Matthew
1:1-17
We live in
uncertain times. Protesters say, “Not my
President!” ISIS is waging a war of
terror everywhere they can. The world is
in turmoil over the civil war in Syria.
Iran is testing missiles, and North Korea is developing intercontinental
ballistic missiles. The list can go on
and on.
History is
working toward a conclusion. Great hope
and encouragement is available through an understanding of the point on which
history turns. It is all about
Jesus. Jesus said quite clearly, “And
the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so
that all nations will hear it; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)[i]
History is
about this “Good News.” I want to look
at how history centers on Christ so that we will never lose hope and our minds
can be at peace in the Lord. In John
14:27, Jesus said, “I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart.”
First, we
find peace of mind in knowing that Jesus Christ is the anchor or turning point
of all history. The world moves
inexorably toward its consummation to the glory of God, and it all revolves
around Jesus Christ.
The book of
Genesis starts with the account of the creation of the world. We know that it was through Jesus that God
created all things. John 1:3 says, “God
created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.” In explaining the beginning of human history,
Genesis uses a statement, “This is the account of…” Genesis 2:4 says, “This is the account of the
creation of the heavens and the earth.”
Then Genesis 5:1 says, “This is the written account of the descendants
of Adam.” Using the same formula, Genesis 6:9 says, “This is the account of
Noah and his family.” Genesis 10:1, “This is the account of the families of
Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Genesis 11:27, “This
is the account of Terah’s family.”
Matthew
ties into this history by using the same statement or formula. Matthew 1:1, “This is a record of the
ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham…” The translators, in trying to make it
understandable to us in English, have unwittingly covered up the obvious
mimicking of the Genesis formula.
However, there is no covering up the association with David and Abraham. Abraham and David represent God’s covenant
relationship with His people and His promise to send the Messiah.
Abraham’s
story is the account of Terah’s family begun in Genesis 11:27. God chose Abraham out of all the people on
earth, and made an everlasting covenant with Abraham. From Abraham’s children, God chose Isaac, and
from Isaac’s children, God chose Jacob.
Genesis lays this foundation and the Old Testament tells the story of
God’s dealings with the descendants of Jacob.
The Old
Testament’s history ends with Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem in 422
B.C. However, history was moving
inexorably toward the coming of the promised Messiah. The world scene was shaping up toward its
turning point. Here is a rough outline
of what was happening.
Going back
to a little before Nehemiah, during the time of Esther, Xerxes tried to expand
the Persian Empire. He was victorious
against the Greeks at Thermopylae but was defeated at the battle of Salamis in
480 B.C. This was the last bid of the
East for world dominion.
In 333
B.C., Alexander the Great defeated the Persians at Issus. This was foretold in Daniel chapter 8 where
the united Greek forces are pictured as a goat from the West.
In 332
B.C., Alexander the Great visited Jerusalem and seeing the prophecy of Daniel,
which spoke of him, he decided to spare Jerusalem.
In 323
B.C., Alexander the Great died and his world empire of both East and West was
split between his four generals. Again,
this was foretold in Daniel.
In 320
B.C., Ptolemy Soter annexed Judea to Egypt.
In 203
B.C., Antiochus the Great took Jerusalem and Judea passed under the influence
of Syria.
170 B.C.,
Antiochus Epiphanes took Jerusalem and defiled the temple.
166 B.C.,
Mattathias, the priest of Judea, led a revolt against Syria, beginning the
period known as the Maccabees.
63 B.C.,
Pompey, the Roman, took Jerusalem, and the people of Israel passed under the
dominion of the Roman Empire. They
remained under the Roman government throughout the New Testament period.
31 B.C.,
Caesar Augustus became Roman emperor.
19 B.C.,
Construction began on the Herodian Temple.[ii]
These and
many more events during the 400 years from the closing of the Old Testament to
the beginning of the New Testament show a world in turmoil. However, in the midst of all the wars and
struggles for dominion, God’s plan was coming together.
According
to the promises of the Old Testament, Jesus had to be born in Bethlehem. Literally, hundreds of prophesies came
together in the birth of our Lord.
Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent
forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.” (ESV) “The fullness of time” refers back to
Galatians 4:2, which says, “the time appointed of the father.”
The
prophecies of the Old Testament had foretold the history leading up to the
birth of Christ. None of the turmoil,
unrest and trouble of those days caught God off guard. Men like Xerxes, who claimed to be divine,
ended up being significant only in that they advanced the plan of God.
Matthew
starts the account of the New Testament by tying in all the history of the Old
Testament, and focuses it in on Jesus Christ.
In doing this, he divides Old Testament history into 3 sections: 1) Abraham to David, 2) David to the
Babylonian exile, and 3) the Babylonian exile to Christ.
The turning
point of all history is the birth of Jesus Christ. The central point of all history is the Good
News.
Matthew
1:17 says:
All those listed above include
fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the
Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
From
Abraham to David, the focus was on the promise of God to make a nation out of
Abraham’s descendants through Isaac.
With the ascension of David to the throne of Israel, in one sense this
promise was fulfilled. During this age,
the people of God were under the administration of judges raised up by God.
From David
to the exile to Babylon, the focus was on the promises of God to bless or curse
the nation based on obedience. The reign
of David was meant to reflect the coming reign of Christ, but the kings of
Israel failed in this regard. During
this age, the people of God were under the administration of kings.
From the
exile to Christ, the focus was on the coming Messiah. The people of God were living in darkness,
subject to foreign powers, princes and kings.
Fourteen
generations in each age allowed time for the people of God to prove they would
be faithful. The period of the judges
started out well with Moses and Joshua, but quickly degenerated into a cycle of
unfaithfulness and wandering. The period
of the kings started out well with David and Solomon, but quickly degenerated
into a cycle of good and bad kings, a divided nation. The period after the exile started out with
reforms by Ezra and Nehemiah, but degenerated into the Sadducees, Pharisees,
Hellenists and Zealots of the time of Jesus.
God patiently allows each age to test the limits of their ability to
live by faith according to the administration of that age. Could people direct themselves only calling
on judges when they found themselves in trouble? Could kings faithfully lead people to follow
God? Would God’s people patiently look
forward in hope for God’s promised Messiah?
The answer,
sadly, to all of these queries is “no.”
Therefore, at the fullness of time, at just the right time, God brought
forth His Son.
It is
important for us to be patient and wait upon the Lord. The times may seem uncertain, but God is at
work. We should never give up hope. We have seen history centers on Jesus, and
that God has a plan and an administration for each age. We also see in this genealogy that God keeps
His promises.
It is
important that Jesus be both a descendant of David and a descendant of
Abraham. God promised to bless all
peoples on earth through Abraham’s seed.
This promise is fulfilled in Jesus.
God promised that a descendant of David would sit on the throne
forever. Jesus is that descendant.
Although
Jesus is not the physical son of Joseph, the genealogy of Matthew establishes
His legal right to the throne of David, this legal right being passed down
through the male line.
However, it
is significant that Mary is also a descendant of David as recorded in
Luke. However, there is a difference in
Mary’s line. Jeremiah 22:30 says of one
of the descendants of David listed in Joseph’s line:
This is what the LORD says: ‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin
was childless. He is a failure, for none
of his children will succeed him on the throne of David to rule over Judah.’
While
Matthew shows Joseph as the descendant of David through his son Solomon, Luke
shows Mary descended from David through his son Nathan. So, true to the prophecy, none of
Jehoiachin’s children will sit on the throne of David, even though that line
secures Jesus’s legal right to the throne.
God keeps His promises.
Matthew’s
genealogy is unique. Most genealogies
follow the male line and if it is royalty, goes through the firstborn. However, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, David and many
others listed were not firstborn.
Furthermore, the genealogy contains women. Of the four women listed, all were Gentiles,
Rahab was a prostitute and Tamar’s children were born of adultery and
incest. This is significant because
Jesus is the Savior for all people. Just
as the Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:16:
For I am not ashamed of this Good
News about Christ. It is the power of
God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.
Jesus
ushered in a new period of history. In
this, this Church age, all people can come freely to God through Jesus
Christ. The turmoil of our day signals
the end of this Church age. Jesus will
soon sit on the throne of David and rule over all the earth.
Keep your
hope fixed firmly on Him.
[i] Unless
otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation. Copyright © 1996, 2004,
2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois
60188. All rights reserved.
[ii]
McGee, J. Vernon, Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee, Copyright 1983. Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN. Vol. 4, pg.
1-2.
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