Promises Kept (Matthew 1:1-17)

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1 CFCW-01/12/2014 Promises Kept (Matthew 1:1-17) Introduction It can be hard to wait for the fulfillment of promises. Children travelling to Grandma s house at Christmas have a hard time waiting for all the toys, good food, and spoiling that comes with being with grandparents. And the constant refrain is: Are we there yet? Over my recent vacation, I read a biography about a solider in World War II. Those wives whose military husbands had promised them they would come home had a hard time waiting for the fulfillment of those promises. Often the husbands were not able to keep their promise. Those engaged to be married who want to be pure before the Lord have to struggle to wait for the fulfillment of all the blessings that marriage promises. It can be hard to wait for a promise. This was certainly the case for God s people in the first century AD. They had been waiting for the fulfillment of God s promises of a coming Messiah for thousands of years. The very first promise was off a seed of the woman, who was going to crush Satan s head (Gen. 3:15). Two thousand years before, God had made a promise to Abram (Abraham), that He would make him the father of many nations and a blessing to all the nations of the world (Gen.12:1-3). A thousand years before God had made a promise to King David, that from Him would come a King would sit on the throne of Israel and reign forever and ever (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Think about those lengths of time. A thousand years is a vast span of time. Two thousand years ago, the Roman Emperors Caesar Augustus held sway over much of the known world. About a thousand years ago, William the Conqueror swept into England becoming her first king. Those living in the Palestine in the first century AD had inherited ancient promises and were awaiting the fulfillment of those promises. But then Jesus came and the world saw a Life unlike any it had ever seen before. Listen as I read about the impact of Jesus life: One Solitary Life Nearly two thousand years ago in an obscure village, a child was born of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village where he worked as a carpenter until He was thirty. Then for three years he became an itinerant preacher. This man never went to college or seminary. He never wrote a book. He never held a public office. He never had a family nor owned a home. He never put His foot inside a big city nor traveled even 200 miles from His birthplace. And though he never did any of the things that usually accompany greatness, throngs of people followed Him. He had no credentials but Himself While He was still young, the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His followers ran away. He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was sentenced to death on a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth--a simple coat He had worn. His body was laid in a borrowed grave provided 1

2 by a compassionate friend. But three days later this man arose from the dead--living proof that He was, as He had claimed, the Savior whom God had sent, the Incarnate Son of God. [Twenty] centuries have come and gone and today the risen Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure of the human race. On our calendars His birth divides history into two eras. One day of every week is set aside in remembrance of Him. On church steeples around the world His cross has become the symbol of victory over sin and death. This one Man s life has furnished the theme for more songs, books, poems and paintings than any other person or event in history. Thousands of colleges, hospitals, orphanages and other institutions have been founded in honor of this One who gave His life for us. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the governments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned have not changed the course of History as much as this Four Aspects of Greatness One Solitary Life 1 Who was this Jesus? The followers of Jesus were convinced by His words, His miracles, and above all, His resurrection, that Jesus Christ IS God. And so they took pen to paper to record His life. Each author of the four gospels which are included in the Bible focused on a different aspect of Jesus s Person. Just as a biographer of Winston Churchill could focus on Churchill the politician, or Churchill the soldier, or Churchhill the leader, or Churchill the conversationalist, and give an accurate picture of the man himself, so each author of the four gospels emphasizes a different aspect of Christ s greatness. a. Mark emphasizes Jesus service as the Servant of God. b. Luke emphasizes Jesus humanity as the Son of Man. c. John emphasizes Jesus deity as the Son of God d. Matthew emphasizes Jesus royalty as the Messianic King. We begin our study of the Gospel of Matthew this morning. Background Author and Date The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. While the author does not name himself in the book, the witness of New Testament manuscripts and the universal determination of the Early Church was that Matthew, the disciple and apostle of Jesus Christ, was the author of this Gospel. It is not possible to date the Gospel precisely, but it is very likely that it was written before the 1 Anonymous 2

3 destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD, because Matthew records Jesus prophecy that the Temple would be destroyed (cf. Matt. 24:1-2, but doesn t mention the fulfillment of the prophecy which happened in 70 AD. Thus, the Temple was likely still standing when the Gospel was written. 2 Purpose The Gospel of Matthew is an account of the life of Jesus Christ. However, it is not a biography in the sense we think of a biography today. Matthew is a Gospel. The word Gospel means Good News. A Gospel is a declaration that salvation comes through Jesus Christ. A Gospel is also an account of Jesus life that is written to make a theological point. In other words, Matthew writes his Gospel with intentionality. The Gospel of John tells us that the Lord Jesus did so many things in His ministry that if they were all written down, the world could not contain all the books that would have to be written (John 21:25). This tells us that the Gospel writers, and Matthew among them, were selective in what they included in their Gospels. They include those aspects of Jesus s life and teaching that demonstrate what they are trying to prove. One thing that is striking about Matthew is how Jewish it is. Matthew quotes from the Old Testament 61 times. 3 He uses the OT so much because one of his purposes for writing this Gospel was to convince his fellow Jews that Jesus is their long-awaited Messiah, the King of Israel. The word messiah (Hb. meshiach) means anointed one. The Greek word for messiah is Christ. Christ is a title, not a last name. In the Old Testament, to be anointed with oil was to be set apart for the service of God. Prophets, priests, and kings were all anointed with oil in the Old Testament. In the first century AD, the people of Israel were awaiting their Messiah, a kingly ruler from the line of David, who would defeat the Romans and set up an eternal kingdom for the Jewish nation. And the Messiah did come Jesus, who is called Christ (Matt. 1:16). But Jesus had died on the cross at the hands of the Romans. For many Jews it was unthinkable that the Messiah could die in such a way, and so they rejected Jesus as the Messiah. The cross is a stumbling block to the Jews (1 Cor. 1:23). So Matthew writes His Gospel: 1. To convince his people, the Jews, that Jesus IS the Christ and that the cross was an essential part of the Messiah s mission. 2. At the same time, Matthew writes to demonstrate that God s plan of salvation includes not only Jews, but Gentiles as well (cf. Matt. 28:18-20-the culmination of the book is the Great Commission). 3. Finally, Matthew wrote his Gospel to strengthen and support Jewish Christians who were facing opposition from their countrymen. These believers had not made a mistake. Jesus was the Messiah, the King of the Jews! 2 Daniel Doriani, Matthew in Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008), xiv. 3 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew in PNTC, ed. by D.A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B Eerdmanns Publishing Co, 1992), 3. 3

4 Structure One of the distinctives of the Gospel of Matthew is the way Matthew arranged his book. Throughout the Gospel, Matthew alternates between accounts of Jesus ministry and accounts of Jesus teaching. There are five teaching sections called discourses in Matthew. Each discourse is concluded with a formula And when Jesus finished these sayings (7:28, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, 26:1), which introduces the next section of Jesus ministry. 4 These discourses contain some of the most loved teaching of our Lord, including the Sermon the Mount (5-7), the Parable of the Sower (13), and the Olivet Discourse (24-25). Why Matthew for Christ Fellowship? A theologian of an earlier era said the following of Matthew: In grandness of conception and in the power with which a mass of material is subordinated to great ideas no writing in either Testament, dealing with a historical theme, is to be compared with Matthew. In this respect the present writer would be at a loss to find its equal also in the other literature of antiquity. 5 That is a nice way of saying that Matthew is a beautiful and comprehensive account of Jesus the Messiah. Friends, Jesus is our Messiah! Christ Fellowship, we are seeking to plant a healthy church in Williamsburg, not because we want to make a name for ourselves, but because we want to lift up the name of Jesus Christ. He alone is worthy! He alone is King! He alone saves! We need to know our Savior-King. May God inflame our love for Jesus Christ as we study this Gospel together so that we might boldly make disciples of Jesus Christ in Williamsburg, VA and among the nations! MIM: God in Christ keeps His promises. Matthew 1:1-17- The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, 4 R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew in NICNT, ed. by Joel Green (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmanns Publishing Company, 2007), 8. 5 Zahn cited in Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, 1. 4

5 and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. I. The Genealogy of Christ Promises Kept A. We have already noted that Matthew writes his Gospel with intentionality. He has a point to make and he wastes no time getting to that point. In 1:1 he writes, The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Many people believe that Matt. 1:1 is really a title for the entire Gospel of Matthew. The word for genealogy here is from the Greek word genesis which refers to origins or beginnings. We know the word Genesis because it is the name of the first book of the Old Testament. By using this word, it is likely that Matthew is making the point that with the coming of Jesus, we begin the story of a New Creation. 6 Right away, we see that Matthew will present to us the account of a VERY special Person. B. This person is Jesus Christ. Matthew rarely uses this title Jesus Christ in His gospel. More commonly, he simply refers to the Lord by his personal name, Jesus (150 times in Matthew). 7 And who is Jesus? Matthew wants us to understand at the outset that Jesus Christ is the son of David and the son of Abraham. The burden of Matthew s genealogy is to demonstrate that Christ is descended from Abraham and from David. Why did Matthew pick these two ancestors of Christ to single out? Because of the great promises of God that were given to Abraham and to David. God made a great promise to Abram (Abraham) in Genesis 12:1-3 (Abrahamic Covenant): Genesis 12:1-3- Now the Lord said to Abram, Go from your country and your kindred and your father s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. From that time, it was understood that there was coming a seed from Abraham who would inherit God s blessing (cf. Gen. 17:7; Gal. 3:16). Abraham knew that from his line the Messiah would come. Which is why Jesus says what he did to the Jews in John 8:56, Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad. By showing Jesus descent from Abraham, Matthew demonstrates that Jesus is the promised Messiah who would bless the nations. God kept His promise to Abraham. 6 Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, Ibid. 5

6 In response to David s desire to build a Temple for God, God made a great promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:13-14 (Davidic Covenant): 2 Samuel 7: When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. David desired to build a house (Temple) for God, but God told David that He would build David a house (the Davidic Dynasty) that would rule forever. David s son, Solomon, was born and built the physical Temple, but Solomon was sinful and in his old age fell away after idols. As a result, the nation of Israel was torn into two kingdoms: Israel and Judah (931 BC). But God s promise to David would be fulfilled. A Messiah-King from the line of David would assume the throne of His father David and rule forever. That is why when Pilate asked if Jesus was a king, Jesus answered, I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I come into the world (John 18:37). Commenting on the Kingship of Christ, Baptist Theologian J.L. Reynolds wrote: When Christ uttered, in the judgment hall of Pilate, the remarkable words I am a king, he pronounced a sentiment fraught with unspeakable dignity and power. His enemies might deride his pretensions and express their mockery of his claim, by presenting him with a crown of thorns, a reed and a purple robe, nailing him to the cross; but in the eyes of unfallen intelligences, he was a king. A higher power presided over that derisive ceremony, and converted it into a real coronation. That crown of thorns was indeed the diadem of empire; that purple robe was the badge of royalty; that fragile reed was the symbol of unbounded power; and that cross the throne of dominion which shall never end 8 By demonstrating Jesus descent from David, Matthew is proving that Jesus Christ is great David s greater Son. It is the Kingship of the Lord Jesus that Matthew will emphasize again and again in His Gospel. God had kept His promise to David. C. Now we can understand by Matthew orders this genealogy the way he does in Matthew 1:2-16. He begins with Abraham in 1:2 and lists fourteen generations from Abraham to David (1:6). Then he lists fourteen generations from David to the deportation to Babylon (1:11). Finally, he lists fourteen generations from the deportation to Babylon to Christ (1:16). He is highlighting Christ s descent from these two great figures in Israel s history (Abraham and David), even as he demonstrates that God had been faithful to His promise since the dissolution of the Davidic monarchy. There had been no Davidic King on the throne for nearly 600 years, but God had kept the kingly line of David running all the way down to Joseph, who would adopt Jesus, the son of Mary, making Him LEGALLY the descendant of David and the heir to the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. 8 J.L. Reynolds cited in Mark Dever, Polity (Washington: Nine Marks ministries, 2001),

7 D. Obviously, there are some gaps here in the genealogy. From Abraham to David was nearly a thousand years, but Matthew only lists 14 generation. From David to the Babylonian captivity was 500 years, but again Matthew only lists 14 generations. Finally, the Babylonian Captivity to Jesus was almost 600 years, but again Matthew chooses to list only 14 generations. Why only 14 generations each time? It is impossible to be dogmatic, but it seems that here again we see evidence of Matthew s intentionality in writing. This is probably an example of Jewish gematria, where Hebrew consonants are assigned numerical values based on their order. The value of the name David is 14 (4+6+4). By arranging his genealogy along three sets of 14, Matthew is probably pointing out again (in a way his Jewish readers would have understood) that Jesus is the son of David. 9 He highlights these fourteens in 1:17. Matthew 1:1-17- So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God s promises to both Abraham and David. 2 Corinthians 1: For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. II. Four observations from the genealogy A. God keeps His promises to His people. This is the great lesson of this genealogy. God is faithful to His promises. Our God is the God who never lies (Titus 1:2). Hebrews 6:18 declares that it is impossible for God to lie. God s word is Truth (John 17:17). For us this is very, very practical. If God has made a promise in His word, He WILL keep it. Matthew genealogy is proof of that fact. a. So let s think about some promises that God has made to us: 1. God promises to help us overcome temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13- No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 2. God promises to provide us with food and clothing Matthew 6: Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 9 D.A. Carson, Matthew in The Expositor s Bible Commentary, ed. by Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 69. 7

8 3. In fact, God promises to give us everything we need (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs) in this life. Romans 8:32- He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Application: In the Christian life, our comfort comes from trusting in God s promises, and not in our circumstances. Your circumstances in life are sure to go up and down. So if you are seeking stability in your circumstances you are in for bumpy ride. But if you trust in God s promises, you can have comfort despite your circumstances. God does not fail to keep His promises. Christian, you don t need to worry and fret about health, money, employment, or the faceless but always terrifying future. Application: You can build your life on the promises of God. Again, this is so practical: Brother, are you struggling with pornography? God says that there is a way of escape! The promises of God are better than the promises of sexual sin. Isaiah 33:17- Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar Sister, is God calling you to be a missionary? You can go! You don t have to fear that you will lose out on the good things of this life. In the Age to come, those who follow Jesus will inherit a hundred times more than they might lose in this life. Luke 18: And he said to them, Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life. Parent, are you afraid that your child who desires to serve overseas might lose his or her life? Do not fear. Listen to this promise: Mark 8:35- For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel s will save it. B. God keeps His promises in His perfect time. I can hear someone saying: God will supply my needs. That is great, Peter. But I have been waiting a long time to find meaningful work and the bills are adding up. I want to trust in God s promises, but I am struggling. a. If that is you this morning, the lesson of this genealogy is to wait for the Lord s timing. We hinted at this at the beginning, but it was 2,000 years from the time God made His promise to Abraham and the fulfillment of that promise in Christ. It was a thousand years from David to Christ. From 586 BC on the people of God were under the oppression of Babylon, then Persia, then Greece, and then finally Rome. They were calling out for deliverance from generation to generation. But God s timing is perfect. Galatians 4:4-5- But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 8

9 b. I don t know how long you will have to wait for deliverance, but I do know this: Our omniscient God cannot err in either timing or outcome. If you are His child, He will deliver you at the perfect time. Trust Him and obey Him! C. God s promises to His people are gracious. I think we see this clearly in this genealogy. Look at who is included. Abraham was a man of faith, but he twice lied about the identity his wife and compromised her safety. David was a man after God s own heart, but he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah to cover it up. But God is gracious towards sinners, isn t He? He kept His promise to them and the Messiah came. And look at the women who are included in this genealogy: Tamar (1:3) acted like a prostitute and committed incest with Judah. Rahab (1:5) was a prostitute. Ruth (1:5) was a widow from Moab. Bathsheba, who committed adultery with David, isn t even named. She is called the wife of Uriah (1:6). But through these four women the Messiah came! What an amazing thing that God can use sinful people to accomplish His purposes! And look at 1: After Zerubbabel, we don t have any idea who any of these people are. But God used these nameless nobodies to preserve the line of David so that Jesus would be adopted by Joseph, the son of David. God uses nobodies, like us, to accomplish His perfect purposes! He is a gracious, promisekeeping God! Application: Are you a sinful, nobody? Take heart! God graciously uses people just like you and me. The Gospel D. Because God keeps His promises we can be saved. That is the point of this genealogy ultimately, isn t it? This is what Matthew is driving at in giving this genealogy. God has kept His promises, but He has kept His promises for a purpose, so that He might save sinners from their sins. Abraham needed a Savior and so Jesus came to rescue him. David needed a Savior and so Jesus came to rescue Him. Christian brother and sister, it is a same for you and me as well. Worship the Savior! Because God kept His promise to Abraham and David, you and I can be saved as well. In the Gospel, God makes a great promise to sinners. The heart of our Faith is this promise of salvation. Our God is the good and holy Creator who made us to worship and know Him. But we rejected God. We sinned against Him. We have all failed to live for God and instead we have lived for ourselves. The Bible calls this sin. We were born sinful and separated from God and we have continued in our sins every day. But God is the gracious God. He promised to send a Savior to rescue His people from their sins. That Savior is Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth to live a perfect life in behalf of His sinful people. Jesus died a brutal death as a substitute for His sinful people. And then Jesus rose from the dead proving that God had accepted His sacrifice on the cross. Now here is the promise: All who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus will be forgiven! If you realize the fact that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, you can turn to Christ and be forgiven today. Please do not delay. Trust in Christ! 9

10 But if you are unwilling to trust in Christ you need to be warned: Thoughtless and ungodly people should remember this lesson, and be afraid. Whatever they may think, God will keep his word. If they repent not, they will surely perish. 10 Why will you perish? Trust in Christ today! Conclusion -J.C. Ryle Christian, God will keep every promise He has made to you. Matthew s genealogy is proof of God s faithfulness. The life of the Christian is one of waiting on the promises of God. But they will come. God will keep His word. Let s conclude our time this morning with this thought: God promised the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come and He did. God s word promises us that Christ is coming again and He will! Let s live in that hope this week. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20). Let s pray 10 J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2012 reprint), 2. 10