659 I am the light of the world, 00:29:06.659 --> 00:29:07.859 and if you follow me, 00:29:07.859 --> 00:29:09.500 you will never walk in darkness. 00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:10.219 Instead, 00:29:10.659 --> 00:29:12.859 you'll have the light of life. 00:29:14.859 --> 00:29:18.579 And virtually everyone is fearful of death. 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:23.339 It makes a mockery of everything that we live for. 00:29:25.019 --> 00:29:25.859 And Jesus says, 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:27.939 I am the resurrection of the life. 00:29:28.679 --> 00:29:30.479 He who believes in me will live, 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:31.740 even though he dies, 00:29:32.159 --> 00:29:34.819 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. 00:29:34.819 --> 00:29:42.859 And so Christmas declares that we can have rest in our souls right now, 00:29:42.899 --> 00:29:44.119 if we come to Jesus. 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:49.519 The rest of unspoilt love between you and God. 00:29:50.619 --> 00:29:53.639 What a gift to have this Christmas. 00:29:54.879 --> 00:29:55.139 You see, 00:29:55.259 --> 00:29:58.200 Christmas is not a once upon a time story, 00:29:58.200 --> 00:30:01.740 that shows us how we should live better lives. 00:30:02.819 --> 00:30:04.220 Christmas is news. 00:30:05.819 --> 00:30:09.600 News calls us to acknowledge something. 00:30:10.960 --> 00:30:12.940 Something that has already happened, 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:15.059 and to respond to it. 00:30:15.840 --> 00:30:21.080 The saviour of the world has broken into time and space to save us. 00:30:21.079 --> 00:30:21.480 Christmas. 00:30:21.480 --> 00:30:25.779 This event is not so much a birth. 00:30:26.919 --> 00:30:31.579 It's not so much a birth that we're celebrating in two days or today. 00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:37.579 It's the coming of God into the world that we're celebrating. 00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.960 And so Christmas is good news, 00:30:41.059 --> 00:30:41.839 not good advice. 00:30:42.819 --> 00:30:45.379 Christmas turns our values on their head. 00:30:46.019 --> 00:30:48.919 And Christmas is the promise of ultimate rest. 00:30:48.920 --> 00:30:52.180 And he calls us this Christmas to look to him, 00:30:52.700 --> 00:30:53.980 to come to him, 00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:55.660 to trust him, 00:30:55.980 --> 00:30:57.180 to believe him, 00:30:57.519 --> 00:30:58.600 to follow him, 00:30:59.039 --> 00:31:03.240 and find the rest that we all so desperately, 00:31:03.560 --> 00:31:05.400 desperately need in our hearts. 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:06.900 Amen.