The Herald

Matthew 3:1-6

 

As you know, Matthew is focused on the King and the Kingdom

 

And because this is Matthew’s focus,

We have already seen two important aspects to his gospel.

• We’ve seen the Genealogy of the King (both physical & divine)

• We’ve seen the Birth of the King

 

Now Matthew moves to the next logical aspect,

And that is The Announcement of the king.

 

Matthew takes us no farther than John the Baptist.

 

John was the chosen herald for Jesus.

Luke 1:15-17 “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb. “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS BACK TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

 

And of course later after John’s birth:

Luke 1:76-80 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS; To give to His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH, To guide our feet into the way of peace.” And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

 

John’s role was specific, and therefore it was also limited.

After Jesus was formally introduced,

It was then time for John to fade away from the scene.

 

John 3:27-30 “John answered and said, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven. “You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘ I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

And that is exactly what would happen.

 

John would be arrested and that would signify the end of John’s role

And the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.

 

Matthew 4:12-13 “Now when Jesus heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.”

 

I tell you all that because it is important that we keep our perspective.

As great a man as John was (And Jesus called him The Greatest)

It is important to remember that the study is not about John.

 

Although John is the focal point of the text here,

Understand that Matthew introduces him because John’s presence Furthers Matthew’s point that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

Every Jew knew that before Messiah came,

There would first come the forerunner.

 

Malachi 4:5-6 “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. “He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

 

The point is that Messiah could not come without the forerunner

And therefore John becomes an important piece to Matthew’s puzzle

As he sets out to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

So we do study John, the but the focus stays on Jesus.

 

In saying that, this morning we also get our first taste

Of what it requires to enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

That alone proves to be of infinite value.

 

So let’s study our text, and we are going to sort of go all over this text

But in doing so we see three clear points.

#1 THE MAN

Matthew 3:1

 

Again you see that John was a man of specific purpose and calling.

He was first of all “the Baptist”.

That speaks of his calling or occupation.

 

We also see that in order to fulfill his calling as a “Baptist”

His primary course of action was to preach.

He “came, preaching”

 

And so just in that simple sense, we understand him to have been

A man committed to his calling and his purpose.

 

But there is really so much more to this man,

And that is that he was a living illustration of what he preached.

 

(4) “Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.”

 

We already read that he lived in “the wilderness”

And here we see that his life was one of extreme simplicity.

 

This man lives on “locusts and wild honey”

This man’s wardrobe is always “camel’s hair”

 

And what you quickly learn about John is that

He is a man who has truly and totally forsaken the world.

 

HE IS UNCONCERNED ABOUT WORLDLY COMFORTS AND PLEASURES.

 

I must tell you that I have been convicted this past week in no small way

Because it is apparent that I am far too concerned about those things.

 

I know I have preached on the topic many times,

But we are not just called to forsake this world,

WE ARE COMMANDED TO DO IT.

 

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

 

It is clear that the things of this world and the things of God

Are complete opposite ends of the spectrum.

 

And if I am going to honestly evaluate my life, I have to ask myself,

“How much do I love the things of the world?”

 

And according to John, our love for the world

Is a direct revealer of how much we truly love God.

 

“If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

 

A true Christian is one who has done like Paul:

Galatians 6:14 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

 

So how can it be that we can call ourselves Christians

When in reality the world is what we want?

Luke 6:20-26 “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”

It becomes extremely revealing.

To be a true Christian, a true follower of Jesus,

Then a desire for the things of this world has to be killed off.

 

Luke 9:57-62 “As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

 

The fact is if we have in us a love for the world,

It does not speak well of our spiritual walk.

In fact, it speaks very poorly of us.

 

What it reveals is at the very least we are not obedient followers of Christ,

If indeed we are followers of Christ at all.

 

I fear that instead we may be found to be the weedy soil.

Luke 8:14 “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”

 

And if we wanted to we could go on and on and on with Scriptures

That speak to the very same thing.

 

To build a theology about salvation without a calling to forsake the world

Is to obviously read the Scriptures with a certain degree of blindness.

 

We either seek this life or we seek the next.

We either live for the kingdom of earth or the kingdom of heaven.

We either store up treasure here or we store up treasure there.

 

And it’s really not too hard to tell which decision most of us are making.

 

AND THAT IS ALSO TRUE FOR JOHN THE BAPTIST.

There is not a doubt in anyone’s mind exactly what he wanted.

He was not a man who desired the things of the world.

He was a man who had clearly rejected them.

 

Asaph said in his great Psalm:

Psalms 73:25-28 “Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”

 

It is obvious that John the Baptist believed that.

He was a man on whom the world had absolutely no grasp whatsoever.

Aside from Jesus, no one really ever displayed an eternal focus better.

He was a man focused on eternity.

 

That was The Man

#2 THE MESSAGE

Matthew 3:2

 

I don’t think the message that he preached comes as any surprise.

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

John was a man who preached with absolute urgency.

He wasn’t a “Someday you need to think about this” type of preacher.

 

The time to procrastinate had long since moved on.

 

And that reveals to us the main point of John’s sermon.

“Repent”

 

That is an interesting word, but one that is often misunderstood.

For some reason we try to liken repentance with remorse,

But they are not the same thing.

 

Certainly there is an element of remorse involved in repentance,

But remorse alone is not nearly enough.

 

We’ve all read about Esau.

Hebrews 12:17 “For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.”

 

In short, being sorry, being remorseful, even confessing sin

Still falls short of repentance.

 

Repentance is an action word.

It means to turn around and go the other direction.

 

John doesn’t just want the people to recognize their sin,

He wants them to leave it behind.

He doesn’t just want them to agree that they are wrong,

He wants them to change so that they will be right.

 

This is more clearly seen in Luke’s gospel.

Luke 3:10-14 “And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

Those people asked, “What shall we do?”

 

They knew John didn’t just want them to say “I’m sorry”.

John wanted a life change.

 

It is by no coincidence that each of the three illustrations he gave

All dealt with money.

 

Money is not a bad thing, but it can sure be a good gage

Of just how much we love the world.

 

And John’s objective was to get them to let go of worldliness.

 

His message was for them to repent.

 

WHY DID HE PREACH THIS WAY?

Because of the purpose of his ministry.

 

The Man, The Message

#3 THE MINISTRY

Matthew 3:3

 

Here Matthew gives you yet another fulfilled prophecy.

But it is one that speaks of his purpose.

 

“For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the LORD, make His paths straight!”

 

In short, John was the prophetic forerunner.

John was a herald.

A HERALD MADE SURE A PLACE WAS FIT FOR A KING

 

That is what John was doing in a spiritual sense.

Israel was spiritually defiled.

It was filthy.

It stunk of lawlessness and worldliness, hypocrisy and deception.

 

John came to make sure the place was cleaned up before the king arrived.

 

John’s ministry can easily be described as A PLOWING MINISTRY.

 

We are all familiar with Jesus’ parable of the soils.

 

It is explained like this:

Luke 8:11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.”

 

And just from that one statement the parable gets clearer.

 

• Jesus is compared to a farmer casting seed.

• The seed He casts is the gospel message.

• The soil is the heart upon which the seed falls.

 

Now everyone knows what happens to a seed that falls on hardened soil.

NOTHING

 

Luke 8:5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.”

 

We have actually learned that the best chance you have

At getting a seed to take root is to plow the soil first.

 

That is true in a spiritual sense.

Many times before God actually drops the seed of the gospel

Upon a person’s heart, God first begins to plow that heart.

 

WE CALL IT CONVICTION.

 

Let me give you an example from Paul’s life.

Romans 7:7-11 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”

 

Paul is obviously speaking of the benefit of the Law there,

And to prove it’s benefit he speaks of the effect it had on him.

 

It is clear that Paul is not speaking of the day he was saved,

He is speaking of the day he was condemned.

 

Paul is telling you about the day when he realized he was a sinner.

 

And when a person truly comes to grips with their guilt before God,

All of a sudden their heart is a little more willing to hear about Jesus.

 

I’ve often said it like this:

“You have to get a person lost before you can get them saved.”

 

Until a person realizes how much danger they are in before Holy God,

They will never embrace the salvation that God provides.

 

This ministry of condemnation is what we call PLOWING.

 

John is coming on the scene to reveal to the people

Exactly how much they need the salvation that the king is about to offer.

Jesus will come and spread the seed.

John comes ahead and is plowing the soil.

 

That’s why John is hitting things like money & worldliness so hard

 

Money & worldliness are ruthless weeds that choke out the seed,

And John is doing his best to plow them under.

 

Remember the Rich Young Ruler?

Matthew 19:21-24 “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Even Jesus taught that worldly possessions

Are a tremendous hindrance to people being saved.

 

For when Jesus comes around and asks a man to forsake all that he has,

It is obviously much easier for those who have nothing to forsake.

 

That is why John is telling people to stop hoarding their wealth,

And stop seeking to get more at all cost.

Because you are only making it that much harder on yourself

For the day when Christ asks you to forsake it all.

 

John is plowing.

 

AND BY THE WAY PEOPLE ARE RESPONDING

(5-6) “Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.”

 

I told you earlier that John was a baptizer.

WHY?

 

Throughout the Bible water has a tremendous significance.

It symbolized a washing of purity.

 

We see it in the New Testament.

Ephesians 5:25-26 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”

 

But even more so to the Jew.

Washing in water was an integral part

Of being made clean again after having being defiled.

 

Numbers 19:17-19 “’Then for the unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the burnt purification from sin and flowing water shall be added to them in a vessel. ‘A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it on the tent and on all the furnishings and on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched the bone or the one slain or the one dying naturally or the grave. ‘Then the clean person shall sprinkle on the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify him from uncleanness, and he shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and shall be clean by evening.”

 

When a person was made unclean for whatever reason

And forced to dwell outside of the camp.

Part of the ritual to be made clean again was a washing in water.

 

Certainly this at least part of the picture John is giving to Israel here.

You are unclean.

You are not fit for the king.

You need to be cleansed.

 

BUT THAT IS NOT ALL

 

If a Gentile desired to convert to Judaism baptism is what was required

 

And so by commanding Jews to be baptized

He was confronting Israel to let them know

They were not nearly as close to God as they thought they were.

 

This is clearly seen in the coming verses when John confronts the Pharisees for assuming they were ok because they were Abraham’s descendants.

 

Israel assumed they were fine, but they were wrong.

In reality they were vile, nasty, and unacceptable to the king.

 

John came to reveal what they were and to lead them to change it.

He came to show them their filth and to command them to repent.

He came to prepare their heart for the message of the king.

He came to condemn them that they might be saved.

 

He revealed a people in love with the world…

He revealed a people who thought their religion was pleasing to God…

He revealed a people as far away from God as the pagans of their day…

 

AND HIS MESSAGE WAS PRESERVED

SO THAT HE COULD PREACH THE SAME TO US TODAY.

It is a message of repentance.

 

Are you convicted by John’s message of worldliness?

Does his lifestyle convict you?

Would you say that you are ready to meet the coming King?

 

The solution for us is the same as it was for them.

REPENT

 

Don’t just admit your sin, flee from it.

He told men to share what they had with those who did not.

He told men to use only what was rightfully theirs.

He told men to be content with what they have and not want more.

 

AND THEN HE TOLD THEM SOMETHING ELSE

 

For you see this morning we really only see part of John’s message.

We see him as the herald who condemned man.

 

But if you turn to John’s gospel,

We see the rest of John the Baptist’s message.

 

John 1:29 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

 

Even later on he did it again.

John 1:35-36 “Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

 

You see John revealed to men their sin,

And before he left he also revealed to men the Savior.

 

The insinuation is that you now run to Him to find forgiveness,

To find salvation, to find new life.

 

This doesn’t mean you get to keep the things of the world.

But it does mean you can be forgiven

For the sin you’ve already committed.

 

John wanted you to Forsake the world and follow Jesus.

 

This morning listen to Him

Forsake this world.

Die to self.

Follow Jesus.

 

Matthew 16:24-27 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS.”

 

Selected, Struck & Scorned

Matthew 2:13-23

 

As you know we have begun studying Matthew’s gospel,

And we have said that Matthew is writing to prove who Jesus is.

 

Predominantly Matthew is writing for the sake of the Jews.

He wants them to know that Jesus is their King.

 

• We saw Jesus’ earthly genealogy and learned that He is from the kingly line.

• We saw Jesus’ divine genealogy and saw Matthew prove His virgin birth.

• We saw Jesus’ prophetic birthplace of Bethlehem.

• We saw Jesus’ proclaimed birth as God displayed His star in the heavens.

 

But you and I know that the Jews were far more skeptical

Than they ever were believing.

 

They are routinely painted as those who refuse to believe the truth.

 

Isaiah 53:1 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

 

When Ezekiel was sent to the Jews, God told him:

Ezekiel 2:3-4 “Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. “I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’”

 

And even Jesus said:

Matthew 13:14-15 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’”

 

Paul quoted the same.

Acts 28:25-26 “And when they did not agree with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one parting word, “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, saying, ‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, “YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;”

 

And so when Matthew sits down to pen his gospel,

He rightly understands he is not addressing an easy crowd.

 

That has been the reason for all the proofs thus far.

 

And this morning Matthew continues,

But in a way that may seem a little strange to us.

 

I hope you noticed as we read our text to get started this morning

That Matthew concludes the second chapter with 3 fulfilled prophecies.

 

In fact Matthew goes out of his way to include these three prophecies.

 

• No other gospel writer reveals Jesus living as an infant in Egypt.

• No other gospel writer reveals the Bethlehem slaying.

• No other gospel writer reveals why Joseph took his family to Nazareth.

 

And even in revealing these truths

Matthew doesn’t give you a whole lot of information

Beyond simply stating that it happened.

 

And so it becomes clear to us that Matthew’s point

Is not to give you historical data about the early years of Jesus.

 

(If you were looking for historical significance, you were probably confused)

 

Matthew wants you to see how prophetic His entire life has been,

And so he quickly runs through these events

Just so he can show you how they fulfilled prophecies.

 

But that isn’t all that makes this section a little difficult to handle.

 

The other thing that can make this section a little difficult

Is the type of prophecies that Matthew gives.

 

He lists three, but as you will see when we study each of them,

None of them are what we would have typically considered as a prophecy.

(You wouldn’t recognize them as predictions)

 

Yet, Matthew is adamantly saying that Jesus fulfilled those statements.

 

LET ME EXPLAIN

I know you recognized that Matthew gives three fulfilled prophecies.

I also hope you noticed the chronological order of those prophecies.

 

According to Matthew, Jesus’ early life sees Him:

Leaving Egypt (15)

Enduring a harsh judgment (18)

Being Excluded by the world (23)

 

And then we realize that this was also

The historical timeline of the nation of Israel.

 

Israel is seen as those who:

Left Egypt

Endured a harsh judgment

Excluded by the world

And so we realize that Matthew is revealing that Jesus’ early life carried Him down the exact same path that Israel walked.

 

THIS IS SIGNIFICANT

 

There were specific incidents and facts that a typical Jew would cling to

In order to reassure himself that he was one of God’s chosen people.

(We know because the church now clings to the same)

 

Here, Matthew reveals that Jesus also walked through each of those incidents, and therefore Matthew is using

The Jew’s own criteria to prove that Jesus is God’s chosen King.

 

Let’s work through each of these and hopefully you will see what I mean.

 

There are three facts about Jesus childhood

That Matthew wanted the Jews to know.

#1 GOD SELECTED HIM

Matthew 2:13-15

 

Now, not to spend too much time on the storyline,

But you do see what happens.

 

The Magi arrive and worship, but also bring danger,

Because they inform everyone of His presence.

 

And so now Jesus is not safe, and God has plans for Joseph.

(13) “Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

 

We all know that God could have miraculously saved the boy.

But here God’s protection also involved human effort.

 

(14) “So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt.”

 

Matthew isn’t interested about the details of the journey,

Or even where they stayed or what they did in Egypt.

 

Matthew is fascinated that Jesus went to Egypt and came home,

Because he saw this as an opportunity to convince the Jews.

 

(15) “He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”

 

And so there is the first.

And when we read that statement, our immediate assumption is that somewhere in the Old Testament someone must have said that God’s Messiah would come from Egypt.

 

Hosea 11:1-4 “When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son. The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to idols. Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.”

 

Undoubtedly if anyone read that this past week,

You probably did not read it as a promise about the Messiah.

God was merely stating how He has shown His love for Israel.

 

HOW DID GOD SHOW GREAT LOVE FOR ISRAEL?

He called them out of Egypt.

 

We call it the Exodus.

And it was the defining moment in the history of the Jews.

 

The Exodus proved beyond a shadow of a doubt

That God had selected Israel and that He loved them.

 

Exodus 19:4 “You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself.”

 

David said:

2 Samuel 7:23-24 “And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for You and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods? “For You have established for Yourself Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God.”

 

Isaiah 43:3-4 “For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. “Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.”

 

Listen to a portion of the song of Moses

Exodus 15:13-17 “In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation. “The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. “Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. “Terror and dread fall upon them By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone; Until Your people pass over, O LORD, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, The place, O LORD, which You have made for Your dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.”

 

The point is that there was no event to the Jew like the Exodus.

 

• The Exodus is where God selected them.

• It was where God chose them as His own.

• It was where God called them out of Egypt.

 

And in Matthew’s day, the Jews still held to that fact.

They knew they were God’s

Because God had chosen them and redeemed them from the adversary.

 

(In fact, this is one of the ways that we know we are God’s,

Because He has chosen us and redeemed us from sin)

 

And now Matthew reveals that Jesus shares that same credential.

He also was called out of Egypt.

He also was delivered by God.

 

He was telling the Jews, that you cannot claim to be God’s people

On the basis of being called out of Egypt

Unless you will see that Jesus is also God’s Messiah

By reason of the same deliverance.

 

So the first proof Matthew gives is that God selected Him.

#2 THE ENEMY STRUCK HIM

Matthew 2:16-18

 

Here comes Matthew’s second proof,

And it follows Israel’s timeline as well.

 

We know that Joseph has fled to Egypt,

But obviously Herod does not know it.

 

He still thinks that Jesus is in Bethlehem,

And he has been waiting for the Magi to return and tell him where.

 

But the Magi were truly “Wise Men” and they went home another way,

And this infuriated Herod.

 

“When Herod saw that he had been tricked”

 

The word “tricked” is a word that often means mocked.

In other words Herod took their lack of compliance as a slap in the face.

 

“he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”

 

It was a mindless event fueled with rage.

It was the working of a tyrant doing anything he could

To destroy the Christ child.

And Matthew sees that as the next step.

(17-18) “Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”

 

And there again, some might assume that somewhere in the Old Testament

Some prophet had said that the birth of the Christ

Would be accompanied by the slaying of Bethlehem’s babies.

But again, that is not the case.

 

This time Matthew is quoting from Jeremiah 31

 

And having studied much of Jeremiah,

You know what events Jeremiah was consumed with.

 

Jeremiah prophesied during the siege of Babylon and the following exile.

 

And in Jeremiah 31:15, Jeremiah spoke of the horrific response

Of the inhabitants of Jerusalem during the Babylonian attack.

 

Jeremiah 31:15 “Thus says the LORD, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”

 

Jeremiah wasn’t talking about Bethlehem’s babies and their mothers.

Jeremiah was talking about the slaughter of Jerusalem and the exile.

 

NOW WHAT THE REASON FOR THE EXILE?

(there were 2)

 

1) A punishment from God because of their idolatry.

2) Evidence that Israel had an enemy who hated them.

 

You see while God did punish Israel,

It was evident that the enemy God used routinely desired

To do more than God intended.

 

When God sent Assyria:

Isaiah 10:5-7 “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hands is My indignation, I send it against a godless nation And commission it against the people of My fury To capture booty and to seize plunder, And to trample them down like mud in the streets. Yet it does not so intend, Nor does it plan so in its heart, But rather it is its purpose to destroy, And to cut off many nations.”

 

When God sent Babylon

Isaiah 47:5-7 “Sit silently, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans, For you will no longer be called The queen of kingdoms. “I was angry with My people, I profaned My heritage And gave them into your hand. You did not show mercy to them, On the aged you made your yoke very heavy. “Yet you said, ‘I will be a queen forever.’ These things you did not consider Nor remember the outcome of them.”

And it wasn’t just the conquering nations.

 

Look at Edom’s response when Israel was defeated.

Obadiah 1:10-14 “Because of violence to your brother Jacob, You will be covered with shame, And you will be cut off forever. “On the day that you stood aloof, On the day that strangers carried off his wealth, And foreigners entered his gate And cast lots for Jerusalem — You too were as one of them. “Do not gloat over your brother’s day, The day of his misfortune. And do not rejoice over the sons of Judah In the day of their destruction; Yes, do not boast In the day of their distress. “Do not enter the gate of My people In the day of their disaster. Yes, you, do not gloat over their calamity In the day of their disaster. And do not loot their wealth In the day of their disaster. “Do not stand at the fork of the road To cut down their fugitives; And do not imprison their survivors In the day of their distress.”

 

Remember when Persia came to rule over Israel?

Esther 3:13 “Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces to destroy, to kill and to annihilate all the Jews, both young and old, women and children, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to seize their possessions as plunder.”

 

And if you study Daniel you learn that it didn’t stop with Persia.

Greece also tried to destroy, and Daniel even saw

That those attempts would not stop until the end of time.

We know that Germany tried.

We know that Russia tried.

 

The point is that God’s people have always had an enemy

Who has tried his hardest to destroy them.

 

And while that is not a pleasant thought,

It did work to reassure the Jews that they were God’s people.

 

Here Matthew says that same truth must also be applied to Jesus.

 

For He was also attacked by the enemy.

 

Just as the Jews were called out of Egypt and attacked during the Exile,

So was Jesus called out of Egypt and attacked like the Exile.

 

The enemy would never cease to try and strike Jesus either.

Zechariah 13:7 “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate,” Declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.”

 

Just as the enemy is relentless in his pursuit of Israel,

So was he in his pursuit of Jesus.

 

If Israel is going to use those proofs to declare themselves God’s people,

Then they must be honest and see that Jesus is also God’s King.

 

God Selected Him The Enemy Struck Him

#3 THE WORLD SCORNED HIM

Matthew 2:19-23

 

After Herod died,

Joseph received another dream telling him he could return.

 

(22-23) “But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Then after being warned by God in a dream, he left for the regions of Galilee, and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

 

And here we find our final prophecy

And this one is even more tricky than the first.

 

Because again many assume that somewhere in the Old Testament

Some prophet said that God’s Messiah would be called “a Nazarene”.

 

But that is not the case.

In fact, the Old Testament doesn’t even contain such a statement.

 

SO WHY USE IT?

 

He is pointing out something that was also important to the Jews,

And that is not only did the Jews know they were God’s people

Because they had an enemy.

 

They also knew they were God’s people

Because the world treated them as outcasts.

 

Aside from the enemy who seeks to kill them,

The Jews also take pride in the fact that the world segregates them.

“This just proves that we are God’s people.”

 

(Is the same not true of the church?)

 

Matthew is revealing here that Jesus also shares that distinction.

“He shall be called a Nazarene.”

 

And in case you didn’t know, when the world calls Him “Jesus of Nazareth” that is not a term of endearment. It was a term of scorn.

 

Remember Nathaniel?

John 1:43-46 “The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

One commentator said:

“Nazareth was the town which housed the Roman garrison for the northern regions of Galilee. Therefore most Jews would not have any associations with that city. In fact those who lived in Nazareth were thought of as compromisers who consorted with the enemy, the Romans. Therefore to call one “A Nazarene” was to use a term of contempt.”

(Bible Knowledge Commentary, pg. 23)

 

And here Matthew completes the cycle

To show that Jesus is also God’s chosen Messiah.

 

A Jew knew he was God’s chosen because:

• God Selected him by calling him out of Egypt.

• The Enemy Struck him, by continually seeking to kill him.

• The World Scorned him, by treating him as an outcast.

 

And indeed those same criteria follow God’s people even to this very day.

We are those selected, yet those who are scorned.

 

1 Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.”

 

God’s people have always been scattered,

But she is also selected, chosen of God.

 

And now Matthew says, if those are your criteria,

Then let me introduce to you God’s king who was also:

Selected by God

Struck by the Enemy

Scorned by the World

 

AND SO THE JEWS SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT JESUS IS GOD’S KING

 

Now I am well aware that you are not Jewish, and I am also aware that Matthew’s argument may not be as convincing to you.

 

SO LET’S JUST TAKE THESE TRUTHS AT FACE VALUE FOR A MOMENT.

 

If Jesus isn’t God’s King, then why did Herod try so hard to kill Him?

If Jesus isn’t God’s King, why did God go to such great lengths to protect Him?

If Jesus isn’t God’s King, why does the world respond so negatively to Him?

 

When you get honest, it is obvious.

 

The world hates Him because He convicts them.

John 7:7 “The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that its deeds are evil.”

Satan wanted to kill Him because he knows Jesus will condemn him.

John 12:31-32 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”

 

But even more than that,

God preserved Him because He is the Savior of the world.

Acts 4:10-12 “let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

JESUS IS GOD’S KING

And the call of your life is to submit to Him.

 

This morning we come to this table to illustrate that submission.

(If you have not submitted in your heart, this table means nothing)

 

This table is a living illustration of our submission to Him.

As we “Do this” in remembrance of Him.

 

 

Jesus was taking the Passover with His disciples.

The Passover was a reminder of the Exodus and God’s deliverance.

 

Jesus said, from now on, when you take this Passover,

Don’t remember the Exodus, remember Me.

 

When you eat the bread remember My body.

When you drink the wine remember My blood.

And once again draw your heart to Me in gratitude and surrender.

 

 

That is what we do this morning.

But before we partake, we always have a time of preparation.

 

1 Corinthians 11:27-28 “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup.”

 

This time is for those who are not ready to partake.

They are not ready because their lives are not in submission to the King,

And therefore this ordinance means nothing.

 

This morning take this opportunity and bow your heart to the king,

Surrender your life to Him, and join us in the Lord’s Supper.

 

The Wise Men

Matthew 2:1-12

 

We have begun our study of Matthew’s gospel, and as you know,

Matthew began his gospel in very scientific fashion.

 

There are those in the world who are skeptics.

Those who simply doubt everything.

 

And while the Bible certainly doesn’t ask us to be gullible

And just believe everything.

Scripture does require us to believe God when He speaks,

Regardless of how “unbelievable” it may seem.

 

And there are those who simply refuse to do so.

 

Matthew is really challenging that group.

He is doing so by setting out to prove that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

He did so first by identifying His kingly lineage.

(Abraham – David – Joseph)

 

Next Matthew revealed His divine lineage.

Jesus is God as proved by His virgin birth.

 

This morning Matthew continues with his evidence

As he begins to reveal a unique group of people.

“The Wise Men”

 

WHO WERE THE WISE MEN?

• From the Orient

• Astronomers

• Became notable to the Medes and the Persians

• Known for knowledge in Math and Science

• (Couldn’t interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream)

 

And these men actually do a great deal for Matthew

As he sets out to prove that Jesus is God’s king.

 

All you have to do is ask yourself one question.

HOW DID THE MAGI KNOW ABOUT JESUS?

What caused the Magi to travel to Jerusalem in search of the Messiah?

 

(1-2) Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

 

WHY DID THEY COME?

They saw a change in the heavens.

 

And of course you and I know who the author of the stars is.

GOD TOLD THEM.

 

IF GOD HADN’T TOLD THEM, THEN WHO DID?

 

The fact that they arrived looking for the Christ child,

Is a proof that Jesus is God’s Messiah.

 

And so you see that Matthew is fascinated

With proofs of Jesus’ Messiaship.

 

But that isn’t all.

 

Matthew is also fascinated with the fulfillment of prophesy,

And in our text this morning, he gives us another one.

 

(4-6) “Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'”

 

And not to stray too far off course here,

While the main point in mentioning this prophesy

Is to reveal that Jesus fulfills the prophetic birthplace,

I don’t want you to completely miss what was prophesied.

 

Not only was He to be born in Bethlehem,

But notice what Micah said about Him.

 

“OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.”

What a great title for Jesus!

“A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD”

 

We studied in chapter 1 about how Jesus was the merciful king

And we read out of Ezekiel about the promise of Him being a shepherd.

 

Matthew definitely saw Jesus in this light.

Matthew 9:36-38 “Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

 

Not only is Jesus the King, but He is a compassionate king.

 

None the less, you see Matthew’s main point in this section.

HE IS STILL PROVING TO YOU THAT JESUS IS GOD’S KING

 

God revealed Him.

Prophecy supported Him.

 

BUT THIS MORNING WE HAVE EVEN MORE TO LEARN.

 

For not only do we see that Jesus fulfills prophecy,

We also get our first glimpse of the response to His coming.

 

We are not debating whether or not Jesus is the King (that is obvious)

We are determining how people respond to Him.

 

This is also a major theme of Matthew’s gospel.

Proving that Jesus is King is only half of Matthew’s goal.

Leading you to submit your life to the King is Matthew’s other goal.

 

And this morning we are awarded a contrast

We see some who responded well.

We see some who responded poorly.

 

And in our observation it becomes obvious to us how we must respond.

 

Let’s examine our two groups this morning

And see three main differences in them.

 

#1 “One was Seeking, One was Suppressing”

Matthew 2:1-3

 

It is quite an amazing thing when we read this story

and see the difference in the two groups,

 

One was looking for the absolute truth,

One had it right under their nose, but couldn’t see it.

 

The Magi of course where the ones who were seeking absolute truth.

 

(1-2)“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

 

It is obvious that the Magi were hungry for the truth.

There is no telling how far or how long they traveled to get to this point.

 

And this by the way is a great example for you and I.

 

 

You know that I am big on the sovereignty of God.

(I believe God is sovereign even over salvation)

 

That means He must reveal truth.

He must draw.

He must save.

 

While I am adamant about those truths,

Equally evident in scripture is that of the responsibility of man.

 

I don’t like to call it “The free will of man” for that is an erroneous term.

But if you read Scripture it is obvious that man is responsible.

 

• He is commanded to repent of sin.

• He is commanded to call on the name of the Lord.

• He is commanded to trust in Jesus Christ.

• He is commanded to persevere to the end.

• He is commanded to walk in obedience.

 

And before he is commanded to do any of these things,

He is first commanded to seek the truth.

 

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

 

Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

 

Acts 17:24-27 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

 

Scripture teaches that it is the responsibility of every person

To take the revelation of truth that they have been given,

And use it as motivation to seek for the rest.

 

What is interesting about the magi, is

ALL THEY HAD WAS THE TRUTH OF CREATION.

They had nothing else.

They did not have the Law, they did not have the prophets.

 

They saw the star appear, and it sent them seeking for the truth.

 

Even those who only have the testimony of creation

Are responsible to seek for the truth that is behind it.

 

Psalms 19:1-2 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.”

 

David revealed that the creation itself is screaming a simple truth.

THERE IS A CREATOR!

 

There is One who made all of this,

And therefore there is One who made you,

And therefore there is a standard that He requires,

And you had better learn it.

 

That is why Paul said creation is also enough to condemn a person.

 

Romans 1:18-20 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

 

These magi where in the east, and they saw His star appear.

They didn’t just set there and admire the view,

They were seeking.

 

Now lets look at the other side of the coin.

Lets look at Herod, and Jerusalem. They were not seeking.

 

Vs. 3 “When Herod heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”

“troubled” = TARASSO

“to stir up” or “to trouble”

 

It paints the picture that not only where they bothered,

But that there was a pretty good “buzz” about the city.

 

It is obvious that the Magi had showed up

And turned that place upside down looking for the King.

 

No doubt they had asked the people,

And that is why they were eventually taken to Herod.

 

That means that while the Magi knew what was going on, Jerusalem did not. They were oblivious to God’s Son

 

The reason is they were suppressing the truth they had.

 

If anyone should have been ready for the arrival of the Messiah

It should have been Jerusalem.

 

Romans 9:4-5 “Who are the Israelites, to whom belong the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” (PROMISES = PROPHECY)

 

ON ONE HAND,

We have a group of people who only had a star to point them to the Messiah,

And they came.

 

ON THE OTHER HAND

We had a nation with countless teachings about the Messiah.

And they were clueless

 

HOW COULD THEY BE SO BLIND?

 

That is the effect of having suppressed the truth.

 

Matthew 13:10-13 “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

 

When you ignore the truth God has revealed (Like creation or Prophecy)

Why would you expect God to continue revealing truth to you?

 

One group was given a small piece of truth and sought its source,

The other was given mounds of truth and suppressed its teaching.

 

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

 

Do you really want the truth,

Or do you just want what you believe to be the truth?

 

One was seeking, and the other was suppressing.

#2 “One was Ecstatic, One was Enraged”

Matthew 2:4-10

 

Regardless of their prior suppressing of truth,

HERE TRUTH IS GIVEN ONE MORE TIME.

How did they handle the truth they were confronted with?

 

Well lets look at the magi.

(9-10) “After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

There are people like this in our world today.

Genuinely honest people who only want to know the truth, whatever it is.

They are not to prideful,

They just want to know the truth.

 

When a person like this finds the truth, they rejoice, for their quest is over.

The magi were like this.

THERE ARE OTHERS

 

Ethiopian Eunich

Acts 8:26-39 “But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its sheerer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His judgment was taken away; who will relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.” The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing.”

 

Cornelius was a man like this.

The Woman at the well was a woman like this.

 

How about these men?

 

Matthew 13:44-46 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.”

 

A person who just wants the truth,

Will rejoice when they are confronted with Jesus, for He is truth.

 

However, there is another type of person.

The type of person we mentioned earlier, who doesn’t want the truth,

They just want what they believe to be the truth.

 

This was Herod, and Jerusalem.

(VERSES 3-8)

Now it may appear like Herod wants the truth.

But if you read further in the chapter, you see that is not the case at all.

 

(16) “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”

 

Herod put on a display to trick those around him,

But he had no intention of truly worshiping Jesus.

 

The magi were just happy they had found the truth.

Herod was angry, and desired to stop the truth.

 

WHY WAS HEROD SO ANGRY?

 

Because Jesus threatened his way of life.

Herod wanted to be king.

Herod wanted to be in control.

 

And so Herod had no place in his heart for a new king,

Even if that king was from God.

 

He fulfilled that prophesy from Psalms 2

Psalms 2:1-3 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!”

 

Herod wanted no part of submission.

AND MAKE NO MISTAKE THERE ARE MANY LIKE THAT TODAY.

 

You see Jesus never leaves anyone like they are.

He forces people to die to self, and surrender control to Him.

 

He came upon 4 fishermen on the sea of Galilee:

Matthew 4:19 “And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

 

He came upon a tax collector sitting in his booth:

Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man called Matthew, sitting in the tax collector’s booth; and He said to him, “Follow Me!” And he got up and followed Him.”

 

Jesus demands changes,

And there are people who are flat out unwilling.

 

Remember this man?

Matthew 19:21-22 “Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.”

That man was like Herod.

He didn’t see Jesus as the answer,

He saw Jesus as a threat to his way of life.

 

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Is Jesus the One you’ve been looking for, or the One you’ve been running from?

 

One was seeking, the other was suppressing

One was ecstatic, the other was enraged.

#3 “One Responded, One Rejected”

Matthew 2:11-12

 

First we see the response of the Magi

 

(11-12) “After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.”

 

When they found the truth, not only did they rejoice, but they responded.

 

They fell on their faces and worshiped Jesus.

(Of all the figures in the nativity, they are the only ones that are said to have done that)

 

LOOK AT WHAT THEY GAVE.

“Gold” – Jesus kingship, as gold was the most precious metal.

“Frankincense” – Jesus as High Priest, as incense was burned in the sacrifices.

“Myrrh” – Jesus sacrifice, as myrrh was used to prepare the body for burial.

 

They responded to the truth of Jesus, and worshiped Him.

 

However, there was another group. Herod and Jerusalem.

 

They rejected so violently,

that one tried to kill Him, and the other succeeded.

 

Herod tried to kill Jesus.

(16) “Then when Herod was that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”

 

Of course we know the reputation that Jerusalem had.

Matthew 23:37 Jesus said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”

And it would be Jerusalem

Who would eventually succeed in killing the Christ.

 

WHAT A CONTRAST.

One Sought Him, One Supressed Him

One was Ecstatic, One was Enraged

One Responded, One Rejected

 

AND THAT REALLY ADDRESSES YOUR ONLY OPTIONS.

Either you ACCEPT HIM, or you CRUCIFY HIM.

 

Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

 

To accept Jesus is to worship Him as King, God, and Sacrifice.

To reject Jesus is to suppress the truth and Crucify Him.

 

MATTHEW WANTS YOU TO KNOW THAT JESUS IS THE KING

And because he is the King, you must submit.

 

Let me close this morning with a Psalm we already read part of.

 

Psalms 2 “Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!” He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling. Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”

 

The Virgin Birth

Matthew 1:18-25

 

Last week we began our study of Matthew’s gospel

And we did so by studying “The Genealogy of Jesus”

 

And as we said, because of the truth that Matthew sought to prove,

That was the only possible way that Matthew could begin his gospel.

 

Matthew is writing to reveal that Jesus is the king; the Messiah.

And therefore it would have been pointless for him to make such a claim

If he could not give genealogical proof to support it.

 

So Matthew opened his gospel account

By proving to you that Jesus has the right to the throne.

 

But Matthew isn’t finished with his apologetics just yet.

 

For those of you who like the field of apologetics,

Matthew’s gospel is right up your alley.

 

Apologetics is the discipline of defending a position

Through the systematic use of reason.

 

And that is what Matthew does.

 

He does far more than just proclaim the truths of Jesus,

Matthew also sets out to prove them true.

 

If you have ever sat down and simply read through Matthew’s gospel

Then hopefully you noticed that Matthew was especially enamored

With the manner in which Jesus fulfilled prophecy.

 

Throughout Matthew’s gospel, Matthew cites at least 28 references

To how Jesus’ life and ministry was the fulfillment of prophecy.

 

Matthew actually begins his gospel account with 7 fulfilled prophecies.

 

(1:22-23) “Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.”

 

(2:4-6) “Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, ” In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'”

 

(2:14-15) “So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.”

(2:16-18) “Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “A VOICE WAS HEARD IN RAMAH, WEEPING AND GREAT MOURNING, RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN; AND SHE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY WERE NO MORE.”

 

(2:23) “and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

 

In chapter 3:3 you get the prophecy of the forerunner – John the Baptist

In chapter 4:15-16 you get the prophecy of Jesus’ ministry

 

In fact Matthew is the only one that records the statement of Jesus:

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

 

And so it becomes blatantly obvious to us that

Matthew is setting out to defend the faith.

 

THIS MORNING HE FOCUSES ON THE VIRGIN BIRTH.

To prove He is king – prove His earthly lineage.

To prove He is God – prove His divine lineage.

 

Of all the major defining events of Jesus’ life

I don’t suppose any have been more perverted than this one.

 

Certainly there are those who attack His crucifixion, His burial,

His resurrection, or even His ascension, but it seems that

Not even those events get perverted like His virgin birth.

 

On one hand you have the skeptics who attack it.

Those who either claim that it is non-essential, or that it didn’t occur.

 

Both are absolutely wrong.

The virgin birth did occur (as Matthew will prove in a moment)

And it is essential.

 

1) The Virgin Birth proves the deity of Jesus

 

2) The Virgin Birth is essential to His saving ministry.

 

Allows Him to save since He is not the seed of Adam.

Romans 5:12-14 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

 

If Christ were born of a man, He also would be of Adam,

And would therefore be disqualified as the Savior of the world.

ON THE OTHER HAND, Heretics who Pervert it.

 

When you hear the term “Immaculate Conception”

You think about the birth of Jesus, but that is not what many mean.

 

The entire Catholic religion sees it not as the conception of Jesus,

But as the conception of Mary.

 

In 1854, Pope Pius IX issued his Ineffabilis Deus which states that Mary, not just Jesus, was conceived without any sin in absolute perfection.

 

“We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful.” (http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm)

 

Another perversion is Mary’s supposed state of perpetual virginity.

 

It was Pope Martin 1 who said, “Mary gave birth in miraculous fashion without any opening of her womb and injury to her body and without pain.”

(http://www.gty.org/Resources/Sermons/90-315_Exposing-the-Idolatry-of-Mary-Worship-Catholic-Dogma-Part-1?q=heresy+of+mary+worship)

 

This is not only a doctrine denied and opposed,

But also a doctrine that has been extremely perverted.

 

The reason for both of these is of course Satan,

His aim is to keep you from believing that Jesus is the divine Son of God Or to shift your focus from Jesus to some other man-made doctrine.

 

So this morning we are here to not only affirm the virgin birth,

But also to listen to Matthew defend it.

 

So, just as last week we saw the human lineage of Jesus,

This morning we see the divine lineage of Jesus.

 

(18) “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows”

 

“birth” translates GENESIS which is the same Greek word

That we read in (1:1) which was translated “genealogy”.

 

So this again is the genealogy of Jesus,

Only it is now His divine genealogy, not His earthly one.

 

And as we study this passage, let me break this event down into 6 points.

#1 THE PROBLEM

Matthew 1:18

 

Any man who has ever been engaged understands Joseph’s problem.

“when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.”

 

Now of course Luke gives us a little more insight to the entire story.

 

Luke 1:26-38 “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. “And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. “For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”

 

And so obviously Mary was just as perplexed as the rest of us.

“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

 

Now certainly there would have been issues for Mary to deal with

But imagine what Joseph must have had to deal with.

 

All of a sudden your fiancé shows up pregnant

And you know the child isn’t yours.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

 

Well, under Jewish Law it was clear.

Deuteronomy 22:23-24 “If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.”

 

And that was what Joseph was now up against.

 

Next we learn what Joseph planned to do about it.

#2 THE PLAN

Matthew 1:19

 

This is actually great proof by Matthew

That Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus.

 

HOW DO WE KNOW?

Because he “planned to send her away secretly.”

 

Scripture says that he was “a righteous man”

 

This means that he was not going to marry an adulterous woman.

 

But we also learn that he was a compassionate man because he did want “to disgrace her”

 

Those who want to disprove the virgin birth

Would have first set out to prove that Joseph was the father,

But her Matthew proves otherwise.

 

And by the way, it was public knowledge

That Joseph was not the father of Jesus.

 

In fact, years later when Jesus in the middle of one of His famous bouts with the Pharisees they actually bring this fact up as a way to shame Him.

 

John 8:41 “You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.”

 

They were accusing Him to be the product of an act of fornication.

 

So even they knew that Joseph was not Jesus’ father.

 

And because Joseph knew it, he planned to send Mary away.

 

The Problem, The Plan

#3 THE PROOF

Matthew 1:20-21

 

Here we see that Joseph is already considering sending Mary away

Until God intervenes.

 

An angel of the Lord came to him and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

 

God proves what (no doubt) Mary had told Him.

That, although it is difficult to believe, Mary has not been unfaithful.

Mary has become pregnant by the Holy Spirit.

 

Now it no longer comes from the lips of Mary,

It has come from the messenger of God.

 

And furthermore God reveals to Joseph why this is happening.

 

#4 THE PURPOSE

Matthew 1:21

 

The purpose for all this is clear,

It is because this is how God will bring the Savior into the world.

 

Because Joseph was of Adam,

Joseph could not conceive the Savior, only God could,

And that is the explanation for this event.

 

“and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

 

I don’t want to chase any rabbits here, but as I studied this passage

This time, this was really the point that hit me in the face.

 

This statement is simple and straightforward,

But it has been so overwhelmingly perverted and disregarded.

 

The first disregarded statement is at the beginning.

“He will save”

 

In our day of pluralism, people no longer view Jesus as the Savior.

In fact the word “Savior” has become extremely outdated to our society.

 

Anyone can be a Savior, that is if you even think you need one.

Some don’t even see the need for a Savior at all.

 

But God did, and that is the purpose for the virgin birth.

He sent His Son to be that Savior.

 

And “He will save”

 

But that is not all that has been missed.

“He will save His people”

 

We also live in a world of growing universalism,

In which everyone is being saved.

 

And sadly many even believe that Jesus will do the saving.

 

Brian McClaren (Father of the emergent church movement) blatantly says that he thinks Jesus will someday save all religions.

 

“Although I don’t hope all Buddhists will become (cultural) Christians, I do hope all who feel so called will become Buddhist followers of Jesus; I believe they should be given that opportunity and invitation. I don’t hope all Jews or Hindus will become members of the Christian religion. But I do hope all who feel so called will become Jewish or Hindu followers of Jesus. Ultimately, I hope that Jesus will save Buddhism, Islam and every other religion, including the Christian religion, which often seems to need saving about as much as any other religion does.”

(Brian McLaren, A Generous Orthodoxy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), pg. 264)

 

That is universalism.

 

And it even creeps into Baptist life.

 

Let me give you a statement.

“Jesus died for the sins of every human being”

 

You probably believe that, because it has been fed to us for so many years, but in reality it is an early form of universalism.

 

If Jesus paid for the sins of everyone

Then everyone would be in heaven.

 

Let me say it backwards.

Jesus fully paid the sin debt of everyone in hell.

Jesus appeased the wrath of God on everyone in hell.

 

If that is so, then what exactly did He do on the cross?

 

Many would say, “He did pay for their sin, but they have to accept it.”

 

Sort of like the atonement is like one of those gift cards

You buy at LOWE’S that first has to be activated.

 

That is to say that what Jesus did on the cross

Was potential, but not actual.

“He potentially saved everyone, but He actually saved no one”

 

So on the cross Jesus should have said,

“It is started” or “It is possible”, not “It is finished”.

 

No, the reality is that Jesus paid for the sins of “His People”

He died for the elect.

 

And on the cross He ACTUALLY paid that debt,

And ACTUALLY appeased the wrath of God.

 

Isaiah 53:11-12 “As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.”

 

There is no universalism in the atonement of Christ.

“He will save His people” (not all people)

 

That means you must be His, if you are going to be saved by Him.

 

But that is still not the only perversion.

“He will save His people from their sins”

 

Some think it reads.

“He will save His people from hell.”

 

As though hell where the problem of mankind.

Hell wasn’t even created for man.

Hell was created for the devil and his angels.

 

Hell is not what is killing man, sin is what is killing man.

And the purpose of the atonement is to save people from sin.

He came to make wicked people into holy people.

He came to make sinful people into sanctified people.

 

Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

 

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

 

Jesus came to save people from sin.

 

But eventually that thought got corrupted.

And people no longer focused on holy living, simply on not going to hell.

 

And it produced a generation of church goers

Who no longer cared about the lingering sin in their lives,

It was enough to them that would not go to hell when they died.

 

Others still read even differently from that.

(Because society didn’t want to focus on hell either.)

 

“He came to save His people from suffering”

 

This arose out of a generation that sought prosperity,

And thought that Christians are entitled to health, wealth, and happiness.

 

And no longer was forgiveness the most sought after gift,

Now they sought “Abundant life”.

 

But listen, the statement is clear.

Jesus came to save “His people from their sin.”

 

He came to make a holy church, a spotless bride, a perfect people.

And so it is accurate to say that if you are still living in sin

Then you have not been saved,

Because it was sin that Christ came to save His people from.

 

The pregnancy of Mary was of God and it had a divine purpose.

 

Furthermore this was prophesied.

#5 THE PROPHECY

Matthew 1:22-23

 

Matthew is giving you yet another proof.

 

In case you find the virgin birth a little strange,

Matthew reveals that this had been God’s plan from the beginning.

 

God had said that a virgin would give birth

And that the baby would be God in the flesh.

 

John 1:14-18 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘ He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.'” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

 

It would be the miracle of the incarnation.

God would become man.

 

And to further prove it to you,

God prophesied over 700 years before it happened.

 

There is one more piece of evidence.

#6 THE PERFORMANCE

Matthew 1:24-25

 

In other words, “Joseph’s decision”

 

What we learn there is that Joseph went ahead and married Mary anyway.

 

Now, if he wasn’t the father (as we already proved)

THEN WHY WOULD HE DO THAT?

 

Unless it was clear to him that no other man was the father either?

 

You see the fact that Joseph was going to send Mary away

Proves he was not the father, but the fact that

He ended up marrying her proves that no one else was either.

 

The only explanation is that the prophecy of Isaiah

Had finally come to pass.

The virgin had conceived.

 

And to further drive a nail in the point

We see the name that Joseph gave the baby.

 

“and he called His name Jesus.”

 

By obeying to name the child Jesus,

Joseph was revealing what he believed to be true.

 

And that is that this child really was conceived by God,

And He really is the savior God has promised.

 

Joseph’s performance is the final piece of proof Matthew puts forward.

 

• We know Joseph wasn’t the father because he was going to send Marry away.

• We know no one else was either because Joseph ended up marrying her.

• That taken with the prophecy of God about the virgin birth solidifies the truth.

 

JESUS WAS BORN OF A VIRGIN

Jesus really is the Son of God.

 

Matthew gave the first lineage to prove He was descendant of David;

Heir to the throne.

 

Matthew gives this second lineage to prove He is the Son of God;

The One who will “Save His people from their sins.”

 

NOT ONLY IS JESUS THE RIGHT KING

HE IS THE KING WHO CAME TO SAVE YOU FROM SIN.

 

Sin is the enemy.

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”

 

But Jesus came to save you from sin.

He came to give you the ability to turn from sin.

He came to give you the ability to be righteous before God.

 

Can you honestly say that Jesus has saved you from sin?

 

Jesus is God made flesh

And He came to save His people from their sins,

This morning submit to the King and be saved from yours.

 

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

The Right King at The Right Time

Matthew 1:1-17

 

This morning we embark upon a new study of the word of God.

We begin our study of Matthew’s gospel.

 

As with all the gospel writers, Matthew writes with a distinct purpose.

 

Matthew’s purpose is to reveal that Jesus is King

And that you must submit to Him.

 

Matthew is consumed with the King and His Kingdom.

32 times Matthew uses a phrase “The Kingdom of Heaven”

 

HE TELLS US WHAT THE KINGDOM REQUIRES

Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

 

HE TELLS US WHO THIS KINGDOM BELONGS TO

Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

 

HE TELLS US WHO WILL NOT ENTER THIS KINGDOM

Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 18:3 “and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

Matthew 19:23 “And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 

HE TELLS US WHO IS THE GREATEST IN THIS KINDGOM

Matthew 5:19 “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

 

AND HE LISTS MANY PARABLES BY WHICH TO EXPLAIN IT

Matthew 13:31 “He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;”

 

Matthew 13:33 “He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”

 

Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

 

Matthew 13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,”

Matthew 13:47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;”

 

It is easy to see that Matthew is consumed with the kingdom of heaven

And the King who will rule it.

 

• He wants you to know that Jesus is the King.

• He wants you to know that Jesus is the Messiah.

• He wants you to know how you should respond to this King.

 

And this morning we begin our study of this great book.

 

This book begins the only way it possibly could; with a lineage.

 

There are two main points which we will develop out a little further.

#1 JESUS IS THE RIGHT KING

Matthew 1:1-17

 

No doubt having just completed our study of the book of kings

You should have a much better understanding as to who this list is all about.

 

This is the royal line.

If a man was to claim a right to the throne of Israel,

He must prove that he is of this line.

 

That is precisely what Matthew sets out to prove.

 

But he does much more than that.

HE SHOWS US WHY JESUS IS THE RIGHT KING

 

1) HIS PEDIGREE

 

And this is the obvious one.

 

(1) “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:”

 

Although the next 15 verses set out to prove this point,

Matthew really states the heart of the matter right there.

 

If you were going to try and prove that you had found the Messiah,

You had better be able to prove his lineage all the way back to two people.

 

One was “Abraham” the other is “David”.

 

Pedigree was everything to the Jews.

We remember Paul before salvation boasting about being “of the tribe of Benjamin”

We remember the Pharisees boasting “We are of Moses”

 

The Jews loved their lineage.

In fact, you may remember when the children of Israel returned from Babylon, there was a certain division of priests who had lost their papers declaring their pedigree.

 

Ezra 2:59-62 “Now these are those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan and Immer, but they were not able to give evidence of their fathers’ households and their descendants, whether they were of Israel: the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 652. Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name. These searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood.”

 

If you could not prove your lineage, you could not serve.

How much more important when dealing with the Messiah.

 

Obviously in order to prove that you have found “The King of the Jews”,

You must first prove that you are dealing with a Jew.

The right King must be a child of Abraham.

 

Genesis 22:18 “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

 

It would be through the “seed” of Abraham

That the entire world would be blessed.

 

Paul even stated this fact specifically in his letter to the Galatians.

 

Galatians 3:16 “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.”

 

Paul clarifies the statement of God to Abraham

By revealing when God made the promise concerning Abraham’s seed,

He was talking about the Messiah.

 

It was understood that the Messiah was a Jew.

 

But the Messiah must have a more specific lineage than that.

He can not only be a child of Abraham,

But more specifically he must be a child of David.

 

2 Samuel 7:12-16 “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”‘”

 

God made a binding promise to David,

And that is that the kingdom would never depart from his line.

It is not an uncommon thing to see a kingdom change family lines.

Look at the throne of England.

 

For a while it was occupied by the Tudors, then the Stewarts, then the Hanobers, and now presently by the Windsor’s.

 

And so Jesus didn’t have to be of David to be King,

He had to be of David in order to fulfill prophecy.

 

Jesus might indeed seize the throne,

But if He was not descended of David then He is not God’s Messiah,

For God promised the kingdom would never depart from David.

 

And every Jew knew this.

Even while debating with the Pharisees Jesus asked:

 

Matthew 22:42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”

 

To say that Jesus is the Messiah if He doesn’t descend from David IS A WASTE OF TIME.

 

Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”

 

And so Matthew reveals the pedigree of Jesus.

 

But this is not the only thing that makes Him “The Right King”

 

2) HIS PERFECTION

 

Now obviously when we talk about the perfection of Jesus,

You most likely begin to think about His sinless life.

 

But I am not talking about His character here.

 

Rather here I mean that He was the perfect candidate.

In fact, He was the only candidate.

 

WHY?

 

While every Jew was looking for the Messiah from David’s line,

Some must have realized that the Kingly lineage

Had a prophetic flaw.

 

It was seemingly impossible for anyone to fulfill all the prophecies concerning the kingly lineage.

 

(11) “Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.”

 

Surely you remember Jeconiah.

The writer of Kings called him Jehoiachin.

 

We called him “The Despised King”

Jeremiah 22:24-30 “As I live,” declares the LORD, “even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; and I will give you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. “I will hurl you and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. “But as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it. “Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar? Or is he an undesirable vessel? Why have he and his descendants been hurled out And cast into a land that they had not known? “O land, land, land, Hear the word of the LORD! “Thus says the LORD, ‘Write this man down childless, A man who will not prosper in his days; For no man of his descendants will prosper Sitting on the throne of David Or ruling again in Judah.'”

 

Just as God promised that David’s kingdom would not end,

God promised the absolute end of Jehoiachin’s.

 

That is a poison pill right here in the middle of the prophecy.

HOW CAN HE BE DAVID’S SON AND NOT JECONIAH’S?

 

THIS IS WHAT MAKES JESUS ABSOLUTELY EXCLUSIVE.

 

(16) “Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”

 

It is very interesting that after using the same phrase over and over, Matthew omits it when he finally gets to Jesus.

“the father of…”

 

Matthew did not call Joseph the father of Jesus.

He merely said that Joseph was married to His mother.

 

The point here is that Jesus was not the blood relative of Jeconiah,

And so He dodged that poison pill prophecy in Jeremiah.

 

Jesus still got His political right to the throne through Joseph,

But was not Joseph’s blood descendant.

 

NOW AT THIS POINT, THE OTHER SIDE WOULD CRY FOUL.

“Wait a minute, if he is not Joseph’s blood son,

Then he isn’t the blood son of David and He cannot be king.”

TURN TO: LUKE 3:23-38

 

If you were to hold those lineage’s side by side

You would notice some distinct differences.

 

1) They are in reverse order

2) Luke goes all the way back to Adam

3) They are not the same people

 

When studying you learn that Matthew 1 contains Joseph’s lineage,

But Luke 3 contains Mary’s lineage.

 

This is Mary’s lineage.

This is the blood line of Jesus.

 

(31) “the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David”

 

This is Nathan’s line

Matthew gives Solomon’s line

 

Jesus got a blood right to the throne through His mother Mary

And the political right to the throne through His father Joseph.

 

But it was done in such a way so

As to avoid the negative prophecy concerning Jeconiah.

 

The point is that the Messiah could not have been just anyone.

 

Not to mention:

• Malachi said He had to be born in Bethlehem.

• Isaiah said He had to be born of a virgin.

• Daniel said He had to die 483 years after the command to rebuild the temple.

 

Jesus was the perfect candidate.

 

He was the right King because of His pedigree, because of His perfection

3) HIS PITY

 

Israel didn’t need another tyrant on the throne,

They had plenty of those in the past.

 

Israel didn’t need another self-centered, self-serving ruler,

They had plenty of those as well.

 

Israel needed a true shepherd as their leader.

 

THAT IS WHAT GOD HAD PROMISED.

 

TURN TO: EZEKIEL 34

 

God had scorn for the bad shepherds.

(READ 2-4)

 

God had scorn for the brutal sheep.

(READ 20-22)

 

GOD PROMISED DELIVERANCE THROUGH A GOOD SHEPHERD / PRINCE

(READ 23-24)

 

God promised a merciful and compassionate shepherd

Who would tend the flock of God and not devour them.

 

You say, “Yes that is true, but where do you see that in the lineage of Christ?”

 

You don’t see it spelled out in His character,

But you do see it in who He chose to allow in His lineage.

 

Now let me ask you this:

 

• If there was a case of incest in your family history would you tell anyone?

• If there was an adulterous affair would you include that in your registry?

• If someone in your past married an unclean foreigner would you tell others?

• How about if one of your relatives was a prostitute, would you announce it?

Jesus did.

 

In fact He magnified it.

Aside from Mary, only 4 women are named in this lineage.

 

He only named the ones

That could have potentially been embarrassing to Him.

 

(3) “Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar”

 

Genesis 38:6 “Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.”

 

You may remember that God killed Er and Er’s brother (Onan) refused to raise up children for his brother and so God killed him too.

 

Tamar then became a prostitute and one day her father-in-law Judah

Went in to her and that is how Perez was conceived.

 

Incest in the Messianic line.

(5) “Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab”

 

She is the prostitute of Jericho who hid the spies and saved her own life.

This prostitute was proselytized and ended up marrying David’s great-grandfather.

 

Prostitution in the Messianic line.

 

(5) “Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth”

 

Of course Ruth is not remembered as a harlot of sorts, but she was a Moabite.

She was unclean, and off limits to a Jew.

 

(6) “Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.”

 

A case of adultery right there in the Messianic line.

 

Those are things that we would try to cover up.

Yet they are the things that God chose to purposely bring to light.

 

WHY?

He was revealing that Jesus was not an aristocrat

Who would look down His nose at mankind.

 

Jesus would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Jesus would be a man tempted in all things as we are.

Jesus would be a man of compassion and sympathy.

 

He would be unlike any king Israel had ever had.

Jesus would be sympathetic.

 

And how many times do we read the words “moved with compassion”

In regard to the ministry of Jesus.

 

He was the right king.

Because of His Pedigree, His Perfection, His Pity.

 

#2 JESUS CAME AT THE RIGHT TIME

Matthew 1:17

 

Romans 5:6 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

 

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

 

What Paul revealed is that Jesus came at precisely the right time.

It was not an accident.

“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.”

 

Matthew breaks the past down into three time periods.

 

1) THE PATRIARCHS

This was Abraham to David.

 

It was the time of the patriarchs, a time when God was revealing Himself and making promises to His people.

 

It encompassed the deliverance of the Exodus and the giving of the Law.

It was the time when God chose His people

And then called them to love Him in return.

 

2) THE MONARCHY

This was David to Jeconiah.

 

And if the time of the patriarchs was the time of God’s invitation,

The time of the monarchy signified Israel’s response to that invitation.

 

And they answered with a resounding “NO”.

 

It was a time of extreme spiritual decline.

It was a rapid descent filled with idolatry and disobedience.

 

3) THE DARK AGES

This was Jeconiah to the present period.

 

Israel rebelled against God and spend 70 years in Babylon as punishment,

But even upon returning, they never again had one key ingredient:

The Presence of God.

 

(Remember Ezekiel actually saw God depart from the temple)

 

Beyond that, after Malachi’s prophecy

That even signified the end of the prophets.

 

There had been 450 years of silence since God had last spoken.

A silence broken by “the voice in the wilderness” (John the Baptist)

 

It was the dark ages for Israel.

 

And what Matthew reveals is that Israel had no place else to go.

The only thing that would save her and turn her around

Was the coming of the king.

 

This was the right time for the king to come, for Israel was out of options.

Israel needed a Savior.

Jesus was the right king at the right time.

 

And Matthew begins His gospel with that precious truth.

 

And let me just say to you this morning,

That that is precisely who Jesus is to you as well.

 

HE IS THE RIGHT KING AND IT IS THE RIGHT TIME.

 

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

 

He is the right King (in fact the only king)

 

2 Corinthians 6:2 “for He says, “AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU,

AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.” Behold, now is “THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,” behold, now is “THE DAY OF SALVATION”

 

It is the right time.

 

Matthew’s point is the same to all who read his gospel account.

Submitting your life to Jesus is not an option.

God had made Him both Lord and Christ.

Submitting your life to Him is a requirement.

 

And to all who reject this king,

They are guilty of high treason before Holy God

And will indeed pay the punishment for their crime.

 

Jesus is the king and you must submit your life to Him.

 

Philippians 2:9-11 “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”