Sermon Title: The Son of David
Text: Matthew 1
Resources:
Brief summary
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. . . . So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations (Matthew 1:1, 17, ESV).
To be honest, the genealogies of Scripture are the parts we probably skim (or skip!) most frequently when we’re reading the Bible. After all, who cares that Jehoshophat’s son was Joram, right? It might even be more perplexing that after reading the Old Testament for a long time and (finally) getting to the New Testament, the first page of Matthew is mostly names, many of which we don’t even really know or care about.
But as we might guess, God has important reasons for including genealogies in Scripture, and we explored some of them this past Sunday. There’s so much weight in the very first words of Matthew’s gospel, of course: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” David and Abraham are the theological heavyweights of the Old Testament, so it’s not surprising that Matthew mentions them first.
But there are also some hidden gems in Matthew’s genealogy, and we discussed some of them in the sermon. For example, five women are mentioned—why? And why these particular women? And what about some of these other, lesser known characters?
Jesus is the “son of David, the son of Abraham,” but he’s also the son of Rahab and Ruth and Bathsheba and Shealtiel and Eliakim and others. All this, of course, is according to God’s plan.
God wants it to be clear that Jesus is the real descendant of real people with real problems, and perhaps that’s because he wants to invite us—with all of our baggage—to be a part of the story that he’s working out in this messed-up world. He’s their Son, so that we might be his.
Reflection Questions
Start Praying
- How can our class pray for you, a friend, or loved one tonight?
Start Reading (read Matthew 1:1-17)
- What questions or observations do you have from reading the text? What’s one thing you remember from the sermon?
- Which of the names are familiar? Which are unfamiliar?
Start Thinking
- Why is Jesus Christ called the “Son of Abraham”? [Genesis 12:1-7]
- Why is he called the “Son of David”? [2 Samuel 7:1-17]
- Five women are mentioned. Briefly summarize their stories. [Genesis 38; Joshua 2, 6; Ruth 1-4; 2 Samuel 11-12; Matthew 1:18-25]
Start Sharing
- How does seeing the continuity from the Old to the New Testament strengthen your faith?
- The Bible doesn’t hide the brokenness of its characters, even its heroes, painting their portraits “warts and all.” Even Jesus, though sinless, descended from people with big problems. How does this help us relate to Christ better? How does Jesus’ genealogy foreshadow the kind of people he associated with during his ministry?
Start Doing
- When we leave here tonight, how can we be more consciously aware that Jesus responds to our brokenness with compassion and forgiveness?
- As we go about our daily lives, what can we do to share the hope of Jesus with people who’ve made a mess of their lives?
- The genealogy points to Jesus’ identity as Messiah. How does that change the way we live (practically)?
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