LESSONS FROM THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS

CHRIST

MATTHEW 1:1-6Oct 2, 2011

[The genealogy of Jesus]

- the part we read fast- the names are hard to pronounce

The genealogy in Matt ch. 1 is very important, because it shows us that Jesus' coming was no accident. He was born to fulfill a specific plan of God, in a specific time, and in a specific place.

Why does Matthew give us such a detailed account of Jesus’ lineage [ 혈통 , 가계 ]?

The most amazing thing in Jesus’ genealogy is the names of the 4 women (5 including Mary) who are listed: Tamar(v.3), Rahab(v.5), Ruth(v.5), “the wife of Uriah”(v.6) who is Bathsheba, and Mary(v.16).

Jesus’ genealogy is surprising because

1)It lists women 2)None of these women are the type of people that we would expect to find in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

He chooses to work through the weak things of this world that He might be shown strong.

# I. The Genealogy of Jesus shows the Coming of Jesus is from the line of Israel.[ 예수의 족보는 예수가 이스라엘의 혈통을 따라 오심을 보여준다 ]

- Jesus is King over Israel1)Most of the names mentioned are Jewish names.2)Jesus came as the promised Messiah.3)The Jews expected Him to come with more power, and that’s why so many of Israelites rejected Jesus as the Messiah.

# II. The Genealogy of Jesus shows the Grace of God. [ 예수의 족보에는 하나님의 은혜가 나타나 있다 ]- Four sinful women are included in the genealogy.

Jesus’ genealogy contains not only some righteous people, but also contains some sinners.

[The life histories of these women.]1) Tamar [ 다말 ] : Genesis 38

Tamar was Judah’s daughter-in-law. Judah slept with her and got her pregnant.

By the grace of God. Tamar, a sinner, was allowed into the genealogy of Jesus.

2) Rahab [ 라합 ] : Joshua 2; Joshua 6:15-25

Rahab was a prostitute ( 창녀 ), but she was the mother of Boaz, who would later marry Ruth. When Israel had conquered Jericho, Rahab was allowed to live by God

Hiding the spies was an outworking of her faith. She had come to believe that “the God of Israel was indeed God in heaven above and earth beneath” (Joshua 2:11). [ 이스라엘의 하나님은 위로는 하늘에서도 , 아래로는 땅에서도 하나님이시니라 .]

It does not matter what we were or have been. What matters is what Jesus has done for us.

3) Ruth [ 룻 ] : Ruth 1:-4Ruth was a Moabite woman [모압 여인 ]. The Moabites were forbidden from entering into the assembly of the Lord to the tenth generation (Deuteronomy 23:3).[ 모압 사람은 여호와의 총회에 열 번째 세대까지 들어오지 못하리라 ]

Ruth was the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Ruth stuck with her mother-in-law when her husband died. Finally a Jewish man from named Boaz purchased Ruth as his wife.

4) Bathsheba [ 밧세바 ] : 2 Samuel 11I believe that Bathsheba was not completely guiltless. She may not have purposely enticed David, but she was immodest and indiscreet. To disrobe [옷을 벗다 ] and bathe in an open courtyard or at the rooftop was asking for trouble.

King David killed Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah. Bathsheba who enticed King David to sin, bore the son of David, and was one of the descendants of Jesus.

It’s amazing that Jesus loves us despite of our sin. Perhaps you have sin, but the good news is that Jesus loves you and died for you while you’re still sinners.

☞ There is no one too wicked and no one too evil for the grace of God! [ 하나님의 은혜를 받지 못할 정도로 악한 사람은 없다 ]III. The Genealogy of Jesus is for the Gentiles. [ 예수의 족보에 이방인도 들어있다 ] - Gentiles are included in the genealogy.

Jesus is king over the Gentiles as well as over the Jews. One of the main promises of the Old Testament was that there would come a time when the Gentiles would be allowed to be a part of God’s redeemed.

God called Jews as His people. God’s blessing and promises went to the Jews, and the Gentiles or non-Jews were not a part of the people of God.

Some gentiles are included in the genealogy of Jesus. - Tamar, the mother of Perez [베레스 ] and Zerah [ 세라 ], was probably a Canaanite. -Rahab from the city of Jericho

-Ruth the Moabite- Bathsheba the wife of a Hittite [ 힛타이트 , 헷 사람 ].

People often discriminate others on the basis of ethnicity [ 민족 , 종족 ]. It is shameful when people discriminate against others just because of different skin color- We are all Gentiles.

IV. The Genealogy of Jesus is for the Nobodies. [ 예수의 족보에는 보잘 것 없는 사람들도 들어있다 ]- Jesus is King over Nobodies.

-Abraham : a liar, originally worshipped pagan gods, wasn’t wealthy or famous

-Moses: couldn’t speak and lead

- Gideon : the weakest in his family, of the weakest clan, of the weakest tribe.

- David : the least likely of the sons of Jesse to be named King over Israel, but defeated Goliath

☞ God uses the nobodies to do His work. [ 하나님은 보잘것 없는 사람들을 들어서 하나님의 일을 이루어 가신다 ]

God uses the nobodies and the weak things of the world. Jesus is king over the nobodies. Please try to find a person with no friends, with broken hearts and tell them about Jesus.

Remember Jesus said, “Come to me all who are weary and burdened.” [수고하고 무거운 짐진 자들아 다 내게로 오라 !]

God wants to use us and what he looks at is our hearts. Samuel said, “Man looks at outward appearances, but God looks at the heart.” [ 사람은 외모를 보거니와 , 하나님은 마음의 중심을 보느니라 !]

Remember: You can be a “nobody” to the world and still be a “somebody” in the eyes of God!

Conclusion: God wants to use even you and me. To Him, it does not matter how bad our past is. We see beautiful reflections of God’s grace in Matthew’s genealogy.

I read about a Hindu man who was converted to Christianity simply from reading this genealogy. He was amazed to see a Savior who did not come from some perfect family background.

[ 예화 :Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)]He was inspired after reading the Bible. So he went to attend a church but the usher told him that the church was reserved for Whites only. That was the last time Gandhi entertained [ 생각을 품다 ] any thought of becoming a Christian.

In a world where a great part of humanity was discriminated against, Jesus showed us a great example of going against the current. In Him we are all one!