We are starting our Advent series today and we are going to do something different than we’ve done in past years. Advent means arrival. We celebrate the arrival of Jesus in the Advent season and we are going to do this by looking at the advent of Jesus in all four gospels. Each gospel has a different focus or a different emphasis when it looks at Jesus taking on flesh and coming into this world. Matthew focuses on Jesus as King, Mark focuses on Jesus as prophet, Luke focuses on Jesus as priest, and John focuses on Jesus as God. So we are going to look at all those themes over the next four Sundays.

Today, Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector before he was a disciple. A tax collector in those days was reviled because he would pay all the taxes for a province himself and then have the right to tax the people whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and however he wanted. The Jews so despised them that they actually made laws making it legal to lie to a tax collector. That’s the kind of person Matthew was before he met Jesus the King. That is the perspective Matthew is writing from. That of an outcast saved by the King. 

Matthew is also unique because as you turn the last page of the Old Testament to the first page of the New Testament, you are turning past 400 years. 400 years of no prophets speaking on behalf of God to the people. And what do you have? A genealogy. It can feel very anticlimactic to us. Why not write something that would grab the attention of your readers a bit more at the onset? I mean, let’s be honest, when we read Matthew, how many of us just skip the genealogy altogether? How many of us gather the kids at Christmas, sit down next to the fire, and read the genealogy of Matthew? 

The reason we tend to not give the genealogy much attention is because we are not the Jewish audience living 2000 years ago to whom this was written. This genealogy would have gripped the original audience. Genealogies were a big deal to them. Their Hebrew Bible opens with genealogies in Genesis and closes with them in 2nd Chronicles. For Jewish bible readers, genealogies signaled the beginning and end of major stories. They would have been hooked from verse one! They would have read this passage and thought, “Can it really be? Is the King here?” And my hope is that we would have the same reaction this morning. I want us to see the Kingship of Jesus through the genealogy. Through the purpose of the genealogy, the people of the genealogy, and the promise of the genealogy. 

1. The purpose of the genealogy

The purpose of a genealogy in the ancient near east is to confirm claims of title, property, or authority. Genealogies are especially fun to talk about right after Thanksgiving. For many, going home and gathering with family is a positive experience. For others, though, it can be a frustrating or even an embarrassing experience. I have friends who spend their Thanksgiving wondering, “How am I related to these weird people?” And we all know that if we don’t have that thought, we might be those weird people. 

For all of us, our families affect us, but they don’t define us the way they would have in ancient Israel. Their families did define them. You were John, son of ______. And you took on the baggage of your family. In ancient Israel, you couldn’t take part in the temple worship unless you could prove your Jewish ancestry. We see in Ezra chapter 2 that the returning exiles “sought their registration among those enrolled in the genealogies, but they were not found there, and so they were excluded from the priesthood as unclean. - Ezra 2:62

They couldn’t enter the temple because they couldn’t prove their family history through an official genealogy. You couldn’t even buy property in Israel without providing your genealogy. A genealogy in those days was like a driver's license or social security card. It validated you. Many historians of this period, like Josephus, would begin their books by providing their own pedigrees. Could you imagine if you bought a book today and it opened with the genealogy of the author? That would be weird for us. 

It wasn’t weird to them, though. It was a non-negotiable. Herod the Great was actually so embarrassed that, as a half Jew, half Edomite, that his name was not in the official genealogies that he ordered the destruction of the whole public record so no one could claim a pedigree purer than his own. Genealogies were a big deal 2000 years ago and none would have been more intriguing than Jesus’. It would have grabbed them at verse 1! The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. - Matthew 1:1

It would have grabbed them because it establishes legal support to Jesus’ claim as the Christ, the prophesied King. It would have grabbed them because the word genealogy is literally ‘genesis-[ology]?’ and the way Matthew words this first verse would take them all the way back to the very beginning of Scripture and time itself. Everyone knew that the Messiah had to come from certain family lines. And most importantly, he had to come from the line of Abraham and David. 

Abraham’s story opens with a genealogy in Genesis 11 tracing him back to Noah and Noah’s story opens with a genealogy in Genesis 5 tracing him back to Adam. So by saying Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, son of King David, and an heir to the Covenant with Abraham, from the get go you are asking, “Is this the seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent? Is this the offspring of Abraham who will possess the gates of his enemies and bless all nations? Is he the Davidic King who will restore God’s people?  And Matthew is saying in no uncertain terms, “Yes!”

This is why Isaiah 9 says,  6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of DAVID and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.  - Isaiah 9:6-7 Now, this alone doesn’t qualify Jesus, but it is a big deal. This would have been THE very first thing people would have wanted to see when a Messianic claim is made. 

Matthew is claiming that Jesus is the prophesied King! He’s the King they need…but he isn’t the King they are expecting and we see this in the people of the genealogy. 

1. People of the genealogy

If you are here today and you’re not a Christian and specifically, if you have trouble trusting in the reliability of the Bible. I want to say that one of the most convincing aspects of the Bible to me is that it doesn’t whitewash things. If this were a purely man made document, there are so many places we would have edited it and this genealogy is one of them. If a group of men got together and had to create the ‘perfect’ genealogy for the coming King, it would not have included the people it does. But God operates differently than men. So, here is our family baggage. If you left Thanksgiving feeling down about your family, get ready to feel a bit better. 

First, if you were an ancient near east Jew, something would have jumped out at you upon even a cursory reading of this text. There are women in this list! All family lines passed through the men. Women would never be included in a genealogy unless there was a very specific reason. And we are not talking about morally exceptional women either. These are not women you would expect to find in the lineage of the King of Kings. All of them were outcasts in some way. 

The first woman in the list is Tamar. Do you remember the story of Tamar? It’s in Genesis 38 if you want to read it all, but it’s a sordid story of incest, prostitution, and deception. Tamar was Judah’s daughter in law. Her husband died and the law dictated that the brother of the husband take her on as a wife. That might sound weird to us, but it was a way of taking care of widows back then. Tamar’s brother-in-law, though, decided he would accept the benefits of this arrangement, but not the responsibility of being a father and God struck him dead. So, Judah, then, said he was going to give her to his third son, but he didn’t and she acted like a prostitute to get her father-in-law, Judah, to impregnate her. Yes, I promise you this is all in the Bible. Twins were born and Perez, who was first, carried on the Messianic line. 

I once met a girl and she introduced herself as Tamar. I think she could tell I had a funny look on my face so she added, “You know, it’s from the Bible.” I said, “Yes, I know.” And I was thinking, “I don’t think your parents actually read that story.” At that point in time, I didn’t realize there was a redeeming part to the story of Tamar. I didn’t realize because it doesn’t really come until this genealogy in Matthew.

So, why would Matthew do this? Remember, Matthew is an outcast who has experienced extreme grace. The only possible reason for him to include this example of incest, harlotry, and deception is to put on display to the religious self-righteous of that day that our God is a God of grace. That the coming King would be different than what they expect. 

So, that’s Tamar. Now Rahab. Hebrews records Rahab as “Rahab the harlot.” The actual name ‘Rahab’ means, ‘pride,’ ‘insolence,’ ‘savagery.’ Rahab was a Canaanite, a mortal enemy of God’s people. Joshua 2 introduces us to her as an idolatrous, outcast, gentile woman and a prostitute. Her most redeeming quality was telling a lie.

After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites were finally preparing to enter the Promised Land. Joshua sent out spies to scout out the city of Jericho and they happened upon Rahab, who hid in her home. When city officials came looking for them, Rahab lied to protect them. 

Rahab, believing that the Israelites would destroy Jericho and everyone in it, bargained with the spies to save her family and they did. Rahab abandoned the gods of the Canaanites for Yahweh and she became not only a true convert to the true God, but also a part of the messianic line. She was the great, great grandmother of King David.  So, why would Matthew include Rahab? I think to show that this gracious King is available to even the lowest in society.

Thirdly, we have Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite. The entire Moabite race was a product of incest! We see this lovely story in Genesis 19 when Lot was living in a cave with his two daughters after the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah had been decimated. The daughters were fearful that there would be no one to marry them and give them children so they came up with a scheme to get their father drunk and to get him to fix their problems.

So, Ruth was from a tribe of people who were the product of incest. Their very existence disgusted the Jewish people. They actually had laws concerning them. Deuteronomy 23:3 says, "No Ammonite (that was the line from the son of the other sister) or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever, - Deuteronomy 23:3

Ruth, like Rahab, was converted to the true God and where she came from no longer mattered. She became the wife of Boaz and the great grandmother of King David. And with Ruth, Matthew is proclaiming as boldly as he can that the King is bringing a Kingdom that is for all types of people. Those from ethnicities that are prized in a culture and those from ethnicities that aren’t. He would be King over both Jews and gentiles. 

Lastly, there is Bathsheba. Matthew doesn’t actually name her. Did you notice what he wrote? And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. It’s like he’s trying to point a neon sign at the immorality of the situation. He could have said, “David was the father of Solomon” or maybe even “David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba,” but he doesn’t. He says David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. Imagine if you heard someone say, “Did you hear John got Dave’s wife pregnant?” However that hits you is how Matthew wants this to hit you. 

Most of you remember that David was at home when he should have been fighting with his soldiers and watched Bathsheba bathing herself. Scripture says he lusted after her and had his servants bring her to him. She was soon pregnant and King David didn’t want to get caught so he had Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, brought back from the front lines to spend time with Bathsheba hoping Uriah would think he was the father. Uriah refused to cooperate while his men were still fighting. David even tried to get Uriah drunk, but he still wouldn’t cooperate. 

So, David decided to make the jump from adulterer to murderer. He had Uriah put on the front line and told the commanding officer to have the line fall back, but not to inform Uriah. Uriah was left by himself and killed. David then married Bathsheba and their baby died. 

David was eventually confronted about his sin and he repented and later he and Bathsheba had another child named Solomon, the next link in the Messianic chain. And in phrasing this verse the way he does, Matthew is communicating a lot. He’s setting up Jesus as the better King Solomon saying it doesn’t matter how messed up your family of origin is, King Jesus Christ is creating a new family for all who believe in Him. 

This genealogy in places reads like an episode of Maury Povich or Jerry Springer. You have four women, two of whom are harlots, a once cursed Moabite, and an adulteress. Then you add Jeconiah and all the evil kings of Judah after him and it starts to look like Jesus’ line is full of sinners!...And that’s the point!

Remember that Matthew is writing his gospel for a Jewish audience. During the period of time between the testaments, so, in our English Bibles, between the books of Malachi and Matthew, there were 400 years of silence. 400 years when God was not speaking to His people through prophets and, during this time, the religious leaders began to put their hope in their own obedience to God’s laws. They created law upon law to make them feel like they could achieve righteousness. They grew increasingly legalistic and judgmental to other races and cultures. How do you think they would have reacted to this genealogy? The very thing that stands in between them and their long awaited King is their self-righteousness and Matthew is throwing it in their face. 

So, you see why I say that the people in the genealogy add to its historical reliability? If men were wanting to convince the rulers of the day of Jesus’ rightful claim as Messiah, this is not the genealogy they would have put together. Matthew does this because the people in the genealogy are not on display, the Grace of God is. These women are not in the lineage because of their worthiness, but because of their repentance and faith. This is why, nine chapters later, Matthew says, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." - Matthew 9:13

Matthew’s genealogy isn't just showing us that Jesus is King, but what kind of a King He is. He is a King who will accept, protect, and love regardless of morality, ethnicity, or success. All He requires is repentance. He simply wants us to say, “You are King and I am not.” 

Have you said that? Our main problem is that we want to be the kings and queens of our lives. We want to dictate the terms of this life and as long as we do, we are no better than the Pharisees Matthew is writing to. And even as Christians, it is so easy to slip back into this mode where we want to be in charge. But there is no greater feeling than trusting that there is Someone infinitely more qualified to run our lives and allowing Him to do that. 

So, what makes Jesus qualified to do that? That brings us to the promise of the genealogy.

III.   The promise of the genealogy

Very simply, the promise of the genealogy is that God will do what He says He will do. Look at all the evil kings of Judah in this genealogy. How bleak did the future of Israel look at times? Yet, God made a promise to Moses, Abraham, David, and Jeremiah that He will redeem this world and He will do it through a Savior and that Savior is Jesus. 

If you were a 1st century Jew, you were very familiar with what we now call the Old Testament. And the Jewish ordering of those books is different from the way we order them now. The substance is the same, but the order is different and Matthew knew this. The Jewish sacred books ended with what we would call 1 and 2 Chronicles. Do you know how 1 Chronicles begins? With a genealogy. A genealogy that stirs in your soul the question, is the King here yet? And that genealogy ends by saying no. And do you know how Chronicles ends? With a question. It’s a declaration from King Cyrus to the people of Israel who are still a mess. Who will save us from our sin? From our mess? And the answer: Judah. Send the tribe of Judah. 

And how does the New Testament begin? With a genealogy. A genealogy that finishes what Chronicles couldn’t. The tribe of Judah has given us a King who is more gracious, more faithful, more sympathetic, more accepting, and more powerful than any they had ever known: Jesus. This is why in the very next chapter the wise men come and ask what? Where is he who has been born king…king of the Jews. 

And in this passage, we see this promise fulfilled. We see just after the genealogy that the virgin Mary would become pregnant and his name shall be Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. The one from Judah has come. The true and sovereign King. But, he wasn’t just a cosmic king who created all things and sustains them by his word. He doesn’t just save us from our sin and let us on our way. According to verse 23, he is also ‘God with us.’ What does this mean?

He is qualified to be the prophesied King because while the other people in the genealogies in Genesis, Chronicles, and Matthew lived a sinful life, died a normal death, and stayed dead, Jesus lived a sinless life, died an excruciating death receiving the penalty of God wrath that we deserve in our place, and then resurrected never to die again. And at the end of Matthew’s gospel, after he has resurrected, what does Jesus say just before he ascends to the Father? I will be with you always. 

And after Jesus comes, there are no more genealogies in the Bible. They are everywhere up to this point, because every new descendant of Eve raises the question, “will he be the one that will crush the serpent's head and break the curse of death?” and they all ended with “and he died.” thousands of years of disappointment and death. Until Jesus’s story ends with, “and he lived,” and suddenly nobody is marking stories with genealogies anymore.

This King is the very God. He has to be divine to accomplish what he did and only a divine King can rule the whole universe and personally know each one of his people. This universe would be physical chaos if not for this King and our lives will be spiritual chaos if we do not submit to his good, loving, and just kingship. This King is true, this King is good, and this King has a beautiful vision for humanity. The question this passage begs us to ask is simply this: will we continue to try and be kings over our own lives or will we submit to the kingship of the only true king and there find order in our souls and satisfaction in our hearts?