MESSAGE BY PASTOR DANIEL PARK FROM
BETHANY BAPTIST IN RICHMOND, BC.
Lou's quote; Let's pray: Father God we are here once more asking for a miracle in the lives of members of our family and dear friends, some of them are struggling with strong pain they need you desperately, and sometimes they are very tired, give them the strengh in not to lose their faith in you, but we know you are in charge of all. We know you have the answer for all in your time and not ours. we ask humbly Oh Lord God that miracle in their lives so they can feel the greatest love you have for them. You know them by name but we mention them to you: Gaby, Tere, Nancy, Steve, Miguel, Socrates, Carlos, Manuel, and Les. We pray also for the brothers and sisters who are struggling with wars in their countries and are so many our Lord God, so many, give to the Leaders of each country the wisdom in finding the way to put an end to this terrible situation with devastation, hunger, pain, sorrow and death. we pray for the children, that are suffering also and they don't know and understand why this is happening. We give you thanks oh Lord God, and we ask you humbly in the name of our Lord of Lords, and King of Kings Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Life-way Research is a Christian organization in the States that conducts research and surveys that,
“assists and equips church leaders with insight and advice that will lead to greater levels of church health and effectiveness.”
In 2021 they asked Americans what they think about Jesus and His birth.
Published on Dec. 8
Their conclusion was, “Christmas is a celebration of a real event, according to most Americans. Just don’t expect them to know exactly why Jesus was born and came to earth.”
Some surprises both ways..
91% of Americans celebrate Christmas
80% of American adults agree Jesus is the Son of God
Even among unreligious Americans, 48% - almost half still agree that Jesus is the Son of God
72% of American adults agree Jesus was born 2000 years ago in Bethlehem
Interesting part is whether the Son of God existed before Jesus was born
41% of American adults agree that Jesus existed before His birth
Honestly I think that’s still pretty impressive
The REALLY interesting thing is that only 63% of “active Christians” agree that Jesus existed before His birth
The study also asked WHY people thought Jesus was born.
Asked if the Bible says Jesus:
1. Was born to, “give his life as a ransom for many.”
51% said yes.
2. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
31% said yes
3. Was “born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth.”
31% said yes
4. Came to bring division, but to give peace on earth.
9% said yes
3% knew all 4 statements were by Jesus in the Bible.
To reiterate the summary I read earlier:
“Christmas is a celebration of a real event, according to most Americans. Just don’t expect them to know exactly why Jesus was born and came to earth.”
Today, we are going to finish looking at the genesis or genealogy of Jesus that reveals WHO Jesus came as, and what He came to do.
Jesus coming and being born on earth is the genesis of joy
The fact that Jesus the King, the Christ, and the Saviour came for you and me is extraordinary
It is good news
1 JESUS IS: THE KING
First let’s zoom out look at the overall structure of the genealogy
The genealogy shows the generations of Jesus from Abraham to David, David to the deportation to Babylon, and from the deportation to Babylon to the birth of Jesus.
This 3-part structure is summarized in verse 1, giving Jesus the titles of Christ, the son of David, and the son of Abraham.
Which is actually in reverse order compared to the 3 parts of the genealogy
The passage is very conveniently divided into 3 parts with each part bracketed by prominent people or event at the start and end of the period.
Each of the 3 parts has a clear beginning and end
The structure reveals that the 2nd section is the most important part of the genealogy for Matthew
The genealogy of the kings
Starting with the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time)
David - emphasized in verse 6
The genealogy intentionally draws the reader’s attention to David the king
And what, if any is the significance of the number 14 and each period being 14 generations?
All commentators agree that it is a “gematria”
A Jewish practice attributing number values for Hebrew letters
The numerical values of the 3 consonants of David in Hebrew are 4, 6, and 4 - from right to left which is how you read Hebrew
The sum of which is 14
Matthew intentionally chose and left and out names in the genealogy, in order to emphasize David the King in the genealogy
And to make it easier for people to remember the genealogy
In 2 Samuel 7, God makes a promise to David:
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
David interpreted this offspring as his direct son being the one who will build a temple for God
But we know, the time of kings ends and the kingdom of the House of David did not last
So based on this passage and others by later prophets, the people of Israel and Judah have been waiting for a descendant of King David
One who would RE-establish a kingdom that will last
This offspring of David is actually Jesus who would come 28 generations later
So Matthew uses the title, “Son of David” for Jesus 17 times in his Gospel
Matthew’s genealogy proves that Jesus is the heir apparent to King David
Jesus being the Son of David means Jesus has the legal claim to the throne of Israel
He is Jesus the King
He IS the King of the Jews.
What does Jesus being king mean or how does it matter?
Jesus being the rightful king through the line of David means He did not just plop down, arbitrarily declaring Himself the king
Nor was He forced on people
But He was seeded and rooted in and throughout human history in the people of Israel from ages ago
Similar to the way Jesus’ human line can be traced back to Abraham, even through all the human sin.
Jesus is not alien to us
He really is and WAS Immanuel - God with us, for us
A true and noble Lord who looks after His subjects
We have a King, who is not ceremonial or constitutional or idealogical
We have a king who has all the power in creation and who will protect us, care for us and even love us
2. JESUS IS: THE CHRIST
Christ is not a part of Jesus’ name, you know that right?
It’s more of a description
Like a title.
Christ, “Christos” in Greek comes from the Hebrew word, “Mashiah” which means “anointed.”
As David was anointed to be king
(1 Samuel 9:16; 1 Samuel 16:3; 2 Samuel 12:7)
Connected to the promise of deliverance
Lets look at verses 12-16
Up to “Jacob the father of Joseph” you can clearly see the overwhelming repetition of “the father of”
39 times in this passage
The literal translation of the Hebrew word is more along the lines of the KJV
“Beget”. Jacob beget Joseph
Or Sired, or Fathered
Active form of the verb from the father to the son
But after we get to Joseph, that stops - because Joseph did not beget Jesus.
Jesus was not begotten by a human father
Jesus is the only begotten son of God the Father in heaven
Which is why John 3:16 in KJV says, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
So instead, Joseph is the husband of Mary, OF WHOM (or by whom) Jesus was born.
This phrase OF WHOM replaces all the “fathering” that happened before this.
From verse 2 until now, men fathered sons who fathered sons
For Joseph, he does not father Jesus
Mary becomes the mother OF WHOM Jesus was born
Here we have one last woman in the genealogy of Jesus
Who would have carried on her shoulders ALL the shocking things as the 4 women who appeared earlier in the genealogy that we talked about last week
People are no longer the active agents - father or mother
Joseph and Mary now both have passive roles as GOD takes the active role
Luke 1:35 (NLT)
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
From the technical language of the genealogy alone, the virgin birth of Jesus is made clear.
In the greater context, the announcement of Jesus as the Christ, the anointed one, Messiah
Comes at the end of the section of names of people from the time of exile to Babylon
After Zarubbabel and until Joseph, we have 9 people who are only ever mentioned in this passage.
Matthew probably had access to private family records that had been destroyed since
These names are from the time of exile into the 400 Silent Years as it is known
The time between the last writings of the OT until the Gospels of the NT
Called the silent years because there were no new revelations from God.
And through the silent years into the time of Roman conquest and rule
So the final period covered by the genealogy is a time of exile, captivity, subjugation at the hands of foreign powers
Not only that, a time of silence - no revelation from their God, a time of waiting in darkness
This reminds me of the time from the death of Joseph in Egypt to the birth of Moses
Genesis 50 to Exodus 1
The Israelites are enslaved by a foreign power
AND, Exodus 1 begins with a short genealogy…
Snapshot of summary of the family - the sons of Jacob
AND Moses’ name means drawn out, rescued…
While Jesus means Jehovah is salvation
Moses is known as a saviour, but he himself is counted among the saved
Jesus was born to save - once and for all
The birth of Jesus - independent of human “fathering”, but birthed by the divine “overshadowing” power of God
Will undo the exile, captivity and subjugation of His people
The birth of Jesus is now the answer to the 400 years of cries, prayers, and groans of His people in slavery.
Jesus who is the Christ, is the answer to YOUR groans and salvation for your life that you feel is out of control and in chaos.
The sinful and shameful legacy of Israel’s kings does not reach Jesus, the son of David
Because Jesus was not fathered by any man
Joseph, of the line of David, the legal human father of Jesus is “overshadowed” by the power of God and becomes a passive factor in the birth of Jesus
And therefore, Jesus remains un-compromised.
Jesus is the Son of David the King
But actually, Jesus is not just the king
Begotten of God, not man - Jesus is the King of Kings
The Christ, the Messiah and Deliverer
The un-compromised and uncompromising King, who is worthy of complete faith
Who will never disappoint nor fail His people
Have you had or do you have people you trusted and depended on who disappointed you or failed you?
Jesus the King of Kings is perfect and able to protect, provide for, and save you.
3. JESUS IS, THE SAVIOUR
We began with Jesus as the King - the son of David and the Son of God
Fully man and God
He is also the the Christ, the Messiah who will deliver not just one group of people, but ALL peoples and families of the earth
But for you and me on a personal level, Jesus is first and foremost, the Saviour
Before we talk about kingdoms and peoples - we have to remember that Jesus came as the embodiment of God’s love for each and every one of us.
No matter how we identify ourselves
And He was born, to live so that He could die as the propitiation for our sins
But then He rose again from the dead, guaranteeing life for all who would believe in Him
Jesus came to save us from the temporal life of sin
to eternal life with God
This is the starting place.
Jesus was born on earth to bring hope to
All ethnicities and cultures of the earth
All the lowly and disregarded people
All sinners
We have joy in Jesus because of why He was born on earth
To save each and every one of us from sin and it’s consequences - beginning with death and eternal separation from God
To deliver us into union with God
To be our King and care for us when we cannot.
Why do we need Jesus?
A lot of people believe religion or spirituality provides us with the enlightenment of transcendent meaning
Which sounds great and profound
But it’s a lot simpler than that
We need Jesus to save us from ourselves. Left to ourselves, all great thoughts would only lead to the glorifying of ourselves
The ascension of ME
History shows this always ends bad
People universally recognized as good and godly, universally lived their lives - not for a higher purpose or meaning,
but higher GOD
Jesus came as the True Light to shine our way back to God
This is true enlightenment
Understanding and accepting WHO Jesus is
Our Saviour, Messiah, and King
Conclusion
Christmas comes around every year
Some years we feel merrier than others
This one may not feel as joyous as some others you may have had
Today, I want to remind you that Christmas is the re-enactment of the genesis of joy
- The re-anticipation of receiving Jesus who came to save us
We re-anticipate joy by worshipping as a body
We experience the divine overshadowing in our lives as we give up trying to control our lives to save ourselves
We help others experience God’s overshadowing as we reach out to love and share the love of God with the people the world rejects and looks down on
We can re-anticipate by turning to Jesus in the midst of our hopelessness
The midst of our frustrations
Failures
Sickness and death
Let’s do that now as reflect on the Good News of the birth of Jesus Christ….
