I haven’t done a posting of a sermon for a while, but here is my latest one from Sunday on Matthew 1:1-17 – ever so slightly different from the final delivered version, but the overall message is much the same (if you google Hockliffe Street Baptist Church, Leighton Buzzard you can listen to spot the differences!).
It’s not the most exciting start to a book is it? Names, names and more names. It is not how we write and not how we think. However interested we are in family history we are not going to start our books with a genealogy. And yet Matthew has done this for a reason. There is a purpose to how he writes his gospel, and for Matthew it matters. These names matter. These names are actually a shorthand for Israel’s story to this point. These names tell us that we are not coming in to the story at the start. The birth of Jesus is not the start of the story. There is a bigger story going on. To tell the story of the beginnings of Jesus – 1:1, Matthew has to stretch way back in time. The story has been going on for centuries past, and Jesus is the fulfilment of that story.
Jesus is the one to whom all Israel’s story, from Abraham to David, to exile and beyond, in all its ups and downs points. That’s why Matthew talks so much about fulfilment, especially in these early chapters. It’s not mostly about predictions made about Jesus, rather it is about patterns that Jesus lives out and shows the full meaning of by his life and death.
That helps to explain some of the odd verses Matthew quotes – When Mary and Joseph flee to Egypt Matthew quotes Hosea 11:1 ‘Out of Egypt I brought my son’, which in context is about Israel coming out of Egypt at the Exodus. And Matthew knows that, he’s not taking the verse out of context instead he is saying that Jesus fulfils what the Exodus is all about – bringing freedom from captivity to those in slavery, and he does that by living out specific events that match Israel’s history – for another example think of Jesus tempted in the wilderness for 40 days – like Israel for 40 years.
Matthew lays the foundations for this idea by this genealogy, which tells us about the story so far. By it he gives substance to the fact that Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of Abraham.
Remember the promises to Abraham:
“The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me”
(Genesis 22:15–18 TNIV)
There would be a descendent of Abraham who would bring blessing to the nations, blessing to the whole world.
Abraham has children, and eventually we come to David – remember God’s promise to him – that he would have a ‘son’ who would reign forever.
““‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. … Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’””
(2 Samuel 7:11–16 TNIV)
There was an initial fulfilment of that promise with Solomon, but of course, his sin disqualified him, and there was still the hope of a King who would come from David’s line who would enable Israel to live out her calling to the nations.
Jesus is this descendent, and so Matthew’s genealogy, this obscure list of names is designed to highlight this reality and to hint at what God’s kingdom looks like, and how God’s kingdom works by reminding us of different figures and events in Israel’s story. These people and events can be divided not so much into the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as the Good, the Bad and the Unknown. And through all of these we see that God is frequently at work in unexpected ways and through the most unlikely of people.
First let’s look at the Good that the family tree reminds us of. The good here reminds us of God’s promises, and the hope held out. It also reminds us of how this comes about in very unexpected ways, through very unlikely people. The Good we read of reminds us to look out for the unlikely, and to take heart if that is how we think of ourselves.
Matthew’s genealogy first of all reminds us of God’s promises, and in particular how God’s blessings would reach out to all nations. We are reminded of the early Genesis story – of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and so we remember God’s promise to them. As we read of David we are reminded of God’s blessing of a King, and in Solomon of how that kingdom grew and thrived. There was a hope, and that hope was of blessing to all nations. Even in the dark times there was some hope – amongst the kings who failed there are exceptions – Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah and Josiah.
And Matthew reminds us of this also through some unexpected names. You may have noticed, if you were paying attention, the slightly unexpected addition of 4, even 5 women. There are two of them that we’ll look at in this positive category, and they both come in v5. Both of them are unexpected additions to this family tree.
First in v5 Rahab. Rahab remember was a Canaanite. In fact she was an inhabitant of Jericho – the first city to be conquered by Joshua. So she was under a death sentence. She was also a prostitute. Unlikely material for coming to be part of Israel, and a descendent of the Messiah surely? And yet she is in this list. Joshua 2 explains how that came about. 2 Israelite spies had hidden in her house. And she had agreed to hide them. But what is crucial is why she had hidden them. Joshua 2:9-13.
““I know that the LORD has given this land to you and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 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 Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.”
She had come to faith in the God of Joshua, in the God of Israel.
Notice too in passing – all her family were saved through this action, and she had heard about Israel and the Exodus. The Bible does not show the Canaanites as ignorant, or innocent. Whatever questions the accounts in Joshua raise for us – and if you have some, do come and see me about it afterwards, because there is plenty of material in the biblical text to give the lie to the likes of Richard Dawkins who talk about a God who commands genocide – they need to be read with Rahab in mind. She is the first Canaanite mentioned – and she is spared, because she trusts in Israel’s God. That option was open to others (look in Joshua 9 for other examples).
So, outsiders can come into Israel if they trust in Israel’s God – even if there are commands elsewhere that suggest they should be destroyed. Likewise outsiders can come into Israel if they trust in Israel’s God – even if they should be excluded to the 10th generation. This is also shown in Matthew 1:5. Ruth. Ruth & Boaz is an extraordinary story. Ruth is a Moabitess – excluded from Israel because of Moab’s history. And yet she returns to Bethlehem with her mother in law – Ruth 1:16-17 gives us her declaration of faith.
“But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.””
(Ruth 1:16–17 TNIV)
Again, an outsider trusts the true God. This story is also notable for one of the true heroes of the genealogy. Boaz is an Israelite man, established in his village and community, a man of integrity – a worthy man in every way. Read Ruth and see the care Boaz exercises – and read Judges 17-21 to see what the rest of his society is like. See what happens to innocent women visiting strange cities. See the leaders who use and abuse women, see the people who choose what is right and wrong in their own eyes, Boaz shines out. He takes care of Ruth, takes his responsibility seriously and thus the family line continues.
When we read Matthew’s gospel we read about Jesus’ birth through the eyes of Joseph. Joseph is righteous man – and he is confronted with the situation of Mary – a woman, who though unmarried and engaged to him, is pregnant – and not by him. He’s going to deal with it quietly, minimise fuss and upset, and salvage his reputation without dragging Mary through open disgrace, and then an angel comes in a dream. Then Joseph too has to risk misunderstanding and loss of respect in order to obey God’s commands. People will be able to do the maths – and know that Mary and Joseph haven’t been married 9 months. So one thing Matthew may well be pointing out in his genealogy is that the questions that would inevitably have surrounded Jesus’ birth were nothing new in God’s story. God has always worked in unexpected and unorthodox ways that his people don’t always get.
That should raise questions for us. How much are we prepared to go against the flow to follow Jesus, and do things in unexpected ways, that people do not necessarily get. Are we prepared to risk our reputation, like Joseph and like Boaz, in supporting and helping someone to be part of and grow in God’s kingdom? Is there some aspect of our Christmas celebrations that could look different in order to show how much Jesus matters to us? Where are we prepared to risk people speaking ill of us because we are obeying God? There will be all sorts of areas where that challenge hits home – and as we do we need to celebrate and emulate those, who like Boaz, and Joseph – and of course like Jesus welcome and include the outsider.
And then we re-read this genealogy, this collection of names, and more questions come. Some of the events referred to are not so positive. We read of the Bad as well as the Good – and through these what we will see is that God works out his plans through all sorts of suffering and sin on the part of his people. We are clued into that as we start the genealogy. Look at v2 Abraham had his moments where his actions failed to match up to the huge promises God had given him. Jacob – deceiver – deceiving his father, spurring with his uncle over who could out deceive the other, running his family with blatant favouritism leading to major disaster – even if God did ultimately use it for the good of his people and his glory. And then Judah, and v3 expands a little and reminds of the obscure story tucked away in Genesis 38 of Judah and his family.
It’s not really what you’d want to draw attention to in the genealogy of the Messiah. Judah has a son, Er who he finds a wife – Tamar for. Er is so wicked that God puts him to death – we don’t really find out why. Then Er’s younger brother refuses to produce an heir with Tamar to continue the family line, so God puts him to death too, and finally Judah promises Tamar his third son, when his third son has grown up. Judah never delivers on the promise – so Tamar takes matters into her own hands, dresses as a prostitute, Judah sleeps with her, and leaves identification (signet ring, staff, and cord – think credit card and driving license) with her in lieu of payment – but when he comes to send payment he cannot find the prostitute. When it is discovered that Tamar is pregnant he is about to have her burnt for adultery when she produces his identification – then he declares that she is more righteous than him. Perhaps that is some sort of wake-up call for Judah because then in the Joseph story he plays a key role and takes on responsibility. But in this story no-one comes out very well. It highlights human manipulation, and sin, and yet Judah and Tamar find their place in David and ultimately Jesus’ line.
The next woman mentioned doesn’t even get her name read out. But Matthew’s informed reader knows exactly who she is. She is Uriah’s wife. Bathsheba. Matthew’s omission of her name highlights the same thing as the 2 Samuel 11 story. Bathsheba is, in David’s eyes, an object. Contrast the grasping attitude David has with the way that Ruth is treated by Boaz and you see how different it could be. At a time when he should on the battlefield he is at home in the palace. He sees her purifying herself – no hint is given in the text that Bathsheba was doing this to be in view – it could simply be that she was unaware that she could be noticed. David sees she is beautiful and asks who she is – after being told she is the wife of Uriah (one of his fighting men who he knows is out of the way) he has her sent for, he takes her and she goes away again. We don’t know how Bathsheba felt, or how much choice she had. The point rammed home in 1 Samuel is that this is David’s sin. David. King David. The man after God’s own heart. That David falls in this way – and then of course has Uriah killed – a cover up operation. And yet God saw. God knew.
Solomon is born – and Bathsheba has major influence over him becoming King. More manipulation, this time of David. It isn’t a glorious story. There are serious flaws in David and his family. He is not sinless. He is not the perfect King. And yet through this sin God is still working out his plans. It is 100% totally clear that God disapproves of David’s actions in Bathsheba’s story. David is punished. God takes his son. And yet that human sin does not stop God’s plan. God is working in the midst of the mess. God works with what he has to hand. God doesn’t wait for us to be perfect before working in us and through us. That never excuses our sin, and sin will be judged. Oppressors will not get away with it. Those who use women as objects will be judged. But in the meantime it often leads us to question what he is doing. Where was he when… We have limits round that situation – God never causes sin, God hates sin. And yet we live in a world where God does not stop it. It looks hard, and often it looks messy, because God takes the raw material of our brokenness and sinfulness, and brings salvation to the world.
We should look at these names, and take it as a warning. If even David, the man after God’s own heart sinned in such a way, then you can, and I can. Also we should take it as an encouragement – if David sinned in such a way and was then forgiven then you can be, and I can be, forgiven. Remember when David was confronted with his sin. He admitted it. “I have sinned” – that was what made the difference. His predecessor Saul on paper sinned less – but when confronted he always made excuses, and tried to reduce his sin. David admitted it. Yes, we are to expect that in a messed up world others will sin, and we will sin – but we are never to excuse that sin. We are always to admit our sin and seek forgiveness from God and others – and always be ready to forgive when others have to say sorry to us.
When David sinned, God took the life of his son as a punishment on David. But David had another son, Solomon – and through that line we come eventually to Jesus – who dies so that we don’t have to. Whose life is not taken by God, rather he lays it down for us, out of love. Through the mess of human pride, jealousy and fear came the redemption of the world. The genealogy of Jesus tells us that God has not given up – he is still the who weaves redemption out of tragedy.
Finally, we come to the unknowns. The unknowns of redemption who teach us that this king who comes takes his time and uses nobodies – be patient, God isn’t finished with his world yet.
You see with the first 14 generations we recognise some of the names, and see that even with those we don’t they are on their way to David. With the second 14 we have the Kings of Israel, but the final 14 names are essentially unknown. If you know your bibles well you’ll have heard of Zerubbabel who did get to be governor, but never king, of the Persian Province of Judah when the Jews were allowed back to Judah. However beyond Zerubbabel the names have faded into history, and into insignificance. We know nothing of who they were, nothing of what they did, nothing of whether they had any expectation of ever ruling anything again – and by the time we reach Joseph it seems highly improbable that he ever had any ambitions of royalty.
They lived at a time of small things – the phrase is used in one of the last prophets to Judah after the exile, before the silence began. They lived in exile in the land – there is only exile mentioned in this genealogy. No return is mentioned. Physically the Jews came back. Physically the temple was rebuilt. But the temple was a shell. The glory never returned, the cloud of God’s presence never came back.
They lived waiting. Longing for the who would come and prepare the way of the Lord, longing for the time when a King would arise who would again rule on David’s throne. They lived in a time of darkness, and of distress. Of national confusion, of weak leaders, of divisions in God’s people. A time of withdrawal, or compromise, or hiding. A time that sounds all too familiar.
And yet God’s plan was being worked out. ‘When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son’ Paul wrote to the Galatians. When 3 lots of 14 generations had been completed the time was right for something new.
A new beginning. A new chapter in the bigger story, with a rebuilt people of God who will live out the calling to be a light to the peoples, to be a blessing to all nations – which of course is how Matthew will end his gospel – the disciples going to all nations. Jesus lives out all that Israel were supposed to be, and by turning to Jesus, by submitting to him, we can be part of his restored Israel – the church, going to all nations.
We are part of this same story, a people who live out their calling as ordinary, unknown people, people in a dark world that is all too reminiscent of many of these stories Matthew alludes to here. We live as part of a story that has been going on for more than 4000 years, and in which God is still at work. We live knowing that Jesus is the one through whom God saves, and the one through whom God is with us now in the muddle and the mess of our lives now. And so we live waiting for the day King Jesus will come, and bring about the fullness of rescue that began with his first coming, that began with the simple submission of a peasant girl and her carpenter husband to be to the word of the Lord.
So today take heart from the good examples of those who have gone before, take heed of the warning of the bad – face the reality of a fallen world and of sin and sorrow, and be ready to serve as part of the great line of God’s unknowns who will one day see the face of the same Jesus who came 2000 years ago to Mary and Joseph. On that day the waiting will be over and the fullness of the fulfilment will have arrived.
Joshua's Tree 