Transition Period

Leading up to the time of Jesus and the book of Matthew was a 500 year period where in both world history and the history of God’s people in Judea empires were both falling and rising to power.  It was the interval period between the Old and New Testaments, and it was a period of upheaval for world empires.  This interval period started with the return of the Jews from Babylonian captivity, released and sent home by Cyrus to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem.  This was the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and a little later Esther, the time just after Daniel when the minor prophets arose, whose writings spurred the Jews onward to finish the Temple and walls of Jerusalem with inspiring prophecies of the coming Messiah.  On the world scene, Cyrus dies and his son Darius takes over.  His intention is to expand the Persian Empire northward and westward into both the Caucasus and eastern Europe in his campaigns of 513-511BC.  The Ionian Greeks who occupied what is now western Turkey had just revolted against their Persian overseers, assisted by the Greeks on the mainland in 500BC.  Darius after recapturing Ionian Greek territory on Asia Minor sought to punish the mainland Greeks and sent his general (Datis) and an army to attack the Greeks at Marathon.  The Persians that landed there were slaughtered wholesale, running up against superior Greek hoplite armoured infantry in mid August 490BC.  Persia is still strong, but their northward and westward designs have been temporarily blunted by the Greeks.  What follows is a brief outline of history for this period, leading up to the time of Jesus, Yeshua:

480BC:  Darius dies and his son Xerxes plans a massive invasion of Greece, and then onward into southeastern Europe.  Through the combined military strategy of Leonidas and Themistocles, the massive Persian army losses 20,000 troops at Thermopylae in a mere three days, and one month later, the naval engagement of Themistocles’ Greek navy as well as storms at sea defeat the Persian navy, the Persians only supply-line back to the east.  Persia has been stopped cold in their attempted westward expansion.  Xerxes, king-husband of Esther, goes back smarting from this defeat to Persia just in time to stop evil Haman’s plot to exterminate all the Jews in the Persian Empire (cf. Book of Esther).

332BC:  Alexander the Great, whose rise to power would have been impossible without the Greek victory due to Leonidas and Themistocles in 480BC, starts a conquest of Persian territory, and on the way to Persia visits Jerusalem.  He was shown the prophecy of Daniel which spoke of him.  Therefore he spared Jerusalem, which was one of the few cities he ever spared. 

323BC:  Alexander dies way over in Persia.  Some think he intended to move the seat of his empire there.  Then, in an amazing fulfillment the prophecies in Daniel 8:1-22, his empire is divided between his four generals.

320BC:  Judea was annexed to Egypt by Ptolemy Soter, one of Alexander’s four generals.

312BC:  Seleucus, another one of Alexander’s four generals founded the kingdom of Seleucidae, which is Syria.  He attempted to take Judea, and so Judea became a battleground between Egypt and Syria.  Judea became little more than a buffer state, constantly contended for by these two military powers.

203BC:  Antiochus the Great (Seleucid empire) took Jerusalem, and Judea passed under the influence of his Syrian empire. 

170BC:  Antiochus Epiphanes took Jerusalem and defiled the temple.  He had been mentioned in Daniel as the “little horn” (Dan. 8:9).  He has been called the “Nero of Jewish history.”  He defiles the temple and altar with swine’s blood. 

166BC:  Mattathias, one of the more pure priests in Judea, raised a revolt against Syria.  This is the beginning of the Maccabean period.  Miraculously, tremendously outnumbered, Judas Maccabee (whose name means “the hammer” in Hebrew) defeats the Syrians repeatedly, restores and purifies the Temple and altar.  It was he who lead the revolt, being its chief general.  All the while, Roman power is building in the west.  (see http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/festiavloflights.htm.)

63BC:  Pompey, the Roman, took Jerusalem, and the people of Judah passed under Roman rule, the new world power and Empire. 

40BC:  The Roman senate appointed Herod to be king of Judea, a brilliant architect but both he and his family and offspring were ruthless. 

31BC:  Caesar Augustus became emperor of the Roman Empire. 

19BC:  The construction of the Herodian Temple was begun.  The building had been going on quite awhile when our Lord was born and was still continuing during the time of the New Testament.

4BC: Jesus Christ, Yeshua haMeshiach, was born in Bethlehem. 

          Radical changes took place in the internal life of the nation of Judea because of their experiences during the intertestamental period.  After the Babylonian captivity, they turned from idolatry to a frantic striving for legal holiness.  Over time, the Law became an idol to them.  The classic Hebrew gave way to the Aramaic in their everyday speech, although Hebrew was retained for their synagogues.  The synagogue system of worship, it is historically seen, is thought to have come about at the Babylonian captivity, to enable a worship of Yahweh without the Temple, which Nebuchadnezzar had just destroyed.  Some Jewish historians trace it to a little earlier than this.  It became the center of life and worship for Jews living just about anywhere in the Diaspora (the world), as well as within Judea.  It allowed for a Temple-less worship of Yahweh, and has ever since provided a way Judaism could survive without the institution of the Temple and Levitical Priesthood in Jerusalem.  Also, there arose among the Jews in Judea a group of religious parties which are mentioned in the New Testament, but they’re never heard of in the Old Testament:

1.     PHARISEES:  The Pharisees were the dominant party.  They arose to defend the Jewish way of life against all foreign influences.  Antiochus Epiphanes had attempted to Hellenize Judea by force, it didn’t work.  But the Jews never forgot this painful period in their history.  Judea did become Hellenized more gradually, and on Jewish terms, in many ways culturally,  and don’t forget, the commerce and monetary system all along the Mediterranean was Greek.  So in some instances, it was the choice between Hellenize or go broke.  The 2^nd language of Judea was thus Greek.  But Hellenization was allowed to go just so far into Jewish culture, and no farther.  The Pharisees would see to that.

2.     SADDUCEES:  The Sadducees were made up of the wealthy and socially-minded who wanted to get rid of tradition (Hellenizers by a different name).  The Sadducees were liberal in their theology, and they rejected the supernatural.  (Isn’t that like many rich liberal Christian denominations, who were once alive spiritually, but now are dead---Christian in name only?)  They were opposed, naturally, by the Pharisees.  The Sadducees were closely akin to the Greek Epicureans whose philosophy was “eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”  We may have a mistaken idea of the Sadducees.  Actually they were attempting to attain the “good life.”  They thought they could curb bodily appetites by satisfying them, that by giving them unbridled reign, they would no longer need attention.  Nothing changes, does it?

3.     THE SCRIBES:  The scribes were a group of professional expounders of the Law, stemming back from the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.  They became the hair-splitters.  They were more concerned with the letter of the Law than the spirit of the Law.  When Herod called in the scribes and asked where Jesus was to be born, they knew it was to be in Bethlehem.  You would think that they would have hitchhiked a ride on the back of the camels to go down to Bethlehem to see Him, but they weren’t interested.  They were absorbed in the letter of the Law.  There is a danger of just wanting the information and the knowledge from the Bible but failing to translate it into shoe leather, not letting it become part of our lives.  Through study we can learn the basic facts of Scripture, and all the theological truth contained in it, without allowing the Word of God to take possession of our hearts.  The scribes fall into that category.  In our own day, I must confess that some of the most hardhearted people I meet are fundamentalists.  They are willing to rip a person apart in order to maintain some little point.  It is important to know the Word of God---that is a laudable attainment---but also we are to translate it into life and pass it on to others.

4.     HERODIANS:  The Herodians were a party in the days of Jesus, and they were strictly political opportunists.  They sought to maintain the Herods on the throne, because they wanted their party in power.  The intertestamental period was a time of great literary activity in spite of the fact there was no revelation from God…Although this was a period marked by the silence of God, it is evident that God was preparing the world for the coming of Christ.  The Jewish people, the Greek civilization, the Roman Empire, and the seething multitudes of the Orient were all being prepared for the coming of a Savior, insomuch that they produced the scene which Paul labeled in Galatians 4:4, “the fullness of time.”  The four Gospels are directed to the four major groups of that day. 

          The Gospel of Matthew was written to the nation of Judea.  It was first written in Hebrew, and it was directed primarily to the religious man of that time.

          The Gospel of Mark was directed to the Roman.  The Roman was a man of action who believed that government, law and order could control the world.  A great many people feel that is the way it should be done today.  It is true that there must be law and order, but the Romans soon learned that they couldn’t rule the world with that alone.  The world needed to hear about One who believed in law and order but who also offered the forgiveness of sins and the grace and the mercy of God.  This is the Lord whom the Gospel of Mark presents to the Romans.

          The Gospel of Luke was written to the Greek, to the thinking man.

          The Gospel of John was written directly for believers (which at the time when John wrote it lived in Judea and Asia Minor) but indirectly for the Orient where there were the mysterious millions, all crying out in that day for deliverance.

          There is still that crying out today from a world that needs a Deliverer.  The religious man needs Christ and not religion.  The man of power needs a Savior who has the power to save him.  The thinking man needs One who can meet all his mental and spiritual needs.  And certainly the wretched man needs to know about a Savior who not only can save him but build him up so that he can live for God.

The Gospel of Matthew

“The Gospel of Matthew presents the program of God.  The “Kingdom of Heaven” is an expression which is peculiar to this Gospel.  It occurs thirty-two times.  The word kingdom occurs fifty times.  A proper understanding of the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” is essential to any interpretation of this Gospel and of the Bible.  May I make the statement right now, and I do make it categorically and dogmatically: The Kingdom and the church are not the same.  They are not synonymous terms.  Although the church is in the Kingdom, there is all the difference in the world.  For instance, Los Angeles is in California, but Los Angeles is not California.  If you disagree, ask the people from San Francisco.  California is not the United States, but it is in the United States…Likewise, the church is in the Kingdom, but the Kingdom of Heaven, simply stated, is the reign of the heavens over the earth.  The church is in this Kingdom.  Now I know that theologians have really clouded the atmosphere, and they certainly have made this a very complicated thing.  Poor preachers like I am must come up with a simple explanation, and this is it:  the Kingdom of Heaven is the reign of the heavens over the earth.  The Jews to whom the Gospel was directed understood the term to be the sum total of all the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning the coming of a King from heaven to set up a Kingdom on this earth with heaven’s standard.  This term was not new to them (see Dan. 2:44; 7:14, 27).  [Log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm  .]

          The Kingdom of Heaven is the theme of this Gospel.  The One who is going to establish that kingdom on the earth is the Lord Jesus.  The Kingdom is all important.  The Gospel of Matthew contains three major discourses concerning the Kingdom.

1.           The Sermon on the Mount.  That is the law of the Kingdom.  I think it is only a partial list of what will be enforced in that day.

2.           The Mystery Parables.  These parables in Matthew 13 are about the Kingdom.  Our Lord tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a sower, like a mustard seed, and so on.

3.           The Olivet Discourse.  This looks forward to the establishment of the Kingdom upon this earth. 

It will be seen that the term “Kingdom of Heaven” is a progressive term in the Gospel of Matthew.  This is very important for us to see.  There is a movement in the Gospel of Matthew, and if we miss it, we’ve missed the Gospel.  It is like missing a turn-off on the freeway.  You miss it, brother, and you’re in trouble.  So if we miss the movement in this marvelous Gospel, we miss something very important…

          Now I want to give you one way of dividing the Gospel of Matthew…

1.     Person of the King, chapters 1-2

2.     Preparation of the King, chapters 2-4:16

3.     Propaganda of the King, chapters 4:17-9:35

4.     Program of the King, chapters 9:36-16:20

5.     Passion of the King, chapters 16:21-27:66

6.     Power of the King, chapter 28”

[The following was taken, almost word for word, except for the beginning historic portion, from J. Vernon McGee’s “Thru The Bible Commentary Series, MATTHEW Chapters 1-13”, pp.viii-xv, with slight updating of historic information based on Oskar Skarsaune’s In the Shadow of the Temple, and a careful study of Greek history about the period of the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis.]

Related links:

http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/festiavloflights.htm

http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg1.htm

Matthew 1:1-18

          “This is the genealogy of the Lord Jesus on Joseph’s side.  We’ll have another when we get over to Luke, and that will be from Mary’s side.

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham [Matt.1:1].

“The book of the generation” is a phrase which is peculiar to Matthew.  It’s a unique expression, and you won’t find it anywhere else in the New Testament.  If you start going back through the Old Testament, back through Malachi and Zechariah and Haggai and back to the Pentateuch, through Deuteronomy, Numbers, Leviticus, Exodus into Genesis, you’ll almost come to the conclusion that it’s nowhere else in the Bible except here in Matthew.  Then all of a sudden, you come to the fifth chapter of Genesis and see “This is the book of the generations of Adam…” (Gen. 5:1).  There is that expression again.  There are two books: the book of the generations of Adam and the book of the generations of Jesus Christ.  How did you get into the family of Adam?  You got in by a birth.  You didn’t perform it; in fact, you had nothing to do with it.  But that’s the way you and I got into the family of Adam.  We got there by birth.  But in Adam all die (Rom. 5:12).  Adam’s book is a book of death.

          Then there is the other book, the book of the generations of Jesus Christ.  How did you get into that family, into that genealogy?  You got into it by a birth, the new birth.  The Lord Jesus says we must be born again to see the Kingdom of God (see John 3:3).  That puts us in the Lamb’s Book of Life, and we get there by trusting Christ.” 

"Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;

And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;

And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;

And Aram begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias [Matt. 1:2-6].

A careful look at the genealogy that follows is not only interesting; it is actually thrilling.  Four names stand out as if there were in neon lights.  It is startling to find them included in the genealogy of Christ.  First, they are the names of women; second, they are the names of Gentiles.  Customarily, the names of women did not appear in Hebrew genealogies...

          In Jesus' day it was indeed unusual to find in a genealogy a woman's name--yet here we have four names.  They are not only four woman; they are four Gentiles.  As you know, God in the Law said that His people were not to intermarry with tribes that were heathen and pagan.  Even Abraham was instructed by God to send back to his people to get a bride for his son Isaac.  Also, the same thing was done by Isaac for his son Jacob.  It was God's arrangement that monotheism should be the prevailing belief of those who were in the line that was leading down to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Yet in His genealogy, one was a Moabite...You would naturally ask the question, "How did they get into the genealogy of Christ?" 

          "Thamar" is the first one, and she is mentioned in verse three.  Her story is in Genesis 38, and there she is called Tamar...Thamar got into the genealogy because she was a sinner.

          "Rachab" is the next one mentioned in verse five.  She's not a very pretty character in her story back in Joshua chapter 2 where she is called Rahab.  But she did become a wonderful person after she came to a knowledge of the living and true God.  "By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace" (Heb. 11:31).  She got into the genealogy of Christ for the simple reason that she believed.  She had faith.  Notice the progression here.  Come as a sinner, and then reach out the hand of faith.

          "Ruth" is the next one mentioned in verse five.  She is a lovely person, and you won't find anything wrong with her.  But at Ruth's time there was the Law which shut her out because it said that a Moabite or an Ammonite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord (see Deut. 23:3).  Although the Law kept her out, there was a man by the name of Boaz who come into his field one day and saw her.  It was love at first sight.  Now maybe you didn't know that I believe in love a first sight.  I proposed to my wife on our second date, and the only reason I didn't propose on our first date was because I didn't want her to think I was in a hurry!  I do believe in love at first sight.  But don't misunderstand me---we waited a year before we were married, just to make sure.  And I think that is always the wise thing to do.

          Boaz loved Ruth at first sight, and he extended grace to her by putting his mantle around her, bringing her, a Gentile, into the congregation of Israel.  She asked, "...Why have I found grace in thine eyes...?"  (Ruth 2:10).  You and I can ask that same question of God regarding His grace to us.  Again, note the progression.  We come as sinners and hold out the hand of faith, and He, by His marvelous graces saves us.

          "Bathsheba" is not is not mentioned by name but called "her that had been the wife of Urias" (v. 6).  Her name isn't mentioned because it wasn't her sin.  It was David's sin, and David was the one that really had to pay for it.  And he did pay for it.  She got into the genealogy of Christ because God does not throw overboard one of His children who sins.  A sheep can get out of the fold and become a lost sheep, but we have a Shepherd who goes after sheep and always brings them back into the fold.  He brought David back.  So this is a whole story of salvation right here in this genealogy.

          Now there are some more interesting things about this genealogy.  If you will compare this genealogy with the one in 1 Chronicles 3 (some of the names are spelled differently), you will find that in verse eight of Matthew, the names of Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah are left out. This shows that genealogies are quoted to give us a view of a certain line of descendants and that every individual is not necessarily named in every genealogy of the Bible.  I think we should remember this in the genealogies given to us in Genesis before the Flood.  These are not necessarily complete genealogies, but they are given to trace a certain line for us.  I personally think [J. Vernon McGee writing here] man has been on this earth a lot longer than Ussher’s dating which is found in the margins of many additions of the Bible.  Remember that these dates are by Ussher and are not part of the Bible.  They are faulty and do not belong there.

And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;

And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon [Matt. 1:10-11].

In verse 11, we find that Matthew skips Jehoiakim but includes Jechonias.  Jechonias deserves our special attention because God had said that none of his seed should sit on the throne.  “As I live, saith the Lord, though Coniah [his name is Jeconiah, but God took of Je off his name because it is the prefix for Jehovah,  and this man was a wicked king] the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence….Thus said the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah” (Jer. 22:24, 30).  Because of the sin of this man Jechonias, no one in his line could ever sit on the throne of David.  You see, Joseph is in this line, but Joseph is not the natural father of Jesus.  This is one of the most remarkable facts in the Scriptures, and Matthew is trying to make it clear to us.  Joseph gave to Jesus the title, the legal title, to the throne of David because Joseph was the husband of Mary who was the one who bore Jesus.  Jesus Christ is not the seed of Joseph, nor is He the seed of Jeconiah.  But both Joseph and Mary had to be from the line of David, and they were---through two different lines from two different sons of David.  We’ll find when we get to Luke that Mary’s line comes from David through his son Nathan.  Joseph’s line comes through the royal line through Solomon.  So Joseph and Mary were both from the line of David.  You see how interesting, fascinating, and important these genealogies are and how much they are worth our study.

          Now the genealogy concludes with this verse---

And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ [Matt. 1:16].

You see that this breaks the pattern which began as far back as verse 2 where it says that Abraham begat Isaac.  From then on it was just a whole lot of “begetting,” and verse 16 begins by saying “And Jacob begat Joseph.”  You would expect it to continue by saying that Joseph begat Jesus, but it does not say that.  Instead, it says, “Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”  Obviously, Matthew is making it clear that Joseph is not the father of Jesus.  Although he is the husband of Mary, he is not the father of Jesus…

          In verse 17 we find a statement which will explain something in the genealogies.

So all the genealogies from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David unto the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations [Matt. 1:17].

Matthew puts the genealogy into groupings to give an overall view of Old Testament history.  One era extends from Abraham to David, another from David to the Babylonian captivity, and the third from the captivity in Babylon to the birth of Jesus Christ.  Obviously, he has omitted some names from the genealogy in order to fit fourteen into each period.  The question is, why did he do this?  Apparently, the number fourteen (twice seven) offered some proof concerning the accuracy of this genealogy.

          Now that Matthew has shown that Joseph is not the father of Jesus, he is going to give us an explanation.  Already in the Old Testament, a supernatural birth has been predicted by God.  Jeremiah is talking to the nation of Israel when he says, “How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man” (Jer. 31:22).  That’s not the way it’s done, my friend.  That’s not natural birth; it’s supernatural.  The virgin birth of the Lord Jesus is the “new thing” which God has done.  And it is the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost [Matt. 1:18].

“The birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.”  Here’s the way it happened, Matthew is telling us.  When His mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, that is she was engaged to him, before they came together---they had no sexual relationship---she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”   (I sought out J. Vernon McGee’s commentary on Matthew Chapters 1-13, and have included it here as a supplemental study.)

[THRU*THE*BIBLE COMMENTARY, MATTHEW Chapters 1-13, J. Vernon McGee, p23, par. 2-4; p. 24, par. 4-5; p. 25, par. 1, 4-6; p. 26, par. 1-5; p. 27, par. 1-3; p. 28, par. 1-2, p.29, par. 2-4; p. 30, par. 1-2]

Matthew 1:1-17

“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; and Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; and Aram begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmom; and Salmon begat Booz [Boaz] of Rachab; and Booz [Boaz] begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king; and David begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias [Uriah the Hittite]; and Solomon begat Roboam [Rehoboam]; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; and Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias; And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias; and Ezekias begat Manassas; and Manassas begat Ammon; and Ammon begat Josiah; and Josiah begat Echini’s and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:  And after they were brought to Babylon, Echini’s begat Saltier; and Saltier begat Zerubbabel; and Zerubbabel begat Abed; and Abed begat Eglaim; and Eglaim begat Razor; and Razor begat Asdic; and Asdic begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ [Messiah].  So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.”

“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham.  Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.  Judah begot Pharez and Zerah by Tamar, Pharez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Rom, Rom begot Amidab, Amidab begot Naashon, and Naashon begot Salmon, Salmom begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.  David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.  Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, Abijah begot Asa, Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, Joram begot Uzziah, Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, Ahaz begot Hezekiah, Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Ammon, Ammon begot Josiah, Josiah begot Jeconiah, Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.  And after they were brought to Babylon Jeconiah begot Shaltial and Shaltiel begot Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel begot Abed, Abed begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor, Azor begot Zadoc, Zadoc begot Achim, and Achim begot Iliad, Iliad begot Eliezer, Eliezer begot Mathan, Mathan begot Jacob”---I don’t know if you see a pattern here [laughter]---and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.  And so all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations.  From David until the captivity of Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until Christ are fourteen generations.”  (Matthew 1:1-17)  ‘Lord we just thank you that we can look at your Word today, and it’s amazing what we can learn from any text in the Bible.  Of course you’ve inspired every word of this, and you’ve given it all for us.  And there is a consistent message from the very beginning to the very end.  And we need you Lord, and right now Holy Spirit be upon us, and even upon myself as we go through your Word.  Illuminate these things, give us light, give us that very manna that we need for today, the decisions and the wisdom and the strength to deal with the situations around us.  But also Lord, build us up in faith, build us up in light.  Increase our wisdom and our faith, and we just thank you Lord.  Bless this time, to your glory, in Jesus name, Amen.’

Why I teach verse by verse through the Bible

          You may be seated.  Now I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re going to be studying genealogy this morning.  Last service I actually said geology a few times, I guess I threw a few people off.  Because we’re not studying geology, but we’re studying genealogy.  Now, maybe that’s not too different for you, maybe you’re thinking ‘Geology was pretty boring, and genealogy doesn’t sound too exciting either.  But my intention this morning isn’t to bore you stiff.  In fact, you’ll notice, and I hope when we’re done that you’ll even see that any passage of Scripture, I mean God has ordained, and it’s for us to learn from.  There are plenty of things that we can learn from any passage of the Bible.  In fact, there’s a lot in these verses, and we’re going to just skim the surface.  But there’s a consistent message that comes through the Bible, and you’ll certainly even note it and see it here.  Verse 1 begins with the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.   The book, the word for the book in Greek is the word biblios, maybe you recognize where we would derive another word, but our word Bible comes from the word biblios in the Greek.  And so, the book, Biblios.  We of course say the Bible, but we refer to the Bible as the Book, you know, there’s the story of the Scottish author, Sir Walter Scot, later on his dying bed, and he asked for the Book.  And of course everybody knows when you’re dying on your dying bed and you ask for the Book, people know, ‘Oh, the Bible, the Book, of course, that Book.’  And so the Book.  Now we’ve been looking at the New Testament for over eight years now on Sunday morning.  An we’ve gone through it, and we’re right back to the beginning of the Book in the sense of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament.  Although here the Book as Matthew is writing, he’s especially referring to just those seventeen verses we just read, this table of genealogy.  And he says ‘the Book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the book of the generations of Jesus Christ.’  But the message, his life, what follows.  And that’s what we’re going to see as we go on.  Now as you note there, this is not a book about philosophy.  You know, we go verse by verse through the Bible so that we learn and let God speak into every area of our lives.  That’s one reason why I don’t teach topically.  Teaching topically can be fun at times.  But you know, I’m going to naturally as a man just, if I teach topically, I’m going to ride certain hobby horses and certain things that are important to me.  I won’t be able to not help but gravitate towards those.  And the advantage of teaching through the Bible, as we go through the New Testament on Sunday [or Saturday] mornings is that we’re going to hit every single issue.  And God should speak to every area of your life. And there are things that maybe God has never even spoken to you about.  And maybe you’ve never even realized, that as we go through, God will one day speak to you, and you’ll go ‘Wow, I never even knew that!’.  And not just intellectually, ‘I never knew that in my life.  I never knew I had to live by that, I never knew I could live by that.  I never knew I could live that way.’  So we’re going to go verse by verse.  And the other thing too, it keeps us balanced.  Some of us have come from certain backgrounds, certain doctrinal backgrounds, church backgrounds, some churches that ride certain hobby-horses (and many don’t), but some do, and so we’ve learned over and over, certain things.  And then when we going to go through the Bible verse by verse, and you find ‘Wait a minute, there’s a little more of a balance to that.’  It keeps you balanced.  It keeps us from going to one extreme or to another extreme.  As we go verse by verse through the New Testament, we get the whole meal.  We get that whole deal.  And it will keep us from going ‘Whoa, way over there, or Whoa, way over here’, it’ll keep us right on tract where we need to be.  And God is very balanced too, and truth is very balanced.  [I will add here that Calvary Chapels follow the pre-Tribulation Rapture interpretation of prophecy.  But inspite of this, due to their following this verse by verse preaching format (which I call “connective expository preaching”), anyone can attend their services, no matter what they believe prophetically, and not feel uncomfortable, simply because they don’t dwell on pet prophetic interpretation, even ones they sincerely believe, but preach verse by verse in very balanced manner.  This is their strength, and can become the strength of any Christian church or denomination.]

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ is a verifiable historic record

So, the Book.  The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, it starts off with genealogy, right there.  This isn’t a philosophical system, it isn’t just a religious system that we’re teaching.  We’re teaching, we’re going to look at something that’s very tangible, something that’s very concrete, right off.  It’s dealing with a man.  It’s a book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, it’s a person.  It focuses on a man, something tangible, something factual, something that you can go to this, as maybe you will in the months ahead, you can go and you can test these things, you can thoroughly examine them, exhaustively study them.  You can tediously research these things, because it’s truth, because it’s something that’s tangible, it isn’t something that’s abstract, this is the Word of God to you.  It’s true historically, and it’s true prophetically.  It’s just the truth.  You know, I’ve noted this story before, but when I’ve shared with Mormon missionaries.  If they’ve come my way and they’ve got their book of Mormon (and God love them, I have Mormons in my family), but as they come with the book of Mormon they come saying ‘This is a book of history and it’s a book of truth.’  My response is, ‘Prove that it’s a book of history.  Let’s start with that.’  And they can’t, because there’s no historical evidence.  It deals with a lot of societies and cultures that supposedly existed in North America, but when it comes to the proof, the answer will be “Well it just hasn’t been revealed yet.”  My response is, “I believe in the Bible because it is truth, it is also history, and I can test the history”, as we’ve done multiple times in our trips to Israel.  We go to Israel, and there we go.  Pretty clear, Jerusalem, let’s get our spade out, let’s dig a hole.  You can investigate, you can study, and the archeologists spade proves repeatedly that this is the Bible, this is truth, historically accurate.  So right off we’re dealing with history.  Right off we’re dealing with a man.  It’s something concrete.  So then as a Christian, my faith isn’t something that blows in the wind.  I don’t just ride with this new fad or this new religious whatever they call it, this philosophical idea, this newest trend.  I don’t ride here and there and fly with that, float with that, I’ve got something concrete.  I have an anchor as the writer of Hebrews says, that anchors my soul, that keeps me steadfast.  I have a firm foundation to stand upon and to teach from and to learn from, to build my life upon.  I have this Rock.  Now there’s geology for you, if you were thinking we were going to study geology.  So that is the Word of God, something that’s so true and concrete.  Now, of course, something to build your life upon.  There are national leaders in our history of this country that have known that and noted that and taught that.  Andrew Jackson said once, “That book Sir, is the Rock upon which our Republic rests”,  The Rock, the Bible.  Woodrow Wilson once told his audience “I ask every man and woman in this audience, that from this day on they would realize that part of the destiny of America lies in their daily perusal of this great Book.”  Oh man, if we would have more public leaders like that today.  Abraham Lincoln said, “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man.  All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book.”  Even George Washington, our first President (and I could list others, and I chose not to) said, “It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God, and without the Bible”, impossible to have a right government, and laws without the Bible.  And I believe that’s true.  So this is the Book, it is sure, it is immovable, something that you and I can stand on.  It is, as he starts, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  So, the son of two men.  That’s a little different, son of two man.  I haven’t heard of that happening yet, of that happening scientifically.  But clearly, these guys lived far apart too.  How does that work?  Of course, he’s not referring to the next descendent, but directly in line, a descendent, that’s how he means.  And the Jews would do that, he was a son of, meaning it could be many years later, the great-great grandson, but yet he was a son of, in that sense.  So, Jesus, the direct descendent, the son of David, the son of Abraham.  Right here as we get started, Matthew the composer, he has a very clear purpose.  As we go through this genealogy, we’ll see he has a very clear purpose.  And he doesn’t waste any time, he lays this framework.  What is his purpose?  Well he is Jewish, man [actually, a Levite, named Matthew Levi.  The Jews had the tribe of Levi and part of the tribe of Benjamin intermingled with them after the Israelite civil war at the time of Jeroboam and Rehoboam.].  And initially he’s writing primarily to a Jewish audience.  [The book of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, and then later written in the Greek.]  And what he is writing is this, he’s seeking to demonstrate as he shares the life of Christ, that this is the King of kings [i.e. the Messiah], that this is Jesus Christ [Hebrew: Yeshua haMeshiach], meaning Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Messiah.  Now Jesus’ name, you know, he isn’t Mr. Jesus Christ, it isn’t that his first name is Jesus [Yeshua in Hebrew] and his last name is Christ.  When we have Jesus Christ here, Jesus is his earthly name [Yeshua].  But of course Christ [Messiah, Hebrew: Meshiach] is his title.  And so Christ in the sense of the Messiah.  You know, in John chapter 1, verse 41, Andrew said to Peter “We have found the Messiah.”  And then in the next part of the verse, right there in parentheses, it’s noted “(which is translated the Christ)”, the Messiah.  So he is writing, he’s seeking to prove and demonstrate to his audience, mainly a Jewish audience, that this is the Christ.  The word Christ, Greek is Cristos, based on the verb Creo, which means to anoint, so the Anointed One.  And of course there are only three different categories of people that were anointed in the Old Testament culture.  That was a prophet, that was a priest, and that was a king.  And he is every one of those, he is the Prophet, the Great Prophet, he is of course my High Priest, and he is the King of kings and Lord of lords.  So Jesus the Christ.  He is seeking to prove that he is the Messiah, based on all of the Old Testament prophecies.  As we go through, we will see many, many times, in fact, it’s been counted as many as a hundred twenty-nine times either he quotes directly from the Old Testament, or he alludes to the Old Testament. Matthew does this more than any other Gospel writer.  He has an intent, and he wants to show that Jesus, Yeshua is the Messiah.  Of course, throughout the Old Testament there are these promises of the Messiah.  There was the promise to Abraham, right there in verse 1, the son of Abraham.  Genesis chapter 12, verse 3, God said to Abraham “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  How do all the families get blessed?  Through one man, and through the life of one man.  Well it’s starting to be fulfilled now as Matthew writes about this man Jesus.  God said to David, when your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom, he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  Your house, and your kingdom shall be established forever before you, your throne shall be established, forever.”  That is something significant to say to some individual.  Nobody’s ever said to me, ‘Steve, you’re going to be a pastor forever, and ever.’  You know, forever? a king, my kingdom, throne forever established, all the generations?  That’s supernatural.  And so now the fulfillment of that is taking place through this man Jesus.  So that’s what Matthew is going to unfold as he writes.  There has been this man Jesus.  Of course, Matthew walked with him.  The people he’s writing to have certainly heard about him, many of them have seen him.  He was certainly a man people knew about.  He had an extraordinary life.  And there’s been lots of questioning that’s been going around.  ‘Was he the Messiah?’  ‘Was he the long-awaited Christ?’  Certainly he claimed to be the son of God, we heard that, many have heard it.  He also performed many incredible miracles, amazing miracles, is what has been told.  And he taught, and when he taught people listened, because he taught with such authority.  He also had followers, many followers, and some of them are very radical in their devotion.  Yet, surprisingly, ‘I mean, is he the Christ?’.  Surprisingly, the religious leaders, the people that should know, they’re the guys, they should know who the Messiah is.  But they rejected him, they despised him.  And then, in a confusing way, if he was the Messiah, the long-awaited Christ, he died a criminal’s death, he was punished, he was crucified.  Well Matthew is writing here, letting everybody know, letting all the Jewish people know, indeed Jesus Christ, he is the Christ, he is the Messiah.  He’s writing as a Jew to Jews about a Jew, a Jew who perfectly fulfilled the many Old Testament prophecies, on and on and on.  Now I’ve recommended this book before and I recommend it again, and that is this book by Dr. Mark Eastman, it’s called The Search For Messiah.  If you haven’t read it, I’d encourage you that you read it.  [log onto: http://www.thewordfortoday.org, click on “Product”, then on “Books”, then “Books by Other Authors”, then type into “keyword search” Dr. Mark Eastman, then scroll down about 7 books to the title “The Search For Messiah”.]   At least to have some information, some tools.  [also log onto http://www.unityinchrist.com/prophecies/1stcoming.htm to see a good compilation of these prophecies on this site.]  Today, maybe you have a Jew in your family, maybe you are Jewish.  And you’ll find this, I have Jewish relatives, and I find this, that when I look at the Bible and I share something about the Old Testament, they’ll come back and say ‘Well that’s how you as a Christian interpret it.’  Or ‘You say that those prophecies are about a man, the Messiah.  That’s what you say, the Christians, the Church, that’s been what’s come up and invented in the Church.  That has not ever been the teaching of the people of Israel.’  Well, very interestingly, read this book The Search For Messiah, by Dr. Mark Eastman, because you know, in the 1940s there were these discoveries, the Dead Sea Scrolls, many scrolls, huge discovery, the greatest archeological discovery ever.  And its taken a long time to study all these scrolls, and so over time different universities and groups that are studying them release new ones and what they say, and different things about them.  Well, he takes some of the more recent discoveries in the last ten years or so, and he shows that these scrolls, ‘Look what the rabbis were saying in the time of Christ.’  He makes it clear that during the time of Christ, the rabbis clearly, history proves it, were teaching that there was a Messiah that was soon to come, a physical man, and he had to come at a certain time period, based on certain criteria.  An area of the criteria that he’s discovered in these Dead Sea Scrolls, some of the rabbis, there discussions, first of all, they believe confidently a Messiah was coming, and he would come, and he would be able to trace his genealogy to the tribe of Judah, based on Genesis chapter 49 verse 10, that’s what they taught.  You know, there Jacob prophetically blesses his son Judah, and as he does, he speaks into the future, and he points ultimately to the Messiah, the Shiloh.  And he says ‘That from you, the Shiloh, the Messiah’, one of the first prophecies of the Messiah.  Then in that same verse, based on that, they also taught, as he says, ‘That you, Judah, the scepter will not depart from you until the Shiloh comes.’  The sceptre representing the authority to judicially govern themselves.  Now, they believe therefore that the nation of Israel [kingdom of Judah, Judea] will continue to have their ability to govern themselves, their sceptre, and when they had it, this, the Shiloh would come.  If they did not have it, then there would be a problem.  Thirdly, they also believed, based on Daniel chapter 9, when it talks of the Anointed One, the Christ coming there, Daniel chapter 9, that he would come, clearly as it says there, to the second temple, and he would be cut off after that.  But they believed that he would have to come to the second temple, and that temple existed in their time.  Also, they believed that he would come at the beginning of the 5^th millennium, and for instance, one rabbi, rabbi Elias, lived two hundred years before Jesus, he wrote this, “The world endures six thousand years, two thousand before the Law, two thousand with the Law, and two thousand with the Messiah.”  And then of course there’s the law for 2,000 years, they believed God created the heavens and the earth in six days, of course we believe that, and he rested on the seventh, and for all of history it would be seven thousand years.  So you have the world for six thousand years, and then you have this last thousand years, which is the reign, the Millennial reign of Christ [and his saints, cf. Rev. 5:9-10].  Now if you study the Jewish calendar, about that time of Christ is when the calendar starts to swing from the fourth millennium into the fifth millennium.  So you have the two thousands years before the Law, and of the Law, which was ending at that time, and they believed ‘We got two thousand years of Christ [Messiah] coming, he better be coming soon, the Messiah.’  Now when Jesus was on the planet, in this time, as we go on, the temple was there.  When Jesus was on the planet, the temple was there, furthermore the nation of Israel, it was fading, but they had that sceptre.  The Romans were procurators, they were over the nation of Israel [Judah], clearly as you even study the Gospels, the Jews still had some ability to judicially judge themselves.  So it was fading, the sceptre was fading, but it was there.  And then what’s interesting, you know, to prove that you’re from the lineage of Judah, I mean, Jesus could certainly do that.  Anybody from the tribe of Judah at the time of Christ could prove that.  [Paul even knew his lineage, which wasn’t Jewish per se, but of the tribe of Benjamin, which had blended with the tribe of Judah.  But he still knew he was a Benjamite.]  But what happened shortly after Jesus’ death, certain events took place that completely changed everything in the sense that nobody else after that time could possibly meet that criteria.  [Now slight disagreement here.  The Jews basically know that someone with the name Levine, Levi, Levitt, were of the tribe of Levi, and someone with the name Cohen were Levites of the sub tribe of Kohan, one of the three sons of Aaron.  The Jews still know more about their lineage in a more general way than we Gentiles do.]  And what happened was, at A.D. 70 many of you know, General Titus, the Romans came in, and they completely just brutally destroyed the nation of Israel [the House of Judah], destroyed the temple, no longer did it exist.  They just dispersed the people.  They were just brutally killed, and the culture and society just destroyed in many ways.  But not only that, when they came in and destroyed Jerusalem they also destroyed the genealogical records [which I believe were kept in the Temple].  [To view an article about the early Church during and shortly after this time period, log onto:  http://www.unityinchrist.com/history2/index3.htm.  It shows the two Roman-Jewish wars, and how they devastated the House of Judah in Palestine.]  And today, in 2004, there’s only one person who has a genealogical record that they can without a doubt ascertain that he is traced to the tribe of Judah, and the only one is Jesus, because Matthew records it at this time.  And it is the only thing that has survived…[tape switchover, some text lost]…that traces it back to the tribe of Judah.  So, time of Christ, Mark Eastman says ‘The rabbis were teaching, the Messiah is coming in this time period, with this criteria.’  A little later after the time of Christ, ‘Now there’s no Temple, wait a minute.  No Temple, what are we going to do here?’  ‘And there’s no more genealogical records, what are we going to do here?’   Well we understand, as the Church, the Messiah came, and he left.  But this is what Mark Eastman quotes in his book, here’s one guy, rabbi Robh, in Sanhedrin 79, a little bit later, he states this, 79b, “All the predestined dates for redemption, the coming of the Messiah, have passed, and the matter now depends only on repentance and good deeds.”  ‘Time has come, he hasn’t come, man, we’re going to ask for God’s grace.’  Also, another Sanhedrin, not long later, the Tanadeby Eliahu taught, this is a direct quote from one of the scrolls, “The world is to exist six thousand years, in the first two thousand there was desolation, then the two thousand years, the Torah flourished, and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era.  But through our many iniquities, all these years have been lost.”  Amazing, huh?  It’s clear, you look at the history, history says as it does, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, he is the Christ, he is the Messiah.  And the interesting thing is, there’s never going to be another individual that can meet those criteria, that can prove they are the Christ.  But we got his genealogy, and he was born at the right time, and certainly, as Matthew goes on to write, he is the Messiah.  You know, I’ve sat down with my brother-in-law, who is a Jewish man, and we’ve got into these discussions.  And I tell you, getting into that, bringing up Mark Eastman’s, you know, the scrolls and talking about this, it’s very intriguing to my brother-in-law.  Probably the deepest spiritual conversation we’ve had to date.

Jesus the man

Verse 2, So Abraham, it says begot Isaac, and Isaac begot Jacob, and it goes on there and through the brothers.  And you see there in verses 3 to 5 there are some unusual names in there.  Now again, Jesus is the only one that with 100 percent certainty can trace his ancestry to Abraham, here we got Abraham, and Isaac, the fathers there, to Judah, there it is, to David…but this list of names, maybe you’ve heard critics say this, there are plenty critics of the Bible, but if you compare the genealogy of Christ here in Matthew 1 with Luke chapter 3 you’re going to note there are some differences.   In fact, there are some significant differences.  And that is, a lot of the names are different, and it’s kind of confusing.  Well people who are critics of the Bible will come and say ‘Look, how can you say…’ and they do that all the time, any time they think they see an inconsistency.  But anybody that’s learned in the Bible can come back and say ‘Wait a minute, here’s the answer, and this is why.’  And there’s a good logical explanation.  Why is Matthew’s list different than Luke’s list?  Well, Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience.  And in the Jewish ancestry they trace the male descendants, the fathers.  And that was the legal line.  So he’s seeking to prove that this is the King of kings, this is the Christ.  So he’s tracing the ancestry, that line of Christ, through Joseph, Joseph.  On the other hand, Luke, Luke isn’t writing in the same way, he’s writing to show that Jesus is the Son of man, he’s writing to a Gentile audience, and so therefore, he’s showing his humanness, he traces his genealogy through Mary.  [Comment: And it is through Mary that Jesus’ real line from Abraham to David to himself really runs, because Joseph wasn’t the real father of Jesus, he was the step-father.  Why, because Joseph didn’t sire Jesus, the Holy Spirit did.]  So in Luke you see Mary’s ancestry, Jesus’ genealogy through Mary.  [That’s his real genealogy.]  And that’s the difference, and we’ll note that a little bit more as we go on.  This is not an ordinary list either.  In fact, for a Jewish reader, you know, a Jewish religious leader, when he would read this, there would be certain things that would catch him off guard and he would say ‘How can that be?’, ‘Why is that in this?’, ‘That does not belong, this is strange, what are you doing, Matthew?’  And it’s very clear as he’s putting the names down, he’s making little notes, adding certain names, and he’s making a point to his audience.  He’s already conveying a message.  And as you go through and you begin to dissect it, you begin to find that message.  And one of the things, he is making this point, he’s going to show you the King of kings, and a little later and next week we’ll see that demonstrates that he’s clearly the Son of God.  But in these verses he’s showing that this is Jesus the man.  He’s the Christ, he’s the Messiah, he’s very much a man.  He’s showing that this man Jesus is a man.  He’s not from some super-human line.  He’s not some guy who had special genetic advantage.  But he’s a man.  He’s a man in every way.  He knows what it is to be human.  In every possible way, as the New Testament teaches us, this is a man that we’re dealing with.  Fully man, he knows what it is to be weak, he knows what it is to be tempted, he knows what it is to be human.  In fact, even the names in this list, I mean it’s just there.  There’s men and women of weakness, there are people there who have made mistakes.  There are people that we even know from their accounts that we have that they made some big mistakes, and there’s even some who have done horrible wrong.  There are names in this list, you know if David Letterman was to do his top ten as he does, and he was to say ‘OK, this is the top ten for the most evil people in all history,’  I mean, if you were to be honest and acted on that list, one of these guys would have to be on that list, and that would be the guy Manasseh.  The Bible even says this man is evil and wicked.  Although, interestingly, he repents at the end, and there’s a turn-around at the end of his life.  But what he did for many years was horribly wicked, the Bible says, horribly wicked, very evil, the man (king) Manasseh.  Not somebody necessarily you’d want to have as your great, great granddad Manasseh.  That wouldn’t be a good thing to say.  You wouldn’t be proud of saying ‘Manasseh, my great granddad.’  It would be like saying ‘Hitler’, it would be about the same as saying that.  But Matthew is already developing this point, this foundation, he’s saying Jesus is a man like you, he’s human like you and I.  And therefore there are many promises in the Bible that are absolutely true.  Sometimes as people we can say ‘Nah, well wait a minute, nah, he’s the Son of God, and as the Son of God it wasn’t quite the same, not total identity in relating to me, not complete understanding.’  ‘You know, I struggle in this, I’m coming to you today, and this is, we’ve been at it for three years, every morning I come to you and say ‘Lord forgive me for this.  Here I am again, I did it again.  I struggle with this again, I know you’ve heard it a million times.  I know I’m a knuckle-head, you’re thinking I’m a knuckle-head, not completely understanding here.  I struggle, what can I say, forgive me Lord…’  The point that Matthew is making is that when I come, the writer of Hebrews says, chapter 4, verse 15, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  He knew what it was to be human.  He knew the battles.  He knew the temptation and the struggles, yet he never sinned.  And so, there’s this promise, as the writer of Hebrews says, he goes on and he says, verse 16, he says “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of God, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in a time of need.”  He says, ‘You have somebody that can understand.  You have somebody there on the throne that can identify with you.’  And so Matthew is even showing as he writes here, Jesus the man, very man, very human, was tempted, struggled with the weaknesses of the human flesh, but yet he never sinned.  He knew what it was, just as I need to learn as a man today.  I need to learn, the way I have victory, the way I walk victoriously and withstand is through the Spirit, through the power of God.  The same way, Jesus had to learn the same.  I don’t completely understand that.  But the Bible says that Jesus, when he became a man, when the Son of God became incarnate, it says he put aside his glory.  He put aside his glory so that he was fully man, fully God still, but fully man.  He put aside all the glory that it means to be God, and he came and stood as a man.  And so he perfectly then, and the Bible shows this story, he perfectly relied on the Father, the power of the Spirit of God [i.e. relying on the Father who was providing the Holy Spirit who was operative fully within Jesus, as one Scripture points out, Jesus had the Holy Spirit without measure.]  He perfectly relied on that, as you and I need to in the same way.  He didn’t have any sense of advantage.  We have the same thing available to us that he had.  That’s what it teaches in the Bible.  I don’t completely comprehend.  God became man, still God, yet he put aside his glory.  And so, as we go into the book of Matthew and as you go through the Gospels, as you go through the New Testament, there’s always this message, ‘Hey, yes you’re weak, yeah you’re struggling.’  But it isn’t that God’s saying ‘Come on, come on’, it isn’t that.  He’s saying ‘I know you’re weak, I understand the battle, but there’s hope, I withstood, come to me and I’ll teach you.  And I’ll give you the grace, I’ll give you the mercy.’  That’s what the writer of Hebrews is saying [about Jesus Christ].  So maybe you’re here today, and you’re thinking, ‘Well, here I am a little old man and there’s big old God, and here I am just struggling in this mess, and I can’t get out of it.  It’s not what the Bible teaches.’  The Bible says ‘Come to me, come and find grace and mercy, come and find understanding, find compassion.’  Yeah, you’ll find truth, and you need to find truth, but you also find the help that you need in this time of your life.  Some of us, we’ve been going around and around and around and around and around for a long time.  And we keep going around and around like we’re chasing our tails, we’re in this thing, and we’re not thinking we can get out of it. But God is saying, ‘You can get out of it.  Come to me, man, I’m right here.  I’m ready.  I know what you’re going through.’  So when you go to the throne, I pray that you know when you come to God in prayer, he’s like, ‘I know what you’re going through.  I know what you’re going through, and I got the answers you need.  I know how it works, I know what you need to do.  Let me give you the grace, let me teach you.’  You know, even the very hand of Matthew, there’s no doubt that Matthew is doing this, he’s making a point to his audience.  For even himself, he knows that experience.  The very life of Matthew is a testimony to a man who was weak, a man who struggled, a man who was way out there, and yet God entered his life.  And when God entered his life, when he encountered Jesus, it was revolutionizing for him, it was revolutionary, it was incredible, it was supernatural.  And so he’s writing to convey the reality of his experience.  This is a list of real people with real problems and real challenges, real weaknesses, and Matthew is making sure we know, because, man, he knows, he knows from his own experience.  Matthew, you know his birth name was Levi evidently, got his name changed to Matthew [some say his birth name was Matthew Levi, Levi actually being his last name, which was rare back then having two names, a first and last].  Initially he was in the business of being a tax collector, wasn’t very popular in his day.  I would say about as popular as being a meter-maid in Boston.  And they don’t seem like they’re a real popular crowd to me, you don’t see their little clubs and TV commercials, meter-maids.  Or like the collection agency people, they don’t seem real popular, you know, the person that calls on the phone, they must have a pretty big complex [no, they’re really tough skinned], you know, some of those people that deal with all they have to deal with, and here all the stuff and abuse that they go through.  But he was like a meter-maid, tax-collection agency that’s calling up to say I’m coming to repossess whatever you have.  He was a tax collector.  He was despised, totally despised in his culture.  Not only that, to make it worse, he was in this vocation that no one liked because it didn’t help you, it made life more difficult for you, but also he was filthy rich as a result.  He made a ton of money at it, very greedy guy, very selfish guy.  [Comment:  Jewish tax collectors collected the taxes for the Romans, and could levy ten percent extra for their pay.  But often the tax collectors would levy extra, and get real wealthy as a result.  Thus they were hated for two reasons, one, they worked for the Romans, that was bad enough, but then they also got rich on the backs of Jews for doing it.]  Just imagine too, how he worked for the Romans.  Now the zealous Jews, they were very much against the Romans, the Romans had come in and taken over, and the Jews despised the Romans.  And so he’s working for the Romans, he’s a tax collector, he’s greedy, he’s rich.  This guy is despised, and it was true.  And also the tax collectors were often dishonest, they were just known to be dishonest and greedy, and they would take advantage of people.  They were assigned a certain district by the Romans, in your district you had a certain minimum quota, you’d better bring it in taxes.  And if you had anything extra you could pocket that if you brought in any more, so there was this motivation.  Go out and get the minimum, and hey everything beyond that is yours.  And furthermore, if you met a tax collector on the street, and he would come up to you, he could tell you what he wanted.  And if you didn’t agree, he would just get a Roman soldier, the Romans, and they would enforce it right there.  So he would say, ‘You’re giving me this twenty percent right now, I want this many shekels and I want it now.  It’s your turn, your time.’  You’d be like, ‘Come on, man, that’s kind of steep.’  Some people were paying thirty or forty percent of their wage.  But there was nothing you could do about it.  And he’d take off whatever the Roman Empire wanted, and he’d pocket the rest.  This guy was despised, didn’t have a lot of friends, for sure.  You see, you know there, the tax collectors are listed with the other criminals and with the publicans and the prostitutes.  So not a very popular guy.  But one day, Matthew, he has an encounter with Jesus.  And it takes him from being a selfish man, to now a man whose following the Lord, now he has a heart for other people.  That’s why he’s writing this, he has a heart for people, he cares for people.  He wants to be a blessing to society, he wants to be useful to people.  He cares for the hurting, he cares for the lost.  It’s completely changed his life, radically effected him.  He goes from being despised to being admired by people, many people, the Church.  Of course, throughout history he’s admired.  I admire him, we admire him.  Now according to tradition, ancient tradition, this isn’t the Bible but tradition, we’re told later he became a pastor, mostly in the area of Damascus, Syria, the Jewish church that was there.  [Comment:  the early Christian Church was predominantly Jewish both racially and in “days of worship.”  See http://www.unityinchrist.com/history2/index3.htm for a research study-article using the latest historic sources available covering this early period in Church history.] And so this guy, publican, the tax collector, taking advantage, now he’s serving the body of Christ, in washing the feet of the saints.  Amazing change.  He’s writing the names, he’s throwing things in there, to say, ‘This is what this is all about, this man Jesus Christ, his generations, his story.’  And you’ll see it as we go on.  I can relate, I’m sure we all can relate, those of us who have had Christ in our hearts.  You know, I was asked yesterday, we got a phone call from San Diego, Mike was asking if we could make a little video, make a little video.  So we’re going to try to make a video, and we have to have it in the mail by Tuesday.  But they’ve been going thirty years, so it’s kind of a thirty year celebration, we have a conference every fall, and I guess they’re going to have this video at the conference.  Tons of ministries have come out, so they want us to give our little story…start in San Diego, and give the story in two minutes, video, show footage, what God has done.  Now, I’m going to be doing that, and the truth is, I can say with Matthew, ‘This is amazing what God does.’  You know, when I first went to our church in San Diego in 1990, 25 years old, I was kind of like him, I was a bit greedy, kind of selfish, struggle with it today a little bit too.  But I was on a certain line, when my sister and I graduated from college we had a bet who could make the most money.  So we left college with that plan, who can make the most money.  And she’s blown my sox off today, I mean, she’s way out there.  [laughter]  And that’s because, initially I had her beat, and then I went to this church called Horizon, that was a problem.  I warn you.  And I went there, and I sat there, and I started listening to the Word of God, and there was something very real about this.  This isn’t just like we go to church on Sundays.  They’re saying this is a here and now, this is a life.  I never expected that.  And so then my life changes, and here I am today standing before you.  I never expected that.  Couldn’t have guessed.  And so this life of Christ, it’s a real deal, in the way it effects us, and changes us.  So, Matthew, Matthew has his own story, has his own experience.  Jesus takes this guy, you know, was way out there, considered an untouchable in the eyes of the religious leaders for sure, I mean, he was such an outcast.  And now he’s a shepherd and he’s loving the people of God, amazing.  Such is the work of Christ, and that’s the work Jesus wants to do in your life.  Wants to do the same thing.  In fact, as Matthew, as one commentator noted, as he opened his heart to the Lord, he then opened his home, and then he opened his hand, and here he is penning these words.  And the Lord does the same, he takes your personality, he takes your life, he wants to use you, it’s an adventure, he wants to do things through you you’d never imagine, if you open your heart to him and let him just work however he wants to work, using you in your vocation, your ability and personality.

The four women in the genealogy of Christ

But there’s his story, but then clearly, he’s making that point as he notes certain names.  He throws in names, the Jewish male reading this, the religious leader that would read this, he would, maybe he would even get angry when he read some of the names.  ‘What are you doing, man!?  This is awful that you’d put these names in here!’ For one, he lists the names of four women.  Now the Jewish ancestry would, the Jewish way, the legal way was through the males.  So there wouldn’t be names of women generally in the genealogy.  But here there’s four women.  Now, to the Jewish leader at the time, I mean, go back to the culture, the Jewish Pharisee or Sadduccee each day would pray “God I thank you I was not born a Gentile, a dog, or a woman.”  Now, that’s horrible that they would pray that.  [Male chauvinist piggy, piggy culture.]  But that’s the way they looked at life.  So, Matthew is making a jab at these hard hearts, throws out four women.  Not only that, a few of them are Gentiles, just to make it a little stronger statement.  And not only that, their lives that they lived, the lives that they lived is even more so like, wow!  Not just women and Gentiles, but their lives even make one say, ‘Wait a minute, what are they doing in this list?’  But Jesus of course is the great liberator.  And when he enters the scene, everything changes, with Jesus there’s no Jew or Greek, there’s no female or male, it’s just the body of Christ and the work of God and the love of God.  And look at these names.  There’s Tamar.  If you remember the story of Tamar, verse 3, “Judah begot Pharez and Zerah by Tamar.”  Now, Judah is Tamar’s, as you start with the story, Judah is her father-in-law.  That already gets a little weird.  If you go back and study the Torah, this woman Tamar, she had two husbands die [Judah’s sons], and they die because it says God judged them because they were evil and wicked men.  Boom!, they just died.  God just dealt with them.  So now she’s a widow.  And it makes, I guess, her family nervous, kind of like ‘Whoa, the people aren’t doing well with Tamar.’  The other son of Judah is going, ‘I don’t know if I want to sign up for this one’, you know.  And there was the custom that if the man died, his brother was to come in and marry her and pass on the family lineage.  But the rest of the family is like, ‘Whoa, hold on here.’  So, she then is neglected by their family, they neglect her, they’re hands off.  Well, because of that, she decides, I’m not getting proper recognition, I deserve…she decides to take matters into her own hands, and whenever you take things into your own hands it can get pretty messy.  So what does she do?  She posses as a prostitute, sets up her father-in-law, Judah, and she does what prostitutes do, and here we go, here’s the ancestry, Pharez and Zerah.  Ugly story.  Matthew throws in, ‘Abraham, Isaac, cool, Jacob, Judah…Tamar?!?  What is she doing in here?!’  But he’s making a point, that this is about real people.  It’s for real people, this message.  I mean, we are weak, we are feeble, but Jesus Christ has come up on the scene, and the work he does.  You know, her life, that’s her story, but then later, now that you’ve got God in the equation, you read her lineage.  And from that, from her comes even the Messiah.  So maybe you’re here today and you can relate a little bit.  Maybe you’ve experienced neglect from your own family, maybe you’ve been rejected, your family’s rejected you, family’s nervous, they’re hands off for whatever reason.  You can relate to that.  Maybe with all that, you’ve even done foolish things, you know, you’ve wrestled for acceptance.  You know, you’ve had pain, people have brought pain into your life, you’re wrestling with pain in your life.  And as a result, you’ve wrestled with that, maybe you’ve done things that you shouldn’t have done, and here you got more pain in your life as a result.  Well if that’s you, Matthew’s saying ‘Be encouraged’, because look right there at Tamar, that’s the statement of that, there’s a statement being made, ‘Be encouraged, be encouraged.’  Next lady is Rehab, and it doesn’t get any better.  Rehab was a Canaanite.  The Canaanites were so depraved, so debased, God gave them centuries to turn and they didn’t turn, and God said ‘Judgment time, the nation of Israel is going in and completely destroy every one of them.  They will completely annihilate the world with their sin, they’re so debased.  They need to be judged.’  She was a Canaanite.  True to the culture I guess, not only was she a Canaanite, she was a harlot, she was a prostitute.  [And apparently, she ran a whorehouse.]  But as the story unfolds, the story of Rehab, she learns about Israel and about the God of Israel, and her heart goes out, and she puts her faith in the God of Israel, Jehovah God.  And then as you read the story, she’s then delivered, and rather than experiencing judgment with the people of Canaan, she is actually in the Promised Land with the people of Israel, she becomes part of God’s people, in fact she even marries into them, marries a Hebrew, Salmon.  It’s listed there [he was one of the two spies she harbored and helped escape from Jericho] and has a son Boaz.  And Boaz, his story, his life even depicts the life of Christ, if you study the story of Boaz.  She goes from being destined for destruction, completely immoral, completely debased, and she’s up in Hebrews chapter 11, in the Hall of Faith you find her name is listed.  So he throws in Rehab, the second name that would jump out to the religious leader.  Maybe you can relate to that.  Maybe your life has had that sense of hopelessness, immorality, just a wreck.  And God says “Be encouraged.”  Next gal is Ruth.  Doesn’t get any better.  She’s a Moabitess, a Moabitess in the nation of Israel.  You know, the Moabites, Moab was a descendent of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters.  So they weren’t off to a very good start.  And of course they were against Israel at certain times, and God even in the Old Testament says eventually, ‘No Moabite to whatever the generation, [third generation] will enter the Temple of God.  So they were cut off from the Temple of God.  That’s a statement of fellowship, God saying ‘Moabite, not allowed into the Temple, even to the 3^rd generation, will not come into my Temple.  Remove from me, cast off.’  But then there’s this story of this gal Ruth, has a real heart, seeking the truth, seeking God, and here she shows up in the lineage of Jesus Christ [and all these four gals show up in the lineage of Jesus Christ on both Mary’s and Joseph’s side].  And so she is married to Boaz, it’s a beautiful story in the Book of Ruth, she even has a book of the Bible named after her.  And they have Obed, and then from Obed comes Jesse, and then David, just a couple generations from David, king David.  And of course from Jesus.  And maybe that’s been your life, that sense of ‘God, you’re so far away, I’m cast off, I don’t deserve, this is my life, this is what we’ve done, this is where I do not deserve.  And God says, ‘Hold on here, hold on, let’s talk about the story of Ruth.’  And there’s Bathsheba, she’s pretty notorious even in our culture because of movies.  She married a Gentile [her grandfather was Ahithophel, David’s chief counselor].  Now, if a Jewish person touched a Gentile, he would go immediately home, take off his garments, he would burn them, then take a bath and get dressed again [of course, that was far later in their culture, after Ezra and Nehemiah].  I mean, if you were in the market place, this would give you a real ego trip, maybe you’re in the market place, you bump into a Jew, he goes ‘Whoa!!’, he runs home and he burns his clothes, and he has a bath.  She marries a Gentile, that wasn’t good in that culture, a Hittite.  Then she’s involved in an adulterous affair with king David, and that works its way out in the murder of her husband.  I mean, this lady has done things that effected other people around her and hurt them. [don’t forget, David was the one who brought her to the palace and slept with her, and David had Uriah murdered, she didn’t]  But yet, her son with David is Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, he had this incredibly glorious kingdom, just Israel at its pinnacle.  And so you’re saying ‘I’ve been off to a pretty poor start too”?  “Things don’t look very good, man I’ve hurt a lot of people, you don’t understand”, and God’s saying “Wait a minute here, wait a minute here, this is the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, and hey, Bathsheba [David was more guilty than poor Bathsheba].”  There is certainly every one of us, no matter where we are, no matter whatever season, as we read through the book of Matthew, as we study even the genealogy, God is saying, ‘This is real, it’s for you, I want to work in your life, I want to bless your life.’  Now if any of those stories don’t relate to you, maybe, we got a hot-dog social after the service, maybe you need to ask other people there, ‘Tell me your story.’  Plenty of stories going around here.  Let’s just fly right here through to the end, I guess we’ve gone a little long, huh? 

The Crucial Divergence of the Two Genealogies of Mary and Joseph after King David

Verse 6, “And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias…”  Right at this point, if you could compare this to Luke, we have Solomon (in the Matthew genealogy, that of Joseph) coming from David, but if you go to Luke you’ll find from David and that genealogy there’s Nathan [explained previously in J. Vernon McGee’s account].  And that’s where they [these two separate genealogies] diverge.  You have the two different genealogies, and there’s reason for that.  Because if you go down to verse 12 it’s very interesting, you have this guy Jeconiah. And if you were to study Jeremiah chapter 22, verse 30, this guy was so wicked that God, I mean God says ‘David, you’re blessed, throne forever, going on and on and on’ …we get to Jeconiah, God steps in and says, ‘This man is so wicked, he will have none of his children to sit upon the throne.  Verse 30 of Jeremiah 22, “Thus says the Lord, write that man down as childless, a man who shall not prosper in his days, for none of his descendants shall prosper sitting on the throne of David and ruling anymore in Judah.”  So, he’s out.  Now you’re saying ‘Wait a minute, where his name is here’, but as you get down to verse 16, “and Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary…”, it doesn’t say “begot” anymore, “of whom is born Jesus who is called Christ.”  And that curse that was put upon Jeconiah is not passed onto Jesus, because Jesus is not the physical descendant of Joseph, he’s his foster-father in the sense of being a step-father, so the legal line is there to the throne [of David], but the curse is not passed on.  But God did make a promise to David, and he said to David, he says “Your throne will be forever”.  So then, Luke picks up with Mary’s genealogy through Nathan [David’s other son], and travels all the way down, physically, straight to Jesus Christ.  So the curse happens, the genealogy goes through all these kings, and then there’s the curse.  But God was true to David, it jumps over Jeconiah, and now back through Nathan, as Luke lays it out, to get to Jesus, to ultimately fulfill the promise. 

The missing names

Verse 17, “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.”  but verse 17 you have fourteen generations from Abraham to David, from David to the captivity you have fourteen generations, and from the captivity to Christ are fourteen, so you have 42.  If you add all the names up you only get 41, evidently you have to count David, he’s listed twice, or the captivity, that time twice to get 42, but here’s another point, as we end.  There are names that are missing, and the critic will come and say ‘Wait a minute…’  After Josiah there should be a name Joachim, after Joram there should be Ahaziah and Joash and Amaziah, those names aren’t there.  And the deal is, when it says ‘begot, begot’, it really just means a descendant, it doesn’t really mean the very next descendant.  So what he does, it’s true, my wife does this with our kids, like teaching the books of the Bible, it’s a song, a memory thing, you can teach a song and they quickly learn them.  And so what Matthew is doing is he’s using a system, 14, 14, 14 to help the people memorize.  They wouldn’t memorize genealogies, and so this is a helpful way to learn it.  But yet, he can do that because there’s freedom to skip.  But also, there’s one other person Atholiah, a very wicked person, you have Ahab and Jezebel, and they have a daughter name Atholiah, and she has three direct descendants that are kings, but she’s such a wicked gal, she’s a horribly wicked gal, she just tries to destroy the throne of David, doesn’t have success, but it’s interesting that when Matthew writes, he chooses to omit the names of those three descendants of hers.  Anyhow, I went a little long, please forgive me.  Let’s stand together…[transcript of an expository sermon given on Matthew 1:1-17, given somewhere in New England.]