Well, I invite you to turn your Bibles tonight to Matthew chapter 1, Matthew chapter 1, and you'll find that on page 1025 in those Bibles that are in front of you, 1025, and we will be looking tonight at the first 11 verses and then we'll skip down and read verses 18 through 25. Matthew 1, beginning at verse 1. This is the word of the Lord. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez, and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and ran the father of Aminadab and Aminadab the father of Nashon and Nashon the father of Salmon and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth and Ruth the father of Jesse and Jesse the father of David the king and David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah and Solomon the father of Rehoboam and Rehoboam the father of Abijah and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah, and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And now verse 18, now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is from the holy spirit she will bear a son and you shall call his name jesus for he will save his people from their sins all this took place to fulfill what the lord had spoken by the prophet behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name emmanuel which means god with us when joseph woke from his sleep he did as the angel of the lord commanded him he took his wife but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. And there it's the reading of God's Word. I always find some of the most meaningful truths come out of these genealogies. These are the genealogies that almost inevitably everyone says, why did the pastor read those things? And I spared you a whole section tonight in not reading the whole thing. But I'm focusing here on a particular section of this genealogy to help us understand something so that we see the bigger picture that the Scriptures are providing for us about our faith and what we believe and about salvation and about the gospel. In Matthew 1, the genealogy is unique because it has the effect, and there's numerous things that are going on here, but it has the effect of telling us who the gospel is for. That's really important. Who is the gospel for? Who is the Savior come to redeem? And in this way, it really does become a way of telling the Christian story to our neighbor when somebody asks what we're doing and why we're doing this. The Christmas story is not about feeling cozy. That's kind of what we like about tonight, isn't it? cozy, it's family, it's children, it's friends. We think it's just about peace on earth and that's not what this story really is all about at all. Don't call me Scrooge. I like hanging Christmas lights. I've done all that stuff. It was a pain, but I did it. The reality of the problem is is that people are alienated from God. And they need rescuing. And the genealogy is telling us that tonight. The genealogy helps us with that tonight. If we're going to tell this story with any sort of effectiveness to our neighbor, it requires you to be able to say why you need Jesus. And there has to be some kind of personal element in that. You have to be able to articulate in some way why you need the Savior and what He's done for you. That's what everyone should be able to tell. That's what everyone should be able to say. Most people just forget, though, that the Scriptures are helping us with that by zeroing in on the lives of real people that have come before us to help us with that. Most people's perception of Christianity, And I have to say, most people's perception of Christianity, if they walked in here tonight, would be those people really have it together. Would be those people are the good people. That's what people's perception of Christianity is. Look at us. We're all dressed nice. We all look good. We're in our best red colors tonight, right? You can laugh. It's okay. Tonight, to look at the genealogy of Christ with the goal of helping us understand the central truth that is being communicated in Matthew chapter one. And the central truth that is being communicated in Matthew chapter 21 is summarized in verse 21 where it says, you shall name him Jesus for he will save his people from their sins. That's the central truth. That's not only the central truth of Matthew one, That's the central truth of Christianity. That's the central truth of our faith. But we have to understand a little bit about that, don't we? We've got the greatest story in the world to tell. Well, what I want to do then tonight is look at this just briefly here, a few of the figures that are raised to show you this. The first thing that we read as we open up Matthew 1, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham, and then Matthew goes on to give us three sets of 14 generations to prove that Jesus Christ is the seed of David. But as we study the genealogy, as you look at the genealogy, there really are numerous problems in this genealogy. In that last section I didn't read, there's a big problem of a curse on the line, and that's not what I'm addressing tonight but i think the first and foremost question that anyone would read if they're paying attention to the genealogy are some shocking figures that are introduced into the genealogy from which anyone would come to the conclusion how could jesus come from them that seems to be an important question here that seems to be an important issue in the genealogy and the first to note is that this is no model family tree is it our passage is helping us with this huge dilemma tonight the first thing to notice is the jews would have been startled by the fact to read this and see very important women listed in this genealogy that didn't typically happen in the genealogies and that means there's an important focal point by adding certain women into this genealogy that we shouldn't miss so it's helping us to understand that in fact as we look at this a bit we find that the continuance of the line comes through some of the worst scenarios and messes that are ever presented in the bible there are always things families would love to keep hidden and that we don't want people to know about our families if all of us went through our families and talked about certain aunts and uncles so there's there's certain of them we don't want anyone to know what's going on there there's lots of stories in our families there's lots of skeletons in the closet in our families and none of us want to really show that and talk about that we're always going to present ourselves tonight in the best possible light but to the jews who would read such a thing this would have been startling if they were paying attention to the stories so so think of this for a minute in verse 3 judah begot perez and zara by tamar you guys don't want me to preach on genesis 38 tonight everyone's shaking their head well this is the christmas program judah had a son his name was ur and he gave tamar to be married, to be the wife of Ur. Ur was wicked in the Lord's sight. Bad man, bad man. The Lord took him out. So the next son went, Onan, to give the seed, the promised seed. And Onan wouldn't do it. He had his own birth control method. He's out. He promises his other son to him, Shelah, the older, I will give to you, Tamar. Judah doesn't do it. So this woman who's been lied to, abused, trashed, hurt, dresses up as a prostitute. Goes and stands out on the side of the road. And Judas sees her and buys her. With for a night for his signet and cord and staff. And lo and behold, in the genealogy, she conceives Perez and Zerah that are mentioned here in Matthew 1, and the thing that you should stop and say, that one was through prostitution. Yikes. Yikes. Now, if your grandfather had been a child by prostitution, I guarantee you we wouldn't know. I guarantee you we wouldn't know. nobody would talk about that. Matthew 1. Jesus' genealogy. The line moves on and we find things that we definitely don't want to continue to talk about here. Verse 5, you'll notice here, that Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab. Remember the story. Jericho was to be destroyed and the spies had come into Jericho and they came to the house of a harlot named Rahab who lodged there. She hid them. She's a remarkable woman in the Scripture. A woman of faith in the Scripture. But not a good past. Remember the story. We come to Matthew. You know what we find here? Rahab the harlot marries Salmon, the direct descendant of Abraham, and God chose her to be the one through whom the seed would continue. That's awesome, but startling. And she bears mighty Boaz. And who does God then use to continue the line? Mighty Boaz, his mom was Rahab. Not something I would want told about mom in the Bible at all. Boaz, Plazit, inscripturated here. That story. And Boaz, the father of Obed by Ruth. You'll remember that story, that he sends a family outside of Israel and brings back a little Moabite woman. How did the Moabites come about? The Moabites, according to Deuteronomy, were a cursed people. They were a people who were destined for destruction. They were not a good people. Do you know why I titled my message the way that I did? Because probably about five or six years ago, I preached from this pulpit. the Christmas story like you've never heard it before. And I preached Lot and his daughters. Now Lot went up out of Zoar and lived in the hills with his two daughters, for he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his daughters. And the firstborn said to the younger, our father's old and there's not a man on earth to come in to us after in the manner of all the earth. Come, let us make our father drink wine and we will lie with him and we will preserve our offspring from our father. So they made their fathers drink wine and get drunk that night. And the firstborn went in and lay with her father. Thus, the daughters of Lot became pregnant. The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab. Ruth the Moabitess is who God chose. So, this is quite a mess that is presented. The first two women who are mentioned here had come out of a form of prostitution through which the line came. The next was a cursed foreigner whose family started from incest and we're not done. Verse 6, And Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Fourth woman. There was a woman. I often think about Bathsheba. We don't get much from her, but what a hard life that woman must have had. Here was a woman stole away from her husband by an abusive king. And who's that king? And the king has her husband killed and coerced into this adulterous act. She's the one who bears the seed. Remarkable. I often thought, why didn't the Lord mention Bathsheba's name? I think the pain of it was all to be felt as we read this because he stole her from Uriah. A woman, when I had aired that first time when I preached and was going through Genesis and came to that passage of Lot, a woman, I aired that at Christmastime on Abounding Grace Radio, and I'll never forget, a woman called me right after that and said, Pastor, I have to thank you. We avoid everything in the Bible that tells us the truth. She was so thankful that the truth of the filthiness of our lives was being honestly talked about. Let me ask this question tonight. Does this embarrass you? Does this embarrass you? Why preach this at the Christmas program? Because this is Jesus' family. That's why. These are His people. I think the genealogy out of Matthew 1 is a giant test for us. It's a giant test as to who you are and what you think of yourself and a test about self-righteousness. Who do you think Jesus came for? Messy, abusive people. This is what Matthew 9 is telling us. I didn't come to call the righteous to repentance. It's anticipating that. I've come to call sinners. I've come to rescue them from this stuff. Are you getting the message out of the gates in Matthew 1? Tamar, a sad, tragic, abused life. She's all but forgotten by Judah, and God chose her. Rahab sits in a city devoted to destruction by Israel. Think of all the rich model women in the city. Think of all of the women who had everything. He chose her. Then God chooses a little Moabite woman who was cursed. And from there, the nation of the earth that is cursed, right? The wonderful one would come from her line. And then, God chooses a woman who had to face the agony of a husband murdered and being taken by a man. And in this mess, in these very sinful lives of real people, God worked. Isn't that awesome? Well, it is depending. You can answer that depending on how you view yourself. Meet Jesus' family. Here's the Christmas story. What is the amazing message here is, this is the greatest news for the nobodies. This is the greatest news for those who are nothing in this world. This is the happy news for those who are little in this world. This is the happy news for those who have been trampled and abused by men. This is the real news that is announced here of help to the weary. This is big good news for people who've done a lot of bad things. It's the greatest news for those who know their misery in life and that Jesus was brought forth from those who needed Him most. You see? Jesus was brought forth from those who needed Him most. And guess what? They are mere reflections and mirrors of us. All of them. How, the question remains tonight, how can a Savior come from this kind of mess? That's the question. How can a Savior come from this kind of mess? How can a Savior actually free from this kind of mess if that's your line, if that's your family? And Matthew answers that problem. There's other problems that are going to be answered in this genealogy I'm not dealing with tonight. But that particular problem is answered as the Greek here in Matthew 1.18 says, offsets Jesus' birth in an entirely different way. On the contrary, the birth of Jesus Christ was in this manner. What does that mean? It's not like any other birth. It's not like any other of these situations. Jesus' birth was entirely different. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, She was to be found with child from the Holy Spirit before they came together. She was found with child. And notice in verse 20, but as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit overshadowed that womb, sanctified that womb, preserved that womb, Joseph was out in the act. He was gone from this so that that womb was preserved for what great reason? Well, this fact removes his right, you'll notice here, of being the natural father of Christ. Because if Jesus was the natural son of Joseph, you have a major problem with sin. And Matthew is saying to us, understand the virgin birth. By quoting Isaiah 17, 7.14, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is translated God with us. Joseph is thrown out. Christ was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit. And what that means is that human nature was never infected and did not have the original sin of Adam imputed to it. The very human nature of Christ, the eternal Son of God, adding a human nature, was formed and sanctified by the Holy Spirit and kept free from all the corruption of sin. That's the best news ever. Why does that matter? You shall bring forth a son and here's the name I want you to give him. chosen by God, Jesus. Meaning, your Savior. He has come to rescue you. He has come to deliver you. He has come to save you. The Lord is salvation, is the name. And Matthew wants us to understand just how wonderful this announcement is and just who it is who has come to us. This is God in the flesh. He, being who He is, is able to save to the uttermost those who come to Him. The down and outs. The tame arms. You see, here it's all remedied, isn't it? This is the greatest news we celebrate at this time of year. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, He is our hope. He is our life. He's our Savior. And He's come for sinners just like us. What do you think happened to people like Tamar and Rahab the harlot and Ruth the Moabitess and Bathsheba when they heard the message that from their line would come the seed? Well, they would rejoice, wouldn't they? That God would answer them and that God would help them and that God would save even great sinners like this. The story's worth telling, isn't it? The story's the greatest story to tell in a world right now that's utterly spiraling, out of control, unhinged, people lost, people broken, society being ripped apart at the fabric at the core. Everything seems to be falling right now and there's only one message that has stood the test of time and only one answer from God and it is Jesus. But we have to see, as we saw this morning from John 3, who we are. And understand how precious a gift Jesus is to us. What a reason to celebrate this season. What a reason to tell others the hope that you have. What a reason to rejoice that your Savior has come to save you from all your sins. What does your life tell? What does your life tell? What if it were all brought out in the open tonight? Are we honest? That's what Jesus wants from us. Humble yourself, says the Lord, and I will lift you up. For Jesus has come and identified with sinners and promises that all who look to Him, He will save from their sins. That's the Christmas story. Let's praise the Lord tonight in prayer. Gracious Lord, thank You again for instructing us in righteousness and in truth. And thank you for showing us what the Scriptures show us everywhere. Our great need and our perfect and complete Savior to save us from all of our sins. Thank you tonight that we get to now enjoy a program of children who will sing these truths. Lord, may we always remember the precious gift of eternal life that you've given us and raise our hearts in song tonight thanking you for such a wonderful salvation. through the work of your beloved Son. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.