 | Genealogy of Jesusby
Paul George Matthew 1:1-17
Following man’s rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden, God told the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15). The key word is “he.” He refers to a human male. Therefore, according to the prediction of the bruising of the head of the serpent requires the actions of a human male, one not many.
Prior to entering the Promised Land Moses told the people the Lord told him, “I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you and I will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deuteronomy 18:18). The key word is “like.” What set Moses apart for the Old Testament prophet? In what way will this future prophet and Moses be similar, both will deliver the chosen people from captivity.
The Lord told King David, “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He will build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13).
In his night visions Daniel said he saw, “One like a Son of Man” coming with the clouds, “And He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him and to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed” (Daniel 7:13-14). The key words are “like” and “Son of Man.” Daniel did not say the One that came before the Ancient of Days was a man; he said He was like a Son of Man. He had the appearance of a man but He was more than a man.
Who is the One who will bruise the head of the serpent? Who is the future prophet who will be like Moses? Who is the descendant that would come forth from David? Who is the One who had the appearance of a man but He was more than a man? Matthew claims He is Jesus, the Messiah.
Matthew knows it is one thing to claim something is true and it is another to prove it. Matthew is not trying to convince the Jews Jesus is the Messiah, he has declared He is the Messiah. What is it that makes Matthew take a no back down stand when it comes to who Jesus is? Remember Matthew is a Jew, hated by the Jews. He was a tax collector for the Roman Empire, one of the lowest forms of life in the eyes of Jews. He knows the requirements necessary to claim the right to the throne that has been vacant since the time of the Babylonian Captivity. The claimant must prove he is a descendant of Abraham and David. He also knows the only acceptable evidence a claimant is a descendant of Abraham and David is a genealogy.
Matthew 1:1-17
Verse 1 – “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
In the first verse of the record of the genealogy of Jesus identifies Jesus as the Messiah and links Him directly to David and through David to Abraham. Why did Matthew do this? What did the Lord tell David, “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom...and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Whose kingdom and throne did the Lord say He would establish forever? The Lord did not say He would establish David’s kingdom and throne, He said He would establish the kingdom and throne of the one that would come forth from David? The word “forever” refers to an indefinite time, without interruption. What did Daniel see in his vision, one like the son of a man receiving an everlasting kingdom from the Ancient of Days?
What is Matthew telling the people of his day, what is he telling this generation. Jesus is the descendant that shall come forth from David. Jesus is the one God said He would establish His kingdom and throne forever. Jesus is one like a son of man Daniel saw coming before the Ancient of Days and an everlasting kingdom and throne given to Him. Jesus is the one that will bruise the head of the serpent. Jesus is the one who will build a house for the name of God. The house Solomon built fell following his death and has remained a fallen house to this day. However, the house Jesus is building will stand forever. Jesus is building His house on a solid rock and He is the rock
There is no denying a genealogy is boring. Look at Jesus’ genealogy. What do you see, a long list of names difficult to pronounce. Look at Luke’s genealogy of Jesus (Luke 3:23- 38) boring reading and a contradiction of Matthew’s genealogy.
The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). If all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, a genealogy that seems at first sight boring and unprofitable, contain useful and instructive lessons.
First, God always keeps His word. God promised Abraham, “I will make you a great nation, and make your name great…and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2, 3). Isaiah predicted, “a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse and a branch from his roots will bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1). Jesus is not only a descendant of Abraham and David, He is descendant of Jesse, and He is the shoot Isaiah predicted would spring from Jesse. Matthew’s genealogy proves God fulfilled His promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. Thoughtless, ungodly people and church members should remember this lesson. Whatever they may think, God will keep His word. If they do not repent, they will surely perish. True believers in Jesus should remember this lesson, and take comfort. Their Father in heaven will be true to all His promises.
Second, the sinfulness and corruption of human nature, note the number of godly parents in this genealogy that had wicked and ungodly sons. This should teach us humbling lessons. They had all pious fathers. However, they were all wicked men. Grace does not run in families. It needs something more than good examples and good advice to make us children of God, to make our children and grandchildren children of God. Those who are born again are not born of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, (John 1:13.) Praying parents should pray night and day, that their children might be born of the Spirit. However, it is only when they humble themselves, repent and believe in Jesus do they become the children of God.
Third, the mercy and compassion of our heavenly Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Think how defiled and unclean our nature is and how undefiled and pure the nature of the Son of God, He humbled Himself to be born of a woman, and “made in the likeness of men.” Some of the names in the genealogy of Jesus are never mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. However, at the end of all comes the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though He is the eternal God, He humbled Himself to become man, in order to provide salvation for sinners. When we read the genealogy of Jesus, even if we cannot pronounce all the names, we should praise our Lord and thank Him; no one is beyond the reach of Christ's sympathy and compassion. Our sins may be as black and great as the people in the genealogy of Jesus, they cannot shut us out of heaven, if we repent, believe in Jesus and the gospel. If Jesus was not ashamed to be born of a woman, whose lineage contained such names as those listed in His genealogy He will not be ashamed to call us brethren, and to give us eternal life.
Fourth, Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy and Israel's expectation.
Jacob predicted, “The Scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be (Genesis 49:10). The term “scepter” refers to the right to apply and enforce Mosaic Laws and adjudicate capital offenses. The early rabbis taught the term “Shiloh” referred to the Messiah.
When the Roman Empire resisted the legal power of the Sanhedrin the Jews covered their heads with ashes and their bodies with sackcloth, and bemoaned, “Woe unto us for the scepter has departed from Judah and the Messiah has not come!” While the Jews wept in the streets of Jerusalem, a young son of a carpenter was growing up in Nazareth. He would present Himself as the Messiah on the day predicted by the angel Gabriel to Daniel five centuries earlier.
Did Jesus ever actually sit on the throne God said would come forth from David? Although He presented Himself as the Messiah on the day that Gabriel had predicted, Jesus never sat on the throne. Now He is sitting on His Father’s Throne. The question is will He ever sit on that throne? Of course He will, this same Jesus the apostles watch ascended into the clouds will come in the same way (Acts 1:11), and it may be sooner than we think. About the Author Retired pastor, Church of the Nazarene
Author of the web site Exploring God's Word
http://www.thewordofgodonline.net Article Source: http://Christian-Article-Bank.com | |
