MATTHEW 1:7-25

INTRODUCTION / REVIEW

We pick up this week in Matthew 1 at verse 7

LAST WEEK we learned a bit about the author of this account of the life of Jesus -- Matthew’s

His birth name was Levi…. He is evidently related in some way to the tribe of Levi.

His knowledge of the Old Testament, (over 99 references to the Old Testament in his gospel), tells us that he was evidently raised as a young boy in the religious system.

It is possible that he trained for the priesthood, was trained as a Levite.

But at some point in his life, seeing the hypocrisy of the religious system in his day, he decided that he was going to bail on the religious life of Israel and become a materialist and a hedonist.

He becomes a tax collector, a publican, making him - next to the Romans - one the most hated people in Israel.

KEY INSIGHT: We will find that Levi was commissioned to collect taxes in Capernaum, which just happened to be the base of operations for Jesus during his public ministry.

While sitting at his tax booth he would have heard the voices of the crowds speak about this One who is opening the eyes of the blind and healing the lame.

KEY INSIGHT: He would have begun to observe a change in the crowds.

Romans - people from Tyre and Sidon (Lebanon and Syria) - people from the Decapolis (10 cities around Galilee) all mingled with the Jews including Pharisees and Sadducees - many of whom came from 70 miles away to see what was going on concerning a man named Jesus.

He would have also begun to see Lepers in the crowds – they were never seen in a crowd.

Crowds of 15,000 plus - the lame walking - the blind recovering their sight - lepers cleansed - The miraculous was happening in such an incredible way that Matthew began to remember how the Prophets promised that the Messiah would come and preach the Good News to the poor and open the eyes of the blind.

One day the One he had heard about walks up to Levi and says two words to him -

Follow Me

And Matthew dropped everything to follow Jesus.

Then he becomes the chronicler of the King.

So Matthew, the wayward Jew - wrote his account of the life of Jesus - aimed at the Jews.

And indeed, what a great vessel he would be to pen a message that is labeled GOOD NEWS because by experience he would come to know just how GOOD the GOOD News is -

He he became a the recipient of God’s grace, and his account is filled with the demonstration of God’s grace.

Begining with his record of the genealogy of Jesus

IN VERSE 1 - Writing to a Jewish audience - Matthew tells us that Jesus is

Of the royal line of David

That He is a Jew, a descendant of Abraham

THEN - Matthew we saw that Matthew includes the names of four women here.

REMEMBER: Jews never included women in their genealogies.

Every Pharisee would pray every morning, thank God that I’m not a gentile, a dog, or a woman.

So he begins with these women

Amazingly - Not with women like Leah or Rachel or Rebekkah.

Instead he gives to us the names of Tamar, Ruth and of the wife of Uriah, Bathsheba; and of Rahab.

All gentiles and all despicable in the mind of the Jew.

2 of them harlots and 1 of them an adulteress.

KEY INSIGHT: This is REMARKABLE!

No Jew trying to prove the case for Jesus being the Messiah would do that, but Matthew understands something else.

Matthew, by personal experience, understands that the Messiah of Israel came to associate with tax collectors and sinners.

He understood that it was in the heart of God from eternity past to come and be WITH US…. To associate Himself with the likes of me and you!

WE CONTINUE WITH ONE MORE TROPHY OF GRACE

10And Ezekias[Hezekiah] begat Manasses [Manasseh];

This is not a guy you would put in your family tree.

I have to believe that Matthew kind of enjoys how this genealogy would just run against the grain of the religiopsity and legalism of Israel.

10 and Manasses [Manasseh]; begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias[Josiah];

Manasseh was the most wicked king that the Southern kingdom had ever seen.

In fact, it was under his reign that wickedness was brought to such a threshold that despite Josiah’s reforms God said that He would still judge the nation because of the sins of Manasseh .

THIS IS AMAZING!

It was as Manasseh was punished and carried away to Babylon that he cried out to God and God heard him and was gracious to him

Even though he had

Slaughtered his sons

Filled his life with immorality and wickedness

And for all intents and purpose, worshipped Satan, as he worshipped Molech and other foreign gods with blood….

God restored him to Jerusalem and lived out his old age there and raised up Josiah - who would become a great reformer in Israel.

DO WE UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THE GOOD NEWS - THE REALITY OF GRACE - For the Manassehs out there, whatever your background, even if you have taken human life, you can, through faith in Christ, become part of the family of the king.

11And Josias[Josiah] begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

In Jeremiah 22:24-30 God pronounced a curse on the lineage of Jechoniah and said that none of his seed would ever sit upon the throne of David and hold the throne.

Yet we’re going to follow the family line of Jesus through Jechoniah to show that Joseph was of that line of David himself.

So Jechoniah is included here

BY THE WAY - that the Bible tells us that his name is changed to choniah.

It had been Jechoniah - the je from Jehovah

His name is changed to choniah as God removes his dealings from the man’s life.

May God keep every one of us from ever having His dealings removed from our lives.

16And Jacob begat Joseph

KEY OBSERVATION: Now there’s no more begots because Joseph didn’t beget Jesus.

This is the royal line, but notice how it switches now,

16 And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.Joseph does no begetting, he’s just married to the woman who has Jesus.

Even the grammar is very definite that Joseph has nothing to do with it, pointing us to the virgin birth.

It says Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

Christos in the Greek….. Messiah in the Hebrew.

KEY INSIGHT: Some people think the Lord is His first name, Jesus is his middle name and Christ is his last name.

The Lord speaks of his deity, it is who he is.

Jesus was his name, Joshua.

Christ is his office – the anointed of God. (Isaiah 61)

18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise:

This is the way it happened.

13When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together,

CRUCIAL: The conception of Jesus takes place BEFORE Joseph and Marty came together sexually.

KEY OBSERVATION: Mary was the espoused wife of Joseph.

KEY INSIGHT: Marriage in that culture was by arrangement.

Usually those arrangements were made when you were a little kid.

If your dad was the golfing buddy of the guy down the street - and somewhere between the 9th and 10th hole they were sitting in their cart your dad might say, you know what we should do, I’ve got a daughter, you’ve got a son, let’s hook them up, that way the wives can sit around with the grandkids and we can golf the rest of our lives. This is great.

So they would make an arrangement and you didn’t have much to say about it - you grew up and the marriage was by arrangement.

And if the guy looked like Frankenstein there was nothing you could do about it.

18she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example,

In stoning for adultery.

19was minded to put her away privily.

So here is Mary.

Most scholars feel she’s fifteen, sixteen years old. That was the average age when you went and were married.

She was into the period of espousal.

This would usually be about a year before the wedding ceremony itself and the consummation of their vows .

And during that year the young woman would prepare her wedding gowns and and the gowns for the maids that would be with her.

And the young groom would build an addition on his father’s house and this young bride would start out by living with her mother-in-law.

BY THE WAY: All of this is a picture of our groom, Jesus, who’s building an addition on his father’s house for his bride to come.

KEY INSIGHT: The Jews considered that year of espousal as binding.

For you to get out of that year of espousal you had to file divorce papers. You had to go through a legal divorce.

IN OTHER WORDS - Once the year of espousal began you were married, you just had not consummated the marriage.

On the wedding day the bride and groom would go into a private room during a feast, they would consummate the marriage.

Everybody understood what was happening.

But during the year of espousal you were already husband and wife.

NOTE WELL: It was DURING this period Mary now is found to be pregnant, which was equal to adultery in their society.

So Mary has to come to Joseph and say, Guess what?

And no doubt he was in love with her.

She says

I’m pregnant.

But don’t worry, I’m still a virgin.

God did it!

Now Joseph hadn’t read Matthew 1 yet!

You have to understand this is not going over big.

Imagine one of the girls in our high school group ending up pregnant and she comes in to travis and says “well,I’m pregnant but I’m still a virgin, and God did this.”

Before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Ghost.

Maybe Joseph thought it wouldn’t be right to stone her, she’s lost her mind…..I don’t know.

Joseph her husband, being a just man

We don’t hear much about him, but he must have been a remarkable man.

He was a carpenter, a tradesman, a hard worker.

He is chosen to be the custodian of the Messiah in his early years.

What a man he must have been.

JUST - Not willing to bring shame….. not vindictive.

He had a mind to divorce her, that tells us what he thought of her story, but he wanted to save her from shame and stoning.

It says that he wasn’t willing to make her a public example.

I wonder what his family members were telling him.

Evidently others were willing.

You know, he’s in love with this girl - he probably knew from the time they were younger that this was to be.

He probably watched Mary grow.

NOTE WELL: If you have ever studied the Gospel of Luke you have found that she was an amazing young woman!

CRUCIAL INSIGHT: She was from Nazareth.

A population of about 20,000 in that day.

Nazareth was situated along the VIA MARE - THE major trade route through the Middle East.

Caravans from East and West….. Roman soldiers loved to go there because all the prostitutes were there.

Nazareth was infamous for it’s wickedness!.

That’s why Nathaniel, when he heard that Jesus was from Nazareth said can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Yet in the midst of such wickedness God finds the young lady to bear His only begotten Son!

God looked over all of the women in Israel - of all of the women of the earth - and chose this young fifteen, sixteen year old girl living in the midst of wickedness to be the mother of His Only Begotten Son.

HOW WAS IT THAT HE COULD FIND SUCH A VESSEL IN SUCH A PLACE?

The answer is GRACE -

(Luke 1:28 NKJV) And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”

KEY INSIGHT: The term highly favored is probably NOT the best rendering of the Greek.

CRUCIAL: Rather than reading it primarily as a reference to the PRIVILEGE of baring the Son of God, it can be read as:

Grace be unto you, you are endued with grace, the Lord is with thee.

CRUCIAL: In the midst of a city overflowing with sin was a young woman whose life was OVERFLOWING with the grace of God and the Lord was with her.

While Nazareth was under heavy godless influences

She was enjoying FELLOWSHIP with God because of God's grace.

This young woman was PRESERVED from all of that city's wickedness because of God's grace.

Titus 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

CRUCIAL APPLICATION: While the rest of the greater Sacramento area the Foothills are living in darkness and sin without God, you can be endued with grace and experience the reality of the Lord with you.

CRUCIAL APPLICATION: Those of you who are struggling in a dark home life, or with a godless spouse, can be endued with grace and experience the reality of the Lord with you.

Mary was a GODLY woman in a godless place - and that is why this whole thing must have been troubling Joseph tremendously.

So he is contemplating, thinking about these things. And it says,

20But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David,

Reminding him of his legal line to the throne of David.

20 thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

NEWS FLASH!

People sin and need to be saved from it!

And I’m ETERNALLY thankful His Name is Jesus and that He saves from sin because I had a load of it.

But because of JESUS - because of what He did for me on the cross - MY sin has been removed from me as far as the east is from the west and I appreciate that every day of my life.

His name shall be called Joshua.

KEY INSIGHT: This is a contraction of Jehovah Shua – The Lord shall become our salvation.

KEY INSIGHT: On Mt. Moriah God reveals himself there to Abraham as Jehovah Jireh = The Lord shall provide.

Abraham told Isaac – The Lord shall provide Himself a sacrifice.

Did you know that it was on that very spot the Lord provided Himself as the sacrifice for our sins.

KEY INSIGHT: As the children of Israel are coming out of Egypt God reveals Himself as Jehovah-Rapha, Exodus 15:26. I AM become your healer.

KEY INSIGHT: Exodus 17 He calls himself Jehovah Nissi as He gives them victory over the Amalekites

I AM your banner.

If you go to battle with Me, you will have victory.

If you are in the war that I am in, I AM your victory every day of your life.

KEY INSIGHT: God reveals himself to Gideon as Jehovah-Shalom.

I am your peace….. The Lord is our peace even in the most trying of circumstances.

KEY INSIGHT: In Psalm 23, He reveals himself as Jehovah-Rah.

David says, Yahweh-rah, the Lord is my Shepherd.

The compound name again there the fifth time.

KEY INSIGHT: As we come to Jeremiah He’s revealed there as Jehovah-Tsidkanu, the Lord will be our righteousness.

During the Millenium, as we walk in His kingdom, and walk in his presence, He will be called the one has become our righteousness.

KEY INSIGHT: In Ezekiel 48 He is Jehovah-Shammah.

Jehovah-Shammah means the ever present one, or the Lord is present.

When the nations come to worship Him in the Millenium, He will be present - the idea is, He will always be there.

And it’s beautiful to see the compound names that God pulls together so that we might know WHO HE IS TO US

Moses asks - When they ask who are you? God says - Tell them I AM that I AM.

I AM the becoming one.

I AM becoming whatever you need me to be –

your provider

your healer

your banner

your shepherd

your righteousness

your peace

the ever present one.

KEY INSIGHT: Finally, the eighth time we have the compound Name that completes the picture of our God.

The angel says thou shalt call his name Yehoshua, the Lord has become our salvation.

Call Him that name BECAUSE He shall become your salvation…. shall save his people from their sins.

KEY APPLICATION: You can’t be one of His people unless you’ve been forgiven of your sins, because that is what his very name is about.

AMAZING in the face of this angelic declaration that contemporary church culture says that we shouldn’t be preaching about needing to be saved from sin or about the need to repent because it can alienate people or cause them to have low self-esteem.

22Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

And Matthew always wants to point us to the Scripture to explain the life and ministry of Jesus.

23Behold,Consider.

23 a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

Jesus IS God with us.

23 a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us

24Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him,

That’s normally what you do when the angel of the Lord comes in your bedroom.

24 and took unto him his wife:

And here it is again.

25And knew her not till

He had no sexual relationships with Mary until,

25she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name

In obedience.

25JESUS.

Joseph did the naming.

He said to Mary, look, I had to believe you when you came to me and said, honey I’m pregnant, I’m still a virgin and it’s of the Lord. I had to believe you didn’t I?

This is what the angel said. And she probably said, yeah but what do you mean believed me, you were going to divorce me until the angel...so he’s saying to her look we’ve got to name this kid Joshua and she’s saying, Joshua? He should be named Joseph.

So he names him.

He called his name Jesus.

God’s program sailing through, never aborted, never set aside.

The Messiah has come into the world and has chosen in his family tree prostitutes, sinners, murderers, Manasseh, Rahab, Bathsheba, Ruth, foreigners, isn’t it amazing?

CONCLUSION

You know I encourage you, read ahead into chapter 2 you’ll have a lot of fun with the three wise guys and Herod.

But this morning, whatever you may have been

Religious/Moral….. Immoral

Perhaps you have an abortion that is hanging on your conscience,

You have to understand that when you come to Christ, old things are passed away, all things are become new and He never holds any of that against you.

As far as He is concerned no sin of any sinner has surprised Him.

Long before His genealogy was written He had determined to come and to be Emmanuel, to be with us in a lost and fallen world in order to save us from our sins… and bring us into His family.

PRAY FOR BUILDING SITUATION

WEST OAKS - Thought it must be the Lord because only option - other doors closed - this one kept coming back our way.

Even more so in light of dead line to get out and completion and occupancy date on building

Responded to our proposal for lease and option to buy with almost total agreement. Dollars amounts are very good.

As we met last wed we looked at the NUMBERS

2 buildings = 2x combined present rents

Just 1 building = $6k more than present rents but with 5k sq. ft less than what we need to do ministry

We are living month to month and are really trusting the Lord to supply for the missions we know the Lord is calling us to.

Brazil Guatemala Africa England

BY THE WAY - WE ARE a missionary work here.

Mon night - 60% there are from other churches.

Radio - example Starbucks lady

Conservatively - 15% of all our money goes to outreach

CAN’T stop our mission for a building.

CRAZY - but more faith to say no to the building because we have no apparent option.