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The First Sunday in Advent
November 30, 2008
The Genealogy of Christ

TEXT:  NKJ Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: 2 Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. 4 Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon. 5 Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa. 8 Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah. 9 Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah. 11 Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
 
For years I thought this genealogy of Christ was boring—I considered it to only have value if you were a Biblical scholar studying the most minute details of Scripture—but I have since learned to appreciate the review of Old Testament events leading up to the birth of our Lord—Christ’s genealogy provides that review
 
The genealogy is divided into three sections—each section is fourteen generations long—it is no coincidence that David’s name, when read as a Hebrew number is the number fourteen—in the Hebrew language each letter can also be used to represent a number similar to Roman numerals)—when the letters of David’s name are read as a number—that number is fourteen—Matthew calls the list of names the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham—there are fourteen generations from Abraham to King David—there were fourteen generations from King David to King Josiah—Josiah was King at the time of the Babylonian captivity—and there were fourteen generations from Josiah to the birth of Jesus, the Christ
 
NKJ Matthew 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.
 
The list begins with one of the greatest examples of faith in Scripture—Abraham—followed by his promised son Isaac—we can remember the promises made to Abraham—God said he would give Abraham a son—and God said a great nation would come from him—more numerous than the sand on the shore of the sea or the stars in the sky—when God finally gave Abraham his son, Abraham was almost 100 years old—his wife, Sarah was 90—Abraham was asked to circumcise himself and every male in his household—Abraham complied—God asked Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice—Abraham did not hesitate—such faith is more than worthy of heading the genealogy of Christ—and Isaac was equally worthy as he offered himself to be sacrificed by his father Abraham—in this example alone we see the shadow of the coming Christ
 
The genealogy includes many areas worthy of separate studies—for example, there are 12 kings included on the list—is it a coincidence that there are 12 kings and there were 12 disciples chosen by Jesus?—I don’t know the answer to that question, but it is on my list of things to study—other areas of the genealogy that are worthy of consideration include men of great faith—thieves—murderers—prostitutes—women are mentioned when there is something significant contributed or if property passed through their hands (there has to be a record of these actions)
 
We have examined briefly the faith of Abraham and Isaac—we should also mention the twin who stole his brother’s birthright—Jacob cheated Esau out of their father’s blessing and out of the birthright of the firstborn—Jacob and Esau were twins—Esau was firstborn and the favorite of their father—but the Savior came through the “deceiver” called Jacob—who had to flee to prevent his brother from killing him—ended up wrestling all night with the Lord—and was from thence called Israel
 
Another interesting person on this list is Perez—another twin born of the father Judah—the promise of the Savior would come through Judah—Jacob declared this upon his pre-death blessing to his sons
 
NKJ Genesis 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
 
In the Old Testament record we learn that Judah had three sons—the eldest married Tamar—but this son was disobedient to God—and God ended his life on earth—Judah gave Tamar into marriage to his second son (as the law of the day required)—that son also died—Judah though there was something about Tamar that caused these deaths—Judah promised to turn over his last son in marriage to Tamar when he grew old enough—he secretly never intended to allow the marriage
When Tamar realized this, she posed as a Canaanite “temple prostitute” at the gate to the city of Timnah (a place where men gathered to sheer sheep)—Judah (whose wife had died years before) saw the veiled prostitute and made a pledge for her services—Tamar became pregnant and delivered Judah twin sons, Perez and Zerah—Perez became a key member of Zerubbebel’s team to rebuild Jerusalem upon return from captivity—Tamar is one of four women mentioned in the genealogy—two of the others were enemies of God’s people
 
Rahab was a harlot living in Jericho when the children of Israel were preparing to cross the River Jordan to battle for the promised land—Rahab had faith that the God of Israel was the true God—and she assisted the spies sent into the city by Joshua—in return, Rahab was protected during the fight for the city—and after, Rahab stayed close to the Israelites and their true God—she married Salmon (sometimes listed as Salma)—Rahab was a woman of great faith—she was recognized for her faith in other parts of Scripture
 
NKJ Hebrews 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
 
NKJ James 2:25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
 
Rahab and Salmon had a son named Boaz—and Boaz married a Moabite woman named Ruth—the book of Ruth in the Bible is a love story—it speaks of the love of Boaz for his God—the love of Boaz for his neighbor—how compassion for a beautiful young lady led to marriage—and how Ruth’s love for her mother-in-law, Naomi, led her from poverty and begging to great wealth—how Boaz’s kinsman had the first right to marry Ruth—but he didn’t want to share his earthly wealth—the four chapter book of Ruth is quite a testimony to love—I recommend it for your personal reading
 
The last of the women mentioned in the genealogy is directly associated with King David—since the name of the genealogy is “The Son of David”—it follows that we know so much about David—how he grew up tending sheep—how he stood before the giant Goliath with no armor—no sword or spear—but only a shepherd’s sling and five smooth stones
 
NKJ 1 Samuel 17:45 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
 
David defeated the ten foot tall Philistine in the name of God—David was a man of faith—and God had Samuel anoint him king—David was tempted one day by a beautiful young lady bathing on the roof of a nearby home—he wanted her—and he took her—and she became pregnant—David tried to cover up the affair by ordering the woman’s husband to return from battle for an overnight stay—the man was an officer of David’s Army and he had great character—he slept in the doorway of his home because he did not feel right sleeping in the comfort of his home while his men slept on the ground in harm’s way—then David had this man, Uriah, placed into the heat of battle and had the army pull back and let him die—David took Uriah’s wife, Bathsheba, to be his own wife—and they had the child-product of their affair--Solomon
 
The last consideration of the genealogy is Matthew’s very careful description of the birth of our Lord—notice that Joseph is not called Jesus’ father
 
NKJ Matthew 1:16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
 
This genealogy of Christ is far from boring—and I invite you to study it for more interesting aspects of our Lord’s fulfillment of the promise of a Savior
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!