Go with me back, if you would,
to Matthew chapter 1. I have been reading through the
book of Matthew and I believe, I feel led maybe through the
month of December to look at the first two chapters. The Lord
has just, I've really been blessed by these first two chapters. I don't yet know or believe that
we'll go through the entire book, but we'll start with this, if
the Lord is willing, and we'll see how He leads us. Every time
that I come to Matthew chapter 1, what we just read for our scripture
reading, right after that is where it says in verse 18, now
the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, and it goes into
His birth, and it tells what His name shall be called and
why we need to call Him this name. And every time I come to
this, we make reference to this often. You know how your Bible,
you're used to your Bible, you have your page, you're used to
the layout of your own page of verses in a particular location
on your page and it's comfortable to you. Well, Matthew 1, This
is a great comfort to me. Matthew 1, we all have these
special places in the scripture that are so comforting to us. I believe Ephesians 1 is comforting
to most all of us. Romans 8 is comforting to most
all of us. Matthew 1, every time I come
here, I feel safe. Just entering in to what's happening
on this page. The Apostle Paul said, these
same things are safe. They're safe. And dwelling on
Christ is safe. When it's all about Christ, it's
safe. The thought of what is recorded
here, the fact that our Lord came into this world, this is
our hope. This is our rest, this is our
salvation right here. Just hearing how He came, why
He came, what He did while He was here, what He accomplished
while He was here, that is music to a believer's ears. That's
music to a believer's ears. Middle C. That piano revolves
around Middle C. And it's food to a believer's
belly. It's water to his soul. It's
comfort to his heart. That's what it is. Comfort to
his heart. Tonight I want us to enter into
the stability. I want us to just enjoy the stability
that our Lord has given to us in verse 1. Just verse 1. It says, The book of the generation
of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. This is THE
book. This is THE book. God has given us THE book. One book. One book. To hold and to trust and to read
and to believe to be the Word of God Almighty. One book. Just one book. This is the book
that is sent from heaven to earth. No other book is. No other book
is. A lot of religious books. I have
a lot of books in my study. I've got commentaries on all
the walls. None of those books are sent
directly from heaven to earth. One book. This is the book that
beyond any shadow of a doubt connects the mind and the thoughts
and the purpose and the work of God with sinners. The book. One book lets sinners
in on All the things of God. This is the book that designates
the difference between the truth and a lie. The book. This is the one and only book
that confirms who the Christ is. A lot of books say a lot
of things. One book confirms who the Christ
is. and who He came to save and how
He came to save them. One book. Aren't we so thankful
for this one book? One book. Thankful that He sent
the book and thankful for the fact that there are no other
books to be believed or be consulted when it comes to the things of
God. Isn't that simple? One book. God's truth is without
controversy. Well, you know, this book says
this and that book says that and this guy says that. One book. It's without controversy. Totally
without controversy. God has given one book and this
is the book. The book. To me, that's safe. Isn't it so safe? I don't want
to pack it. of what this guy said and that
guy said. This is safe. The book. Alright, now in the
book, God has given one subject matter. One theme. One interpretation. The summary comes to one conclusion. Verse 1 says, the book of the
generation of Jesus Christ. Genesis 1.1 says, In the beginning,
God. That's what the book is about.
Who God is, what he has done. In the beginning, God. That's
where it starts. Revelation 1.1 says, The revelation of Jesus
Christ. That's how it ends. That's what sinners are enlightened
to who have been given eyes to see what is in the pages of the
book. That's what they see every time.
They see Christ every time. The book starts with Christ.
The book ends with Christ. And right here in the middle, right here in the middle, it
says, this is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. Now there's so much good news
in what was just said in verse 1. We've read half of verse 1. There's so much good news in
that. If those were the only words that God put in the book, we could rejoice and we could
glory in God for all eternity. if those were the only words
that God put into the book. He said, this is the book of
the generation. This is the book of the generation.
Look at verse 17. So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14
generations. And from David until the carrying
away into Babylon are 14 generations. And from the carrying away into
Babylon unto Christ are 14 generations. All of these generations. Genesis
5 gives the generations of Adam. If we were to go back to Genesis
5, that's what we would read. The generations of Adam. Genesis
6 gives the generations of Noah. Matthew 1 right here beginning
in verse 2 gives us the generations of Abraham. But this entire book
is concerning the generation of Jesus Christ. The one generation
of Jesus Christ. What that means is He ever liveth. That's what it means. He ever
liveth. It means he has no beginning
and he has no end. He is the same yesterday, today,
and forever. That is great news. That is great
news. That is all the gospel a sinner
needs to hear. Jesus Christ. The one who embodies the fullness
of humanity. and the fullness of deity, Jesus
Christ. The only one who is able to be
the mediator between God and man. The only one who is able
to be the mediator between God and man. There's only one. And he's able to be the mediator
between God and man. And this only one ever liveth. If there was only one and he
died, well then what? The only one ever liveth. He ever lives. Hebrews 7 says
to make intercession for you. Verse 1 says the book of the
generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Who is Jesus Christ? Well, we just read He's the Son
of David and He's the Son of Abraham. All the fullness of
the Gospel is in this one verse. All the fullness of the Gospel.
If this honestly was the only verse, if this was the only verse,
this would take us all the way to glory. Who is Jesus Christ? He's the Son of David who is
the son of Abraham. David is in Abraham's line. That earthly speaking genealogy
is one of the proofs that Jesus is indeed the Christ. He is the Christ. The Apostle
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, he said, everything about him
was and had to be according to the scriptures. Had to be according
to the scriptures. Well, what did the scriptures
say about it? Go with me over to Psalm 132. Psalm 132 verse 11 says, The
Lord hath sworn in truth unto David. He will not turn from
it. Of the fruit of thy body will
I set upon thy throne. That's what God said. Who is
God? Jesus Christ is God. That's what
Jesus Christ said. Do you notice that he said, Will
I set upon thy throne? Of the fruit of your body, will
I set upon thy throne? And I had a bunch of verses written
down. We could look at a ton of verses
that say the exact same thing. For the sake of time, let's see
what he said to Abraham. Go over to Genesis 26. Genesis 26, this is the Lord reiterating
to Isaac what he said to Abraham, his father. The Lord told this
to Abraham and now he's saying to Isaac, this is what I told
your father. Genesis 26, verse four. And I will make thy seed
to multiply as the stars of heaven. and will give unto thy seed all
these countries. And in thy seed shall all the
nations of the earth be blessed." That's what God told Abraham.
Alright, now go with me to Galatians 3. Galatians 3 verse 16 says, Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not,
and to seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which
is Christ. He said, I'm going to give your
seed to all these countries. I'm going to bless your seed.
All the blessings. Christ is the seed that all the
promises of God are found in. Every blessing of God. Alright,
now go back to our text in Matthew 1. Verse 1 says, The book of the
generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. And now beginning in verse two,
he gives the genealogy that proves that this is the promised one.
He came through the line of Abraham and David. Came through that
genealogy line. Why those two men? Why those two men? Of all the
men in the line. We read it for the scripture
reading. We read a lot of men. They were all in the line. Why
those two? Why would God choose to single
out the son of David and the son of Abraham to reveal to his
people the generation of Jesus Christ? Who Christ is? Why those
two men? Here's why. It's because the
son of David reveals who he is. And the son of Abraham reveals
what he did. Alright, now who was David's
son? David had a lot of sons. Only
one is mentioned in this genealogy line. Only one is in this promised
line. Which son was it? Verse 6, And
Jesse begat David the king, And David the king begat Solomon
of her that had been the wife of Uriah. Who was Solomon? Solomon was the rightful heir
to the throne. Solomon was the son of the highest. Solomon was the king himself. Solomon was the one who every
knee bowed to. That's who Jesus Christ is. What
Solomon pictured on this earth, Jesus Christ is over all heaven
and earth. Is there a greater type than
Solomon? Jesus Christ reigns. He rules
of His kingdom. There shall be no end. Solomon was given more wisdom
than any other man. Solomon was given more riches
and more honor than any other man. That's Christ. Christ is
wisdom. He is riches and honor. Solomon was the king of peace. It says that Solomon had peace
on all sides round about him. In the days of his reign, all
those countries that were around him, none of them went to war
with Solomon. He had peace on all sides. And
that's Christ. He is peace. He does not just
have peace. He made peace because he is peace. And that's what Matthew 1 is
telling us here. There's a greater than Solomon. Here. Here he is. Everything that all
this 4,000 years of scripture prophesied of. Here he is. The
greater than Solomon is here. Go with me over to Luke chapter
1. Luke chapter 1 verse 26. And in the sixth month, the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph of the
house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary.
And the angel came in unto her and said, Hail thou that art
highly favored. The Lord is with thee. Blessed
art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was
troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation
this should be. And the angel said unto her,
Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God. And behold,
thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt
call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall
be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God shall give unto
him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over
the house of Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall
be no end. Who is Jesus Christ? He's the son of David. He is the king on his throne. He is the owner. He is the ruler. He is the sovereign son of David. But who is Jesus Christ? Thank
God, he's the son of Abraham. The son of David tells us who
he is. The son of Abraham tells us what
he did. Look back at Matthew 1. Verse 2 says, Abraham begat Isaac. He was the son of this promised
line. Abraham had more than one son
too. But verse 2 says, Abraham begat
Isaac. What did Isaac do? Look with
me at Genesis 22. Genesis 22 verse one says, it
came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham and
said unto him, Abraham. And he said, behold, here I am. And he said, take now thy son,
thine only son, Isaac, whom thou lovest and get thee into the
land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon
one of the mountains, which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose
up early in the morning and saddled his ass and took two of his young
men with him. And Isaac, his son, enclaved
the wood for the burnt offering and rose up and went unto the
place of which God had told him. Then on the third day, Abraham
lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said
unto his young men, abide ye here with the ass and I and the
lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you. And Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son,
and he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they went both
of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham
his father and said, My father, and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire
and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And
Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a
burnt offering. So they went both of them together
and they came to the place which God had told him of. And Abraham
built an altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac,
his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. Isaac was
made to be by his father the sacrifice for sin. He carried
the wood, made the altar, he willingly crawled up on top of
that altar. That is exactly what Christ did. Exactly what Jesus
Christ did. God his father laid on him the
iniquity of all of his people and he carried that sorrow carried
all that sin up to the top of Mount Calvary. And just like
a lamb, dumb before his shearer, he did not open his mouth willingly. Now in Isaac, not only do we
see our sacrifice, we also see our deliverance. Verse 10 says,
Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his
son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven
and said, Abraham, Abraham. And he said, Here am I. And he
said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything
unto him. For now I know that thou fearest
God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from
me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes
and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket
by his horns. And Abraham went and took the
ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his
son. And Abraham called the name of
that place Jehovah-Jireh, the Lord will provide. As it is said
to this day in the mount of the Lord, it shall be seen. You want to see God provide?
Just look to the mount of the Lord. Look to the mount of Christ. That is what our God is saying
in Matthew 1.1. God has provided. God has provided. That's what
the book says. That's what every person who
sees what's in the book says. God has provided. God has provided. That's salvation. What must I
do? God has provided. It's over. They cry it now, they're going
to cry it for all eternity. We're going to close with this.
Go to Revelation 5. There truly is one message in
the Scripture. The message of Matthew 1.1 is
the message of Revelation chapter 5. Same exact message. It says in verse 1, I saw in
the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written
within and on the backside sealed with seven seals. And I saw a
strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice who is worthy to
open the book and to loose the seals thereof. And no man in
heaven or in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the
book, neither to look thereon. And I'm going to tell you, men
and women everywhere lay hold of the one and only book, trying
to see what's inside. But it's sealed with a perfect
seal, seven of them. That's the perfect number. And
they cannot see what's inside. And if Christ does not intervene,
they'll never see what's inside. They'll leave this earth having
no idea what is inside this book. And it says in verse 3, no man
in heaven or on earth, neither under the earth, was able to
open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because
no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither
to look thereon. No man was worthy to read it. No man was worthy to look at
it. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not, Behold, the
lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, David's son, hath
prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and lo, in the
midst of the throne, this one sits on the throne, this is the
son of David, in the midst of the throne, up the four beasts,
and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb." This is the son
of Abraham. "...as it had been slain, having
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God,
sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And
when he had taken the book, the four beasts and the four and
twenty elders fell down before the lamb." having every one of
them harps and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers
of saints. And they sung a new song saying,
thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof,
for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of
every kindred and tongue and people and nation. And has made
us unto our God, kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.
And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about
the throne, and the beast, and the elders, and the number of
them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands,
saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor,
and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in
heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, And such as are in
the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing
and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon
the throne and unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four
beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders
fell down and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever."
What they were saying was, thank God for that book. Thank God
for the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David,
the son of Abraham. Thank God. All right, let's all
stand together.