11 February 2007

The King Arrives

Matthew 1:1-25
The Father Of…
How did you feel after reading the genealogy of Jesus?

Don’t understand?

Bored?
Who cares?

Bo liao?
Zzzzz?

I skipped that part!

The Father Of…
Not to the first-century Jews!

When it comes to kings,

people want to know where
they come from.

Matthew wants to prove to

them that Jesus indeed is
the Messiah!

The Jews could check with

the temple records if they
didn’t believe Matthew.
The Father Of…
14, 14,14

The genealogy is split into three

parts:

• Before Israel practised kingship.

• When Israel practised kingship.
• After Israel practised kingship.

Each part contained 14 generations.

This allowed readers to memorize the

genealogy easily.
The Father Of…
The son of David, the son of Abraham
God’s covenants:

To Abraham:
I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
(Gen 12:2)
To David:
When your days are over and you rest with your
fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed
you, who will come from your own body, and I
will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will
build a house for my Name, and I will establish
the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his
father, and he will be my son.
(2 Sam. 7:12-14)
The Father Of…
Prophecy fulfilled!
The prophecy:

Messiah would be of the seed of Abraham (Gen.

22:18), through the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10),
and of the family of David (2 Sam. 7:12-13).
Jesus qualified in every respect.

2000 years passed from Abraham to Jesus! A long

time?
God remembers His promises!
The Father Of…
Women in the genealogy?

Unusual for women to be included in Jewish

genealogies!

And the women were:

1) Tamar - a Canaanite who tricked Judah into sleeping with her (Gen 38).
The Father Of…
Women in the genealogy?

2) Rahab - a Canaanite prostitute (Josh 2).

3) Ruth - a foreigner (Ruth 1).

The Father Of…
Women in the genealogy?

4) Bathsheba - committed adultery with David (2 Sam 11).

5) Mary - gave birth to Jesus (Matthew 1:25)!

The Father Of…
What Can We Learn?

• God can use anyone He wants to accomplish His

purposes.

• He is willing to forgive the worst of sins and do great

things through “sinners”.

• How will God use you? How will you let God use you?
 Amazing Birth
Mary’s Story

• If you were put into Mary’s shoes, how

would you have felt when Gabriel
appeared and announced the GOOD
NEWS?

– Welcome God’s calling with open arms?

– Reject God’s calling?
Amazing Birth
 Amazing Birth
Mary and Joseph’s Possible Situation

• Mary accused as an adulteress

• Scandal talks and gossip all around them
• Conflict with family and friends
• Shameful as compared to Mary’s relative,
Elizabeth
 Amazing Birth
Joseph Obeys

• Decides not to divorce Mary

• Had no union with her till the child was
born
• Gave the baby the name Jesus
 Amazing Birth
Jesus and the Virgin Birth
• God named His Son Jesus, a Greek name
for Joshua, meaning “The LORD saves”!
• Because Mary was a virgin, only God could
have been the father of Jesus, making
Jesus the only God-Man in all the
universe!
• With God as the father, Jesus did not
inherit Adam’s sinful nature, thus making
him worthy to be a sacrifice for our sins!
 Amazing Birth
What We Can Learn

• Mary was willing to serve God despite all

the troubles that she had foreseen
• Are we willing to be like Mary?
• If God calls out to us to serve Him, even in
the worst circumstances, are we willing?
• Service is something that always comes at
a price but it will also bring great joys and
blessings beyond our imagination.