We are back in the New Testament for three weeks with a look at Matthew. Be blessed as the Lord Jesus speaks to you.
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, Mt 1:1-17. But when it is the genealogy of Christ it takes on a whole new perspective. It confirms that Jesus was historical and not mythical. This is important to understand and a vital component to the message. 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 believe it is only possible through a sovereign, all powerful God.
2. It is interesting to note, as many have done, the 5 women who are mentioned in Christ’s lineage. 4 are mentioned by name, Tamar Mt 1:3, Rahab and Ruth, vs 5 and Mary vs 16. The only exception is Bathsheba is not mentioned by name but is pointedly referred to as “the wife of Uriah”, Mt 1:6. Matthew does not hide any of the shame of the incident, because by this time she was in fact the wife of David. But Matthew magnifies the sin which every Jew must do when acknowledging King David. Why is this the case, considering there is scandal, or an impurity of some sort (a foreigner, gentile) associated in each case. Jesus identifies with sin, pain, rebellion and mis-identity by covering it with understanding, mercy and sacrifice. As such, the church, the bride of Christ is called to reflect His glory through the same character traits. Sometimes the church can fain holiness or purity. It is nothing more than self-righteous hypocrisy. Jesus has nothing to do with such flesh-full indulgence. His ministry against the Pharisees is a stark reminder. Love the unlovely, there you will find Christ’s treasure, blessing and heart.
3. There is order and structure in our Lord’s universe and in the lives of men. Matthew mentions three periods of fourteen generations in Mt 1:17. Each period displays a significant time and change in the providence of God towards Israel. Our Lord was in complete control within the trial and triumph in each one, as He is in the life of every believer.
4. The divine conception, Mt 1:20, to bring about the incarnation of Christ has been greatly debated and scorned by those who would deny its historical reality and significance. If Christ was not conceived wholly by the Father then Christ is polluted with human sin, namely that of Joseph and Mary. If this is the case then we are still dead in our sins because Jesus would have been a polluted and therefore imperfect sacrifice for sin. To believe that Jesus had any fallen human origin with respect to His conception is a doctrine straight from Satan’s playbook. Such is the case of what the Catholic Church refer to as the immaculate conception which believes that Mary was free from original sin from the moment of her conception. It’s not biblical of course. Jesus addressed her directly and referred to her indirectly when her straightened out misunderstandings within or about Mary.
5. Matthew declares to us that one of those prophecies, Mt 1:23, 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!
6. The story of the wise men coming from the east, Mt 2:1-12, – 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. They are also wise enough to avoid Herod’s trap, another wise attribute. Here again is confirmation that the Lord reveals His will to those who seek Him from among the gentile nations. He is a light to the world.
7. 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 what Hosea says, Hos 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. Herod here reflects the same brutal policy of the Egyptian Pharoah centuries before at the time of Moses. The horror those families in Bethlehem had to endure at the hands of such a brutal tyrant is unimaginable. And yet we see many in our day killing innocent lives in the womb which makes Herod’s barbary a mere moral blip in the light of the tragic testimony of the modern abortion movement.
8. “He shall be called a Nazarene”, Mt 2:23, is likely fulfilling passages like Judges 13:7 which point to Christ. It may also be that Matthew is associating the word Nazarene with the Hebrew word netser (“branch or sprout”). The “Branch” was a common term for the Messiah, such as in Isaiah 11:1: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” Jesus receives the title as it refers to the town from which He came, Nazareth. Hence he was called a Nazarene, as was common to the descriptions used to describe the regions where people originated.
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Sermon title was “Divided we fall” - from 1 Kings 12:1-24
1. We have heard the phrase “united we stand and divided we fall”. Jesus said “a house divided against itself cannot stand”, Mark 3:22. Can you remember a time where you worked as a team on a project to complete an agreed outcome, or otherwise where a team member let you down. Has this happened to you in a spiritual context?
2. Solomon’s son Rehoboam didn’t listen to the counsel of his father or elders and became a foolish son, yet Solomon was not without blame – discuss. How have you been influenced by your parents? How have you influenced your children?
3. Israel was divided due to the folly of Rehoboam, but 1 Kings 12:24 says “for this thing is from me”, referring to the Lord’s plan over it all. Explain how you reconcile this statement with what is clearly sin being used by the Lord in the lives of Rehoboam and Jeroboam. What encouragement do you find from this statement?
Prayer Points
1. Families away on holidays. Pray for rest and safe return
2. Pray for ministries as they start up this week.
3. Pray for testimonies that people will be doing every second week. Please consider when you would like to do yours when the pastor asks you to share yours.
4. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
5. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points.
1. Testimony of Richard Gauntlett.
2. Josh and Ben leading worship, Dan on sound, Maddison and Melissa on the desk.
3. New volunteers stepping forward to help out.
4. The unity and grace on display at CBC.
Announcements
1. PlayPatch for toddlers on break for 2 weeks.
2. Kids@church starts back on Sunday. Please check your rosters
3. Recharge Youth – back on Friday 6:30pm at church all teenagers.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
