The Genealogy Of Jesus Christ

Rev. Dr Steve Voorwinde

 

Text: Matthew 1:1

Reading: 2Chronicles 36:9-23

 

[This sermon is based on a talk Rev Steve Voorwinde gave on 27 August 2008 at the CRCA Minister’s and Wives Conference. This fact will explain some of the personal references in what follows.]

 

I would like to start this devotional talk with a confession. I have had the privilege of teaching the NT for well over twenty years, but it is only just recently that I have begun to appreciate the very first verse of the NT. For many years I just read over it, like the preface to a textbook or a novel, and hardly gave it a second thought. Maybe the same has been true of you as well. But these are the very opening words of the NT. So they must be important. In my NIV they read like this: “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Now if you’re not into genealogies this verse may not grab you immediately. But bear with me.

 

A. The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

 

Then I turned to the Greek text and immediately these words took on wings! Isn’t that what happens so often when you open your Greek NT. Suddenly the passage that you are going to preach on begins to take off. I trust this is a common experience for many people here. Well it was certainly the case for me with Matthew 1:1. The NIV speaks of the “record of the genealogy.” Other translations are simpler and speak of the “book of the genealogy.” The Greek is simpler still. It just reads biblos geneseos. When I first noticed that, I said to myself, “That sounds like the book of Genesis. Isn’t that interesting, that both the OT and the NT should begin with the book of Genesis?” Is Matthew trying to tell us something here?

 

So I did a little further investigating and found that the words biblos geneseos are found in the Greek Bible on just two further occasions – and both are in the book of Genesis! In Gen 2:4 it refers to the “account of the origin” of the heavens and the earth. Then in Gen 5:1 these words refer to the lists of the descendants of Adam. So the first time biblos geneseos is used it is about the beginning of creation. The second time it is about the beginning of humanity. Now when Matthew uses it the third time could he be suggesting a new beginning? Is God going to do something fundamentally new through Jesus Christ? That’s the question that I want to explore with you this morning, and it’s a question to which Matthew gives a breath-taking answer.

 

Matthew is about to give us “the book of Genesis of Jesus Christ”. Now I don’t have to remind you that when Matthew speaks of Jesus Christ it’s not that “Jesus” is his Christian name and “Christ” is his surname. Jesus Christ is not like John Hoogenhout or Dave Groenenboom or Murray Capill. Later in Matthew 1 we learn that “Jesus” means “Saviour”. It was the Greek name for Joshua in the OT. And “Christ” means Messiah or Anointed One. Now in the OT we have a case of a prophet being anointed and some high priests were anointed, but most often the anointed one is a king. This was a royal title. So Jesus Christ is a Saviour and a King. He has royal blood coursing through his veins. He is a Saviour King. And Matthew is about to give us his pedigree. He comes from the purest bloodline. He has the perfect ancestry to be the King.

 

 

B. The Son of David

 

Our verse continues “ . . . the son of David, the Son of Abraham.” His genesis goes all the way back to Genesis! But why select these two ancestors? Of all the ancestors he could have chosen why does Matthew select David and Abraham? Why these two? A few weeks ago I asked this question in an evening class. Now in this class there’s a motley assortment of all kinds of church groups and denominations. Anglicans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Charismatics – you name them, we have them. So I was hoping to ask this leading question and get some lively discussion going. Why did Matthew say “son of David, son of Abraham”? And this young guy put his hand up and said: “Because they are the only ancestors God made covenants with.” That was exactly the answer that I was looking for and it torpedoed all further discussion. And these covenants with David and Abraham are just so terribly important when it comes to understanding Matthew’s Gospel.

 

Matthew mentions David first. So let’s begin with God’s covenant with David. You’ll remember that in 2 Samuel 7 David had wanted to build a house for the Lord. The prophet Nathan comes back to David with this message in vv. 11-16:

 

“`The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you:

¹² When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

¹⁴ I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.

¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom shall endure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'”

 

So God promises David both a dynasty and a temple. “Your son will build my house and I will build your house” would seem to be the heart of it. David’s son will build a temple, and David’s kingdom and throne will last forever. The promise is initially fulfilled in Solomon. He consolidates David’s line and he builds God’s temple. So far so good. The Davidic covenant is off to a good start and everything seems to be on track. But we all know that it doesn’t take long for things to start going off the rails in a pretty tragic way. First the kingdom is torn in two – between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. But worse is still to come. At the end of 2 Chronicles we get a picture of utter devastation. Let me read vv. 9-23 of chapter 36, which is the last chapter of the OT in the order of the books that Jews use. For first century Jews like Matthew this was how their Bible ended:

 

⁹ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for three months and ten days. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

¹⁰ In the spring, King Nebuchadnezzar sent for him and brought him to Babylon, together with articles of value from the temple of the LORD, and he made Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, king over Judah and Jerusalem.

¹¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eleven years.

¹² He did evil in the eyes of the LORD his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the LORD.

¹³ He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel.

¹⁴ Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD, which he had consecrated in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling-place.

¹⁶ But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.

¹⁷ He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁸ He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD’s temple and the treasures of the king and his officials.

¹⁹ They set fire to God’s temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.

²⁰ He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.

²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfilment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.

²² In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfil the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:

²³ “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “`The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you–may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.'”

 

So what has happened to God’s covenant with David? The temple lies in ruins and David’s descendant is an exile in Babylon. And now it is not a Davidic king but a pagan king who can claim: “The God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem.”

 

Everything has gone terribly wrong. Where is God’s house? Where is David’s house? It all seems to have gone to dust and ashes. The very promises of a temple and a dynasty are now fulfilled not in the king of Israel but in the king of Persia. And this is where Matthew’s OT ended. 2 Chronicles is the last book of the Hebrew OT. God’s temple is in ruins and David’s dynasty is in eclipse. Was it all a mistake? Has God gone back on his word? That’s where the Hebrew OT ended – in a pile of rubble and in a heap of broken promises. In all the gloom there is a glimmer of hope but it comes through the king of Persia.

 

And that’s precisely the point at which Matthew picks up the story of redemptive history. He addresses the very issues raised by the Davidic covenant – a demolished temple and departed dynasty. He introduces Jesus Christ as the “son of David.” God has not forgotten his promises or broken his covenant. The Davidic line, which for so long had been in eclipse, is now at last being restored. And what about the temple? What did the temple stand for? It was God’s dwelling with his people. Jesus fulfilled that as well. Later in chapter 1 Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”– which means, “God with us.” (v. 23).

 

So in Matthew 1 Jesus is the new Davidic king. He is also the new temple in which God dwells with his people. The covenant with David is being fulfilled in wonderful ways. But we haven’t seen everything yet. This is just the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel. At the end of Matthew’s gospel the prospects for the Davidic covenant look even brighter still. Listen to what the risen Jesus says in the Great Commission:

 

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

Not a Persian king but a Davidic king has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and all the nations are to obey what he has commanded. The kingdom of David has not only been restored but is about to expand in a most glorious way. The kingdoms of the world will become the kingdom of Christ and he will reign forever and ever. And down the ages he remains Immanuel, “God with us,” for he says, “Surely I am with always, to the very end of the age.”

 

C. The Son of Abraham

 

But not only is Jesus the son of David, he is also the son of Abraham. And God made a covenant with Abraham as well. As we read at the beginning of Genesis 12:

 

The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

² “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.

³ I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

 

Again what a generous promise! God will make Abraham into a great nation and all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through him. We see the beginnings of this in the genealogy that immediately follows in Matthew 1, in verses 2-6:

 

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.”

 

What most commentators fail to realize is that vv. 3-6 are the first OT quote in the NT. It comes from Ruth 4 but there are some subtle differences. Let me read from the end of Ruth and see if you can pick them:

 

^“18 This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,

¹⁹ Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab,

²⁰ Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

²¹ Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed,

²² Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.”

 

So what are the differences between the genealogies in Ruth and Matthew? Matthew lists the women! And notice who these women are – Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba (who isn’t even mentioned by name but is referred to as “Uriah’s wife”). So what do all these names have in common? They are all Gentiles.

 

• Tamar was a Canaanite.

 

• Rahab was from Jericho.

 

• Ruth was from Moab.

 

• And Uriah was a Hittite.

 

Matthew has carefully woven these Gentile names into Jesus’ genealogy. Thus begins a thread that runs all the way through his Gospel. Here is Jesus the Jewish Messiah, the son of David, and his perfect pedigree doesn’t only have the patriarchs but also these matriarchs. Their origin is a bit suspect and their morality even more so. But there they are right on the first page of the NT. The Gospel of Matthew is a Gospel of grace. In more ways than one these matriarchs set the tone for all that follows. The Gentile thread begins with them.

 

In the next chapter we meet some other prominent Gentiles. The magi had come from the East. Their profession was hardly one of which Jews and early Christians would have approved. Traditionally they were astrologers, magicians and interpreters of dreams. And yet it was they who were the first to acknowledge the king of the Jews. They brought him gifts fit for a king and worshipped him as such. Here is Matthew, the most Jewish of the Gospels, and the first to worship the Jewish Messiah are these Gentiles who have come from afar.

 

Then in chapter 4 we are told that Jesus began his preaching ministry in Galilee, and Matthew reminds us that Isaiah had called this area “Galilee of the Gentiles” (4:15).

 

And while he is in “Galilee of the Gentiles” he is approached by a centurion in Capernaum whose servant was suffering terribly. This Gentile had such insight into who Jesus was that Jesus was astonished and solemnly declared, “I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.” (8:10)

 

In Matthew’s Gospel there were only two people whom Jesus commended for their great faith – this centurion and the Canaanite woman in chapter 15. She too had remarkable insight into who Jesus was: “Lord, son of David, have mercy on me!” (15:22). She may have been a descendant of those cursed Canaanites, but she honoured him as the Davidic king. She was also an early example of a Gentile blessed by the son of Abraham.

 

Later Jesus has a stern word for his Jewish opponents: ⁴³ “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” (21:43).

 

In the Olivet Discourse he makes another prediction: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (24:14).

 

Again and again we see that in the ministry of Jesus the Abrahamic covenant is being fulfilled. In him the nations of the earth are blessed. And how are the nations blessed? When the Great Commission is carried out. At the end of Matthew we again find Jesus in Galilee, “Galilee of the Gentiles,” on the mountain to which he had summoned his disciples. It is from that vantage point that he gives them his last command, “Go and make disciples of all the nations” or “Go and make disciples of all the Gentiles.” You can translate it either way. The magi, the centurion and the Canaanite woman were just the beginning. As Jesus said to the centurion: “Many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” (8:12).

 

Conclusion and Application

 

So Matthew 1:1 is a wonderful verse. It is the hinge between the OT and the New. It picks up the story from the very beginning of the OT. In Jesus there is a new beginning for creation and there is also a new beginning for humanity. In him the covenant with Abraham is fulfilled and now all the peoples of the earth will be blessed. In him the covenant with David will also be remarkably fulfilled. Compare the end of the Hebrew OT with the end of Matthew:

 

• At the end of the OT a Persian king can say, “The LORD has given me all the kingdoms of the earth.” At the end of Matthew Jesus can say: “All authority is heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

• At the end of the OT the temple, the symbol of God’s presence, lies in ruin and devastation. At the end of Matthew Jesus can say, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

• At the end of the OT the Davidic king is in exile in Babylon. At the end of Matthew Jesus the messianic King tells his disciples to teach the nations to obey everything he has commanded them.

 

And when it comes to the execution of this Great Commission some one has called God “the God of the wildcard.” Let me illustrate from both the RTC and the CRCA. If back in the 1970s, at the height of the cultural revolution in China, someone had said to me, “Thirty years from now you’ll be teaching at the RTC, and the College will have an on campus ministry to people from Communist China,” I think I would have laughed in their face. But that’s exactly what has happened! We have a student residence at the RTC and the largest people group are the Chinese. And what’s more they’re open to the Gospel. Earlier this year they asked one of our students to lead a Bible study for them, and now every Tuesday between six and a dozen attend. The mission field has come to us.

 

Another development is taking place in our churches. Back in the 1970s in most of our churches you could say, “Spot the Aussie.” Back in 1974 I returned to Sydney with my wife from America. After a couple of weeks she wrote her first letter home. It contained this rather memorable sentence: “Before arriving in Australia I had only ever met four Australians. Now that I have lived here for two weeks I have met two more.” Let’s face it, in those days we were a Dutch migrant church. Now we are a multi-ethnic church. Our ranks are made up not only of Dutchies and Aussies, but of South Africans, Sri Lankans, Chinese and Indonesians. Some of our congregations are made up of more than a dozen nationalities. It’s been a hard and sometimes painful transition, but the Lord has transformed us from an ethnic church to a truly multicultural church. In our churches too the Great Commission is being fulfilled in remarkable ways. Let’s be greatly encouraged by what the Lord is doing among us. Through us too the nations of the earth are being blessed. Praise be to God!

 

Amen