The Fulness of Time, Part IV
JOHN 1:14
The gospel of Matthew starts off with the genealogy of Jesus. Genealogies were common and important in those times. In the Bible, there are several including Genesis 35:22-26, 46:8-27, Exodus 1:1-5, and a lengthy one in 1st Chronicles 1: 1-9:44. The society of that time used the lineage of people of importance to prove they were worthy to be of certain positions. Matthew writes the genealogy of Jesus to show that Jesus indeed did have a royal heritage worthy of being a king and the Messiah. However, as we will see, Matthew also included many people in the lineage of Jesus that were of very questionable character.
Matthew 1:1 The genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David son of Abraham. Chronologically, Abraham should be first, but David is. He was a King and Jesus is King. Matthew is making this clear. Abraham is the father of nations. It is very important to establish that Jesus was a son of father Abraham, and in the line of David, a king who was considered the greatest king of Israel.
2 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs and the covenants. This is foundational to the faith. Jacob's sons were the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus was descended from the tribe of Judah. In Genesis 49:10 Jacob's blessing to Judah was that the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet. This implies kingship.
3 Judah and Tamar. Read Genesis 38 for an immoral tale! Judah had relations with a Canaanite woman and had three sons. Two were so evil that God took them. Tamar was married to one, Er. Tamar disguised herself as a harlot and Judah had relations with her. She had twins and Perez was one of them, an illegitimate child.
4-6 Boaz by Rahab, a harlot from Jericho. Ruth was from Moab, a pagan nation. David was a king. Solomon was born to David from Bathsheba. Bathsheba's husband was Uriah. He was one of the mighty men that helped David become king. David used his authority to have relations with her. She conceived. David manipulated Uriah to have relations with Bathsheba so it would appear that the child was by him. He refused so David had him killed in battle. 2nd Samuel 11. A very great sin in the lineage!
7-11 Kings in the lineage. Rehoboam was evil. 2nd Chronicles 12:14. Ahaz was evil. 2nd Chronicles 28:3. Manasseh was more evil than the pagan nations around Israel. 2nd Chronicles 33:6. Amon was evil and his servants murdered him. 2nd Chronicles 33:24. Jeconiah was cursed by God! Jeremiah 22:24-30. Amazing! A man whose lineage was cut off by God in the genealogy of the Messiah.
12-15 Zerubbabel was a priest. Zadok was a priest also. Jesus is our high priest.
16 Joseph did not father Jesus. He was born through Mary by the Holy Spirit.
17 Three sections of 14 generations. This is six sevens. The number 7 is in the Bible several hundred times. It can mean completion or perfection, forgiveness, healing, promises, and oaths. Jesus is the seventh seven. Let's look at Leviticus 25.
Leviticus 25:1-4 The land needs a rest. Work the land for six years and then rest in the seventh year. God created for six days and rested on the seventh.
8 You are to count off seven sabbaths of years, or forty-nine years.
9 The tenth day of the seventh month. The day of atonement is when the high priest makes atonement for the people's sins by a sacrifice. He goes into the holy of holies to God's presence and obtains mercy.
10 You shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. Jews and Gentiles. It shall be a jubilee to you. A release, rest, debts are canceled, slaves are set free, people get their land back, you return to your property and family.
24 Jesus is our redeemer. He came to redeem us. He paid the redemption price for us. Boaz redeemed Ruth. Redemption of the land.
26 Redemption of the land.
29 Redeem a house in the city. One year.
31 Redeem a house in the villages.
32 The Levites have a permanent right of redemption for houses in the city. We have been made a Royal Priesthood.
33 Levites houses are redeemed.
40,41 He shall be a hired man till the jubilee. Then he shall go back to his property and family.
48,49 Israelite slaves can be redeemed by family or himself.
51,52 A redemption price is paid.
54 Even if he is so poor or has no one to redeem him, he shall still be released with his sons. In other words, he is helpless, unable to redeem himself. Romans 5:6. Jesus is the seventh seven and we are His lineage. He is our jubilee and now this rest for us is in Him. Soon, the world will rest from all the wickedness and evil when God's Kingdom comes and Jesus rules with justice and righteousness. Are you thankful and hopeful?
Now, would you be proud of this ancestry? Hardly. King Herod removed people like this from his ancestry so he would not be associated with them. It made him look bad. We can be sure others did the same thing. It was bad for a person's image, especially if they wanted to move up in the world. It certainly did not look good for a king. Yet, here is the genealogy of Jesus for all the world to see and read, full of immoral people. Two things are shown here. The devil was working hard to pollute the lineage. Jesus overcame that and God's plan will be accomplished no matter what our enemy does. Jesus came for all people. He overcomes all the sin in a person's life. Your background and lineage does not matter! You come just as you are. He meets you where you are at in your life. He paid the redemption price. HE IS THE REDEEMER OF MANKIND! Aren't you glad? Is God good! Very good!
THINGS TO CONSIDER
Do you have a genealogy with questionable characters in it?
Are you committing and living in sin?
Do you feel helpless in your situation and in this world?
Are you looking for a release from these things in your life?
I have Good News for you! Jesus is the answer to all of these questions. He can overcome your family's hurts. He can help set you free from your sinful life. Jesus is our hope. He paid the redemption price for us. Release these things to Him. If you let Him, He will help you deal with and work through them. Jesus can be rest for your weary soul and your jubilee. Accept Him today as Savior and Lord!
I hope you enjoyed this series on THE FULNESS OF TIME and taking a closer look at some of the Christmas story. It is an amazing story for sure. Pray this story will pierce hearts and minds all over the world this year! God Bless You and Merry Christmas, Pastor John.
The gospel of Matthew starts off with the genealogy of Jesus. Genealogies were common and important in those times. In the Bible, there are several including Genesis 35:22-26, 46:8-27, Exodus 1:1-5, and a lengthy one in 1st Chronicles 1: 1-9:44. The society of that time used the lineage of people of importance to prove they were worthy to be of certain positions. Matthew writes the genealogy of Jesus to show that Jesus indeed did have a royal heritage worthy of being a king and the Messiah. However, as we will see, Matthew also included many people in the lineage of Jesus that were of very questionable character.
Matthew 1:1 The genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David son of Abraham. Chronologically, Abraham should be first, but David is. He was a King and Jesus is King. Matthew is making this clear. Abraham is the father of nations. It is very important to establish that Jesus was a son of father Abraham, and in the line of David, a king who was considered the greatest king of Israel.
2 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the patriarchs and the covenants. This is foundational to the faith. Jacob's sons were the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus was descended from the tribe of Judah. In Genesis 49:10 Jacob's blessing to Judah was that the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet. This implies kingship.
3 Judah and Tamar. Read Genesis 38 for an immoral tale! Judah had relations with a Canaanite woman and had three sons. Two were so evil that God took them. Tamar was married to one, Er. Tamar disguised herself as a harlot and Judah had relations with her. She had twins and Perez was one of them, an illegitimate child.
4-6 Boaz by Rahab, a harlot from Jericho. Ruth was from Moab, a pagan nation. David was a king. Solomon was born to David from Bathsheba. Bathsheba's husband was Uriah. He was one of the mighty men that helped David become king. David used his authority to have relations with her. She conceived. David manipulated Uriah to have relations with Bathsheba so it would appear that the child was by him. He refused so David had him killed in battle. 2nd Samuel 11. A very great sin in the lineage!
7-11 Kings in the lineage. Rehoboam was evil. 2nd Chronicles 12:14. Ahaz was evil. 2nd Chronicles 28:3. Manasseh was more evil than the pagan nations around Israel. 2nd Chronicles 33:6. Amon was evil and his servants murdered him. 2nd Chronicles 33:24. Jeconiah was cursed by God! Jeremiah 22:24-30. Amazing! A man whose lineage was cut off by God in the genealogy of the Messiah.
12-15 Zerubbabel was a priest. Zadok was a priest also. Jesus is our high priest.
16 Joseph did not father Jesus. He was born through Mary by the Holy Spirit.
17 Three sections of 14 generations. This is six sevens. The number 7 is in the Bible several hundred times. It can mean completion or perfection, forgiveness, healing, promises, and oaths. Jesus is the seventh seven. Let's look at Leviticus 25.
Leviticus 25:1-4 The land needs a rest. Work the land for six years and then rest in the seventh year. God created for six days and rested on the seventh.
8 You are to count off seven sabbaths of years, or forty-nine years.
9 The tenth day of the seventh month. The day of atonement is when the high priest makes atonement for the people's sins by a sacrifice. He goes into the holy of holies to God's presence and obtains mercy.
10 You shall consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. Jews and Gentiles. It shall be a jubilee to you. A release, rest, debts are canceled, slaves are set free, people get their land back, you return to your property and family.
24 Jesus is our redeemer. He came to redeem us. He paid the redemption price for us. Boaz redeemed Ruth. Redemption of the land.
26 Redemption of the land.
29 Redeem a house in the city. One year.
31 Redeem a house in the villages.
32 The Levites have a permanent right of redemption for houses in the city. We have been made a Royal Priesthood.
33 Levites houses are redeemed.
40,41 He shall be a hired man till the jubilee. Then he shall go back to his property and family.
48,49 Israelite slaves can be redeemed by family or himself.
51,52 A redemption price is paid.
54 Even if he is so poor or has no one to redeem him, he shall still be released with his sons. In other words, he is helpless, unable to redeem himself. Romans 5:6. Jesus is the seventh seven and we are His lineage. He is our jubilee and now this rest for us is in Him. Soon, the world will rest from all the wickedness and evil when God's Kingdom comes and Jesus rules with justice and righteousness. Are you thankful and hopeful?
Now, would you be proud of this ancestry? Hardly. King Herod removed people like this from his ancestry so he would not be associated with them. It made him look bad. We can be sure others did the same thing. It was bad for a person's image, especially if they wanted to move up in the world. It certainly did not look good for a king. Yet, here is the genealogy of Jesus for all the world to see and read, full of immoral people. Two things are shown here. The devil was working hard to pollute the lineage. Jesus overcame that and God's plan will be accomplished no matter what our enemy does. Jesus came for all people. He overcomes all the sin in a person's life. Your background and lineage does not matter! You come just as you are. He meets you where you are at in your life. He paid the redemption price. HE IS THE REDEEMER OF MANKIND! Aren't you glad? Is God good! Very good!
THINGS TO CONSIDER
Do you have a genealogy with questionable characters in it?
Are you committing and living in sin?
Do you feel helpless in your situation and in this world?
Are you looking for a release from these things in your life?
I have Good News for you! Jesus is the answer to all of these questions. He can overcome your family's hurts. He can help set you free from your sinful life. Jesus is our hope. He paid the redemption price for us. Release these things to Him. If you let Him, He will help you deal with and work through them. Jesus can be rest for your weary soul and your jubilee. Accept Him today as Savior and Lord!
I hope you enjoyed this series on THE FULNESS OF TIME and taking a closer look at some of the Christmas story. It is an amazing story for sure. Pray this story will pierce hearts and minds all over the world this year! God Bless You and Merry Christmas, Pastor John.
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