Matthew 1:1, Where’s He From?

Where Jesus Comes From: His Genealogy, His Kingdom, and His Covenant Promises

Matthew chapter 1 verse 1 here the word of the Lord. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham. Hey, the Lord had his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word. Where's he from?

Don't you want to know I mean if you want to know someone who they are what they're about. You want to know where they're from who they are from more likely what kind of people what's their background?

What kind of family? Do they come from now in some cultures particularly in Europe. They are or at least already were very particular about one's pedigree, you know snobbish about ethnicity. In the great movie chariots of fire if you ever seen that the the snobs at Cambridge University in Britain are are trying to Talk to the track star.

Does she need some help show with a room? We have a room she can go to back there. It's nicely heated and she can need to tend to the baby. Excuse me. But anyway there if you ever see I love the movie chariots of fire, but there's this the scene where the track star Harold Abrahams is Having is being called up to talk to the I don't know who they are.

Like the heads of Cambridge University, they're kind of snobbish and they're but among other reasons they're trying to talk to him to Harold Abraham trying to talk him out of having a personal coach. And they because they think that's just not right and and among them the reasons they don't like his personal coach.

Is that the coach Sam Mussovini is? Italian and they're good proper Englishmen and they kind of look down, you know, they look down on different ethnicities and Italians are. Different degradations, right?

Italians are just not right. He's but Abrahams interjects. He's not all Italian. And one of the snobs responds. Oh, I'm glad to hear it. He's half Arab. Oh to the scowls of the snobs. That's worse in their opinion.

Where's he from? We want to know so we know something about him, you know, because we have this attitude those kind of people are like that. That's what if they're from that kind of people. That's why the way they are taken to extreme and mixed with little with a little arrogance.

You know, these people are bad these people are inferior to us it becomes Racism now some cultures have racism or maybe classism would be a better term. It's just part of the air they breathe. In England what class you are from and what your family is from for centuries was the most important thing about you.

But it would determine What you would do with your life how you would live for example, you can tell by my name What my ancestors. What their class was what they did right? Yeah, they were the children of a carpenter and they grow up to be Carpenters, this is the way it is.

You don't aspire to be something else. It's just that's your life. You were born into that class and you're gonna do that to be a ruler. You had to be born in the right family. The king came from the royal line.

The Lords came from the the higher classes what they called the nobility the rest of society the riffraff. They're the commoners. They were everyone else and it was difficult if not impossible To be to rise out of that to be accepted even if you manage to make some money or get an education.

You're still gonna be the riffraff if you came from the working-class. The play Pygmalion in the movie my fair lady is meant to satirize that class system. Henry Higgins tries to make a working-class flower girl pass for a high-class lady, of course to get away with it.

He has to hide where she came from. If people know about her family, it really doesn't matter how well she pronounces the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. They'll still know she's low-class.

Where's he from?

That'll tell us a lot about whether we should accept him. They say that in colonial Africa the the areas that the British control and African could learn perfect English with the Queen's accent learn all his manners, you know, no elbows on the table, right?

Have his tea times unfailingly in every way be culturally English and the English still would not accept him. They say well.

Not a day.

But I remember in Singapore that the Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew gave a speech and he talked about it when he was a student in England and he was making a reservation to get a hotel and he would say is I think he went by the name Harold or Harry.

Yeah, my name is Lee. My name is Lee. So this Lane now Lee is also a Chinese name and it's an English name. So they wouldn't know but they're talking on the phone and then he would say You need to know I'm Chinese and they would say no, we don't sir.

We don't take in your kind. Right. He could learn perfect English get it Education and they still wouldn't accept him. But as far as Africa, but in the areas the French controlled if an African learned perfect French.

Maybe learned loved his escargot and you know The French bread what they call that bag it might have become a bit French wine and poetry and all that stuff that the French Would didn't accept him with no problems.

You just got you just got to learn the manners. I think the Chinese are probably more like the French, don't you? Yeah, if you learn perfect Mandarin and handle your chopsticks, well take your shoes off at the door.

Be a loyal family member when you accept him as a one of the one of the Han. What do you think Mary? Mary's not sure. Okay, let's see. She's not sure we Americans don't always appreciate it. We like to think well.

We just judge every individual on their own his or her own merits. But sometimes it does matter what family someone comes from. I'm not just because not because they have palaces or estates in their name or for centuries in their family line.

Are they've been able to keep power and money in the family? They're the upper class not really because of that but if God has a promise for them a covenant for that family. Then that is important covenants not blood not race covenants make the difference.

The Son of David and the Davidic Covenant

Here we see that in the first verse of the Gospel of Matthew the New Testament. Why should we accept? Jesus is our king. What's his family status? What's his pedigree? Matthew begins the story of Jesus by telling us just that Jesus is two things the son of David and the son of Abraham.

He begins in verse 1 with the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. In other words, it's the book of origins. This is where he comes from. It's his genealogical record referring to the first 17 verses as he commences his story with the with the story of the background.

Not the pedigree of Jesus. So you so, you know now where he comes from. You have a basis on why you should accept him as your king. He is first Jesus Christ. Jesus is his name. Yeshua in Hebrew meaning the Lord is salvation is the same as Joshua.

Like the Joshua who carried on from Moses and brought God's people into the promised land. Christ is his title. Hey, it's kind of important people know that they think it's a name. It's just really his title.

It's like president or king, right? Now most titles people may have president may be president for four or eight years and then he loses the title. They still call him that but he loses the title but the Christ he's gonna have that forever.

But that's still his title. The Christ was the anointed King. Who would bring in God's kingdom God's rule on earth? So in Matthew here says in the very first verse that this Jesus is the Christ. He's not just given a name.

He is saying that this Jesus is the king of the kingdom of God. That's why you should accept him as your king that he's bringing in the rule of God that we've been waiting on. And you need to be ruled by him, too.

How do you know he's the king? Now Kings have to come from the right family, right? They've got to have the right pedigree. They're not voted into office because people think they're the most popular or they they think they have the most skills to run the country.

They they have to have the the mandate of heaven. The Chinese would say I guess in biblical terms the biblical term for it as it's right out there on that sign. They have to have the right.

Covenant.

How do you know Jesus is the king? You know, we ask you because this is an important question. We ask you to make him the king of your life to seek first. Not cash not clothes or houses or devices or pleasure or good times or Acceptance by others we ask you to seek first the kingdom.

You may get all that other stuff. But seek first the kingdom of God the kingdom of Christ to personally surrender to his rule so for example You might want to have a sexual relationship outside of marriage with someone but King Jesus says no.

That that is only for marriage. So we ask you then we tell you to say no to sexual urges and deny yourself because of what he says. You might want to spend your life. Just gathering money so you can be wealthy so you can dress well and ride in luxury and go on expensive vacations and live in palatial houses and Satisfied that you earned us all and they're gonna steal it.

You're gonna earn it you think but that's you're gonna spend your life earning it. King Jesus says you cannot serve God in money so you'll have to sacrifice some money because King Jesus leads you to seek his rule more than just Making another dollar and he leads you to give.

You might want to pretend some commitment you made some some. Yes, you said Is no longer binding because you just don't feel like Feel like keeping it anymore. The King Jesus said to make sure your yes is yes.

Keep your word. He's covenant-keeping. So should we be? So when we say that Jesus is king of the kingdom of God, you know, we're not just talking some kind of theoretical doctrine. You know this theological Dogma that you should disagree with that has no impact on your life as though he's the ruler of some kind of abstract Detached spiritual realm that's just totally separate from your day-to-day life.

No, his throne may be in heaven, but his rule reaches into your life. So when we say he is King he is saying Matthew says and saying you must live according to how he directs.

He's your king.

How do you know he is the king then? If you're gonna revolutionize and reorganize your life according to what he says. Every dollar you spend whether you do this or that whether you seek pleasure or not.

If it's gonna be according to what he says, don't you want to know whether he is the king? Of course, where does it come from then? He comes first. Matthew says from David. He is the son of David. Now that's not just a description meaning that he's descended from David.

There were other probably many men by that time who had also descended from David here. It's a title reinforcing That he is the Christ. The Christ is the son of David. You got to be descended from David to be the Christ.

That's where he comes from. That's why no. Well, we wonder well, why is that important? We don't get this Idea that you inherit these things now, it's important because of a Not just really of inheritance not because of blood that's because of a descent.

It's important because of a covenant. David Had a covenant. He wasn't just any king. He was the King. God made a covenant with calling Jesus the son of David means he's the one who inherits that covenant and Fulfills that covenant and that covenant is found is expressed in 2nd Samuel chapter 7.

I guess I'm not gonna ask you to turn there, but it's important to note 2nd Samuel chapter 7. That's where you find God making the covenant with David and there 2nd Samuel 7. David wanted to build a house for God.

This is how it starts. David wants to build a house a temple. He's now established in his kingdom. He's in charge he has his own palace built and he wants to build a Temple for God. God's worship is carried on in this tent called the tabernacle.

So he wants to build this temple for God. Tells him the Prophet that and God speaks to him through the Prophet and says it's not for you to build a house. For me God is saying to him. But I will build a house like a dynasty and eternal line of kings for you David.

Then he makes God makes a unilateral that is dependent on God alone unbreakable Covenant in 2nd Samuel chapter 7 verse 16. God says your house and your kingdom shall be made sure.

Forever.

Before me.

Your throne shall be established.

Forever.

This covenant is celebrated in Psalm 89. Psalm 89 verses 3 and 4 says you Lord speaking to God That have said I have made a covenant with my chosen one. That's David. I've sworn to David my servant I will establish your offspring forever and and build your throne for all generations.

Notice there both in 2nd Samuel 7 in Psalm 89. There's no ifs. You know, it's not like David if you're fateful if you do this or that then I'll repay you with.

You know.

Having a throne forever. There are no conditions. It wasn't dependent on David. Doing anything. It wasn't a two-way contract because that's what we're kind of used to in life. Most of the time we enter in these two-way contracts, you know, if you pay me I'll make you some food right or I'll work eight hours for you.

These contracts. We always enter into the covenant with David doesn't depend on anything He does on any human what any human being does. There is nothing either David or his sons can do to break this covenant.

God will ensure that the Son of David is sitting on the throne.

Forever.

That's what's called the Davidic Covenant the covenant of David. God's promise in this covenant is Unconditional and absolute the 2nd Samuel chapter 7 verse 15. God promises the Son of David my my steadfast love Will not depart from him.

The book of Ruth is a picture of steadfast love of Chesed is pronounced in Hebrew. It's that loyal covenant love. It's like that commitment that Ruth pledged to Naomi in the book of Ruth where you go I will go and she lived that out.

That's steadfast love. We sang about it from the book of Lamentations. Now God pledges that committed love to the Son of David. It will never waver. Like I said, like it says in first Corinthians 13 love bears all things believes all things hopes all things endures all things.

God's love does that and it will do that for the Son of David. David will always have someone from him ruling God's kingdom. In other words the rule that comes from God Then comes through the Son of David so That Jesus is the Son of David Means he's the one who will always.

Rule.

He fulfills the promise of an eternal line of Kings. He fulfills it by Being the eternal King himself that tells us that the gospel then our salvation was the plan of God from from the beginning. It was promised immediately after the first sin where where God tells Satan That a woman will bear a child to crush his head to be the king who finally ends this satanic rebellion That we call sin.

The first sin was an attempt, you know in the garden was that was an attempt to overthrow The rule of God it was it was a human. It was a coup Against God trying to overthrow him. But with Jesus the king returns and reestablishes his rule.

Christmas is about the return of the king to us. A child is born a Son is given and the government God's government will rest on his shoulders. So if you were reading the Bible imagine you're reading the Bible for the very first time.

You're going through and you come to 2nd Samuel chapter 7. You would know you know about covenants that whatever happens from here on out the rest of this big book Will be the story of how God is going to rule.

The earth.

Through the line of David. So then with that in mind you when you get to the end of Malachi. And you see the very first you turn the page and you read the very first verse of the New Testament Proclaiming that Jesus is the son of David.

You'd know Jesus is the one who fulfills the promise to David. He will be the one to restore David's dynasty. Now by Matthew's time no king from David had ruled an independent for Israel for almost 600 years since the destruction of Jerusalem in 75 87 BC when the temple was burned and demolished the city was obliterated and the surviving people hauled off in chains to Babylon.

Lamentations is all about that. It moans the end of that old literal dynasty and it's in that context That we get those words. We sang earlier the steadfast love. Think about that. It's all collapsed.

It's in ruins. This dynasty that city is obliterated your everything that the Kings from David have mostly killed ones in chains and They sing the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. That's the context of that verse they lamented the crushing of false hopes.

Now since then since that time they've been under the thumb of the the Persians and then the Greeks and they were briefly independent. But not under a proper king not a king from the right family. With the legitimacy of a divine covenant behind him.

It was instead of ruled by the priest the Maccabees they were called and now by the time the New Testament starts they're under the Romans through through Herod who Conspired with the Romans they've been waiting for a king who will reestablish them who will reform them.

Bring them bring God's rule over them and then drive out their enemies and put them back on top again. That's what they're hoping for a king to bring in the kingdom of God. Now God had promised in Amos that he would restore David's fallen tent, but for 600 years.

600 years.

All they had were promises and.

Lamentations.

You know, they were asking where was the throne? Where was the power? The king God said that he would give David. Well, they waited and they looked. At the end of the Old Testament Malachi. They're back in the land, but they're under the rule of the Gentiles under the Persians.

They they're rebuilt temple. There's a disappointment. Disappointment, it's a small contraption compared to what they had built by Solomon that their worship is.

Shabby.

Then you turn the page and by the time Jesus was born in the words of the famous Old Christmas carol the hopes and fears Of all the years are met indeed tonight. He is the son of David the king The Covenant says so where's he from?

That's his family His pedigree. That'll tell us who he is. Well, he's also The son of Abraham. Well that tells us a lot by telling us that Jesus is the son of David. Matthew tells us who rules in the kingdom of God that that is the power in the kingdom by telling us He is the son of Jesus is the son of Abraham.

Matthew tells us who is ruled and Where he rules. So you have the people the place and The king or the power the potentate if you want to alliterate of the kingdom. Where's he from? It's from Abraham.

But you think well, you know all the Jews and some other people are from the Abraham. So what's so special about Jesus? That Jesus is the son of Abraham and we might want to say in English It doesn't say this in Greek, but this is how we might want to put it in our language that he is the Son of Abraham, you know, like some of these football players have to say they are from the Ohio State University.

Okay.

We get it.

That Jesus is the son of Abraham tells us that he is the one who fulfills the covenant with Abraham. It's not race. It's not class. It's not genetics. It's not the privileges of power that's inherited.

It's a covenant. We see that covenant cut. That's the term they use cut or are formed entered into in Genesis chapter 15 the beginning of salvation history. The first 11 chapters of Genesis are the bleak story of of sin and of decline of depravity of judgment now.

Sure, there is perfect creation and the first two chapters, but already by chapter 3 Human beings have have chosen sin that trying to overthrow the rule of God to not love God. They've been trying to they tried to grasp for equality with God in an attempt to overthrow him death the wages of sin comes quickly and after nine chapters of judgment and destruction and scattering God calls Abraham in chapter 12 and promises to make him a Blessing to the nation's all.

Every family of the earth says we'll be blessed throughout through you by chapter 15 God appears to Abraham and makes a formal covenant with him. According to the customs of that day so that Abraham would understand what's happening.

Now covenants were very serious oaths that bound the people making them together. To make a covenant then two men would make it would take some animals. They would sacrifice the animals cutting and cut them in half.

Then the two parties would walk between the cut up animals right between the pieces and say Let this be done. These cut up animals. Let this be done to me. Let my body be cut up if I break this covenant in Genesis 15 God tells Abraham to set up the ritual.

In other words cut the animals in half get the animals cut them up and then get ready for it and but then Something strange happened. God doesn't tell you the Abraham go through the pieces yourself. He doesn't.

God instead puts Abraham into a kind of sleep. So he calls it there a deep and dreadful sleep. But I think it's more like a kind of catatonic state in which he can he can see what's going on. He's a conscious.

But he can't move. Like a trance, but but he's seeing clearly what's happening to the to the covenant ceremony that he set up. Abraham sees a fire pot a bellowing out smoke. Like like the cloud that led Israel that led the Israelites in the in the desert by day when they came out of Egypt and.

Then he sees a torch a flaming torch big fire coming out of the torch like the pillar of fire That led them by night. So these are these are symbols of God's holiness of his power symbols for God himself.

And these symbols of the Lord passed through the pieces of the animals. Abraham had probably assumed that he would be he would be going through the pieces to. There'd be some kind of two-way covenant.

He would be making some kind of commitment covenant to the Lord. That he had to do his part that something would depend on him. That's what people are they think something's got it. Something's got to depend on me.

We always think God forgot to say forgot to do anything. It's got to depend on me right but the Lord is determined that he and we understand that this covenant Depends on him alone. He's the only one who does the work.

This is not a contract that the Lord will you know the Lord's not saying make Abraham go through and Allah God saying I'll uphold my end of the bargain if you Abraham uphold your End of the bargain. It's not quid pro quo.

No, it's not. It's not two partners exchanging equal promises. It's not like that. Remember what this means. The animals are cut in two. They're cutting a covenant saying by passing through the animals.

May what happened to these animals happened to me if I break one word of this covenant, but Abraham takes no part. As if as if God takes on to himself the curse of the covenant all by himself this is Unconditional it's based only on the grace of God.

Is not dependent on anything any person does. Theological terms is monitor ism One working and that is God doing all the work. By only symbols of God going through the covenant ceremony. The Lord is stating that he would be destroyed if He broke this covenant, of course, God cannot be destroyed.

And so he cannot and he will not break this covenant. So you think of the context of Genesis that we are starting over from the sin and the death and the judgment we have fallen into and then with Abraham.

We are in chapter 15. We're given an ironclad promise from God that no matter what happens from here on out. He will keep his word so when You think if you're reading if you knew all this you knew what it means to enter into a covenant.

You're reading the Bible for the very first time. You're near the very beginning. You've read all this about judgment in their sin and things look horrible. But then God makes a covenant and you realize whatever happens in the rest of this big book God will save.

God will be a blessing to the nations through this man. So when we finally get from Genesis 15 to Matthew chapter 1 verse 1 we see that Jesus is the one Who will keep that promise? God is a covenant keeper.

So shouldn't we be now here in Genesis 15 the sovereign and really only free Lord. And we're influenced by all kinds of things that determine what we do our upbringing our psychology our chemicals in our brain or whatever.

Our country our laws, whatever the Lord is totally free. Nothing constrains him. Nothing makes him do anything. He doesn't want to do and the sovereign and really only free Lord is Willing to do the very thing.

That today so many individualistic me centered people don't want to do that is commit himself. People today say they want to be free. They don't want to be tied down to have to do anything not obligated.

Not having to care about anyone else other than themselves and their desires to be to entertain. Catered to for their tastes not committed to they don't want to be committed to specific people. But drifting from relationship to relationship, maybe from church to church wherever they get the most Satisfaction why be in a covenant they think.

But here we see the grace. God's grace Comes to us through a covenant from a covenant making God who committed himself to specific people. Now some could say but Genesis 15. The covenant there is about now.

That's just about you say it's about physical descendants and land. It's all about you know, the Jews of the Old Testament all that Abraham wanted children and you wanted a place for them to live. That's what he's asking for and that's true.

What he asking for so what's that got to do with us if we're not literally descended from Abraham like Jesus is or to ask it another way if Jesus is the son of Abraham if he's the one who fulfills that promise to Abraham.

How does he give? Abraham.

Descendants and.

A place to live at God's blessings. Right. That's what the original covenant with Abraham was about. He wanted descendants. He wanted a place for them to live on earth. So, how does Jesus do that? How does he fulfill that?

Understand. Matthew was claiming here in the very first verse that Jesus fulfills the promise to Abraham. Abraham was promised Descendants and land. So how does Jesus give Abraham? Descendants and land.

Now on one level the covenant with Abraham was literally was literally fulfilled when Joshua Yeshua Began to bring them into the land and then finally when David ruled over that kingdom That stretched over all the land that was promised specifically literally to Abraham and Genesis 15 Israel did For a while have all that land literally.

But we see here in Matthew chapter 1 verse 1 that this Abrahamic covenant is relevant to us. Even if you're not Descended from Abraham literally if you're not Jewish that it's not just about real estate in the Middle East.

It's not just about a literal ethnic group That is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus that's what he's saying in the very first verse. How does then that's true though? That's don't haven't answered the question How does Jesus give Abraham descendants and land?

Well, he does it By the New Covenant. We see in Galatians 3 that the true sons of Abraham Are not an ethnic group not a literal descendants. But those who have the faith of Abraham Galatians chapter 3 verse 7 it says it is those of faith who are sons of Abraham and That faith is this faith in the same one that Abraham had faith in he looked forward and had faith in Christ to fulfill God's unconditional unbreakable covenant.

He said at one point taking Isaac up to be sacrificed. The Lord himself will supply the lamb. Other right. Yeah the lamb. And Jesus is the lamb.

Believers are.

Sons of Abraham. Well, then who creates the believers we create ourself. Well, do you mind you need Jesus for no fathers and fathers and mothers create their children. Okay, Abraham wanted to create Children.

He wanted children. That's what he's asking for God for literally in Genesis 15 He was promised as many children as the stars in the sky. Who created those children those believers? Those those were the faith of Abraham.

Where do they come from?

Well, John chapter 1 verse 13 says that Jesus gave the right to become children of God.

To believers.

Those born not of blood literal descent or the will of the flesh or of a man like Abraham.

But they were born.

By the will of.

God.

Jesus creates the believers who then become he creates as many of them as the stars in the sky and so he fulfills the promise of Descendants to Abraham. Jesus is the son of Abraham. Who creates many? children of Abraham.

And I hope you're all among them. So to the ultimate eternal fulfillment of the promise of a place. That is for land. For his descendants to live in. Well, that's in the new earth. Living perfectly under the rule of the Lord with all his enemies under his feet.

Jesus says in the book of Revelation behold, I make all things new. That kingdom is coming. It's coming now. Jesus is all authority in heaven on earth. He says at the end of Matthew. He must now rule it says at first Corinthians 15 until he has put every enemies under his feet.

He's ruling now and he's in the process now putting all his enemies under his feet. He's doing that right now. So we should seek his kingdom first right now. We can be certain it's coming. Because God made a covenant the Abrahamic covenant was marked by an ancient ceremony.

Right that cutting the animals in half going between the pieces. About 400 years after that God led Israel out of Egypt and gave them another ceremony. You know the Passover sacrifice a lamb put the blood on the door.

He'd done leap the eat the meat of the lamb with unleavened bread to remember what he did. That he led them out of Egypt that he passed over them. And and brought them out of Egypt over 2 ,000 years after that the Lord would make another covenant and this time Blood would be involved again.

Not the blood of a lamb though. The Lord Jesus took the cup and said this is my blood of The Covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. He made a covenant this time not with the blood of heifers or goats or lambs.

But with his own blood. Now he never broke the covenant with Abraham and so he didn't have to cut himself. Indeed the Lord Jesus never broke his covenant with God Obeying perfectly so that he could acquire a righteousness that he could then be credited to you or to me but he entered into a covenant in his own blood and again, it is as much entirely dependent on the Lord and not at all on us as The covenant he entered into with Abraham.

We might as well be unconscious Anesthetized and paralyzed for all that we are able to contribute to this new covenant. That saves us the covenant. That's in his blood. Now for us to remember that covenant.

He took that ceremony From another covenant the sine a or so we can call it mosaic covenant from Moses. He took the Passover meant to symbolize the Exodus delivering of God's people out of bondage. He took that covenant ceremony and he transformed it giving it to us as The Lord's Supper with a clear instruction do this in remembrance of me.

Now a while back there was this fad. I don't know if it's still going on in certain places to return to the Jewish roots and to have Passover meals and All that all that may be of some value was You know other do the Passover the Jewish way and remember all the little things it's.