Matthew Chapter 1
Dec 25, 2022 – Christmas day
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig Cork
I. Introduction (Matthew 1:1)
A. The Skipped Chapter – Matthew Chapter 1
1. Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2. Matthew chapter one is a chapter that most people come along to and read as quickly as possible, skipping over the names because most of them mean nothing to most people.
3. But this is the family history of the Messiah. These are the people in the line of the King of kings; the Saviour of the world!
4. And unless you read through the Old Testament, none of these names mean anything.
5. But when you read the Bible, you are reading a story of imperfect people who yield their lives into God's hands, over and over, so that Matthew chapter two could happen!
B. A Record of God’s Grace
1. Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2. When Matthew writes, "The Book of the Generation of Jesus Christ…" he is saying, "The record of the God's Grace that gave to the world the Messiah."
3. And what a record it is!
4. You see, Christmas has a past - a history - some skeletons in the closet...
5. Jesus does NOT have a perfect family tree... He has a messed up family tree, with a lot of messed up lives
a. 42 generations of people, generation after generation
b. All sinful, broken, messed up people
6. But if you look closely, you will find God's grace is active in every generation - in every life who chose the path of repentance, not perfection!
C. So let's define grace
1. Grace is kindness that you cannot earn – it is always a GIFT! An “unmerted” gift.
2. It is a priceless gift to give someone at Christmas – just being kind.
3. And it is so needed
a. Because, most of the time the problems in our homes are because people “have not earned our kindness.” Therefore, we will not give them kindness!
b. And that's evil - that is of the devil.
c. People may have to earn trust after a failure, but they do not have to earn your kindness
d. The bitterness, and the infighting, the biting and the devouring among Christians, and among husband and wives is a cancer!
4. So to understand Grace, you have to understand that kindness is given to us by God on the basis of one thing only – the character of God!
D. Matthew divides Israel’s History into Three Groups of People. Every one of these lives have a past, have skeletons in their closet, have something that is wrong in their home, in their faith. They're not perfect people, but they are God's people and they are part of a plan that God put in motion way back in Genesis chapter three to repair what Satan destroyed.
II. Message
A. Group One - The Beginning of Israel – from Abraham until David (Matthew 1:2-6)
1. Abraham is the father of the Jewish people (1:2)
a. Abraham was a man who believed God, and obeyed Him, and followed Him to a land he had never seen or been to before - the Promised Land.
b. And there, in the Promised Land, Abraham begat a son, named Isaac.
c. He was a miracle child, born when Abraham was 100, and his wife Sarah was 90!
d. But that wasn't Abraham's first child. No.
e. Abraham struggled with waiting on God – and had a child through Hagar!
f. And that's why there are so many problems in the middle east, with the "other son" of Abraham, named Ishmael
g. But God showered grace on Abraham, and stayed true to all His promises anyways, simply because of the little faith Abraham had in the Lord
2. Then Isaac grew up and begat Jacob (1:2)
a. Oh Jacob! He was a hustler, who could talk you out of your money faster than a used car salesman! Ended up marrying 4 wives, and making everyone he ever knew mad at him.
b. But God showed grace to Jacob, and humbled him, and was able to change his name to Israel (a prince with God) because of his desire to live and do right!
3. And Jacob begat a son named Judas - Praise. (1:2)
a. But Judah did not grow up to be a godly man. He saw an opportunity to make some fast money by lying about his brother joseph being killed by some wild animal, so that he and his brothers could SELL him off to the Ishmaelites for 20 silver coins!
b. And later Judah commits adultery
c. Yet, God showed grace on Judah, at the moment he publicly admitted he had done wrong,
4. After every one of these names, you can write the word GRACE, because that is what each represents… NOT perfection!
5. And so, God gave Judah two boys... Phares and Zara who would continue the patient journey until the fulness of time, when the Messiah would come (1:3)
6. Phares begets Esrom (1:3)
7. Esrom begat Aram (1:3)
8. Aram begat Aminadab (1:4)
9. Aminadab begat Naasson (1:4)
10. Naasson begat Salmon (1:4)
11. Salmon begat Booz of Rachab (1:5)
12. Booz begat Obed of Ruth (1:5)
13. Obed begat Jesse (1:5)
14. Jesse begat David the king (1:6)
a. Ah, here is another name we all know about
b. David
15. You remember David don't you?
a. The sweet psalmist of Israel! The giant-slayer. The man after God's own heart.
b. But don't forget he has a past... adultery with Bathsheba, the murder of her husband Uriah, and the coverup of his own sins!
c. But God's great and marvellous and amazing grace was there, covering all those sins the moment he humbled himself and repented.
d. And so the line continued through David to his son Solomon
e. “David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias” - that is Bathsheba
B. Group Two - The Kings of Israel – from David until Jeconias (Matthew 1:7-11)
1. Now we are into the second group of names of people in the geneology of Jesus Christ
2. David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias - that is Bathsheba (1:6)
a. An what kind of a past does Solomon have?
b. Messed up! Starts off well and good, in a young man of 8 years old when he becomes king of Israel. But quickly falls apart as he becomes super wealthy, and starts marrying wife after wife after wife, and experimenting with every vice that he can until as an old man he can only say, "Vanity of vanities - everything has been a waste of my time!"
c. And God's grace was there waiting, as Solomon finally admitted that he had been the stupidest man of all time and repented.
d. And so God could continue the journey through Solomon's family
3. Solomon begat Roboam (1:7)
a. Roboam was arrogant just like his father, Solomon, and split the nation of Israel into two nations!
b. They had civil war, and never recovered from it!
4. Roboam begat Abia (1:7)
5. Abia begat Asa (1:7)
6. Asa begat Josaphat (1:8)
7. Josaphat begat Joram (1:8)
8. Joram begat Ozias (1:8)
9. Ozias begat Joatham (1:9)
10. Joatham begat Achaz (1:9)
11. Achaz begat Ezekias – Hezekias / Hezekiah (1:9)
a. Hezekiah was a glimpse of light in this list of so many messed up people
b. That is, until he gets proud of all he had accomplished as king, and then showed off his entire kingdom to the Babylonians who had come to spy!
12. Ezekias begat Manasses (1:10)
a. Manasses was of the most wicked kings to ever live
b. Yet, in the end, when his life fell apart, and he was imprisoned, he repented and got right with God
c. And God showed grace and mercy and continued the plan!
13. Manasses begat Amon (1:10)
14. Amon begat Josias, a very good king, until he got a bit too proud (1:10)
15. Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon (1:11)
a. Jechonias was so evil, and so rebellious against God that God stepped back and allowed the Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar to conquer them, and capture them and take them all away to babylon as slaves!
b. A very sad day when God gave His people into Babylonian slavery as punishment for their rebellion against His words and His laws
c. But it was not the end
d. God’s grace keeps working, when we would have given up!
e. Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound
16. Jechonias begat Salathiel (1:12)
17. Salathiel begat Zorobabel (1:12)
C. Did I forget to mention four women in this list who also should NOT have been included in this genealogy if it were not for the grace of God?
1. Thamar (1:3) was a harlot, who Judah committed adultery with
2. Rachab (1:5) was also a harlot, who repented and converted to faith in Jehovah
3. Ruth (1:5) was not a Jew either. She was a Moabite, an enemy of the Jews
4. And Bathsheba (1:6) was an adulteress, and was unfaithful to her husband
5. Yet, here they are… in a story being told again and again, at Christmas!
6. Only God’s amazing grace could bring all those people into His plan
7. You see, Christmas is not about saints, and practically perfect people
8. It is about GOD having grace on messed up people, and bringing through one group of people a Saviour – through HIS people, the arrogant, rebellious, sinful Jewish people
9. I am glad the Bible tells all sides!
10. And I am so glad that God has more grace!
D. Group Three - Waiting for the Coming of the Messiah as King! (Matthew 1:13-16)
1. After their captivity, they had no king anymore – just a promise of one who was coming – the Messiah!
2. Zorobabel returned with Israel home to their land
a. Ezra rebuilding the Jewish temple
b. And Nehemiah rebuilding the broken down walls of Jerusalem
c. All without a king
d. And so they waited. Generation after generation, waiting for the coming of the promised, perfect King of kings…
e. Life after life, flawed, failing, sinning, rebelling
f. And yet God’s grace was there, at work!
3. As Zorobabel begat a son named Abiud… (1:13)
4. And Abiud begat Eliakim (1:13)
5. Eliakim begat Azor (1:13)
6. Azor begat Sadoc (1:14)
7. Sadoc begat Achim (1:14)
8. Achim begat Eliud (1:14)
9. Eliud begat Eleazar (1:15)
10. Eleazar begat Matthan (1:15)
11. Matthan begat Jacob (1:15)
12. And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (1:16)
E. Three groups of imperfect people, with more failures and sins than ever should be allowed…
1. Matthew 1:17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
2. And yet through that list of messed up people, the King was born!
3. Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found [ALREADY] with child of the Holy Ghost…
4. Watch what happens next…
5. Matthew 2:1,2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
6. That’s when the King came!
III. Conclusion
A. What is the goal of God’s grace and unmerited kindness throughout history?
1. Why all the effort by God?
2. Why all the grace on unworthy people?
B. Answer is found in Matthew 1:21
1. Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
2. As the Christmas carol says, To save us all from Satan’s power, when we were gone astray, oh tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oh tidings of comfort and joy!
3. Grace makes forgiveness possible
4. History has never been full of good people – only real people, messed up, sinful people
C. And 2,000 years later, it is still available to anyone – to everyone
1. If only we would humble ourselves like a little child, and accept Jesus as a gift that we do not deserve!
2. Oh that THAT would happen today!
3. Humble yourself, repent, and receive the Christmas gift of the Son of God, for yourself! And be born again, and made new
4. He does not force it on you – He only offers.
5. You just need to accept it!