Advent 2020: Hope
Matthew 1.1-17
Introduction
My dad’s dad was 100% Russian and his mom was 100% Swedish. My mom’s side was always a little more mysterious but she told me last week that she just found out that three of her four grandparents came from Europe to America through Canada. The more generations are born in America the more complicated heritage becomes. It was easy for my grandpa; both of his parents were from Russia. But when I think about my kids they not only have all of the different cultural background of my family but also Bethany’s family.
And now you are thinking about your family heritage, your genealogy. Where did your parents and grandparents come from? What about your spouse’s family? We all come from somewhere. Some of you might be related to famous people or historically important people. I’m sure some of you have a family legacy that you’re very proud of. Some of you may have a family that you’re not so proud of. Maybe you have infidelity, abuse, or even murder in your family tree. I’m confident that some of you have a mixture of both glory and shame in the history of your family.
Today inaugurates the season of Advent: the four weeks leading up to Christmas where we anticipate the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Latin word adventus means, “coming.” We catechize our kids every year, “advent means Jesus is coming.” This is the beginning of the church calendar year wherein we train our hearts to anticipate the incarnation of the 2nd person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God. And as we mentioned earlier, the first week of advent is the week of hope. We’re going to spend advent this year in the gospels with Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. We begin this first week looking at the hope of advent in Matthew’s Gospel. Where do we see hope in the family tree of Jesus?
Problems
The road we call hope leads to Jesus through a lot of problems. Think about the first two names that we read: David and Abraham. We’ll talk more about the good things these men did in a moment but when we read these names we can’t help think of their sin. Before YHWH called Abraham he was worshipping the moon. After God called him Abraham tried to give his wife away to Pharaoh, he impregnated Hagar, and was then emotionally manipulated by Sarah to send Hagar and Ishmael away, abandoning his duty as a father.
David used his position of authority for his own sexual sin and then murdered the husband of the woman he got pregnant. David was not a good father, which led to rape and murder among his children. That doesn’t even scratch the surface of all of the wickedness perpetrated by the other men on this list. For example, Judah (the son of Israel through whom Jesus comes) got his widowed daughter-in-law pregnant, but don't worry, he didn’t know it was her, he simply though she was a cult prostitute. This list is full of murder, idolatry, and adultery.
And Matthew doesn’t merely remind us of the sinful individuals but he also reminds us of the sin of the entire nation. Matthew divides the genealogy up from Abraham to David to the Exile to Christ. In the Old Testament there are two climactic historical events, one that pictures redemption – exodus – and one that pictures judgment – exile. The exile is the climatic display of God’s righteous judgment on his people. When Moses brought the 10 commandments to the people he warned them that if they kept the Law YHWH would bless them but if they abandoned the covenant YHWH would judge them and expel them from the land. Israel whored after idols for centuries and God kept his promise.
Even at first glance the family tree of Jesus reminds us why we need hope to begin with: we are sinners who need a savior. The most notable names in the history of redemption did some of the most despicable things you can image. This isn’t a problem that started with Abraham. Abraham inherited sin from his father Adam. When Adam rebelled in the garden all of humanity fell with him. There is none righteous, no not one (Rom 3.10). All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3.23). We are dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2.1).
The wisdom of the world tells you that there’s no such thing as sin. We can all determine what is right or wrong for ourselves. Even if there are some things that we all agree are wrong, you’re not as bad as other people. Surely your good will outweigh your bad. Don’t believe the hiss of the serpent. We are all hopelessly lost apart from Jesus the Son of God.
This is why the virgin birth is essential to Christianity. The doctrine of the virgin birth is not some holiday folk tale. It is an indispensible part of orthodox Christianity. Without it there is no salvation. You’ll notice as you read the genealogy the same phrase is repeated over and over – “the father of.” It’s the word ἐγέννησεν, which is an active verb. It means, “to sire;” to do the part that men do in the process of getting pregnant. But when we come to the birth of Jesus the same word is used but it’s now passive - ἐγεννήθη. Joseph doesn’t sire, or begat Jesus in the same way all of the other men begat their sons. Joseph is the husband of Mary from whom Jesus is born. Mary is not active in the process either, it is a passive verb.
This is why Christians have confessed for 2 millenia in the Apostle’s Creed that Jesus was concieved by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus is truly God and he is truly man. He is more truly human than we are because he never sinned. He is human the way God created us to be. The incarnation is how the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1.14) Jesus is begat by the Spirit himself and born of the woman. Jesus lived righteousness in our place. He is like us in every way yet without sin (Heb 4.15). The sin in this family tree points us to the one without sin. Our only hope is that a righteous one stood in our place and that he exchanges our sin for his righteousness.
People
The second signpost we see on this road called hope is the people. We mentioned some of the dastardly acts of these patriarchs but we’re also reminded of their great acts of faith. Abraham left behind all that he knew to follow the call of God. When YHWH commanded him to sacrifice Isaac he did not delay for he believed that God would keep his promise even if he had to raise Isaac from the dead (Heb 11.19). David slew Goliath, ruled Israel under God’s Law and made plans to build the temple. Solomon actually built the temple. Zerubbabel led the people to rebuild the temple after the exile. Remember when we preached through the book of Hebrews in chapter 11 where we’re told of the great things that were done in faith to God’s promise.
These men are what we call types of Christ. They are shadows pointing us foreword to what Jesus would do. Abraham was the father of a nation that could not be numbered. That number is all who place their faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. David was the greatest king Israel had ever seen and he was but a shadow of the true king of the universe, Jesus. “Come and behold him, born the king of angels. O come let us adore him.”
What’s even more interesting than the men on this list are women. There are five women listed: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, the wife of Uriah, and Mary. This is so fascinating because, first of all, this is contrary to ancient near Eastern custom. We’re all so used to the egalitarian society we’ve inherited that it’s hard for us to imagine how women were treated 2,000 years ago. Women were never included in genealogies, think of the lists you read in the Old Testament. And if you think this is silly to even mention take a trip to the Middle East now and see how women are treated. They weren't included because they had no legal rights. They weren't viewed as full citizens. Matthew’s inclusion of these women reveals that the kingdom of Christ is different than the way of the world. Women are valued and equal to men in Christ.
The second intriguing point about these women is their sin. Like, if Matthew was going to break tradition and start adding women to a genealogy you would think he might pick some different women. You would think he might include Sarah, Rebekah, or Rachel. But he doesn’t. Tamar dressed up as a prostitute to trick her father-in-law to get her pregnant. Rahab was an actual prostitute who ran a whorehouse. Ruth was a Moabite; a descendant of incest and a people cursed by God. Bathsheba isn’t mentioned by name. The ESV calls her the “wife of Uriah.” The Greek literally reads, “the one of Uriah.”
There’s been a lot of debate about David and Bathsheba in recent years. Some have argued that David didn’t merely commit adultery with Bathsheba but that he raped her. The Scripture never says the word David committed adultery and so some argue that David used his position of authority to force her to sleep with him; she didn’t have a choice because if she said no he could have her killed. I think that’s probably right but even if you disagree and somehow think that it was merely adultery, it’s not a situation a family would bring up if you were making up a genealogy for a messiah.
We know that Mary was a virgin when the Spirit conceived Christ in her. But as you might imagine this unwed pregnancy brought much public shame in the eyes of the community. Joseph planned to divorce her until an angel told him not to. And while the Roman Catholic Church wrongfully argues that Mary was a perpetual virgin and that she never sinned, the Bible says other wise. In Luke 1.47 Mary says that God is her savior. One does not need a savior unless they are a sinner.
What’s the point? The Holy Spirit inspired Matthew to include these fallen women in the family tree of Christ along with the multiplicity of fallen men. It’s because the road called hope is travelled by the least of these. Those who are viewed as insignificant and worthless in the eyes of the world are precious to Jesus. The unborn, the mentally handicapped, the poor, the downtrodden, men, women, and children of every race and socioeconomic status populate the kingdom of Christ. And if you’re tempted to think otherwise then you stand in opposition to the poor, brown skinned man who sits at the right hand of God.
Promises
The third sign we see on this road called hope is God’s promises. Another way to say it is God’s covenants. These names wouldn’t have only evoked the lives of the men Matthew names but also the covenants God made with them. He doesn’t mention Adam or Noah but that’s because those covenants were made before Israel even existed. Matthew is probably written to a specifically prominently Jewish audience and his goal is to show them that Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of the identity of Israel.
He begins with Abraham who is the grandfather of Israel. In Genesis 12, 15, and 17 YHWH makes a covenant with Abraham that all of the nations will be blessed through his family. Abraham’s son Isaac has a son named Jacob who is renamed Israel. Israel has 12 sons, Judah and his brothers. They went to Egypt with Joseph and 400 years later were led out of slavery by Moses. Through Moses YHWH made a covenant with the sons of Israel, called the Law. Judah was also promised that a king would come through his line. This king was initially fulfilled in David. And YHWH made a covenant with David that the kingdom would be given to one of his sons forever (2nd Sam 7).
All of these covenants find their “yes” in Jesus Christ (2nd Cor 1.20). He is the seed of Abraham through whom the nations are blessed (Gal 3.16). Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law (read the book of Hebrews!). Jesus is the true and final king of the world who rules at the right hand of God the Father almighty. Jesus is the content of the new and final covenant. It is through the gospel of Jesus Christ that God gives us his Spirit.
God only accepts people through covenant. It is only through the new covenant of Jesus that you can experience the forgiveness of sin and peace with God. Repent and believe in the good news of Jesus. Turn from your sin and trust in his life, death, and resurrection.
Conclusion
The birth of Jesus of Nazareth is the fulfillment of the hope of history. As it turns out the family tree of Jesus is a Christmas tree. And regardless of your family tree, whether it is something to be proud of, or something to be ashamed of, the gospel teaches us that when we place our faith in Jesus Christ we are adopted into the family of God. Jesus’ family becomes our family. The Christmas tree can be your family tree. So whether you’re Russian, Canadian, or whatever the case may be, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Rom 10.13). And this is our only hope in life and death. Advent is about hope. As the old Christmas carol reminds us, “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”