When we read the Scriptures we know and understand that as Paul wrote to Timothy, 'All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable…" We believe that don't we? We all have certain portions of the Scripture that are favorites. For some it is the Psalms, others love the wisdom of the Proverbs. Still others love to read the Gospels. A few folks love the prophecies. Others favor the historical accounts of the Kings and Chronicles. But very few of us, if we are honest, would say that our favorite portion of the Scriptures is the genealogies.
As a matter of fact, many of us tend to skim over them in order to get to the 'good stuff'. They can be boring can't they? But God said, 'All Scripture'. That means that even the genealogies are inspired, and they are 'profitable'; especially for our question this morning. Why did God choose Bethlehem for the birth of His Son, Jesus? To answer that question, we must turn to the genealogies given for the Lord Jesus.
Genealogies were very important to the nation of Israel. They were essential for practical reasons such as buying and selling property. Land could not be bought and sold across tribal lines, so a person's genealogy was required to validate the sale of property. The entire priesthood also depended on genealogies. All of Israel's priests had to be descendants of Levi.
After the Babylonian captivity, Ezra used the genealogies to determine which priests had a legitimate claim to office. Those who couldn't prove their heritage could not serve as priests.
Perhaps the most important use and purpose of the genealogies was to trace the lineage of Judah's kings went back to David. God's promise was that David's offspring would bring forth the One who would deliver Israel and reign as King. In 2 Samuel 7:16, speaking through the prophet Nathan, God promised David, "And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."
What this meant was that any claimant to the throne of Israel had to demonstrate genealogically that he descended from David and was in the line of royalty. Scripture records the infallible and authoritative record of that lineage.
Not only do they trace the royal line of Israel, but they also outline God's dealings with His people. They reveal how God's sovereign hand has ordered human events to fulfill His own purposes despite tremendous obstacles. For all those reasons, the genealogies were carefully recorded and guarded. The most important ones were preserved in Scripture. This practice went on for centuries, through the time of Jesus' birth.
In fact, when the New Testament begins, we find Joseph and Mary going down to be registered according to their own ancestry in Bethlehem, their ancestral home. The nation still identified people genealogically.
(Luke 2:3-4) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
I. Two Genealogies
A. Matthew starts with Abraham and follows the line of David to Jesus via Joseph's family tree.
B. Luke's genealogy starts with Jesus and follows the line of David through Mary's family all the way back to Adam.
C. A couple of interesting things to note:
1. Matthew doesn't refer to Joseph as Joseph the father of Jesus, but as "the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus"
(Matthew 1:16) And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
2. Scripture is clear that Joseph was not the father of Jesus; God was!
3. Because Jesus had no human father, He couldn't be a descendent of David except through His mother.
4. Still, the legal right to rule always came through the father's side, and this was true even in Jesus' case, because He was legally Joseph's eldest son.
5. So both we have two necessary genealogies.
a. Luke shows that through Mary Jesus was literally a blood descendant of David.
b. Matthew proves that through His adopted father Joseph, Jesus was legally in the royal line.
c. In every way possible, He had the right to rule.
II. Knots in the Family Tree.
A. Genealogy = Grace
1. Perhaps some of you have sought to trace your own lineage back several generations.
2. If you have, then I can almost be sure that you found a few 'knots' in your family tree.
3. On my father's side of the family were the Borden's.
4. Some have said that Lizzie Borden was found in our family tree.
5. I don't know if that is accurate or not, but it would not surprise me.
6. All of us probably have some relatives, that we would rather not identify with but they are there regardless.
7. One of the things that makes the Word of God stand out to me is that God isn't a history revisionist.
8. He tells it like it was, and reveals the characters of Biblical history in realistic ways showing their human faults without apology.
a. Adam literally walked with God, but chose to disobey.
b. Abraham the friend of God, a man of faith, but we also see his failures.
c. David a man after God's own heart, but a man who lost his family due to sin.
d. The list could go on and on...but with every failure we see the grace of God.
B. Jesus has several 'knots' in His family tree.
1. The typical Hebrew genealogy excluded women.
2. To find four women's names in a single, brief genealogy is remarkable.
3. Even more extraordinary is that none of these four women epitomizes the kind of person we would expect to find in the royal heritage of the King of kings.
4. All of them were outcasts.
C. The first is Tamar.
(Matthew 1:3) And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
1. What kind of woman was Tamar?
2. Her story, if you want to read it in its entirety, is in Genesis 38.
3. It is a sordid tale of incest, prostitution, and deception.
4. Judah had chosen Tamar as a wife for his firstborn son, Er who was evil.
a. We don't know what he did, but God struck him dead for it (Genesis 38:7).
b. Er's brother Onan then became Tamar's husband, as the law at that time required.
c. When he spitefully refused to father children by Tamar, God struck him dead too (Genesis 38:10).
5. Frustrated at being childless, and unwilling to wait on the Lord's timing for the right husband, Tamar concocted an evil scheme to become pregnant.
a. She dressed up as a prostitute, put a veil over her face, and waited by the road until Judah, her own father-in-law, came along.
b. Not realizing who she was, Judah committed a sinful act of fornication with his own son's widow (v. 18).
c. Twin sons were conceived through that shameful act of harlotry and incest.
d. Their names were Perez and Zerah. Perez, who was born first, carried on the Messianic line.
6. What a shocking tale! That a woman like Tamar was part of Jesus' ancestry?
a. Don't bother looking for her redeeming virtues.
b. Almost nothing more is said about Tamar in the Old Testament account.
c. Scripture records no happy ending to her life.
d. She stands as a classic illustration of the frailty and utter sinfulness of humanity.
7. If God would continue the Messianic line through Tamar's offspring-the product of incest, harlotry, fornication, and deception- He must surely be a God of grace.
D. The next is Rahab.
1. We are probably more familiar with her and her story.
2. She's referred to in Scripture as "Rahab the harlot".
3. She was a Canaanite, a mortal enemy of God's people.
a. When we first encounter her in the biblical account, she is nothing more than an idolatrous, outcast Gentile woman, a professional prostitute.
b. Joshua 2 records that she hid the spies and protected them.
c. As a result, the Israelites spared Rahab and her family.
d. Later she became not only a convert to the true God, but also a part of the Messianic line.
e. She was the great, great grandmother of David.
(Matthew 1:5) And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
E. Then comes Ruth.
1. Ruth was not a prostitute or fornicator like Tamar and Rahab.
2. But like them she was a Gentile; she was a Moabite.
3. The entire Moabite race was a product of incest of Lot and his daughter chronicled for us in Genesis 19.
4. Ruth was from a tribe of people whose very existence was repugnant to the Jewish people.
(Deuteronomy 23:3) An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the LORD for ever:
5. Yet Ruth became the wife of Boaz, and like Rahab, she converted to the truth and found grace in the eyes of God.
6. Her great grandson was David.
F. One more, Bathsheba.
(Matthew 1:6) And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
1. Who was it that had been the wife of Uriah? Bathsheba, and her story is not pretty either.
2. According to 2 Samuel 11, she was on a rooftop bathing herself when David saw her and lusted after her.
3. He had his servants bring her to him, and he had a secret sexual relationship with her, but it wasn't secret very long because she became pregnant.
4. This began one of the sections of Scripture that reads like a daytime soap opera.
a. David seeks to cover up his sin, but it gets messier and messier.
b. Finally he orders the murder of Uriah and marries Bathsheba, thinking no one will be the wiser.
c. But God wasn't impressed with his duplicity.
d. The result was public humiliation and the death of his first child with her.
e. But David ultimately repented, and Bathsheba conceived again and bore a son, Solomon.
f. Solomon became the next link in the Messianic line.
g. So Bathsheba, though guilty of an act of sinful adultery, also became part of the line that would culminate in the birth of Jesus.
III. A Genealogy of Grace
A. It's almost as if he is nominating people for a Hall of Shame.
1. Here are two harlots, one cursed Moabite, and an adulteress.
2. These are the only four women mentioned in the entire genealogy, and every one of them was an outcast.
3. As we look at the royal genealogy of Jesus we find that it was filled with sinners.
4. But that's just the point; All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one.
B. We need to focus on the greatness of God's grace.
1. These individuals should be viewed for who they are, but for what God did for them.
2. God's grace is on display here.
3. Why did He choose the tribe of Judah, why did God choose Bethlehem, why did He include these glaring examples of sinners?
4. Because God wants us to see His grace in the lives of sinners.
5. Regardless of background or their sordid personal history, God takes broken people and makes them whole.
6. He then uses them for His glory and honor.
(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.
C. It gives us hope.
1. If the Lord could use such examples of human frailty, He can use us.
2. Jesus said, "… I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
3. Here is a wonderful truth: the same grace that was evident in the genealogy of Christ is active today, and the same Jesus is still saving His people from their sins.
4. He can save you today!
(Hebrews 7:25) Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.