The Genesis of Jesus, Part 1

When you sit down and read the first book in the nutrition the opening of Matthew's gospel might surprise you.

And candidly, it might even in the opening of his account. Matthew provides a list of complicated names sounds more like a phone directory genealogy of Jesus today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll helps us appreciate the beauty of this passage and the reason behind Chuck does so in a way that's easy to grasp. Originally presented before Christmas, Chuck titled today's message the genesis of Jesus as the season turns urge you to take time to worship. When you were not here at this place. The Knights may very well be clear stars shine cool crisp days will bring a gust of wind across your face just pause pause in the it in the beauty of the earth, and the glory of the sky and give God thanks for his presence.

The hope that he brings for the truth that he's revealed. The psalmist writes the heavens declare the glory of God, the firmament revealed his handiwork to beautiful thought, he's he's made it all and whether you pause to enjoy it or worship him through it or not, it's still there. Take time take time to worship.

He is put it all together to reveal his greatness, his glory under reading for you from one of the least interesting chapters in all the Scriptures. Some of you earlier began to read through it and saw some of you closing your Bible rather quickly, and you may have thought. I'm so glad I'm not preaching today so that you would have to come up with something will.

That's been my opportunity all this week and am so excited about what it has.

To say for us. I am anxious to hear what I'm going to say about the seven just kidding. There's truth here even in a genealogy. I like to read for you. A section of it. Once you find Matthew chapter 1 please stand for the reading of the Scriptures of selected any of the verses that we will tie together a little later along with the other I'm reading from the new living translation. This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendent of David and of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac. Isaac was the father of Jacob.

Jacob was the father of Judah and his brothers verse six Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah verse 10, Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh.

Manasseh was the father of Amazon. Amazon was the father of Josiah. Josiah was the father of Jehoiada can and his brothers born at the time of the exile to Babylon after the Babylonian exile.

Jehoiada can was the father of sheltie, and finally, verse 16, 17, Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus who is called the Messiah.

All those listed above include 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the Babylonian exile in 14 from the Babylonian exile Messiah.

How faithful God provide the record of his magnificent son was born of Mary, to study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.or/studies and outlets resume the message titled the genesis of Jesus. Imagine this. You are driving down the road.

Caring about little other than the beautiful scenery around you and realize behind you is a car with a light that's going all all around and around and it's a bright red. Well I have news for you.

When the cop walks up to your window. He is not coming to admire your car.

I had never had a policeman say to me through the window well great chrome wheels that looks so great and they're not there to ask you about the last Sunday afternoon's ballgame. The member walk of the Cowboys that that's not what they're going to ask for you to ask for the most boring piece of information you have in your wallet and in your glovebox.

That's all that you want to see then I do care about what you're wearing. There is nothing else matters, but that one interesting tiny font it's called your drivers license and your proof of insurance because that is all that is important. At that moment is the desire to know your identity and the validity of the document you're carrying with you.

That's all that matters. If it's all valid. Everything looks right into squares with what they check with in their car.

I never know what that is. Not that I can stop that often, but that I do admit I know the drill. Now and thereby clear checking this out and then the bad news comes after the get all that taking care of once they find out that you are who you say you are and that this vehicle is in fact yours and you should be driving. That's the one thing that's important. The information you hand over may seem dull and uninteresting. You may not have looked at it three times since you received it. If then that is the basis of everything by way of information that they need. So it is in the story of Jesus. What appears to us to be of little interest, and frankly rather boring information is in fact the most important thing about him to the reader who was originally a Jew and to the Jew, the single most important thing about the one claiming to be Messiah is the pedigree doesn't hold up is invalid is this identity one I can count on. One man writes it this way, it is important not to think that this is a waste of time for many cultures of ancient and modern certainty.

Certainly in the Jewish world of Matthew's day.

This genealogy was the equivalent of a roll of drums of fanfare of trumpets and the town crier calling for attention. Any first century Jew would find this family tree both impressive and compelling.

You have your outline handy.

You will observe. I have left some room there to mark down some things that are worth noting. I call those things valuable points worth remembering, and so I repeat, by way of valuable points. It's written by a Jew whose name is Levi Jesus gave him the name Matthew this is the only gospel over the word Matthew with the name Matthew appears all the others call him by his given name Levi he's a Jew and the second important factor is that he is writing to Jew because you and I for the most part are Gentile, we have only passing interest in things like a list of genealogical or what we would call a family tree so the third factor we need to remember that's important is that purity of lineage is all important. If any man who claims to be someone shows any sign of mixture in the bloodline in he is lost his right to be called a Jew, a member of the chosen race. It went even further, another in my research I found writes this, a priest, for instance, was bound to produce an unbroken record of his pedigree stretching back to Erin and only Erin if he married the woman he married must produce her pedigree for at least five generations back. These genealogical records were actually The Sanhedrin. This may seem an uninteresting passage, but to the Jew.

It would be a most impressive matter that the pedigree of Jesus could be traced back all the way back to Abraham, the father of the Jews.

Finally, among the things that are worth noting.

By tracing the pedigree through David. You will notice he's mentioned in verse six through tracing it back through David and all the way to Abraham.

Jesus royal lineage is established to see where you sit in this congregation, and for the most part, believe what we read in the Bible are not represented mainly by those who read Matthew's gospel in his day, they were not people like we are. They were people who saw him in a whole different light. For example, look at the 13th chapter of the same gospel. Matthew 13 will show you a little of their opinion. Verse 54 of of Matthew 13 resort, 53, when Jesus had finished telling the stories and illustrations. He left that part of the country. Notice he returns to his place where he's reared, he returned to Nazareth, his hometown when he taught there in the synagogue. Everyone was amazed and said or does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles. Then they scoffed. He is just the carpenter's son and widow Mary his mother and his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas as a rare list of people who claim the perpetual virginity of Mary have never taken. Matthew chapter 13 verse 55 seriously if I could says in verse 56 even older sisters will always brothers we know all his sisters, we live right here among us.

Where did he learn all these things, they were deeply offended and refused to believe it. That's the mentality of the first century Jew when he was raised among us. He played soccer with our kids maybe was on the same team as our son was he think he is standing there in the synagogue coming off as if he's Messiah back to Matthew one must begin with a serious mentality that this may read as boring list to people like us, which only reveals our ignorance and lack of involvement with the day in which Jesus lived his life. Let's take it seriously.

Right off the bat look closely at verse one. Byblos Janessa hosts EA Sue Chris to the book of the Genesis of Jesus the Messiah Christ is the word for the anointed one, we render it often as Messiah. They are synonyms.

Christ and Messiah. This is a book Byblos means a record an account so this is a record. This is an account. This is a written document called a Byblos we get our word Bible from it in SLO's is the word for genealogy. I call it literally from the word Genesis. It means the beginning of the origin of someone these opening words represent the Genesis of Jesus. Matthew was actually making a profound announcement this birth is what Israel has been waiting for 2000 years.

He is the one he is Messiah, the anointed one. Therefore, in order to be qualified must come from the tribe of Judah, the royal line. Jesus must not only be a Jew, he must come from the loins ultimately going back through David all the way to Abraham interpreting what this means you can be certain that he is the one. If you track your way through the generations that begin at the beginning of the Jews Abraham, not the beginning of life. Adam but beginning of the Jews Abraham you go all the way back there and then you trace it forward you come all the way to Jesus list returned by opening illustration. The importance of documentation. It has to square with the truth.

Your license plate must be your license plate Euro driver's license must have your picture on it. It must have your current address.

The proof of insurance must tie-in with the document that is produced alongside it all fits together. Otherwise you are in a heap of trouble you could in fact even be arrested because you are not who you claim to be. Think of this list is that kind of documentation and all of a sudden the boring part will fly away their three segments of history worth noting, and if you have not observed them. You can rush to the end and find it listed for you at verse 17. All those listed above include 14 generations is the first segment from Abraham to David, and then there 14 generations from David to Babylon or the Babylonian exile ended 14 from the exile to the Messiah. Those may not mean much to you because you're not Jewish you're not a student of Jewish history most likely because Matthew was because know anyone who would write a record of his life certainly needed to be those things are important in in in fact, as you work your way through. You will see a building of emphasis moving toward the Lord Jesus. Let's go to the three first from Abraham to David, that's verses two through six.

You see it for yourself. Abraham, the father of Isaac all the way down verse six just see the father of the one who was to be king. The most significant king in the history of Israel.

They named the city the king the city of David. They still call the fly the flag of David. The symbol is the crown of David, still the most significant.

This could be called we might like this in our notes.

The period of the patriarch's and they are all named for many of them are named for us here. It's a period of wandering and enslavement in foreign land, a period of of deliverance from slavery of covenant making lawgiving a period of conquest as well as victory and defeat. The names are here familiar to every well taught you by the end of the era, Israel has become a powerful nation under David they were in fact that if you love music and if you can read a musical score you're familiar with the crescendo symbol looks like a long arrowhead that moves in the direction of increased volume. It begins that Simon or double. Cosimo as quietly as you can play and it builds toward 40 Simon or double or triple 40 Simon where it it reaches the climate that's the way these first verses are begins quietly with a life first lived in the county and that it moves out of Abraham and his wanderings through Isaac and Jacob and did Joseph ended on all the way down to where you reach the climax, at least for this first section and put the patriarchs with David you you because we are not Jews. And because we don't study Jewish history all that much. The significance of a life like David is lost in the morass of our lives.

I love the way she Frederick Owen describes it.

David quelled the armies about them. He's satisfied the people throughout Israel. He quieted the Philistines for all time to come. Then, in the midst of the peace and plenty, wrote many songs and praises to Jehovah. Still writing about David, the elderly king gathered vast stores of stone and iron and brass cedar for the erection of the temple of God, he gave his parting charge and close the most successful record of the most successful royal career recorded in the annals of history. David turned everything over to his successor. When he turned over was the most powerful kingdom of Western Asia, the fruit of the labor of Saul Samuel and David and Abner and Joe Webb, bounded by Lebanon and the Euphrates on the north, the Euphrates and the desert on the east Egypt on the south and the Mediterranean on the west. Israel was then exceedingly fertile, and sustained a large population, its hills were crusted with fortresses and covered with cedars and oaks. The land was favorable to both tillage and pasture abounding in grapes and pigs and all in dates and every species of grain.

One wag puts it, there was not only a chicken in every pot. There were grapes on every vine and by the time David said farewell to this earth.

It was a kingdom that was enviable in the eyes of all other kingdoms in the long King Solomon to take it up from there deleted into its ruined still waiting, still no Messiah's greatest David was he was not Messiah nor any of those in his progeny mentioned in verses 1 to 2 through through six so David through Bathsheba give birth to Solomon.

Solomon them is the father of Rehoboam who oversees the beginning of a divided kingdom, Jeroboam fighting with Rehoboam and now we see a decline. Of the King's we call the first one. The period of the patriarchs call this next 14 generation era. The period of the king. There is infighting there is competition there was a Civil War of all things the divided kingdom now comes in place of the United Kingdom. What was once strong under David now is we could do through the multiple wives of Solomon, who led him astray. And from that come these warring figures those of the north and those of the cell and there was a decline there is degeneracy there is apostasy there was idolatry, you reach the end of that. This time which is called the time of the exile and and and you realize it is a national disaster so we get when Babylon marches in. There's hardly a fight to defend itself in the city of David Falls and the Temple of David is in ruling it. It is a it is a horrendous tragedy can hardly be put into words. This entire genealogy would crescendo with the reality that Jesus was Israel's reigning king and the one that been waiting for your listening to the Bible teaching of Chuck Swindoll where in the first chapter of Matthew today and Chuck titled this message the genesis of Jesus. To learn more about this ministry. Visit us online@insightworld.org. Even though insight for living when on the radio in 1979. This is the first time Chuck has presented a verse by verse study through all 28 chapters of Matthew as you take this journey alongside Jesus from his birth in Bethlehem, to his great commission were confident your love for the Lord will intensify now concurrent with the rollout of this brand-new series were pleased to inform you that Chuck's commentary on Matthew was recently released as well actually because of its scope. The commentary comes into hardbound volumes and the ready for purchase. Today Chuck's accessible commentary will serve as a natural complement to what you'll be hearing on insight for living in the weeks and months ahead. So to purchase windows living inside commentary on Matthew go to insight.org/store if you prefer you can call us if your listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8888 as the brand-new year begins to unfold. Where looking forward to walking alongside you each day. This daily program ministry behind it are designed to help you cultivate a deeper walk with God as you learn more about his word and its relevance to your life. It's all made possible. Of course this people just like you give voluntary donations. Think about it when you first started listening to Chuck Swindoll teach the Bible that moment was sponsored by someone you may never meet.

So, to provide for someone else. What was once provided for you, we invite you to give a donation today by calling us your listening in the United States dial 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org. Genesis of Jesus Tuesday insight for living. The preceding message. The genesis of Jesus was copyrighted in 2014 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. all rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited