There are people who are included
and there are people who are excluded from this tracing the
lineage and genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm trying to get to verse 21,
but I've got to go through a lot of difficult reading to get there.
So if you think I've mispronounced a word, you're probably right. I'm going to give you the Hebrew
name instead of the Greek name that it's written in. There are
several of those that it changes drastically, the spelling and
pronunciation of their names. Let us pray. Lord, we come before you this morning with your Word opened in front
of us. We beg through the merit and
blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. that you would come help us this
day to understand what we read, to understand to some extent
why you include some things in a chapter like this and some
other things you exclude. That we might have an understanding,
a spiritual, God-given understanding. Why this book says some things
and leaves out others? And why is it that in our natural
state, no man can understand this book, nor the God who sent
it? Oh, but in your grace, by the
power of your Holy Spirit, by an act, a miraculous act of God
the Holy Ghost being born again, this book takes on new meaning. And as we come to this passage
that leads to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Lord, give us a desire to understand
these words and give this backward preacher an ability to state clearly and
plainly what we read in these verses and to apply them to ourselves
and to our precious Lord Jesus Christ. We cast ourselves upon your mercy. Nothing in us, nothing done by
us, nothing to be done by us can affect these things. We beg
for your sovereign mercy and grace poured out freely on hell-deserving
sinners, and such we truly are. We beg in our Savior's name,
amen. Alright, here we go. Of all mornings for the light to
go out above. The book of the generation of
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat
Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judah. and his
brethren, and Judah begat Phares, and Zerah of Tamar, and Phares
begat Ezram, and Ezram begat Aram, and Aram begat Amenadab,
and Amenadab begat Naasan, and Naasan begat Salmon, and Salmon
begat Boaz of Rahab, I want to come back to those few statements.
And Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse
begat David. The kingdom, David the king,
and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife
of Uriah, namely Bathsheba. And Solomon begat Rehoboam, and
Rehoboam begat Abiah, And Abiah begat Asa, and Asa begat Jehoshaphat,
and Jehoshaphat begat Joram, and Joram begat Uzziah, and Uzziah
begat Joathan, and Joathan begat Ahaz, and Ahaz begat Ezekias,
And Ezechias begat Manasseh, and Manasseh begat Ammon, and
Ammon begat Josiah, and Josiah begat Jeconiah and his brethren
about the time they were carried away to Babylon for that long-extended
captivity. And after they were brought to
Babylon, did they lose sight of this genealogy? Not at all. It continued. Jeconias begat Salathiel, and
Salathiel begat Zorobabel, and Zorobabel begat Abiad, and Abiad
begat Eliakim, and Eliakim begat Azor, and Azor begat Sadok, and
Sadok begat Achim, and Achim begat Eliad, and Eliad begat
Eleazar, and Eleazar begat Mathan, and Mathan begat Jacob, And Jacob
begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham
to David are fourteen generations. And from David to the carrying
away into Babylon are fourteen generations. And from the carrying
away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations. Now, the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise. When as his mother, Mary, was
engaged, that's what that word means in our language, we'd call
it being engaged to be married. was engaged to Joseph before
they came together, and she was found with child of the Holy
Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being
a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was
minded to put her away privately. But when he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in
a dream, saying, You son of David, fear not to take unto you Mary
your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy
Ghost, the Holy Spirit. And she shall bring forth a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus, for here is what that word means,
for he shall save his people from their sins." Now all this was done that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
namely Isaiah, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall
bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel. So it is Jesus Immanuel. which being interpreted is God
with us. In Christ, God is with us. Then Joseph, being raised from
sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him and took
unto him his wife. And knew her not in a sexual
sense, he knew her not, till she had brought forth her firstborn
son. And Joseph called his name Jesus. I want to work on that verse 21,
but before I do, I need to point out some things that you may
not have picked up on. In the third verse of Matthew
1, we run into the name of one by the name of, in the New Testament
it's Thamar, but in the Old Testament it's Tamar. Anyway, she and Phares committed incest in giving birth to Ezra, I believe, I didn't
look it up in Genesis to verify that. Then in verse 5, and Salmon
begat Boaz of Rahab the harlot. And it is significant, first
of all, that women's names even made their way into this genealogy. But to find out that several
of them had a really blacklist by their name. One of incest,
the other a prostitute in the city of Jericho. But she hid
the spies that Joshua had sent into that city before they attacked
it, and she was spared, and her family was spared as a result
thereof. So Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab, And Boaz begat Obed of Ruth. She's a Moabite woman that came
back with what's her name from the country of Moab, having lost
her husband and two of her sons. And look what happens to Ruth. And Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse
begat David the king, and David the king begat Solomon. Now,
what's the next statement after Solomon? Of her that hath been
the wife of Uriah, with whom David and she committed adultery. David even conspired and carried
it out to have her husband killed in battle, which certainly took
place. And yet, she's in the genealogy
of Christ? Well, she's got as much right
to be there as David. are a lot of little things that
we normally would not pick up on. I hope that is helpful. I
don't know about it. All right, we'll go to verse
21, Matthew chapter 1. Call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sins. He didn't come to put away everybody's
sins. He came to put away the sins
of God's elect. Christ's sheep. His people. His people. Curtis was dealing
this morning with that word, us. I kept expecting him to say something
that I've said to you many times in the past. Betty and I grew
up in a very remote place called Sampson County, Lower Sampson,
and it's definitely on the wrong side of the tracks. Anyway, there's
a little tiny, little wide spot in the road that happened to
have a railroad going through it, and there were two stores
in that little place. And somebody opened a store and
put a sign on it that says, Us's Store. Now, I don't think you've
ever seen one like that, but I have. It's no longer there,
but I still remember it. But now, not everybody is a part
of that us. I assume two or three different
people, you know, pool their resources and open the store. I don't know. That place is called
Car Station, North Carolina. And if it weren't for the railroad,
there wouldn't be anything there but one little tiny road. And
hardly anything else now, but at one time it was a lot busier
than it is presently. But this identifying who Christ's
people are is very, very important. It is most important for us to
find out If we are a part of this us that the scripture, especially
in the first chapter of Ephesians, has so much to say about. So this name of Jesus is divinely
ordered and explained in that one verse. Let me back it up. This statement, you shall call
his name Jesus, is the statement of the angel to Joseph, delivering
the message from on high that Joseph is to call this boy's
name Jesus, even though it's objected to at the time that
they circumcised the child at eight years old. There's nobody
in their family that's ever been called by this name. And they
question it. And both Mary as well as Joseph
say, His name is Jesus. And for a long time, you could
hardly find a human being that had the audacity to give that
name to one of their offspring. But I'm sure with all that's
taken place in recent memory, especially among the Spanish,
everybody and his brothers got somebody named Jesus. Just the sign of the times. I
know one thing, there ain't but one Jesus of the Bible. He made this world and all things
therein. He rules this world every single
day, every second of every day. So our Lord is given a double
name in this passage. Jesus, Emmanuel, Jesus, God with
us. To have Christ is to have God. Not to have Christ. You can't
have God. He reveals Himself in His Son.
He blesses us through His Son. In God's sight, Christ is everything. And if we have a lick of sense,
he'll be everything to us. I know one thing for sure. Nobody
but God can save a sinner. And Christ is said to be the
Savior of sinners. And yet, our Lord was actually
called Jesus by human beings like ourselves, such as Joseph
and Mary. It is quite amazing. Just look
for just a moment over to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2, Verse 21, Luke 2.21, And when eight days were accomplished,
why eight days? Because the Old Testament, when
circumcision was instituted, commanded people to circumcise
their male children when they reached eight days old. Science has found that the blood-clotting
agent in the blood is the greatest on the eighth day of a person's
life than it ever was before or since. And here's what it
says, and when eight days, this is
verse 21, Luke chapter 2, and when eight days were accomplished,
to the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which
was so named of the angels before he was conceived in the womb." That's an important statement
regarding our precious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So our
Lord was actually called Jesus. by human beings living on this
earth. All the apostles referred to
him in this language. All the writers of scripture
have certainly referred to him that cover this particular subject
and this particular name. Now, the third thing, that was
two already there. The first one is, this name is
divinely ordered and explained, and the second one was, that
our Lord was actually called Jesus by human beings like ourselves. Thirdly, this name has been typically
worn by others. For example, in the Old Testament,
the book of Joshua. Joshua is the Hebrew name for
Jesus. And Jesus is the Greek name for
the Hebrew word Joshua. If you just think about Joshua
for a minute, Jehovah is salvation. Call his name Jesus, for he shall
save his people from their sins. And there are other times in
the scripture when characters, particularly in the Old Testament,
had this particular name, this particular one. There was a high
priest under the time of Ezra and Zechariah that was named
Joshua. And as an aside, there's a statement,
I'm not going to tell you the text, I'm just going to turn
to it if I marked it. I'm not sure I did, I hope I
did. Yes, yes, yes. I'll have to tell you the reference
after I read this. For if Jesus had given them rest, Then would he not afterward have
spoken of another day?" Now, this is not properly translated
when it uses the word Jesus in this verse of Scripture. I mean,
my margin tells me, my concordance tells me, Robert Hawker tells
me, and I don't remember him anymore, this is actually speaking
of Joshua. If Joshua had given the children
of Israel the rest that can only be found in Christ, why look
for him afterwards if you already have him? This is in Hebrews 4 and verse
8. So this name has been typically
worn by others, and now it is reserved for our Lord Jesus Christ
alone. Number four, the name Jesus identifies
Christ with his people. A Christ without a people. There's
no Christ. He's the husband, he's the head
of his church. If he's bereft of his children,
what is he? But an absolute failure. It is
imperative. It cannot be changed. Christ
has always had from every generation of men to live on the face of
this earth, Christ has always had a people. Throughout the
whole of the Old Testament, throughout the history of time, until this
world is wrapped up and is no more. So this name identifies
our Lord Jesus Christ. So as a part of that one point,
I would like to ask some questions and make some comments. Who are
these people that belong to Christ? Who are they? Who are they? This is elementary, I understand,
but it has to be stated. Without exception, every last
one of Christ's bride, of his sheep, of his church, every last
one of them need to be saved. Not one of them can save themselves. So when people talk about loving
Jesus, and they don't even know they've ever been lost, if they
talk about loving God when they've never found out that they're
born hating God, something's wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. The gospel is for sinners. and nobody but sinners. And we
might add, if we truly get the picture, the gospel is made for
the chief of sinners, and Paul the Apostle was quick to put
himself in that category. No wonder it says that Jesus
means he shall save his people from their sins. We must be washed
in the Savior's blood, for there is no remission. or putting away
of sin. Some people are kind of shy when
it comes to talking about blood, but this must be for every one
of God's elect, it is an exception. I know some really big guys that
I can take one of my insulin needles and do like that and
they just wilt. But I'm telling you when it comes to the gospel,
Without the blood of Christ being shed in our behalf, we will perish. We cannot do otherwise. Modern hymnals are rapidly taking
this out of the hymn books. But the editors of the hymn books,
they didn't start this mess. They're simply reflecting what
they're hearing preached. And I'm telling you that this
country at one time believed the God of the Bible and worshipped
the God of the Bible. And then gradually, slowly, it
began to erode. And it started in the pulpit. I know because I was born and
raised on that false gospel. And I'm thankful to God for being
delivered. So the question is, do we need
saving? We must be washed in the Savior's
blood. The link between my soul and
Christ is not my goodness, but my badness. It's not my merit,
but my misery. It's not my standing, it's my
falling. It's not my riches, it's my poverty,
it's not my beauty, it's my deformities. Not to reward my virtues, but
to forgive my sins. Forgive my sins. People who do
not see themselves sinners cannot know the God of the Bible. Simply
can't. Never have. Not in any generation. My soul, the very first two offspring
that were born in this world, though it took place out of the
garden, between Adam and Eve. She had just had that wonderful
promise that said, the seed of the woman shall bruise the head
of the serpent, referring to Satan. And the very first child
that she gave birth to, She said, I've gotten a man from the Lord. The Messiah is here. Oh no. Turned out this was not the case. Not the case. And then she gave
birth to Abel. And Abel turned out to be one
of God's elect. And his brother was so jealous
of him, that he killed him, because he refused to worship
God as God declares himself to be worshiped. We don't choose
the rules and regulations that regard our worship. The name J-E-S-U-S declares Christ's
main work, which is to save. Now, this time I'll give you
the scripture reference, 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 18. Now, if you don't want to turn,
that's all right. You won't hurt my feelings one bit. 1 Peter 3, verse 18. For Christ also has once suffered
for sins, the just or the unjust, that he might bring us to God
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. That is a very plain statement
indeed. It is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Let me give you one more out
of Galatians chapter 3. Now, there are statements similar
to these all over the New Testament. It's not hard to find. If you'll
just read a few chapters out of your Bibles, you'll run into
these glorious statements regarding our precious Savior and Redeemer,
the Lord Jesus. Galatians 3, verse 13, Christ
has, has, that's past tense, Hath, he has, redeemed us from
the curse of the law. And yet people who claim to be
believers in Christ are boasting that they keep the law. Well,
if you can do that, Christ didn't need to die for you. And therefore,
you must be lying because no human being except the God-man
Christ Jesus has ever kept this law. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written,
Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree. So this word, Jesus, describes
the primary work of our Lord Jesus Christ in coming into this
world, in assuming a human nature, in living in this world some
thirty-three years, and then going to the cross and to the
grave, and then risen from the grave and ascended to glory.
My goodness! Why did he come? Why did he endure
such awful treatment at the hands of human beings? Because he came
to do what? To save his people from their
sins. Now this name is perfectly justified
by looking at the facts that are revealed in the New Testament
in our Bibles. Spurgeon in one of his sermons
writes, about a person that died and
was buried in a cemetery that for some reason, maybe he was
conducting a funeral for somebody in that same graveyard or whatever.
But he passed this monument and it just struck his attention.
It says Methuselah Coney, last name C-O-N-E-Y. Methuselah. Lived how many years? Nine hundred
and sixty-seven. Long time. And then it said,
died age six months. Now what I'm trying to tell you
is this. The titles, the honors, the glory that belongs to Christ
is rightfully his. You don't have to worry about
his failing. We're all failures. But not him. Not him. You know the problem
with religion in our day, especially professing Christianity? Their
God is too small. You could put him in a matchbox.
But the Jesus of the Bible, this whole universe cannot contain
him. How wonderful! How glorious! Oh, goodness. The Lord Jesus
saves. This earth knows it. He was imprisoned
for three days in that tomb. hates it. I just read to you Wednesday night or last Sunday
about the man in Mark's gospel, I believe it was, that had so many devils occupying
his soul and cut himself and did everything unto the Son.
Men could not tame him no matter what they had to say or did.
And our Lord came, and those demons were cast out. If Satan is not subject to Christ,
then we're just whistling Dixie. We're just playing. I'm telling
you, the Christ of this book is God. He's the only God we'll
ever see, even in eternity. It will be Christ and Him crucified. Heaven chants this song. You
can find it in the Revelation. Time is a witness to it, and
eternity will most certainly reveal it. Finally, this name
is Christ's personal name forever. It's not a temporary name. It
is forever and ever and ever and ever. And looking back the
other way, it's been forever and ever and ever. It's always
been. It's always been. When God, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit form that blessed covenant of grace in
old eternity, the Savior, the Lord Jesus, the Savior of sinners,
is the centerpiece of that covenant. It is Christ whom he crucified. Jesus is his death name. Even Pilate put it on top of
his cross. This is Jesus of Nazareth. It is our Lord's resurrection
name. It is his gospel name, such as
Matthew 1.21. If we belong to him, we will
meet in glory and it will still be his name in heaven. What a
name! What a name! She shall bring forth a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins. Now to take that statement and
try to make it universal, that it put away everybody's sin,
if that's how you read your Bible,
you just well quit reading it. Because you can't understand
it like that. If it says he died to put away
the sins of his people, that's exactly who he died for. And
to try to make it universal, Supposedly with the motive of
making Christ greater, instead of accomplishing that, you make
him worthless. Worthless! Call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. And if we have
the true Christ, then we have Emmanuel, God, with us. God with us. Let's do the red book.