We are back in the New Testament for three weeks with a look at Matthew. The first chapter of the NT begins with the historicity of Jesus as recorded in His genealogy and therefore the fulfillment of the more than 300 OT prophecies concerning His life and ministry.
Matthew 1: The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,
3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,
4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon,
5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,
6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,
7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph,
8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,
9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,
10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah,
11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,
13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor,
14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud,
15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
17 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.
The Birth of Jesus Christ
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.
19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
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.
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
23 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel"(which means, God with us).
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 2: The Visit of the Wise Men
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem,
2 saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."
3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;
4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:
6 "'And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him."
9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
The Flight to Egypt
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."
14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt
15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, "Out of Egypt I called my son."
Herod Kills the Children
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:
18 "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more."
The Return to Nazareth
19 But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 saying, "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead."
21 And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee.
23 And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene."
Things to think about…
1. A genealogy may not seem the best way to start a gospel (good news) message. But when it is the genealogy of Christ it takes on a whole new perspective. It confirms that Jesus was an historical and not a mythical character. This is important to understand and a vital component to the gospel. Our faith in Christ is not based on a fanciful fairy tale. It is based upon a literal Person who appeared in history and who fulfilled all the OT prophecies concerning Himself and His ministry. There are over 300 of these OT prophecies that are fulfilled in the Person and work of Christ. A statistical miracle, unless you accept it is only possible through God’s divine plan.
2. Matthew declares to us that one of those prophecies concerning the birth of the Saviour was spoken by the prophet Isaiah from Isa 7:14 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel"(which means, God with us).” Hallelujah! The King has come! God in the flesh!
3. The story of the wise men coming from the east – possibly from what is modern day Iran is intriguing. Why were these men chosen? Why were the spiritual leaders of Jerusalem at the time not chosen? We know that the spiritual leaders in Jerusalem at that time were not so spiritual. But in any event the Lord reveals the Saviour to these wise men from the east. They were certainly wise enough to know the prophecies about Christ because they were able to quote the word of God from the prophet Micah “And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”, Mic 5:2. The kings from the east were also wise enough to avoid Herod’s trap, another wise attribute.
4. We see from Mt 2:13-23 that the Lord uses what is seen in the natural as that which fulfils the spiritual. Jesus’ necessary departure to Egypt to flee from Herod fulfils Hosea 11:1 “Out of Egypt I called my son”. Herod’s evil killing spree of the young boys in Bethlehem fulfils what the prophet Jeremiah said “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more”, Jer 31:15 and when Jesus returned from Egypt to live in Nazareth to be called a Nazarene is likely fulfilling passages like Gen 49:26 and Judges 13:7.
Vision Point
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Questions for Cell groups
Sunday’s sermon, “Joseph just like Jesus” came from Gen 50 by Graham Willey.
1. Joseph’s life reflected many qualities and characteristics of Jesus. Joseph is seen as a type of Christ. In what ways do you think this to be true?
2. Joseph was blessed in the 3 periods of his life whether he was in Potiphar’s house, the prison or the palace. What are the challenges to modern Christians and Christianity when studying the life of Joseph and accepting the Lord’s seasons in our lives.
3. Joseph’s brothers were still concerned after Jacob (Israel) had died that Joseph would deal harshly with him. Joseph’s response is given in Gen 50:20, 21. Explain the significance of this verse in your own life.
4. After Israel lived 400 years in Egypt in slavery, they brought Joseph’s bones back to Israel. They were laid to rest at Shechem where Jacob and his family went astray before moving to Bethel. Shechem (modern day Nablus) is still in conflict today. Joseph’s tomb was ransacked in 2016. Israel is still a divided land between Jews and Arabs. They need unity in Christ. Joseph lived successfully with the Lord’s blessing in pagan Egypt. His identity in the Lord gave him this freedom. How can we do the same.
5. Pray for your cell group and prayer/praise points. Pray for our “Blessing Beirut” appeal as we endeavour to help these ‘sons of Abraham’.
Prayer Points
1.Pray for Lebanon and the people of Beirut with this accidental blast from the storage of ammonium nitrate. 157 confirmed dead. 5000 wounded, 300, 000 left homeless. $10 - $15 billion to rebuild.
2. Continue to pray for Victoria, numbers of infections are going down, but unfortunately deaths, especially in aged care facilities, has risen sharply.
4.Continue to pray for our government for wisdom and economic management.
6.Sunday’s messages. The message this week – “Where did God come from?” Matt 1 – Ps Jay.
7.Church finances to meet our expenses and to put a roof over our café.
8.Our City and Country – Pray for revival over our city and the leadership of our country even through these challenging times.
Praise Points.
1.Finances continue to be maintained.
2.Wonderful spirit of joy in our church. Thankyou Jesus.
3. Donations to Café roof ($5,145) and Blessing Beirut ($900). Thankyou!
1.We have established a “Blessing Beirut” fund. After prayer and seeking after a support partner the Lord has led us to Ras Beirut Baptist. We have received word back from them. Pray our gift would bless Beirut with the gospel.
2.One service at 9:30am Every Sunday morning. This service will also be live streamed. No kisses, hand-shakes or hugs are allowed. Hand sanitizer is to be used, tables will be wiped and chairs arranged for appropriate distancing. Families can of course sit together. CBC is allowed up to 50 people inside, then we will have an overflow in the house and Kids church will be in the crèche in the cafe.
3.Cell groups – Ask for details as to how and what is required.
4.Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5.Kids Church will be run in the house when the message starts.
