More than Just a List of Names

Pastor melinda Song
22 December 2019

It has been said, “Never judge a book by its cover.” But you can roughly know a book by its first sentence or first paragraph. Used well, a first sentence can be a powerful thing.

The Gospels too begin with skilfully written introductions. John, poetically begins his with: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Today we are going to take a closer look at how Matthew begins his gospel that opens up the whole New testament.

Matthew 1:1-17 (NIV)
¹ A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
² Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
³ Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,
Perez the father of Hezron,
Hezron the father of Ram,
⁴ Ram the father of Amminadab,
Amminadab the father of Nahshon,
Nahshon the father of Salmon,
⁵ Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,
Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,
Obed the father of Jesse,
⁶ and Jesse the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
⁷ Solomon the father of Rehoboam,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
⁸ Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,=
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
⁹ Uzziah the father of Jotham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
¹⁰ Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
¹¹ and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
¹² After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,
Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
¹³ Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
Abiud the father of Eliakim,
Eliakim the father of Azor,
¹⁴ Azor the father of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Eliud,
¹⁵ Eliud the father of Eleazar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
¹⁶ and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
¹⁷ Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

Matthew’s first sentence makes a bold statement of Jesus identity: “Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham” but few authors would start their book with a long list of hard-to-pronounce names. So why would a book as vital as the New Testament begin with something as “dull” as a genealogy?

That’s because genealogies are More Than Just a List of Names.

Ancestry used to be very important. In ancient Middle Eastern culture, genealogies were used by the rich and the powerful as narrative devices to explain a person’s place in history via their connection to their ancestors.

Ancestry was very important to the Jews since the scriptures contain long lists of family names. They are especially important for the Levitical priests and lines of royalty.

So what do we find within this genealogy?

A. Within the genealogy is the GOSPEL – the good news of who Jesus is

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham (verse 1)

We often forget that “Christ” is actually the Greek form of the Hebrew word “Messiah.” This genealogy is designed to show Jesus as the one expected throughout history: the Messiah. 

1. God’s Goodness seen within the Gospel.

The genealogy of Jesus is given in Matthew 1 to show that Jesus had the credentials of the promised Saviour King.

When man sinned, God gave man a promise. God said to the serpent…

Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.

1. Jesus, the son of Abraham. After the fall, the Flood and the Tower of Babel, God zeroes in on one man, Abram and says to him…

Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)
12 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. ² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Galatians 3:16 (ESV)
16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

2. Jesus is the promised son of David, the King of the royal Davidic line, the King of Israel, and the King of kings and the King over an eternal kingdom.

2 Samuel 7:16 (ESV)
And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Luke 1:32–33 (ESV)
³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to 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.”

 Galatians 4:4–5 (ESV)
⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Isn’t this good news? Doesn’t this show the goodness of God?

2. God’s greatness displayed through the Gospel

The greatness of God is seen in the fulfilment of the promises/prophecies of God concerning the Messiah.

Matthew 1:22 introduces a common statement in his gospel. He wrote, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.” Matthew uses this phrasing in at least a dozen passages. The first use of the fulfillment phrase mentioned above introduces one of the best-known prophecies in the Bible.

Matthew 1:23 (ESV)
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

In reference to the birth of Jesus, Matthew cited a specific prophecy from Isaiah made more than 700 years earlier (Isaiah 7:14).

Matthew goes on to record that…

• Jesus was born in Bethlehem. That was prophesied in Micah 5:2, written 700 years before Christ.
• Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt to protect Him from Herod’s rampage. That was prophesied in Hosea 11.
• Herod launched an attack against the Hebrew children. That was prophesied in Jeremiah 31:11.
• Joseph and Mary returned to Israel to reside in Nazareth, predicted by Isaiah 700 years before the fact.

Is anything too hard for the Lord? God’s promises to us are “Yes” in Christ (2 Cor. 1:20).

3. God’s Grace revealed in the Gospel

Matthew’s genealogy includes four gentile women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. This is highly unusual, firstly because genealogies generally didn’t include women, and secondly there were other more notable women not included, like Abraham’s wife Sarah. The inclusion of these four women breaks the pattern of father and son, calling our attention to them.

Notice the four women mentioned:

• The twice-widowed Tamar, who tricked her father-in-law into sleeping with her by dressing as a prostitute.
• The Canaanite Rahab was an actual prostitute.
• King David’s great-grandmother Ruth was from Israel’s great enemy Moab.  In ancient Israel you couldn’t hold Israelite citizenship if you were within 10 generations of a Moabite ancestor.
• And the adulterous wife of Uriah, who slept with David.

Only Mary, the fifth woman mentioned, had a respectable record.

These women were examples of God’s amazing grace, not forgetting that among the men on the list are some of the most wicked and defiled characters in the Old Testament, such as Rehoboam and Manasseh.

As one commentator said, “The lineage is comprised of men, women, adulterers, prostitutes, heroes, and Gentiles—and Jesus will be Saviour of all.”

This list of names drips with God’s mercy and amazing grace. God’s love is for all people, God’s grace is for all.

For many of us sitting here today, their story is our story: about how our stories are changed because of his story. We can see our own stories in the light of God’s goodness and grace, God’s transforming love that takes it all in.

I don’t know what your story is – your lineage, your family, your past. All I know is this: there is a place for you in the family of God. He is redeeming all the messiness in our lives.

• We’re all part of a chain reaction of blessings.

“God enters the world through folks like you
and comes on days like today”
– Max Lucado

Just as every name on the list brought Jesus Christ to the world, each of us is part of the chain of bringing the news of Christ to the world.

• There are no “nobodies” in God’s lineup.  In verse 3, we have two names — Hezron and Ram – of whom we know nothing.  But there were not nothings; they were forbearers of the Messiah.

B. Within the genealogy are GENERATIONS – A godly heritage

This genealogy tells the story that must be grasped if the plot of the whole Gospel is to be understood.

In Verse 17, Matthew explains that the genealogy is constructed in three groupings of 14 generations. Israel’s history is broken into thirds: From Abraham to David, from David to the Babylonian Captivity, and from the Babylonian Captivity to Jesus.

The number fourteen was very significant in Judaism.

• Hebrew letters were assigned numerical values, and every good Jew would know that fourteen was the numerical value of King David’s name. (D = 4, V[W] = 6, D = 4).
• Fourteen is also double the number seven which is the number of completeness in Scripture.

Three groups of fourteen equals six groups of seven, which would mean Jesus was born at the beginning of the seventh seven. Matthew is showing that Jesus is the climax of Israel’s history. All history leads to Jesus.

Matthew is telling a story, so he skips some ancestors, mentions the existence of some brothers (vv. 2 & 11) but not others, records some wives and not others. He’s connecting Jesus’ story into the larger plot, the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Matthew is using the genealogy to set the scene for Jesus. He has a family that goes back many generations. This shows the importance of godly heritage and importance of raising godly generations.

Nowadays we tend to think about the here and now—the immediate. In the past people tend to think beyond themselves. They think about those people who have gone before them and those who are coming after them, especially for those who farm the land for generations.

In the same way, God the Father thinks about generations. These verses describe God’s generational thinking:

Psalms 78:5-7 (NIV)
⁵ He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our forefathers
to teach their children,
⁶ so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
⁷ Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesusthroughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

The danger of losing our next generation is very real. It is clearly illustrated in…

Judges 2:7-11 (NKJV)
⁷ So the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the LORD which He had done for Israel. ⁸ Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. ⁹ And they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath Heres, in the mountains of Ephraim, on the north side of Mount Gaash. ¹⁰ When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the LORD nor the work which He had done for Israel.
¹¹ Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served the Baals;

• The general trend is that the first generation experiences.
• The second generation hears of the experiences.
• The third generation does not even hear. Like in our text, there arises a generation that knows not the Lord or the works He has done.

We are just one generation away from apostasy. How do we prevent this? Two things have to happen:

• The older generation must teach the younger.
• The younger generation must develop their own faith.

We cannot control what the younger generation chooses when they come of age. But we can control how we teach them. If they choose to depart from God later, let it not be because we failed to teach them. Let us be busy and diligent in our efforts to train up the next generation in the ways of the Lord.

It involves parents, grandparents, the church, Sunday School, Youth Impact so that when they leave the safety and protection of the home they will not be tossed by very wind of doctrine and drift away.

Psalm 145:3–7 (NIV84)
³        Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
⁴     One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.
⁵     They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
⁶     They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
⁷     They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

SO HOW CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT THE THIRD GENERATION WILL STILL BE FAITHFUL IN THE LORD?

Teaching is good but not enough. The new generation forsook God because they did not have their own faith.

REMEMBER…God has no grandchildren!

• We ourselves must make sure that we do not have only have past experiences with God.
• Be sure to tell your children what the Lord has done, but then encourage them to have their own personal experiences with God’s love and power.
• We must make the second and third generations, first generation. A generation that experiences the miraculous works of God in their own lives.

2 Timothy 1:5 (NIV84)
I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

Our God is the Lord of history, the Ancient of Days who is weaving together the stories of individuals, generations and nations into His eternal purpose. His work is greater than any individual and continues from generation to generation.

A warning! Revivalist and co-founder of the Methodist movement, John Wesley, famously said: “What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.”

We are not just responsible for our generation. We are entrusted with the future of our children and our children’s children and our children’s children’s children. We must be vigilant and faithful to pass on the greatest gift ever.  This is legacy living at its best, eternal life for the generations to come.

C. Within the Genealogy is a GENESIS – A new beginning

Matthew starts with Genesis – both literally and metaphorically. It’s hidden in the text in 1:1, lying under the words “A record of the genealogy”, is literally ‘the book of the genesis of Jesus’ (Biblos geneseos Iesou Christou).

Greek readers often referred to the book of Genesis “the book of generations,” and the title is also used for genealogies and other accounts contained in it (Gen 2:4; 5:1 LXX).

The phrase “A record of the genealogy” is not found many places in the Bible. In fact, if you go back through your Old Testament you will discover that Genesis 5:1 is the only other time you find a statement which closely resembles the statement of Matthew 1:1.

Matthew 1:1 says: the book of the generation of Jesus Christ; Genesis 5:1 says: the book of the generations of Adam. The same words biblos geneseos are used in both verses.

The Bible is basically a book which has two families in it: Matthew 1:1, the New Testament is the book of Jesus Christ; Genesis 5:1, the Old Testament is the book of the generations of Adam. Spiritually speaking, there are only two families in all of the world. There is the family of Adam and there is the family of Jesus Christ.

Genesis 5 is the chapter that is known as the “death chapter” with a particular recurring phrase. It will talk about a particular person, it will say he lived, it will tell how long he lived, and then it will say, “And he died.” Then it will move on to another person and it will tell how long he lived and then it will say, “And he died.”

In contrast the genealogy of Jesus uses a different terminology altogether. It says in verse 2 for instance:

² Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

“The father of” (or “begat” in KJV) is used 39 times to describe biological origin. In other words Abraham became the father of Isaac; Isaac became the father of Jacob; and it simply means LIFE.

In the Adamic family, “and he died, and he died”; the Jesus family, “and he lived, and he lived, and he lived”.

That’s the whole story of the whole human race. Everyone of us is in one of those two families. All of us started off in the Adam family, but that is not the end of the story.

1 Corinthians 15:22 (NIV84)
²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Which family are you in? All of us, by virtue of our physical birth, are in the human family, the family of Adam. And Paul says very specifically, in Adam all do what? Die.

“But in Christ shall all will be made alive.” If you know Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour then your future is described by this word “life.” Coming to Jesus Christ brings you to life. It brings you to life not only in the here and now, but also life in eternity through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God’s work with Abraham, with David has been moving towards this moment. The coming of Christ as a human being marks a génesis, the beginning of His temporary existence as the God–Man. By echoing Genesis, Matthew is indicating a new beginning. It marks a new beginning for us. Jesus comes to make us new. We are made new in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV84)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

And God continues to do something new in your life. A reversal, turnaround is available no matter how bad the situation or how messy things are in your life.

Isaiah 43:18–19 (NIV84)
¹⁸    “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹    See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

New beginnings bud around you and within you every day. God is in the business of making all things new. His healing brings restoration beyond human understanding, no matter where you come from or what you’ve done.

Lamentations 3:22–23 (NIV84)
²²    Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
²³    They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

Though we may face difficult times, God’s grace is more than sufficient in every situation we face.

Annus horribilis, is often associated specifically with Queen Elizabeth II, who used the phrase in referring to her family’s difficulties in 1992.

• From the Latin annus (“year”) + horribilis (“of horrors”)
• Used to describe a year notable for great adversity or misfortune; a disastrous year.

Annus mirabilis (pl. anni mirabiles) is a Latin phrase that means “wonderful year”, “miraculous year” or “amazing year”.

• From Latin annus (“year”) + mīrābilis (“wondrous”)
• Any given year that undergoes a multitude of significant and fateful events, be they disasters or successes.

The truth is every moment, day, year brings a fresh start. God has made and is making all things new.

Gospel
Good news – John 3:16 is the fulfilment of God’s promise in Gen 3:16. He is the promise-maker and promise-keeper. And everyone of us has a part to play in His story.

Generations
God is interested in raising up godly seed and He has entrusted us with that responsibility. We are an inter-generational church. Do you know that TOP used to be a church of young people?

Genesis
New beginnings. In Adam all die but in Christ all live. He has come to give us life and life abundantly. His grace is sufficient.