White Noise Do You Hear What I Hear Christmas Series New Life Assembly December 4, 2011 AM Matthew 1 and Luke 1 Main Sermon Idea: Jesus came into this world supernaturally, but through a long history of God s interaction with us to save all people on earth. Introduction As we start our Christmas series, I want to focus on the theme from one Christmas song, Do you hear what I hear? We will be looking at the backgrounds of the greatest event in all of history, the birth of God s Son, the chosen one who could save humanity from sin and into God s family, Jesus Christ. Today we are going to look at the white noise of history, how history had lined up for this very sacred moment of the birth of the King of all kings. White noise is a noise that we might notice at first, but then become accustomed to. History is in a sense a white noise, a calm, continuous background to the major events that grab our lives and surprise us. Jesus coming to earth was foretold through many different ways, through signs and wonders, through prophetic words about the future, and even through the ebb and flow of history itself. Today, we want to look at what most consider boring in the Bible, the genealogies of Jesus. I think we will find some things of great interest in these. A greater number of people seem to be very interested in their ancestry and origins nowadays. In fact, there is a website dedicated purely to helping you discover your family tree and your origins. For us westerners, I think that our family trees help us to place ourselves in the context of our families and many of us use these trees to get to know people that are part of our heritage that we didn t even know about before. Several discover some link to a famous person as they study these things. I. Even Jesus had some interesting ancestors (Matthew 1:1-17). A. Our origins tell us who we are. 1. In Jewish culture, knowing someone s origin was all important because their culture focused on the group, the family unit, rather than the individual. A person was only as full of potential as their family that came before them. 2. But even moreso in the Bible, when we see a list of genealogies, it is one of the ways that the writers of the Bible warn us that these people we are reading about are extremely important historical figures. 3. Illustration: For instance, the book of Ruth is a great story, but it has no destiny until the final section in which we learn that Ruth and Boaz are in the line of King David, the mightiest king of Israel s history. 1
4. Paul tells us in Galatians 4:5-6 that history waited for Jesus, that only at the proper time, a chosen time, could Jesus be born into the world and complete God s plan of salvation. 5. History had to prepare the world for Jesus, so that the full significance of His importance could be felt by everyone. Matthew is a Gospel devoted to showing Jewish people that Jesus is the Messiah. 6. So in typical Jewish fashion, Matthew starts by telling about Jesus with His origins. The genealogy is different than what we would expect in Western society. 7. We name every person we can think of and all their kids and all those kids kids, etc. But the biblical writers were not simply recording a genealogy. They had a motive for sharing it. A genealogy is only important when the person highlighted is important. 8. Recording genealogies wasn t about getting every person on the list as much as it was highlighting the kind of family a person was born into. And so Matthew is no different. 9. He presents his record of Jesus genealogy in three parts of 14 generations each, so that it was easier to remember. As any Jew would, Matthew starts with Abraham. 10. The most important part of this genealogy is when we see Jesus in the line of David. This means He can be the Messiah, because the Messiah comes from David s line. 11. Jesus origins are important to us because they confirm that He is indeed a very special historical figure. These genealogies could be verified at the time of writing in the temple. No one challenges Jesus genealogy. 12. Application: But what about our own origins? Some of us have come from good families with a good childhood, with loving parents and we have a great sense of who we are. But others of us have had a rougher start in life, struggling because we didn t have it so good. Some are ashamed of their past and origins. Others think too highly of their origins. But the best part is that God cares about where you and I have been in life. And He cares about where we are going. We can t change how our life started, but God can change our destiny! Not only will he change our destiny, but He will use our origins to show us the difference He makes when He saves us! B. Jesus origins tell us about His mission. 1. Why does Matthew start out with Jesus genealogy? For many readers, the genealogy is the part that you skip in your devotional reading. How does this help people see Jesus as the Messiah? 2
2. Well, when Matthew writes a genealogy, it grabs the attention of Jewish readers because they see that Jesus is important, especially after seeing what kind of family lines He has come out of. 3. Jewish people start their genealogies from the oldest records to the newest to show how God s hand has been in history and in that family. So Matthew starts with Abraham and goes to Jesus. We ll see Luke do it differently in the next point. 4. We learn three important points about Jesus when we read through His genealogy: a. Jesus is a special human being who is possibly part of God s plan because a genealogy opens His account of Himself. A genealogy screams, Someone who has a God-driven past! b. Jesus has great potential to be the Messiah, because He comes from David s line, the line of Judah (Matt 1:2; 6). Anyone within David s line is not only a great leader, but also is fulfilling many of the prophecies about the Messiah. c. Jesus did not just come to save the Jews, but all people. There are four abnormalities in Jesus genealogy, and they are all women, and three of them are Gentiles! Neither women nor Gentiles were ever found in a Jewish man s genealogy. 5. We know that Jesus is special and that His salvation will be for all people because no part of humanity is left out of His genealogy. It contains men and women, Jews and Gentiles. These extremes cover everyone in the Jewish mind. a. First we meet Tamar in verse 3. Tamar s story can be found in Genesis 38. She had married several of Judah s sons and was never given an heir before they died. Instead of giving up on her family, she tricked by becoming a prostitute at the gates of the city so that Judah would produce an heir, saving the line. Judah acted shamefully, but she rescued the family line. b. Next we meet Rahab in verse 5. We see her story in Joshua 6 Rahab was also a prostitute who rescued Israel. Without Rahab s assistance, the Israelite spies would have been found out in the land of Canaan, and the Canaanites would have been aware of Israel. Instead, Rahab actually lied to the soldiers about the spies to save Israel, and also she saved her own family, and became the grandmother of Obed. c. Then we meet Ruth in verse 5. Ruth has a whole book devoted to her story, and in the final section, we are given a genealogy that shows us that she is the great grandmother of King David. Without 3
her redemption by the kinsman Boaz, the line of David would have fizzled out in the time of the Judges without David ever being born! She also rescued the family line, and she was a Moabite, a Gentile converted by marriage into Judaism. d. Finally we meet the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba in verse 6. The final stand-out woman of the genealogy has her story in 2 Samuel 11. King David actually had her husband killed after he committed adultery with her! They had a son together that died because of their sin, and then they had Solomon, the king of Israel during its golden age. But they made big mistakes! 6.As we see, Jesus had all kinds of people in His genealogy. In certain parts of His family tree, if a Gentile did not get involved, the family would not have even become a reality! 7.Because these different groups are found in Jesus genealogy, we are given a clear hint that Jesus will be the Savior of the whole world of humans, not just one nation. 8.Application: We often think that we re not good enough, that we don t deserve to be saved because of our previous lifestyle. We think that we re not worth it, but Jesus, the Savior of the universe, came from a family of prostitutes, foreigners and adulterers! And look what God did through Him! God can take the very worst of our past and our history and use it for redemption. Never forget your story, and where you came from, and the things God has brought you out of, because these things are your testimony of how good your God is! II. Our Past is Very Important to God (Luke 3:23-38). A. Our past plays a big role in our destiny. 1. As we turn to Luke s genealogy of Jesus, we ll notice a few differences from Matthew s record. First of all, we notice that the genealogy is done in reverse. 2. While the Jewish method for writing genealogies started from the oldest record to the newest, to show how God and history are working in a family, the Greco-Roman method is to start with the man in front of you, and go backward. 3. This explains the first difference. But what about different people in this line than in the other in Matthew? Why is it the names are different? There are several different roads that can be taken to explain these differences. 4. It gets pretty complicated, but most likely, Matthew would have produced the physical relationships through his genealogy while Luke would have produced the legal relationships. 4
5. There is a Jewish practice called leverate marriage that requires the brother of a dead man s wife to take her as his wife and produce an heir for his dead brother with her. 6. There is also the Greco-Roman legal ability to adopt a son when a person does not have an heir. At least these two practices would have made these genealogies interestingly different. There may also be other factors. 7. One point that is clear about Jesus line is that He is clearly from David s kingly line and He is also clearly linked to all of humanity, not just Israel. His salvation will be more complete than just for one nation. 8. While we are focusing on the birth of the Messiah in the Christmas season, knowing about His ancestors is important because it reminds us that this is not a normal birth and Jesus purpose is not normal either. 9. Before we even get to claims of virgin birth from Matthew especially, we know that Jesus is marked for great things because of the way He is introduced. 10. Illustration: We also mention our past and our genealogy and our own sense of origin, sometimes without realizing it. When a mother says, You are your father s son or a baby is born, we always try to fit that individual into the whole of the family group. I just became an uncle again, and I laugh as I listen to my mom and dad telling me that she has this person s nose or that person s ears. We want there to be a connection to our past, but some of us don t have a great past that is honorable or worthy of being spoken of. 11. We must also not forget this Christmas season that while we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, we are also celebrating the birth of the one God would use to redeem the past, present and future of humanity. 12. Application: As we look at our past, some might wonder why God would save us or why God would choose us for this task or that one. But God wants to redeem you and your life, including your past. Sometimes our past can lead us to others who need to know Jesus. Sometimes our past simply reminds us of God s goodness to us in the present. Sometimes our past reminds us where we have come from. How do you see your past? B. God can use our past for His glory. 1. Jesus had a number of people in His genealogy that would cause embarrassment. But God used these people to further His purposes and His kingdom throughout history. 2. God can use your past to minister to people that you meet in your present. We can understand the situations of others who can relate to us because we have been there. 5
3. God can minister to those people through our understanding and the words of wisdom and encouragement He can speak through us. The past can offer a connection so that we can speak into people s lives. 4. God can also use our past to remind us to be humble before Him, to not get caught up in the great things that He has for each of us, so that we have pride, but rather that we remember our former life. 5. God can help us understand ourselves through our past. When He reminds us of where we ve been, He helps us to see how this or that was not a bad thing, but an event that He could use to strengthen our character. 6. God can use things that we look back on as evil to draw us closer to Him. When we look at places we ve been, we remember their emptiness, and now we know God, who has filled our every need, where those things failed. 7. Application: Don t forget where you came from, and don t neglect your family. Part of the reason you are the way you are is from them. You may not consider your family to be a good thing in your life or a godly family, but God can even use negative things to show us how much greater He is. When you feel that your origins are humble, remember that Jesus also had an interesting ancestry, and look what God did through Him! God can use you despite your past. When you come to Christ, He can take you and your past, and redeem it all! Conclusion A lot of times we ignore a genealogy in the Bible. Sometimes we skip reading through a list of names. But let us not forget that these genealogies are not placed in the Bible merely for the purpose of recording a bunch of names we don t know. Many of the names in these genealogies come with stories that help us to understand the people they belong to in a better light. These genealogies require a bit of research, but they are by far not boring! Salvation comes through a Jesus who is the Savior of the World, not just Israel. He had all types of people in His ancestry. But He came for you and for me. Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus came in the normal way, born by a woman with a heritage. And He redeemed the whole world! God can use you. Don t run from your past, but rather find out how God can redeem it for His use as you serve Him and minister to others! 6