the main sermon text, walked through verse by verse covering the genealogy of Jesus, the birth narrative, the magi, the flight to Egypt, and the return to Nazareth
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham became the father of Isaac. Isaac became the father of Jacob. Jacob became the father of Judah and his brothers.
3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron. Hezron became the father of Ram.
4 Ram became the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon. Nahshon became the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon became the father of Boaz by Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed by Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse.
6 Jesse became the father of King David. David became the father of Solomon by her who had been Uriah’s wife.
7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam. Rehoboam became the father of Abijah. Abijah became the father of Asa.
8 Asa became the father of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat became the father of Joram. Joram became the father of Uzziah.
9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham. Jotham became the father of Ahaz. Ahaz became the father of Hezekiah.
10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh. Manasseh became the father of Amon. Amon became the father of Josiah.
11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the exile to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel. Shealtiel became the father of Zerubbabel.
13 Zerubbabel became the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim. Eliakim became the father of Azor.
14 Azor became the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim. Achim became the father of Eliud.
15 Eliud became the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan. Matthan became the father of Jacob.
16 Jacob became the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the exile to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ, fourteen generations.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: After his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, before they came together, she was found pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
19 Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.
20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
21 She shall give birth to a son. You shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who shall save his people from their sins.”
22 Now all this has happened, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;
25 and didn’t know her sexually until she had given birth to her firstborn son. He named him Jesus.
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.
5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,
6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.
8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”
9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.
11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Being warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt,
15 and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.
17 Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn’t be comforted, because they are no more.”
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
20 “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”
21 He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
quoted by the chief priests and scribes when Herod asked where the Messiah was to be born: from you will come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel
2 But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, being small among the clans of Judah, out of you one will come out to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings out are from of old, from ancient times.
cited as the fulfilled prophecy after the slaughter of the innocents: a voice heard in Ramah, Rachel weeping for her children
15 Yahweh says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
The message worked through Matthew 1 and 2 as part of an ongoing harmony of the gospels series, looking at the genealogy and birth narrative of Jesus from Matthew's perspective to complement the Luke account covered the previous week. The preacher drew attention to details that often get passed over: the outsiders in Jesus' bloodline, Joseph's quiet mercy, the Magi's willingness to follow what light they had, and the suffering woven into the very beginning of Jesus' life.
What was said
Matthew's genealogy is not Luke's. Luke traces physical lineage back to Adam and calls Jesus, as was commonly held, the son of Joseph, a phrase the preacher said landed differently this time around: Jesus knew what it was like to be adopted, to grow up under a cloud of rumor, and to be mocked for his origins even into adulthood. Matthew's list is the kingly line, built around three sets of fourteen generations, structured to help Jewish readers recognize that the one they had been waiting for had arrived.
The list is full of flawed people, and the preacher said that plainly. Abraham doubted. Jacob tricked his way to the birthright. David's line runs through his sin with Bathsheba. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth: Gentile women turn up in the lineage, and Matthew keeps putting the phrase "all the nations" in front of the reader from the very first chapter. The bloodline heading toward Jesus is not pristine, and that appears to be the point.
Joseph comes into focus as a man of genuine character. Legally within his rights to expose Mary publicly, he planned instead to release her quietly, protecting her from harm he was not responsible for. Then the angel's word came to him in a dream, and he woke up and did exactly what he was told. The preacher noted that pattern: every time Joseph received direction from God, he acted on it immediately, and the more he obeyed, the more direction kept coming.
The Magi stand in sharp contrast to Herod and the religious establishment in Jerusalem. The chief priests and scribes knew the prophecy well enough to quote Micah chapter five on the spot, but they were not the ones following the star. The magi were outsiders who had paid attention to a wider set of writings and recognized that this news was not just for one people. They traveled, they searched, and when God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod, they listened and went home another way.
Herod's response, the massacre of the boys in Bethlehem two years old and under, is described in the text and in the sermon without softening. The preacher said from a pastoral standpoint he could not imagine what that grief would have looked like, and he connected it to Jeremiah 31:15, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted. The slaughter of the innocents is not a footnote. It sits at the center of what Matthew is showing about what it cost for this child to enter the world.
Joseph got the family out ahead of Herod, took them to Egypt on gold the Magi had brought, waited out Herod's death, and then, warned again in a dream, settled in Galilee rather than returning to Judea where Herod's son now ruled. The preacher observed that Jesus grew up as someone who had been a refugee, an immigrant returning from outside, raised in a backwater town, thought by many to be illegitimate. Matthew ties each move to an Old Testament fulfillment, insisting throughout that this is the one the whole story has been pointing toward.
The sermon closed by pulling the threads together. The birth narrative in Matthew is not a warm scene set apart from suffering; suffering is present from the beginning, surrounding Jesus before he could walk. The preacher connected this to what Simeon would say about the rise and fall of many, noting he would let the congregation hear more of that the following evening. What Matthew wants his reader to know is that Jesus is the Messiah the Old Testament announced, and what a person does with that remains the question that matters most.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
The preacher was struck by the idea that Jesus, as Joseph's adopted son, knows what it is like to be adopted and possibly derided because of his origins. How does that reality change the way you think about what Jesus entered into when he took on flesh?
Matthew's genealogy includes people with serious moral failures, outsider women like Rahab and Ruth, and names that were deliberately left out because of unrepentant evil connections. What does the shape of that list say to you about how God works through human history?
Speaker 2Alright. Good morning. Am I late? Sorry, Blake. Good morning, everybody.
Good to see you. Good to see you this morning. How are you? Alright. We'll talk about that later.
Hey. Luke Luke two, after hearing the birth announcement from the angels, you can stand up. Let... We're gonna sing here in just a second. But the shepherds said to each other, they said, let's go to Bethlehem.
Let's see this thing that's happened. And then they went and shared it. So that has always stuck out... Stood out to me. They heard the news.
They saw for themselves. And then later later, they shared about it. That's good stuff. Let's start by singing angels we have heard on high. Shepherd's wife.
Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Have a few announcements. Kinda actually more than a few this week. Christmas time.
We're having Monday nights at first B tomorrow night. What's happening? Yep.
Speaker 2We are on and we're going to go to Luke for Simeon's prophecy tomorrow And then also, there'll be a meal too. And John is... John Daly is making spaghetti. Spaghetti and meatballs and Comfort food.
Speaker 1Meal music and a message.
Speaker 2Yeah. Yeah. We'll be there. Please join us if you're looking for a church on Monday nights.
Speaker 1Monday night, gospel conversation happens still gospel conversation style. You'll present and expose and then expose what's there in the text and then we'll go from there. Awana is happening at the same time tomorrow night. So, this is the last Awana before Christmas break. It will be off the twentieth and the twenty seventh.
But Awana, kids matter to God, it's pouring scripture into the minds and the hearts. And actually, tomorrow night is the Awana store. That's a big big deal. So the Awana store is happening tomorrow night downstairs. We start off in this room and then spread out all over the church.
So kids club, Awana tomorrow night, 06:00 through 07:30. If you want to sign up for weekly email bulletins because we used to hand out and occasionally, we might still hand out some little paper stuff here, but we are now sending out a weekly email bulletin that's like our old paper bulletins. If you want to sign up for them, you can do that yourself. You don't have to call us and get us to sign you up. Go to firstbjackson.org and then follow the prompts and you can sign yourself up to get those emails and you'll know what's going on.
There is, this is one of the things that's going on, a congregational meeting that's happening January 16. We have by constitution to do this one time a year. We might call a special meeting here or there, but January 16 is the time for the financial review and budget approval. And Jim Reed is looking to be the Financial Secretary. Actually, we are looking for Jim Reed to be the Financial Secretary, that's better put.
He's been a CPA for a long time, and he is willing to do that. So we're going to hopefully affirm and confirm him. And Steve Landis has been on the Elder Board, but we'd like for him to serve another term. And so that's happening. And I think that's all that we need to announce right there.
But right here, Jesse Wright. Jesse Wright sits over here. Usually, he comes, sometimes when Florine's not playing the piano, it's Jesse playing the piano. They kinda split time. They live on the other side of the hill and have decided they're gonna be going to church mostly over there.
And Jesse and Teresa asked us to announce that they're engaged to be married. So pretty awesome. Jesse Wright and Theresa Convere. Tonight, tonight's the night, December 12, 04:30 this evening. Caroling and chili cook off.
So if you have a special chili recipe and you wanna enter it in the contest, please mix up a mess of it and bring it in this evening, and it'll be 04:30. We'll get together, and we'll go caroling from here. We'll probably have several teams, I hope, of carolers, and we'll go out from here. I have a couple of routes that I'm hoping to suggest. And then some will probably just be walking from here.
So wear warm clothes, lots of layers, come out, planning on the singing, and then the cook off, the chili cook off is happening at 06:00. We'll all gather back here for hot chocolate and hot chili. So anything else I'm forgetting about that? Angel tree. Angel tree.
You'll see the little white tags hanging from the Christmas tree in the foyer and the little brown tree down the hall. Those tags have on them a gift if you want to help out with needy families in the area. Tanya, my wife, administrates that thing each year. Her cell phone number is (956) 357-3676. It's kinda like mine, and I'd said it, it's hers.
Three five seven three six seven six is hers. If you would call her, she'll answer any questions you have up to the very last minute. She will be able to be the best one to help figure out what it is you need. But there are tags on the tree if you wanna grab one before you go. Get the gift that's dim that's written there on the tag, whatever one you choose, a new gift, and then bring it back in with the tag on a wrapped present so we know what it is and we'll get that to the families who are in need.
Nursery helpers are always needed. I saw Kristen Galloway a few minutes ago. She is the one that you should talk to and there's her phone number right up there, (307) 413-0023. If you would like to help out in the nursery, we'd appreciate it. And next week, you are invited to Jesus' birthday party.
You are invited to come here next week. We're not gonna do two services like we normally do. It won't be nine and eleven. It'll be 10:00 with a potluck to follow. Do you all know how this works?
I I I asked that earnestly. I know that everyone of you, wherever you came from before you got here, y'all had potlucks at your church all the time. Did you not? Minnesota, did you, Carl? The South.
Yes. We did too. We're going to have a potluck afterwards. So, would you come in and bring, if your name be... Last name begins with A through L, would you bring a side dish?
If your last name begins with an M through Z, bring a main dish, and we're going to gather in the fellowship hall afterwards and celebrate Jesus' birth. Any other questions? Any suggestions? Anything else that I've forgotten? Advent.
Advent reading. I'm gonna invite the Andersons forward. Here comes Aaron. It's just you today. Alright.
Aaron is representing Teton Valley, Idaho.
Speaker 3Today is the third Sunday in Advent. On this third Sunday in Advent, the candle of joy is lit. Jesus came to give us fullness of joy and abundant life. Jesus is ours... Joy is ours because of Jesus.
His presence brings the promise of joy. Luke two eight through 11 says, and there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you great...
Good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord.
Speaker 2Should we stand and sing a bit? Joy to the world.
Speaker 1Amen. Thank you,
Speaker 2Noel, the announcement of the good news that Jesus was born, and not just for Israel, but for all mankind so that we could receive forgiveness through Christ. As we sing that song, just can't help but think about the excitement that those wise men had as they were following the star. We wanna meet the savior of the world. God, how much hope you bring and joy you bring. You bring salvation.
You bring light. You bring love. God, that we would be waiting and we would be expectingly waiting for your second return just as they waited for your first. In Jesus' You can have a seat here for a minute. This is the worship through giving part of the service, and I'll invite the ushers to to come on forward.
Here's a good word from Psalm 115 this morning. It says, not to us, oh Lord, not to us, but to your name goes all the glory for your unfailing love and faithfulness. Would you pray?
Speaker 1Would you pray with me? God almighty, we're thankful to be here this morning, Lord, contemplating the incarnation, contemplating your sacrifice. You left the glories above, Lord. You took on flesh. You know what it's like to live here.
You know what it's like to be in a body, in a community. You know what it's like to be rejected. You know what it's like to be hurt. You know what joy is like too. Lord God, I thank you that you tempted in every way just as we're tempted yet without sin.
Lord, you had that perfect record that you're willing to share with anyone who just simply believe. Lord God, I'm thankful to to know that message. I pray, Lord, you'd use all of us to spread that message of your redemptive love. God, would you take these offerings that we're presenting at this time, Lord, along with the financial resources and the talents, Lord, that you give us. May we just put our lives in these plates.
May we give of our best to the master, Lord. I pray that you'd use these, your people, to do your will and your way, Lord, that you would supply for all of the needs for the gospel to go forth. That message to those shepherds that this will be good news to all of the peoples. Lord, may we carry that out. May we keep on carrying forward that this good news is for all of the peoples.
Lord, use us. Whatever way you see fit for your glory and our good. Amen. Is it time for children's church? The little slide hasn't come up yet.
Kids, do you think it's time? There it is. It's time. I dropped something. Okay.
Thank you for letting me know. There they go. I love seeing that. I just love seeing that. I am super emotional this morning, and y'all are like, when is there a Sunday when you're not?
I know. But I just can't help it. I'm gonna go ahead and admit it upfront. We have been doing a harmony of the gospels approach, lately. We finished all of the rest of the New Testament except for the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in the last eight and a half years.
So this is the Christmas edition of Harmony of the Gospels. But the the thing is last week, I covered Christmas in Luke. So, the harmony of the gospels synoptic edition is this. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, those are the synoptics seen at the same time and Mark does not include the Christmas story at all. He starts with John the Baptist ministry in his gospel.
And last week, we covered Luke. So Luke and Matthew, if you look at those two side by side, Matthew's story is not as long as Luke's story. And we covered all of Luke one and two last week, so I'm gonna try to cover the shorter Matthew one and two this week. And here we go. This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.
It is the record of the history or the origin of Jesus. So this has given some background context as king, so it's nice to see a little background. The record of the genealogy, the origins of Jesus the Messiah, son of David, son of Abraham. When it says that, we think, well, didn't we get a genealogy in Luke? We did, but it wasn't during the Christmas story.
When we started out in Luke, we covered this passage, and it's quite long. If you see, it has 76 human fathers listed in this. 76 human fathers in Luke. And it says at the beginning of this, it says, Jesus himself was about 30 years old because it started with his ministry, right? Luke's third chapter started with his ministry.
So, when he began his ministry, he was about 30. Oh, and then this. So, he thought it to necessary to include. He included the physical lineage, and Matthew is going to include the kingly or royal lineage. There are a lot of reasons to do genealogies as anybody around here who is a genealogist knows.
You're looking for certain things. This one is all men. They're all guys. There are no women included in this set of genealogies. So it says, being as was commonly held the son of Joseph, he is saying right there, he's as commonly held, he is adopted.
And that hit me harder this week. That's one of the reasons I'm emotional this morning. I had never considered that before. I know that he's his stepson or that Joseph is Jesus' earthly father, but I'd never considered that Jesus knows what it's like to be adopted. And it hit me harder and and sideways different than I'd ever expected.
I'm still working on it. I'll report back when I finish, when I get through it. But it... As was commonly held, the son of Joseph. Jesus knows what it's like to be derided.
He knows what it's like to be poked fun at for a long time, I imagine. And we still see the pharisees doing it when he's over 30 years old. They're remembering everything, and to them, genealogies matter. To us, some of you, it matters. In my family, some care and some don't.
Honestly, I'm the one one of the ones I love my mom and daddy, they're here today, and my aunt Laura. But I don't know beyond their parents hardly anything. My brother does. It was important to him. This was important to them whether it was important to us or not.
The 76 human fathers, it goes all the way down to Adam. And then it says, Adam, son of God. The only other person that it is said in the Bible was son of God is Jesus. So Jesus, second Adam, not born with any sin dad at all. Just Adam.
Not born with any sin at all, and he chose wrongly to sin. Our federal head, Adam. And then through all all of these 76 generations listed, and Jesus, born of a virgin, is able to be tempted in every way just as we're tempted, be derided in every way that any of us have ever been derided or bullied, and he was without sin. It's it's an amazing story. Jesus, the record of genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.
The Messiah in Matthew is used as a title. He is the anointed one, the Christ, the one that every one of them have been looking for for a long time, And it comes to be used as a name. We use it more as a name than the title, but this is the anointed one. Son of David. Oh, bring in the kingly line right there.
Son of Abraham. Remember Abraham's promise that I'm gonna bless the ones that you bless, Abraham, through you, through your seed. It's coming from you. Through your seed, all of the nations will be blessed. And all of the nations is really important in Matthew two.
Think about that, all of the nations. Rather than it just being for me, my four, and no more, just this little group of people, just the chosen ones, it was for everybody. Son of Abraham, son of David. And it starts from Abraham. It doesn't go all the way back to Adam.
This is the kingly line, but it wants to give good Jewish providence all the way through because God is the God of who? He's the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. First in the list, Abraham, fathered Isaac. Isaac, fathered Jacob. Oh, that trickster.
Twins, he was the younger, not supposed to be the one birthright guy, but he got the birthright anyway by his trickery. That's in Jesus' lineage, really. It's not this pure and pristine all everybody is a 100% glorious in this line. You'll see it. Abraham doubted.
Abraham I can't even go into the list. Every one of them has got faults because everybody has faults except for Jesus. Isaac fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Judah, all the 12 tribes of Israel. But the lion of Judah is Jesus. Judah's in there and his brothers, his brothers being the other 11 of the tribes of Israel.
Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar. That's a story. Oh my goodness. Perez and and Zerah, why are both of them included? Well, they were twins.
They were born at the same time. Hardly ever hear of one twin twin without the other. But it says, Judah fathered Perez by Zerah and Tamar. That story is a real patent place. If you hadn't read it, you can Google it.
Perez fathered Hezron. So Perez was the younger of the twins. Zerah actually had a scarlet cord tied around his wrist so that they remember which one was the firstborn who got the double blessing. Right? But it was the lesser of the two, not the greater of the two or older of the two.
Perez fathered Hezron and Hezron father Ram. I won't go into all of them. Ram fathered Amminadab. Amminadab fathered Nashon. Nashon, I had a friend in Mexico named Nashon.
I really like the guy. And this numbers two three says, and the leader of the sons of Judah, Nashon, son of Amminadab. Says it again, now the one who presented his offering on the first day, the first one who stepped up to do this offering before the Lord in the altar was Nashon, the son of Amminadab, the tribe of Judah. Nashon, father Salmon, and Salmon, father Boaz by Rahab. You remember Gentile woman Gentile woman showing up here in Jesus' line.
Really? Yes. She's one who was a prostitute and hid away the spies of Israel. Boaz by Rahab and Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth. There's another one, outsider woman.
Matthew's gospel is saying, all the nations, all the nations, all the nations. And there is a little scarlet thread running through this whole thing and it's Jesus' bloodline right here, but Jesus' blood is for all the nations, for everyone. And he starts it out with his very first few verses. Obed fathered Jesse Jesse fathered David the king. So that gets us back to son of David.
That's beautiful. David father, Solomon, Solomon, by her who had been the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba. There's a there's a kind of a a stain on your history right there, isn't it? It's through David's sin. He was with Bathsheba and killed Uriah, but Solomon was the wisest man.
Right? It's it's amazing what God does. Solomon fathered Rehoboam, evil king, awful guy, terrible guy, who in turn fathered Abijah. Also terrible guy, wicked king, wicked folks in Jesus' line. But the grace of God redeems and it brings back.
And Asa was a good king. And Asa fathered Jehoshaphat, that jumping joker. I don't even know anything about Jehoshaphat. He must be quite the leaper though. Jehoshaphat fathered Joram.
Now this is interesting. Joram fathered Uzziah, but they left out three different people in this line. They're listed in the Old Testament, but they all had close affinity with Ahab and Jezebel. And the evil was so great, they just left them out of the list. It's the way things used to go.
Unrepentant evil connection. What's interesting is the next one did have a connection but repented. So Uzziah. Uzziah, father Jotham. Jotham, Ahaz, Ahaz, father Hezekiah.
If anybody ever looked tells you to look up verse from Hezekiah, they're messing with you. Okay? In seminary, people say, have you read the third chapter of Hezekiah? They're just pulling his name from the list because it sounds so biblical. Hezekiah fathered Manasseh, Manasseh fathered Ammon, and Ammon fathered Josiah.
I love Josiah. Became king when he was eight years old. Look back on the book, the Bible, the Old Testament. Look back on the book and said, hey, have you all read this? This is really good.
We should go by this. And they did start going by this. Isn't that great? Josiah, father, Jeconiah, and his brother. I'm thankful for Josiah calling him back to the Lord because Josiah, father Jeconiah, and his brothers Zedekiah and several others at the time deportation of Babylon.
He he calls them back in knowing that they're about to be exiled for everything. And the exile was a huge deal. It's a time marker. I said last week that Herod is only a time marker in Luke, but it comes out more in Matthew that he's a bad guy. And Jeconiah and the time of the deportation is a time marker right here.
It's letting you know where you stand. And they judge generations based on it. And then after the deportation of Babylon, Jeconiah fathered Shealtiel. We know something about him, but I'm not gonna go into it. Shealtiel fathered Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel fathered Abi Hood. Abi Hood fathered Eliakim. Eliakim fathered Ezor. Ezor fathered Zadok. These are not Awana verses.
These are not the ones we pour into the heads of the kids so that they will get to their hearts. Eliakim fathered Ezor. Ezor fathered Zadok, Adaziz. Zadok fathered Echem, Zeta A. Echem fathered Eliud, Eliud and Eleazar.
Eleazar fathered Matthan, Matthan fathered Jacob, and Jacob fathered Joseph, the husband of Mary. Women are listed in this one. And I like that. I really like that. I also like the artful way that both of them dealt with the story of Mary and Joseph.
God was Jesus' father directly. Since Jacob fathered Joseph, Joseph was the husband of Mary by whom Jesus was born. It's a good translation. Who's called Messiah. He is the one that we've been looking for.
So all the generations listed from Abraham to David are 14 generations, from David to deportation to Babylon, might be another reason they left out those three because fourteen seventeen fourteen didn't sound as good. David had did deportation of Babylon 14 generations and formed the deportation of Babylon to the Messiah for 14 generations. That's the way you can remember it. This is a mnemonic device. It's just a good way of knowing.
Now the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, the anointed one, the chosen one was as follows. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, which was a legal contract, legally binding, there there for all intents married, but not yet together. They have not begun to live together. They're just betrothed. They're...
They are already promised, though. Before they moved in together, came together, she was found to be pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She was found to be. That is not to say that she was trying to hide it and it was found out. She was not embarrassed by it necessarily, but she was found to be, meaning she started showing.
You could see that she was pregnant. Now, what you couldn't see was that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. She knew that. Matthew knows that at this time. And her husband Joseph did not know that at that time.
Her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man, and he was, and he did not want to disgrace her because he cared for her deeply. He cared enough for her deeply enough that he was betrothed to her and probably somewhat heartbroken. He planned to send her away secretly. He didn't want any harm to come of her. He didn't want for her to be mistreated, legally, could have been stoned.
He planned. He thought about it and what he planned to do, you can get... At this time, you can get a divorce if you had two witnesses. So he planned to send her away with just a couple of trustworthy people having signed off on the matter. But when he had thought this over, when he came out the other side of thinking this over, he had already settled what he would do in his heart.
And it was gracious and it was merciful. Having thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. You remember last week, it was all angels directly. It didn't say anything about dreams last week. It was angelic messengers, messengers of God speaking to people directly.
Couple of times, was Gabriel who was that angel who said, I am Gabriel who stands before the Lord. But this one, was an angel of the Lord, a messenger of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. It is. This is a good thing. And she will give birth to a son and you, you're still going to be with her.
When did we see last week that Zechariah got to say who what the name would be for his son and he said, his name is John. Remember that? It's the eighth day when he's circumcised at the temple. She will give birth to a son and you shall name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. The Yeshua Jesus means he is salvation.
It's about salvation. You're gonna name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet will be fulfilled. Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God with us. And so when when Christ was born in that, stable, in that city, city of David, when he was born, he was born and God was with them.
Think about that. The incarnation of God was present with them. God with us. Now he took the name Jesus. Well, let's get to that in the text.
And Joseph awoke from his sleep. So Joseph awoke from his sleep and he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. I love that about Joseph. Every time that he gets the direction from the Lord, when he wakes up from that direction from the Lord, he goes and does it. He...
He's obedient. And immediately so, and Joseph awoke from his sleep and he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. And he took Mary as his wife. That means that he took her in, like that took her in with him. But he kept her virgin until she gave birth to a son and he, Joseph, named him Jesus.
Amen. Sorry. That whole adoption thing is getting to me. I I hope I have it worked out by Christmas Eve. Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king.
Oh, here he is again. Oh, God, not Herod. Herod the king. Behold, magi from the East, wise men from the East, people who were students. They were studying all the time.
And not only had they studied their near cultures, but they had studied more widely than that. And they knew this is such a contrast to the religious leaders that we're gonna see for the rest of the book of Matthew. These guys knew they had an open mind and they had paid attention to not just the readings that they grew up with, but others and they had expanded their scope, and they were reading about the prophecies in the Old Testament. And they were reading and recognizing that this was good news for all of the nations, not just this little family of the Jews. They knew that and they were coming to Jerusalem because that's the center point of Judaism.
It's the place where heaven touches earth there at the temple. And after Jesus was born in Bethlehem Of Judea in the days of Herod, the king behold, Magi from the East arrived in Jerusalem saying, where is he? Where is he who had... Has been born the king of the Jews? Now, what was Herod's title?
King of the Jews. If if you are the king of the Jews and you have a group of folks arrive with their entourage, I don't think it was just three of them. It's a big... Probably big group and a lot of lot of folks following along with them. Where is he who's been born, the king of the Jews?
For we saw his star. Now there are a couple... I think... I don't think I put it in here. There are a couple of different places.
There's one of them that says, and there will be a star that rises in Jerusalem and it will draw people, and I didn't put it in here. Dog on it. I'll get it next time. Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East and we have come to worship Now they're saying this to the king of the Jews.
Where's your replacement? We came to worship him. We just stopped here for directions. When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled and all Jerusalem was troubled with him. Why?
Because Herod was an evil egomaniac. Bad dude. Bad guy. When Herod the king heard this, that's gonna be upsetting news if you're the current king of the Jews to be looking for the king of the Jews. Got a pretty good thing going here.
And gathering together all of the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them. So Herod is inquiring of them where the Messiah was to be born. Oh, yes. We want to we want to see Messiah, Herod. So surreptitious, so sneaky, so ugly.
Well, they said to him in Bethlehem of Judea, for that's what's written by the prophet. And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah for you will come... For from you will come forth a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel, that is Micah five two. His times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. That points towards the always existed Christ that he always has existed, but he would be born there.
Too little to be among the clans of Judah, for from you one will come forth for me to be ruler in Israel. And then Herod secretly called for the Magi and determined from them the exact time that the star had appeared. You know, this is this is upsetting on a lot of different levels because Herod... They they should have been looking for this messiah. They should have been paying attention to the signs too, and they had not been.
They're under Roman oppression. Everybody's concentrating on their political situation rather than their actual positional state. Does that make sense? Before God. They're concentrating on the wrong things.
But these guys, outsiders, recognized it and were going for it. Then Herod secretly called for the magi, determined from the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go go ahead. Search for the child. Search carefully for that child.
And when you have found him, report to me so that I too may come and worship him. Me, the king of the Jews, is gonna find this little baby and I'm gonna worship him. After hearing the king, they went on their way and behold, the star, which they had seen in the East. And there are a lot of people who've tried to say what this was exactly. Halley's Comet went by in twelve BC.
There's another constellation of stars that happens perfectly in two or three BC. There are a few that happened just a little after, and people tried to figure out. But Matthew presents it as a miraculous thing. Stars don't usually go and stop over a specific place. After hearing the king, they went on their way.
Behold, that star which they had seen in the East, it went on ahead of them. It moved. It led them until it came to a stop over the place where the child was to be found. And when they saw the star, they were so happy to be led. They had gotten directions from the king.
They got directions from the chief priests and scribes, but they had a direct sign from God to follow. They were following after what they knew of God. More like principle. Right? The more light that you accept and embrace, the more like God gives.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And after they came into the house, they saw the child, capital c child, the Christ child, with his mother Mary. And they fell down and they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and they presented to him. This poor little family.
Can you imagine? A worker. And I know that everybody says carpenter. We all say carpenter. Since 1611, King James version, it's always been carpenter.
And I like that because I was a carpenter, so I like that. But Tekton is what Joseph was. He was a builder. He was a builder construction worker, kind of good with his hands, kind of a could do just about anything. But he was a laborer.
They they didn't have money to get up and go and do. They did what they had to do. They went down there because of the tax and because of registering, and it got them out of their normal place of living to the place where the Messiah was supposed to be born. They opened their treasures. These wise guys, the magi, opened their treasures and they presented to him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh.
I know there's all kind of symbolic, meaning there and looking forward from the very cradle all the way to his death and the embalming situation, the frankincense and the myrrh, but the gold. How's a poor family gonna get out of Dodge? Herod's after them. And after being warned by God in the dream not to return to Herod, the magi were under orders from the king to y'all come back here and tell me. But they went against the order of the king because they're warned by God in a dream.
They listened to the direction that God gave. Their response was to listen. And after being warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the Magi left for their own country by a different way. Amen. Big Loop.
Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph again in a dream. It's not the same way for everybody. God's messages don't always arrive in the same way for everybody. But nevertheless, it was from God. The angel of the Lord appears to Joseph in a dream and says, get up.
Take the child and his mother. Now he's sleeping in the middle of the night. Get up. Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Like I said a few weeks ago, I don't wanna walk to Wilson.
It's a long way from Bethlehem or a long way from Nazareth to Nazareth probably at this point. Long way. Now get up. Oh, sorry. Bethlehem.
Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is gonna search for the child to kill him. It's a warning. So Joseph got up and he took the child. Get up. Take the child.
Joseph got up, took the child. I love it. And his mother. While it was still night and he left for Egypt and he stayed there. He stayed there until the death of Herod.
He waited him out. Imagine all that Jesus was exposed to in those early years. And Joseph and Mary for that part. He stayed there until the death of Herod. Strangers in a strange land.
Immigrants. I'm sure they were mistreated. He stayed there until the death of Herod. And this happened so that what had been spoken of by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled. Out of Egypt, I called my son.
Old Testament prophecy. When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged. He was known for being very enraged. All the building projects that he had done and all the big big things that he had done to create his own legacy, the thing that he's most remembered for is this. When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the Magi, he became very enraged and he sent men and he killed all the boys who were in Bethlehem.
And all its vicinity who were two years old or under, I cannot imagine the weeping. From a pastoral standpoint, I cannot imagine what it would be like to have the would be leader of your people just declare this is the way that it was. This is the way it was gonna be and sent them forth the slaughter of the innocents. It's featured very prominently in, religious art and Renaissance. It comes up a lot.
It's a terrible, terrible thing. And it was according to the time which he had determined from the Magi. He didn't wanna leave any chance, so he spread it out on either side of when they told him. Then when, then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled, a voice was heard in Rhema weeping and great morning. Rachel was weeping for her children and she refused to be comforted because they were no more.
And that's straight up. Jeremiah thirty one fifteen, voice heard in Rhema lamenting and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children because they are no more. But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in the dream of Joseph.
It just keeps happening over and over. You know what? He kept listening over and over. You know how it gets to be easier and easier to hear the voice of God? It's by obeying it.
When Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, get up, take the child. What do you think Joseph's gonna do? I bet he gets up and takes the child. Get up, take the child, because he's got a consistent history of death. Get up and take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel for those who sought the child's life are dead.
So Joseph got up, he took the child and his mother, and he came into the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, well, this guy's dad was out to kill my son. He was afraid to go there. That makes sense. Then after being warned by God in the dream, he left for the regions of Galilee.
He avoided direct confrontation. Galilee... Actually, Capernaum where Jesus lands is like 83 miles from Jerusalem. Nazareth is a little closer but over rocky terrain, and it's a harder trip. So after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee and he came and he settled in a city that was called Nazareth, some little backwater town.
Right? This happened so that what was spoken through the prophets would be fulfilled. He will be called Nazarene. Matthew is tying everything to all this Old Testament prophecy because it's true and it's real. Christ is the king that we have been looking for and Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one.
Matthew ties all that together. Along with the story from Luke, we get a pretty ample picture of what happened, what came about. Now both of them skip forward. Luke does tell the story about when Jesus was about 12 years old and he was in the temple. Matthew goes straight from, he will be called a Nazarene and it said, in those days, John the Baptist came preaching.
That's twenty nine years later. But we don't... We've got a gap in there, but there was a formative years from this adopted son who people thought was illegitimate, and he was an immigrant. And then when he came back, you know how it is coming in from outside. I'm amazed by how much this birth narrative gives us to the initial suffering of Jesus.
And we talk about the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ and for doing what is right and still having lament and weeping. It's not just him. It's all around him. When when Simeon said that and when, Simeon said, and I'll let Carl go into that tomorrow night. But when Simeon said, this is gonna be the rise and fall of many, it's it's it's really...
He's the center point of all human history, all history, beginning to end. And right here in the middle of it, he is it. And what you do with Jesus makes a difference for the rest of your life and into eternity. What you do with Jesus matters. Matthew wants it to be certain that if you know anything about the Old Testament, you'll recognize this as a guy we've been looking for.
And he's gonna keep on doing that throughout his whole gospel. I think that's the last slide. Seems like an unusual place to end, but I'd have to skip twenty nine years and start preaching again. I already did that. Okay?
Would you stand with us and we're gonna sing. Hark the Herald Angels Sing because this is a joyous, joyous season. I I am looking forward to the presentation next week from, the kids and adults. It's a presentation. It'll be readings from the Christmas story and also some songs, and looking forward to that.
December 19, 10:00 instead of nine and eleven. But when we, in this season, gather, we just think about how amazingly blessed we are that God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who are under the law. Hark the herald angels sing. The Lord is good and he's a refuge in times of trouble and cares for those who trust in him. That's absolutely true.
I've got a couple of things I wanna say before another little blessing out the door. Tonight, caroling, bring a flashlight. Warm clothes. I going
Speaker 2able do
Speaker 1And And we're going that. We're
Speaker 2to And
Speaker 1anything else I've forgotten? I've got books for you. If you wanna sing, we'll have a book for you. You don't have to remember all the words too. I think that's it.
We love y'all. I'm glad you're here. My folks are back in the back row right in front of Blake and my aunt Laura too. My my dad is really tall. My aunt Laura is really tall.
My mom is really short. They're back there. They're gonna go down the hall for the connect hour. And if you wanna meet them, please go down there with them. In Jesus name, Lord, I ask your blessing on this congregation that they would be just like Joseph, obedient to whatever it is you tell him to do immediately so.
