The Promised Prophet, Priest, and King
December 22, 2024 Preacher: Kevin Godin Series: Matthew - The King in His Beauty
Scripture: Matthew 1:1–17
Sermon Transcript:
I remember as a boy how exciting it was when our family would go on road trips. It felt like it took forever for the day to come but finally, early in the morning before the sun was up, people would begin to stir as whispered voices filled the house and everything was packed up. I would be filled with anticipation and excitement about what was next.
Well, I feel a lot like that this morning as we begin a new journey through the Gospel of Matthew. We aren’t preparing for a fishing trip or a family vacation but for an expedition into the Word of God with the Holy Spirit as our Guide. So, let’s wake up our minds and ready ourselves with prayer as we begin this journey together because our goal isn’t just to learn more facts, but to be made more like Jesus. I like the way H.B. Charles Jr. said it,
“It is the will of God that the Spirit of God use the Word of God to make the people of God look like the Son of God.”
That is our desire as we begin this new study together. That our hearts would be transformed by the gospel so we would continue growing to be more like Jesus. Are you ready?
We begin at verse 1,
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew begins with a genealogy. I know we often get bogged down in these, but first century Jews would have immediately understood the significance of this. Genealogies were not simply a list of ancestors; they were a way of establishing a claim. Anytime you see a genealogy in the Bible, understand that something is being passed on. In this case, it is a claim to the throne of Israel. This is not simply the family tree of Jesus; it is a legal pedigree confirming His credentials as the Messiah. He is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham, He is the promised king in the line of David that will reign forever.
God promised Abraham that the Messiah would come from his family and bring blessing to all the nations. The word “Christ” is a translation of the Greek word for Messiah, meaning anointed one. In Genesis 22:18, God says to Abraham,
18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.
Speaking of this verse, the apostle Paul says in Galatians 3:16,
16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
God also promised David that the Messiah, or Christ, would be a king descended from his royal line. In 2 Samuel 7:12–13 God says to David,
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Matthew establishes Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises. It is not just the throne that has been passed down, but the promise. Jesus is the one God’s people have been waiting for since ancient days, He is the Messiah, the Redeemer, and the one who will bless all nations.
But Matthew intends for us to see that not only is this promise kept, but it is kept solely by the grace of God. Jesus is not the result of a natural unfolding of history. He is a unique gift from heaven that comes despite the failures of human strength and wisdom, and not because of them. Matthew’s genealogy shows us that God is the hero of redemption. Salvation comes to fallen humanity because of His faithfulness and His sovereign grace. This is the key teaching of this passage and the main point of our message today,
The genealogy of Jesus Christ highlights God's faithfulness and grace in keeping His promise of salvation.
The first way Matthew highlights this is in how he organizes the list. He doesn’t list every ancestor, instead he organizes the list into three groups highlighting key moments in Israel’s history: the promise to Abraham, the reign of David, and the exile to Babylon. We know he wants us to see this because he calls our attention to it. Verse 17 says,
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
The first group connects the family of King David to Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
The second list records the time of the kings from David until Israel was conquered by the Babylonians.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
The last group begins with Jechoniah, a disgraced king, cursed by God, and records the line from the fall to Babylon to Joseph, a royal heir working as a carpenter, his wife Mary and finally Jesus.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
The first list begins with distinguished Abraham lists the famous patriarchs. The second begins with King David and is a list of kings. The third list begins with a failed king who wore prison clothes for 36 years and a list of mostly unknown people. The third list begins with disaster and decline, but it is this third list that is the most glorious of them all.
Matthew is telling us that the glorious Messiah does not spring naturally from the line of David or the family of Abraham. He is given to them as a gift to restore and fulfill that line. God preserved this succession despite their failures. When King Jesus comes, He does not come to a palace, but to a stable. He isn’t surrounded by servants, but by animals. He comes not to the mighty, but to the lowly. He comes as one we can approach, as a gift from God to the world.
We see the grace of God at work also in several of the people God uses to advance His plan of redemption. Jesus is descended from several men who would not normally be found in a royal line of succession.[1] Royal lines typically pass down through the oldest male, but Jacob, Judah, David, Nahshon, are younger brothers and likely Abraham too. God defies human tradition and assumptions in moving the promise forward.
We also see this in that several women are named.[2] Since family lines were traced through men in Israel, women are not usually mentioned in their genealogies, yet Matthew includes five women. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, who is called the wife of Uriah, and Mary are all included. And other than Mary, these are not the kind of women you might expect to see in the family of God’s Holy One. Rahab, Ruth, and Tamar were foreigners. Tamar and Bathsheba were involved in moral scandal, and in her youth, Rahab was a prostitute.
The family of Christ contains rich and poor, men and women, kings and servants, Jews and gentiles, righteous and wicked. It is not a list of respectable or holy people. It is a list of every kind of people and their inclusion underscores God's sovereign grace. Many of these people were nearly invisible in their cultures but they were not overlooked by God. He is pleased to include even the most unlikely people in His plan of redemption.
Brothers and sisters, even today God adds the most unlikely people to the family of Jesus. We cannot tell from any outward appearance who God will be pleased to save. We are called to proclaim the gospel of grace to all people, everywhere. We are called to love even the unlovely, the broken, and the difficult because God does. Our background, successes or failures, or worldly fame or insignificance mean nothing in the Kingdom of God. All who come, come by grace alone, and so we are called to proclaim Christ to all.
We see God’s faithfulness and grace emphasized in how Matthew highlights the Babylonian Exile. This deportation lasted from 586 B.C. when the king was deposed, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, and many Israelites were taken captive, until 538 B.C. when they were allowed to return. This exile was judgment for Israel’s persistent idolatry and disobedience, and it marked a significant turning point in Jewish history.
This was a significant disruption to the succession of the Davidic kings and Matthew mentions it as a major turning point in his genealogy. He says in verse 11 and 12,
11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. 12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel
Matthew is highlighting the unwavering faithfulness and boundless grace of God, who, despite the people's persistent idolatry and waywardness, kept His promises. He preserved this line of promise, ensuring that through it, the covenants would be fulfilled, and the long-awaited Messiah would come. This divine act of preservation despite human frailty, magnifies God's steadfast love and sovereign grace in bringing Jesus into the world through this family. I pray this would give us the confidence to trust God even when things are challenging and appear dark. God’s word never fails, and He always keeps His promises.
That brings us to the main entry in verse 16,
Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born
Through Joseph, Jesus has a legal claim to the throne of David but Matthew is also careful to lay the groundwork for something he will explain in more detail in the following verses. Jesus inherits Joseph’s line through adoption. Joseph is not the biological father of Jesus. The pronoun "whom" is in the feminine singular in Greek. Matthew is highlighting that Jesus was born specifically of Mary, not Joseph. He is introduced as the husband of Mary.
If you are paying attention, you may have also noticed that although Matthew says there are 14 generations in each section, this final section only includes 13 male names. I think the reason is that Matthew is pointing to the extraordinary nature of Jesus' descent and intends us to count either Mary or God as # 14. Jesus is born of Mary through the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, not by natural means through Joseph.
Matthew has established Jesus as the king but there is something else also being passed down through this genealogy, which is the promise of redemption. All salvation history and the hopes of all God’s people, culminate in the last name on this list. Jesus is the one the Father has sent into the world to redeem it and save a people for Himself.
Every name before Him, every promise, every shadow, every type, points to Him. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature. And in Him, all the promises of God are 'Yes' and 'Amen.' He came not just to establish an earthly kingdom, but to conquer sin and death and make a way for His people to know the fullness of joy in the presence of God forever.
That is why Matthew includes the women and mentions the brothers of Judah and Jechoniah. None of these are relevant if we are only talking about a claim to the throne. Descent passes down through males, but Matthew includes the women. The Messiah was promised through Judah but all of Jacob’s sons participated in the covenant promises. Through this line will come not only a Davidic king but the realization of the hope of all Israel. The fulfillment of the promise of redemption made to all 12 tribes and to all who will be added to them through faith.
In fact, Matthew emphasizes the profound reality of God's faithfulness and grace in keeping His promise of salvation in an astounding way that I never noticed until I was preparing this message. It is something that is easy for us to miss but that would jump out immediately to a first century jew.
Have you ever noticed that this genealogy is backwards? In biblical genealogies it is always the first name on the list that is most important because it is from the first person that the blessing or promise is passed down. These lists are like relay races, where each person hands off the baton to the next one. Everyone on the list receives or participates because the person before them handed off the blessing to them. That is why these lists are always said to be the genealogies or the generations of the first person on the list.
For example, the list in Genesis 5:1 begins with Adam and says “These are the generations of Adam...” Genesis 6:9 introduces Noah’s lineage and says “These are the generations of Noah...” Genesis 37:2 focuses on Jacob’s descendants and begins by saying, “These are the generations of Jacob...”
But Matthew begins by saying this is the genealogy of Jesus, who is the last person on the list. They would have expected a list of Jesus’ descendants to follow, but Matthew begins with Abraham. The logic of how these things work is reversed. Every person on the list derives their significance not from being descended from Abraham, David, or the other heroes of Israel, but from being in the line of promise that leads to Jesus.
For ancient Jews the ancestors are greater than descendants, but Matthew flips this upside down. The reversal of this genealogy shows that Jesus doesn’t inherit a blessing, He is the source of it. It is Christ who gives significance to every other name. Salvation and a place in God’s kingdom is a gift of grace. In John 8:53 the leaders say to Jesus,
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?
Matthew’s answer is a YES! Jesus Christ is greater than Abraham and greater than the prophets. Jesus is not merely another entry in the family history, He is the source from whom the blessing to Abraham and his family comes. Remember that whenever you see a genealogy something is being passed on. What is being passed on from Jesus to Abraham and then to the sons of Abraham?
It becomes clear when we realize that Matthew starts with Abraham and not Adam. What Jesus gives that is passed down from Abraham does not come from Adam. It does not find its origin within fallen humanity. It is probably easiest to see by comparing our text to the line of Adam we find in Genesis 5:1-32,
These are the generations of Adam…
When Adam had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth... Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died. … When Seth had lived 105 years, he fathered Enosh... Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died. … When Enosh had lived 90 years, he fathered Kenan... Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died. … When Kenan had lived 70 years, he fathered Mahalalel... Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years, and he died. …
It continues like this throughout the list. In fact, it continues like this from Adam right down to our day. Adam was created righteous, but he sinned and through him death entered the world. Every generation has passed the baton of sin. Every one of us who is in the line of Adam inherits sin and death from our fathers. But by the grace of God, Jesus Christ finishes the race. He came to the world to conquer sin and death and to bring the promise of eternal life.
It is by faith that we are adopted into the family of God and are transferred from our identity as sons and daughters of Adam to sons and daughters of God. Just as adoption legally changes a child’s family identity, faith in Christ gives us a new spiritual family and a new inheritance. By faith, we are no longer in the generations of Adam, which leads to death, but having been crucified and died with Jesus, we are born again into the generations of Jesus Christ. Having been heirs of death, we have been adopted by the blood of Jesus as heirs of the Kingdom of God and eternal life. 1 Corinthians 15:21–22 says,
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
God has provided in Jesus a savior. A new representative of humanity. Jesus succeeds where Adam failed and in our connection with Him through faith we receive his righteousness. If you are a believer struggling with guilt and sin, remember that Jesus died to free you from that sin and the condemnation it brings. In Christ, your identity is no longer defined by failure, you stand before the Father clothed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus. In Christ, we are no longer enslaved to sin but have been set free to enjoy fellowship with God knowing we are loved not because we are good enough, but because Jesus is.
We were all born in the line of Adam, but by faith we are adopted into the family of Abraham who was counted righteous because of his faith in the promise. By grace, through faith, we become children of God in the line of Abraham who believed. In Galatians 3:26 & 29 the apostle Paul says,
26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. … 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
We do not earn this or work for it. We receive it by faith. God chose to adopt us knowing all our faults, weaknesses. Jesus left the glory of heaven to be born and live as one of us to rescue us from our inheritance of sin. He was crucified, taking the record of everything we’ve done wrong—all the guilt, shame, and failure—and nailing it to the cross. Through His sacrifice, our debt is canceled, He died in our place. Like all those other names, He was buried, but unlike any of them, on the third day, He rose again. Death could not hold Him for it had no claim upon Him.
He suffered and died in our place to pay for our sins, but in His love sin and death were swallowed up. He had conquered the grave and the life He offers is everlasting. This is the promise, all who repent and believe will be raised with Him to eternal glory where there is no death, no sickness, no sorrow, but everlasting joy.
Brothers and sisters, this genealogy is more than just a list of names. It is a declaration of God’s faithfulness and grace. What wonderful truths we deprive ourselves of if we skip genealogies! Remember our main point?
The genealogy of Jesus Christ highlights God's faithfulness and grace in keeping His promise of salvation.
From Abraham to David, from exile to Christ, we see a God who never fails to keep His promises. This list reminds us that salvation is not the result of human effort, tradition, or worthiness but of God’s sovereign grace. Jesus is the fulfillment of every promise, the one in whom all the hopes of the ages are realized.
The question for us is what will we do with these truths? How do they shape us, how we think and act and deal with others? Are we trusting in our own plans or works, our background, or our own goodness to make us right with God? The genealogy of Jesus makes it clear that salvation doesn’t comes from any of this, but through faith in the one who finished the race for us. Jesus is the beginning and end of salvation. If you have not yet put your faith in Him, do it now. Come to Him believing, and He will adopt you into His family, giving you a new inheritance of eternal life and joy.
For those of us already adopted, is our life consistent with our new identity? Are we thinking and acting like children of Adam or like children of God? Are we patient and forgiving? Are we gracious and encouraging to other believers? Are we willing to love and share the gospel with all people, including the broken and the outcasts and those that make us uncomfortable? Pray we always remember that we are not loved because we were lovely, but because God is merciful.
May we live out the truth of the Gospel with all reverence and humility. Jesus did not come in power and splendor but in humility and grace. He is the King of the universe, yet He was pleased to lay in a stable, walk among the lowly, and die on a cross for sinners like us. He conquered sin and death, not with a sword but with His own blood, and now He saves all who put their trust in Him to do it. This is our King in all His beauty. This is the Savior we proclaim, and this is the one we have come today to worship.
As we reflect on the grace and faithfulness of God throughout history to keep His promise to send a redeemer, let us worship with confidence that He is working still to keep His promise that Jesus will return in glory, that we will be made like Him, and be with Him for all eternity. As we come to the end of our time together let’s meditate on the faithfulness and grace of God to us as we read the words of the apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:3-7.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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