Rev. David Holwick ZN Matthew's Christmas
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 10, 2006
Matthew 1:1-17
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I. You have to begin somewhere.
A. For Holwicks, it is buying a tree at Home Depot.
1) Boys bought it, set it up, and put lights on. I like that!
2) Then we put those little porcelain houses on the mantle.
B. For Matthew, the beginning is a long genealogy.
1) Genealogy was pretty important to Jews.
a) Many positions required written proof of your family
line.
b) Herod, who was only half-Jewish, destroyed the national
genealogy records because Jews mocked his lineage.
1> That way they were all on his level!
2) Pretty important to some Americans, too.
a) "Founders & Patriots" conference in Princeton club.
b) Only those who can trace family back to 1687 AND were
on the right side of the Revolution can join.
1> Oh, and it has to be a direct male line, except
for a single female if you are desperate.
3) Your own genealogy may be interesting, but only to you.
a) The ultimate boring (or bragging) topic.
b) So why am I preaching on it?
C. Genealogies illuminate truth.
1) Jews had to prove their lineage to be priests.
2) Jesus had to prove his lineage to be the Messiah.
a) Prophesied that Messiah would come from David's line.
b) Those outside the royal lineage are disqualified.
3) The genealogy of Jesus also illuminates God's character.
a) Even Jesus's closet has some skeletons rattling around.
b) God's grace is very evident here.
II. Two very different genealogies.
A. Matthew goes forward from Abraham to Jesus.
1) Luke goes backward from Jesus to Adam.
B. Matthew includes the kings of Judah.
1) Luke branches off after King David.
C. Matthew has 26 generations from David to Jesus.
1) Luke has 41 generations for the same span!
2) Matthew probably is selective in his names.
a) He omits three kings, and probably other people.
b) This way it fits into a scheme of 3 sets of
14 generations.
c) Ancient Jews had no problem with this.
D. Both include Joseph, but give him different fathers.
1) An ancient explanation: Luke is really giving Mary's
genealogy rather than Joseph's.
2) Some of these issues will never be able to be sorted out
this side of heaven.
a) Important agreements: Jesus was a Jew, and Jesus
was in the royal line of David.
III. The good, the bad, and the ugly.
A. Some great heroes of faith: Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah.
1) Asa, whose heart was fully committed to God. 1 Kg 15:14
2) Hezekiah, who kept the faith even when his capital
was surrounded by Assyrians.
3) Josiah, who took the throne at age 8 and led a great
revival.
B. The bad branches are always the most interesting.
1) How many of you have a horse thief in your heritage?
a) I have a Salem witch and a Civil War bigamist.
b) (I didn't tell the Patriots Club about them.)
2) Jesus has several bad apples:
a) Jeconiah (Jehoiachin), the cursed king. 1:11
Jeremiah prophesied about him (22:30):
"This is what the LORD says:
'Record this man as if childless, a man who will not
prosper in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit
on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah.'"
b) Some Jews argue this would disqualify Jesus from being
the Messiah.
1> Of course, if it is meant for all time, it would
logically disqualify ANYONE from being the
Messiah since the line of David is a chain.
2> Most likely, the curse only applied to his
immediate children. #1546
3) The biggest loser is Manasseh.
a) He put idols in the temple.
b) Executed many prophets.
c) The exile of the nation was pinned on this one man.
IV. Notorious women.
A. Unusual to find females in a genealogy.
1) They had limited legal rights in ancient Israel.
2) They could not give testimony in a court of law.
3) Even more unusual to see which women were included:
B. Tamar. 1:3
1) A pagan Canaanite who married into a Jewish family.
2) Seduced her father-in-law, Judah, to reveal his hypocrisy.
C. Rahab. 1:5
1) A Gentile prostitute who lied to save the Jewish spies.
2) Her family were the only survivors of Jericho.
D. Ruth. 1:5
1) A Gentile citizen of Moab, the ancient enemy of Israel.
a) Deuteronomy 23:3 says, "No Moabite or any of his
descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord."
2) She had to grub in the fields to make ends meet.
3) But in the end she put her faith in the God of Israel,
and God gave her a wealthy husband.
4) God also gave her a heritage: Jesus is descended from her.
E. Uriah's wife. 1:6
1) Matthew can't bring himself to name Bathsheba.
2) She committed adultery with King David, but also later
gave birth to King Solomon.
F. Mary, the "virgin". 1:16
1) Locally, she was just as notorious as the rest of these.
a) Unmarried, but pregnant.
b) Claimed an angelic visitor and a divine conception.
2) Who would have believed her?
V. Imperfect vessels reveal God's perfect grace.
A. These names were selected for a reason.
1) After all, many godly women could have been included, but
were not.
2) These are proof that God works in mysterious ways.
a) Not least of which is the virgin birth!
B. Salvation is by grace, not merit.
1) God can use prostitutes, despised foreigners and cursed
people to reveal his love.
2) Even Manasseh is a sign of grace: he repented at the very
end of his life and was accepted by God.
C. Your grandparents cannot get you into heaven. John 1:11-13
1) Does having a distinguished family tree make you a better
person? I don't think so.
2) The gospel of John does not include the genealogy of
Jesus. He doesn't have wise men or shepherds either.
Instead, he says this:
"He [Jesus] came to that which was his own, but his own
did not receive him.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in
his name, he gave the right to become children of God --
children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision
or a husband's will,
but born of God."
3) Have you been born of God?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#1546 "Can Jesus Be the Messiah?" from the video by Messianic Vision
Ministries titled "Jesus - The Messiah?"; submitted by Donna
Morelli, a member of Ledgewood Baptist Church; July 1991.
Not quoted, but used for research:
#1675 "God Uses the Outcasts of the World," by Rev. Rob Peterson,
Dynamic Preaching, "A Gospel For Sinners," October 1, 1991.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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