Living Stones – Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Who begot whom
Matthew 1:5,6a
Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king.
Yesterday we began looking at the context in which the birth of Jesus took place in order to properly understand the meaning of His birth and to properly approach any time or season set aside for its celebration. We did mention that there is no evidence in the scripture that the birth of Jesus was ever celebrated or commemorated in any way in which we should continue to do so. We do know from a study of church history that Christmas was an invention that came about long after the Apostles had laid the foundation of how the church was to function and what we were to commemorate.
The idea here is not that we should now campaign against Christmas, rather, if we are going to embrace this as a Christian Festival then we need to draw clear lines to demarcate what is authentic Biblical History and what is myth and folklore that, quite frankly, distort and undermine any message we could deliver to a lost and dying world through recounting the stories of the birth of Jesus.
Yesterday, as we studied the genealogy that opens up the New Testament records and introduces the birth narrative, we saw that it began this way, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” Matthew 1:1-17. We examined how being the son of Abraham was critical, first to the Jewish understanding of who He is in the context of God’s plan for man’s redemption, and then to our understanding.
That verse also makes the point that Jesus is the son of David. Right at the beginning, Matthew says, in effect, God says, that in order to appreciate the story you’re about to be told, the story of His birth and the story in the Gospel, we must recognise Jesus as the answer to all of the prophecy to David and to Abraham.
In God’s history of intervention with/for mankind, the importance of a son of David cannot be overemphasised. Matthew’s genealogy was curated in part to show that Jesus was the son of David. To the Apostle, this was a big deal. Look at how many times in the New Testament they refer to this fact: Peter Acts 2:29-36. Paul Romans 1:3, 2 Timothy 2:8; Revelation 22:16; Also, Matthew 12:23, 15:22, 20:30, 21:9,15.
We also looked at the structure of the Judeo-Christian worldview, Creation – Fall – Redemption. Redemption involves a few elements, Call and Election, Covenant, and Inheritance. Call and Election refers to God’s sovereign choice of a people for Himself, starting with the call of Abraham and the promise that through him all nations would be blessed. God seeks to establish a deep and abiding relationship with the called through covenants.
The first covenant God established with his people after bringing them out of Egypt was the Ten Commandments. Bringing them out of the Egyptian captivity, by the way, was God’s first demonstration that He is a Redeemer of His people. This is quite a part of the “Christmas Story” because Joseph, Mary, and Baby had to flee to Egypt before being called out from there. We should note here that we lose the significance of this if we take on José Feliciano and the myth of the Cherry Tree Carol. He had them walking in a “garden green,” the Scripture has them fleeing for their lives to Egypt.
The purpose of the Exodus was not just freedom but an inheritance, the inheritance we know as the “promised land.” When David became king his biggest achievement was that he delivered for God’s people what they were striving a long time for – the whole land that had been promised to Abraham. So, with David, the covenant with Abraham was fulfilled. Abraham’s offspring had indeed become a great nation. They had possessed the land promised to Abraham and they were in right relationship with God enjoying his blessing and protection.
The covenant making and covenant keeping God then made a personal covenant with David. God tied his purpose for Israel to his promise to the house of David – a son, and heir, a great name, a special relationship with a royal dimension. 2 Samuel 7
Matthew’s genealogy traces the lineage of Jesus through the line of kings that ruled Judah to show His royalty in David’s line. Royalty that was recognised all the way including when He was called by Pontius Pilate “King of the Jews.”
To understand the real significance of the birth of Jesus is to recognise that God is a covenant keeping God who will keep His promises for generations. He sets in place a means for redemption and seeks a relationship with the redeemed. The redeemed can depend on Him for blessing and an inheritance. We used to sing Isaiah 51:11: “Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”
All of that is drowned out now by the incessant noise of jingle bells!
Think on these things:
- If you decorate for Christmas, is there a way that you could tell the biblical story of Christmas through your decorations?
- Could you sit down and make a list of all the things that come to mind when you think of Christmas, and then divide the list into two, one list of the things that are biblical and the other of things that are myths, legends, and popular culture?
- How are you preparing for this Christmas, apart from family, food, and fun, is there a place for sharing the Gospel story?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would be able to enjoy this season with family and friends and yet remain focused on the meaning of the birth of Jesus.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex