Jesus, Family Trees, and Black Sheep

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1 Jesus, Family Trees, and Black Sheep Matthew 1:1 17 Introduction One of the most popular topics search on the web is genealogies. 1 Genealogy is the second most popular hobby in America, coming in only behind gardening. 2 It is a multi-billion dollar industry. One website devoted solely to identifying someone s family tree has over fourteen million users. 3 The craze is no mere passing phenomenon. For ages, people have been intrigued with finding out about their heritage. Numerous television shows in America and Britain have devoted millions of dollars into finding out the history of certain people. Some of these popular television shows have had requests from the rich and the famous to identify their family trees. These people include such celebrities as Robert Downey, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Barbara Walters, Rick Warren, and Tim McGraw, as well as political figures such as Condoleezza Rice and Cory Booker (the mayor of New York). Every person, it seems, no matter where he or she is in life, asks a fundamental question: Where did I come from? One show entitled Finding Your Roots is hosted by a Harvard professor named Henry Louis Gates. He began to shake the family tree of one famous actor Ben Affleck and discovered that one of Affleck s family members had a nasty secret: he owned slaves. Ben attempted to get this information to remain behind closed doors and off of the program, but his request was denied. It was released on the public broadcast. Ben was ashamed of his ancestor s 1 Crystal Conde, Personal Best, Family Tree Magazine, April 2003, Jim Pellien, The Importance of Genealogical Indexing, in Genealogy and Indexing, ed. Kathleen Spaltro (Medford, NJ: American Society of Indexers, 2003), Michelle Garrett, Genealogy TV Growing in Popularity Worldwide, Deseret News, April 30, 2012, accessed August 31, 2015, Genealogy-TV-growing-in-popularity-worldwide.html. 1

2 shock. 5 We would all like to rewrite history like this, right? Whether dead or alive, there is actions and did not want the embarrassment that came with it. 4 You see, sometimes we discover some disturbing individuals in our pedigree. Be careful how hard you shake your family tree; some nuts will likely fall out. I read one account about a family that has one of the most common last names in America: Smith. The Smith s were proud of their family tradition. Their ancestors came to America on the Mayflower. Their line had included senators, pastors, and Wall Street wizards. Now they decided to compile a family history, a legacy for the children. They hired a fine author to compose the history, but his research uncovered one disturbing ancestor. A great-uncle had been a thief and, for his crimes, had been sentenced to execution in the electric chair. The Smiths did not want this man mentioned in their genealogy. The authorhistorian reassured them, I have to include him in order to be historically accurate and maintain integrity, but do not worry. I will handle this section tactfully. When the book arrived, immediately the family turned to the section on Uncle George. They read, George Smith occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution, was attached to his position by the strongest of ties, and his death came as a real always that one person who is the black sheep in the family. You know that one that you hope does not show up to the family reunions. You get tense introducing him or her to people outside of the family. This is the one of whom you are always asking, Are we sure he is in our family? There are black sheep in every fold. The black sheep needs to show up during the holidays to remind you that you are normal... and that they are not. It builds your confidence. Recently, I went to a family gathering of one of our church members... a deacon... Richard. The story I am about to tell may or may not be true; I will let you judge that. I have needed a fall person for this illustration. 4 Lisa de Moraes, Ben Affleck Names His Slave-Owning Ancestor after PBS Show Debacle, Deadline: Hollywood, April 22, 2015, accessed August 31, 2015, /04/ben-affleck-slave-owner-ancestor-finding-your-roots / 5 Funny Genealogy Tales, accessed August 31, 2015, 2

3 It was at Richard s family gathering that I heard about his great-great-uncle Remus. We all know Richard s love for horses. Well, his great-great-uncle had the same love. Remus Starr, a fellow lacking in character, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in Richard showed me one hidden photograph, not located in the genealogy book, of Remus. Remus was standing on the gallows. On the back of the picture are the words, Remus Starr: Horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison, Escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton Detectives, convicted and hanged, Pretty grim situation, right? I noticed that Richard had revised the official genealogy just a bit. He cropped the picture, scanned it, and edited it with image processing software (because we all know how good Richard is with computers) so that all that can be seen is a headshot. Next, he rewrote the text: Remus Starr was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory. His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and imitate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1885, he devoted several years of his life to service at a government facility, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Uncle Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed. Richard tried to justify his actions to his pastor by saying, Now we give Uncle Remus a distinguished place inside the family tree, not hanging from it. 6 This is what we call a black sheep, whitened! Transition: Everyone has a family tree, including Jesus. When we look at Jesus family tree, there are some pretty shady characters black sheep, you could say. What amazes me is that Jesus does not whiten even one of them. Let s open Jesus genealogy book and see where He came from. We see in His family tree One Mother Blackened by Sin (verse 16) Jesus did not arrive on Earth in a rocket ship. He arrived in a womb in Mary s womb. Mary was a godly woman. There are approximately 3.52 billion women living today. That is not 6 Remus Rudd Hanged Horse Thief Hoax, Hoax-Slayer, accessed August 31, 2015, 3

4 counting all the women who have lived and died. Think about this: God picked one woman out of all the women in which to place the God-man Jesus. Jesus was not the result of a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. Mary was conceived of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1:18). What does that mean? It means the Person of the Holy Spirit placed Jesus in the womb of Mary. Nothing more, nothing less. Sadly, there is a lot of confusion about this wonderful woman today. Who exactly was she? She was... A virgin. This is important. Some theological liberals try to say that the word virgin refers to her age. That is a lie. She was a virgin. She had no relations with any man before Jesus was placed I her womb or after Jesus was placed in her womb until Jesus was born (Matthew 1:25). Scripture hinges on the virgin birth of Christ (Isaiah 7:14). Many Old Testament women dreamed about the possibility of bring the God-man, the promised Messiah, into the world. Some theologians even believe that Eve may have thought that her third-born son, Seth, was the promised one (Genesis 4:25). This was a real privilege given to Mary. Strong in spirit. As a result of this amazing conception, she would be on the receiving end of a lot of rumors and gossip. It hurt; it cut deep; but it did not stop her. She was strong in spirit. Sterling in character. God did not just pick any woman for this task. He chose Mary. Her character was sterling; that is why Joseph was so surprised when he first heard about her pregnancy. He knew that this was not consistent with the woman he knew. He did not understand until God sent an angel to explain. A sinner. She needed a Savior, and it turned out to be her Son. She recognized that Jesus was the promised Messiah (Luke 2). At the cross, when they crucified her son who was also her Savior, she proved that Jesus was God. If she had conceived Jesus by Joseph, she more than anyone would have known He was only human. She more than anyone would have known it was a hoax. At the cross, a mother filled with love for her son no doubt would have cried, It is a lie. The whole thing was a big trick. He is not God. I had him out of wedlock. Please, just let him down. But, friend, she did not. She knew the whole time He was God. 4

5 She was not... Co-mediator with Jesus between God and man (Catechism , 2677). Sinless and perfect (Catechism 411, 493). Perpetually a virgin (Catechism ), which is impossible because the Bible tells us that she had other children after Jesus. Sadly, Catholicism has given to Mary attributes that are only true of Jesus. She was certainly special, but she was not the Savior her Son was. Transition: Not only do we see one mother blackened by sin, but also Two Men Blackened by Sin (verse 1) Would you notice the two men listed along with Jesus in verse 1? The Messiah was promised to come through the lineage of Abraham and David. Matthew s wording would have struck a familiar chord with the Jews. They loved family trees, genealogies, and pedigrees. They would often get their worth from them. Sometimes they would get occupations from them as well (e.g., the Levites). They had a healthy obsession with genealogies because for them it was like their Social Security number. It was their validating credentials for nearly everything. If they were going to sell a parcel of land, they had to show and prove their pedigree. So this was very important to the Jews. The Jews were tenacious about keeping accurate records of their family trees. The Book of Chronicles is pretty good evidence of this fact. That is usually where we get bogged down when we try to read the Bible through in a year. There are at least fifty pedigrees listed in the Old Testament. If a Jew were looking at someone who claimed to be the Messiah, he would want proof that this man came from an unbroken line that eventually traced back to David and to Abraham. Some Jews are still looking for the Messiah promised from the Old Testament. They do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. It is interesting to note that Jews today do not keep genealogical records like they used to keep them in Jesus day. 7 So if someone claimed to be 7 John MacArthur, The Gracious King, recorded January 15, 1978, streaming audio, accessed August 31, 2015, 5

6 Jesus today, it would have to stop with the claim because there is no possible way for any man to show the genealogical proof that he descended from Abraham and David. Genesis 12 tells that God will bless all the nations of the earth through the Seed of Abraham. In 2 Samuel 7, God promised to establish a perfect, everlasting kingdom through the line of David. Jesus Christ is the only person who meets all the qualifications found in Scripture. He is the Messiah. He is the center of human history. You may hold Abraham and David in a positive light (and you should), but do not forget that they were blackened by sin. Abraham pawned off his wife as his sister and, therefore, left her no choice but to break their marriage covenant. And David well, let me put it this way he was a murderer, a thief, and a polygamist. Yes, both of these men were blackened by sin. Transition: Not only do we see one mother blackened by sin and two men blackened by sin, but also Three Movements Blackened by Sin (verses 2 17) These are some of the most skipped verses in the New Testament. They are humbling to read in public. In these verses, you will find three sets of fourteen. If you have a Bible that has paragraph divisions, you will see these groupings clearly. My English Standard Version (ESV) is in paragraph form, and it really helps me to see each story as a whole without chopping it up. One scholar believed Matthew gave the genealogy in three sets of fourteen as a memory tool, much like we use memory tools to memorize the ABCs or the President s names. 8 By placing the names this way, Matthew certainly would have aided in the memorization process, especially if someone wanted to write it down and did not have their own copy of the Scriptures like people living in this day do. There is another thing you should understand about this genealogy. It is not a comprehensive genealogy. You do not find every family member given in descending order in 1999), John Phillips, Exploring the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 6

7 the family tree. 9 There are purposeful subtractions. It is purposely arranged in groups of fourteen to show who the king is. Let s take a quick look at these three groups of fourteen that set aside three distinct time periods: Period of Developing This period held massive growth for the nation of Israel, both numerically and spiritually. This was the time of the kings and judges. Period of Deteriorating The nation of Israel starts to go down after the reign of Solomon and eventually ends in captivity as a nation of slaves. Period of Darkness We know very little of this time period. Just read the names. Nothing really jumps off the page. It is six hundred years of date-lessness. 10 Each period is full of commentaries of men who hated God. All three periods are blackened by sin. Transition: We see, in this passage, one mother blackened by sin, two men blackened by sin, three movements blackened by sin, and finally Four Madams Blackened by Sin 11 For God to include in this genealogy is truly an act of grace toward women and an act of condemnation toward the widespread view of men in Jesus day. You see, men in His day viewed women like property. There was a time in our country, as well, when women did not have voting rights, but God shined the light on that sin and we have corrected it as a nation. The nation of Israel and the other nations of that day, however, really had a distorted view of women. Men would not be best friends with their wives. They would have meaningful, strong relationships with men, but the women were really just for reproduction. Sadly, many husbands would completely ignore their wives emotionally, spiritually, and, many times, physically. They would have concubines and would not even touch their wives. 9 David Platt, Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Matthew (Nashville: B&H Academic, 2013), Adapted from MacArthur, The Gracious King. 11 Ibid. MacArthur s breakdown of this passage strongly influenced my outline. 7

8 Then Jesus comes and shows us His family tree and includes four women in the list. Some of them were pretty shady. Some of them left much to be desired in the holiness category. Let s find all four women: Tamar (verse 3) She was involved in harlotry and incest. Rahab (verse 5) She was a harlot, an outcast, a Gentile, and a professional prostitute. Ruth (verse 5) She was not a prostitute like the other two, nor was she guilty of incest, but she was an outcast, a Gentile, and a Moabite (incestuous people). Bathsheba (verse 6) She is not mentioned by name, but is referred to indirectly. She was an adulteress. Matthew, why can t you clean up Jesus family genealogy? Can t you whiten these black sheep? Ignore your integrity and just leave these women off the list. As the tree looks now, it is very crooked. Would the Savior come from a crooked family tree? What a scandal! I would agree: it is a scandal a scandal of grace. Jesus came from a long line of sinners who desperately needed a Savior. If you are a believer, then you are in this spiritual family tree as well. Spiritually, you can trace your tree back to Abraham. If we were to divulge all of your thoughts and motives, you would likely not fare any better than these sinners. Conclusion Isaiah 53:6 tells us that we are all sheep who have gone astray. That means we are all black sheep. We are not black with mud and dirt, but with sin and shame. Jesus does not try to deny that we are black! But do you know what Jesus does with black sheep? Isaiah 1:18 says he washes them white as snow. The world says to ignore the black sheep; Jesus says to confess the blackness. The world says to clean up the family tree by deleting the bad ones; Jesus says the only way to clean up the family tree is to have Him cleanse people from the inside. Jesus does not whiten black sheep by ignoring their sin; he whitens them by acknowledging their sin and washing them with His precious blood. 8

9 BIBLIOGRAPHY Conde, Crystal. Personal Best. Family Tree Magazine, April De Moraes, Lisa. Ben Affleck Names His Slave-Owning Ancestor after PBS Show Debacle. Deadline: Hollywood, April 22, Accessed August 31, /04/ben-affleck-slave-owner-ancestor-finding-your-roots / Funny Genealogy Tales. Accessed August 31, ~frankbarton/stories/funny.html Garrett, Michelle. Genealogy TV Growing in Popularity Worldwide. Deseret News, April 30, Accessed August 31, Genealogy-TV-growing-in-popularity-worldwide.html. Hoax-Slayer. Remus Rudd Hanged Horse Thief Hoax. Accessed August 31, MacArthur, John. The Gracious King. Recorded January 15, Streaming audio. Accessed August 31, Pellien, Jim. The Importance of Genealogical Indexing. In Genealogy and Indexing, edited by Kathleen Spaltro, Medford, NJ: American Society of Indexers, Phillips, John. Exploring the Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, Platt, David. Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Matthew. Nashville: B&H Academic,

White Noise Do You Hear What I Hear Christmas Series New Life Assembly December 4, 2011 AM Matthew 1 and Luke 1

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