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.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew begins his book by giving us the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
Genealogy means “origin.” Genealogies were incredibly important to first-century Jews, because
Genealogies proved:
1. That a person was an Israelite
2. That they belonged to a specific tribe
3. That they were qualified for religious duties such as priestly service
Jesus’ genealogy proved:
1. That He was an Israelite
2. That He belonged to the tribe of Judah and was a descendent of David.
3. That He was qualified to rule on the throne of David
We have a long list of men’s names, and interspersed in this list, are the names of five women. I need to stress that it was unusual that the names of women would be listed in a genealogy, yet the Holy Spirit moved Matthew to include these particular women.
As we look at these five female ancestors of Jesus we will see that; one pretended to be a prostitute, one was a prostitute, one was a Moabite, one was an adulteress, and one was highly favored. There are lessons about grace that we learn from each one.
TAMAR, we read these words in the genealogy of Jesus:
· Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar
To learn about Tamar we need to go to Genesis 38
1 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.
2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her.
3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.
4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.
5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.
6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him.
8 And Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother."
9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow in your father's house till my son Shelah is grown." For he said, "Lest he also die as his brothers did." And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah's wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And it was told Tamar, saying, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep."
14 So she took off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face.
16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, "Please let me come in to you"; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"
17 And he said, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." So she said, "Will you give me a pledge till you send it?"
18 Then he said, "What pledge shall I give you?" So she said, "Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand." Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.
19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.
21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, "Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?" And they said, "There was no harlot in this place."
22 And he returned to Judah and said, "I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place."
23 Then Judah said, "Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her."
24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry." So Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned!"
25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man to whom these belong, I am with child." And she said, "Please determine whose these are--the signet and cord, and staff."
26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he never knew her again.
27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb.
28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, "This one came out first."
29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, "How did you break through? This breach be upon you!" Therefore his name was called Perez.
30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.
Here is the lesson I learn from Tamar’s life:
· God enables us to overcome mistakes that result from taking things into our own hands
One of the things that I love about the Bible is that it never paints ordinary men as Super-men! We have so many accounts of people taking things into their own hands:
Abraham
Genesis 12:13 “Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.”
Sarah
Genesis 16:2 So Sarai said to Abram, "See now, the LORD has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her."
Isaac
Genesis 26:6-7 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, "She is my sister"; for he was afraid to say, "She is my wife," because he thought, "lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold."
Moses
Exodus 2:11-14 Now it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens. And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, "Why are you striking your companion?" Then he said, "Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?" So Moses feared and said, "Surely this thing is known!"
Tamar is another one on that list, she is someone else who took things into her own hands to work out the plan of God.
If you are not on that list yet, someday you will be. Someday you are going to take things into your own hands to try to work out God’s plan, and you are going to make a mess.
Just remember one of the people listed in Jesus genealogy was someone who did the same thing!
I have learned that God is able to bring good even from my stupid mistakes!
RAHAB, we read these words in the genealogy of Jesus:
· Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab
Let’s read about Rahab
Joshua 2
1 Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.
2 And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country."
3 So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country."
4 Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
5 And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them."
6 (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.)
7 Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.
8 Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof,
9 and said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you.
10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
11 And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
12 Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father's house, and give me a true token,
13 and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death."
14 So the men answered her, "Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the LORD has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you."
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall; she dwelt on the wall.
16 And she said to them, "Get to the mountain, lest the pursuers meet you. Hide there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward you may go your way."
17 So the men said to her: "We will be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us swear,
18 unless, when we come into the land, you bind this line of scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you bring your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household to your own home.
19 So it shall be that whoever goes outside the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be on his own head, and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head if a hand is laid on him.
20 And if you tell this business of ours, then we will be free from your oath which you made us swear."
21 Then she said, "According to your words, so be it." And she sent them away, and they departed. And she bound the scarlet cord in the window.
Here is the lesson I learn from Rahab’s life:
· Regardless of our past, God is ready to give us a new life
One of the ancestors of Jesus was a prostitute! You would imagine that would cause people to raise their eyebrows!
Even though people may look down their noses at people with a scandalous past, but God never does!
Psalms 86:5 For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.
Regardless of what you have done in the past, God is ready to forgive you.
RUTH, we read these words in the genealogy of Jesus:
· Boaz begot Obed by Ruth
Ruth was a woman from Moab, who married a young Israelite man who died shortly after they were married.
Ruth 1
1 Now it came to pass, in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion--Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there.
3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons.
4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years.
5 Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so the woman survived her two sons and her husband.
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the LORD had visited His people by giving them bread.
7 Therefore she went out from the place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law with her; and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
8 And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each to her mother's house. The LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
10 And they said to her, "Surely we will return with you to your people."
11 But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?
12 Turn back, my daughters, go--for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons,
13 would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters; for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me!"
14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again; and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
15 And she said, "Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law." 16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go;
and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me."
18 When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her.
Ruth 3
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her.
7 And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
8 Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet.
9 And he said, "Who are you?" So she answered, "I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative."
10 Then he said, "Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.
12 Now it is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I.
13 Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you--good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives!
Ruth 4
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel!
15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him."
The lesson I learn from Ruth’s life is:
· God abundantly rewards those who choose to serve others.
Ruth made the choice to serve Naomi. Even though there was nothing in it for her.
I pick up from Naomi’s words that she was a negative woman, who didn’t want anyone around, which makes me admire Ruth even more. It is especially difficult to serve negative people.
Jesus connected serving with greatness:
Mark 9:33-37 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."
Jesus’ entire life was defined by serving.
Matthew 20:27-28 “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Ruth was an incredible servant…and was greatly rewarded for it!
BATHSHEBA, we read these words in the genealogy of Jesus:
· David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah
It is interesting that Bathsheba was not mentioned by name, but rather referred to as: “her who had been the wife of Uriah.”
We were introduced to Bathsheba in the book of 2 Samuel.
2 Samuel 11
1 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king's house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold.
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?"
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.
5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, "I am with child."
The lesson I learn from Bathsheba’s life is:
· God doesn’t cast us away because of our failure
It was her next child, David’s son Solomon who would follow David on the throne.
Even though we may feel that our failure has forever disqualified us from doing any thing for God, it just isn’t true!
Listen to the words of Ezra:
Ezra 9:5-9 At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. And I said, "O my God: I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.
Even though it seemed like God could never do anything with the Israelites, yet God was not done with them, in the same way God was not done with Bathsheba.
MARY, we read these words in the genealogy of Jesus:
· Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ
There was a choice made in God’s selection of Mary that was unprecedented.
Luke 1
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing will be impossible."
38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
The lesson I learn from Mary’s life is:
· God has great favor to pour upon our lives
Mary was highly favored, but we need to remember that God is impartial.
1 Peter 1:17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work…
Galatians 2:6 But from those who seemed to be something--whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man…
God desires to pour His favor upon your life.
That was the message the angel gave at Christmas:
Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Goodwill means “delight and pleasure”
This is the time of God’s delight.
You are highly favored by God.
Let’s look at our five lessons one more time:
· God enables us to overcome mistakes that result from taking things into our own hands
· Regardless of our past, God is ready to give us a new life
· God abundantly rewards those who choose to serve others
· God doesn’t cast us away because of our failure
· God has great favor to pour upon our lives