As we prepare to hear God's Word read and preached, let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Word, your Word which points us to your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask that your Holy Spirit would work mightily to open eyes, open ears, open hearts to receive Christ. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Matthew chapter one, beginning in verse one, this is the Word of God. the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar. Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amminadab. Amminadab begot Nashon, and Nashon begot Salmon. Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab. Boaz begot Obed by Ruth. Obed begot Jesse. And Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam. Rehoboam begot Abijah. Abijah begot Asa. Asa begot Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat begot Joram. And Joram begot Uzziah. Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Ammon, and Ammon begot Josiah. Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon. And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Akeem, and Akeem begot Eliud. Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. And Jacob begot Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called the Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David are 14 generations. From David until the captivity in Babylon are 14 generations. And from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are 14 generations. This is God's Word. Please be seated. Dear people of God, I think you can agree with me when I say not one of us likes to wait. Not one of us likes to wait for something which we want. We are an impatient people, and often we want what we want right now, and we have a very difficult time waiting for things. Maybe even some of the children here had a hard time waiting for Christmas as the days rolled by moving towards December 25th. When's it going to come? But it finally did come, didn't it? For today is December 27th, two days after Christmas. But we are a generation which might be called the fast food generation. We want what we want and we want it right now. time waiting for things. And if you have to wait a long time for something that you really want, and time keeps ticking by, and it keeps going on and on and on, you may become even discouraged, even begin to think maybe what I'm waiting for will never come. It will never be here. And you may even begin to doubt whether or not you should wait any longer. Well, our God Our God, who is a patient and long-suffering God, who works according to a perfect timetable, is a God who always comes through right on time. Though it may seem that we have to wait a very long time for Him to come through, with regard to His promises. But today as we look at God's Word in Matthew chapter 1, we see that the Lord would announce something to you and me about His promise, His central promise in all of Scripture. a promise which was made thousands of years prior to it coming to pass. And what is it that God announces in verses 1 through 17 of Matthew chapter 1? Well, the Lord announces that His long-awaited promise has now come to pass. That's what we really learn. That's the heart of verses 1 through 17 in Matthew chapter 1. that the Lord announces to you and me today that His long-awaited promise has now come to pass. And how does He announce this to you and to me today? Well, first of all, He announces this in a peculiar way. Secondly, He announces this with a painful reminder. And lastly, He announces this with a particular, precise focus. And so the Lord, our Lord, announces to us that His long-awaited promise has now come to pass. First of all, in a peculiar way. In a peculiar way. God announces that his long-awaited promise comes to pass by means of a long genealogy. That's the peculiar way in which this announcement is made to you and to me. And as you hear this genealogy read, as you had to stand and listen to me read through all those names, some of them easier to pronounce, some of them harder to pronounce. What's your perspective? What's your reaction to this genealogy, which begins the opening chapter of the New Testament? Well, if you're typical, you might think about the genealogy something like this. Why is it here? Why can't we just get on with the story? The genealogy seems like an interruption to a good story. It's kind of like Uncle Steve comes over for Christmas, and he's telling this great story, and there's little nephew Stevie. who is three and a half years old. And Uncle Steve's trying to tell this exciting story about what happened three weeks ago in his family home back in California. And there's little, little Stevie. There he is, interrupting the story because he has a little three-eighths inch long thread sticking out from his sweater. And he keeps interrupting, asking somebody to, to deal with the thread. And we can think about genealogies like that, that there's somehow an interruption to a good story. Or maybe you can think about genealogies as being dull and boring, if anything's calculated to put you to sleep. Certainly it must be the reading of a long genealogy. Maybe you even had trouble staying awake as I read from Genesis chapter five and as I read from Matthew chapter one. We might even be tempted to think that the genealogies are grueling and even painful to read through. And maybe you're one who has made a commitment to read through the entire Bible from cover to cover, and you start out in Genesis chapter one, and you read about the creation of all things by the word of God's power. and you read about the creation of our first parents, Adam and Eve, and you get to Genesis chapter 3, and the story is marching along, and you're right there in the garden, and you're there telling Eve, don't eat it! Don't eat the fruit! But she does. And you make it through Genesis chapter 3, and then you begin to see the effects of sin in the very family of Adam and Eve, where we have the first murder, the first fratricide in the Bible, where Cain kills Abel. And you're saying, boy, this story is gripping. And then you get to Genesis chapter 5. And you have this long, tedious, even painful genealogy that you have to read through. Adam begot Seth, and Seth begot Enosh, and Enosh begot... And you're falling asleep and you're wondering, can I really keep up reading through the Bible? But you get through it, and you get to Genesis chapter 6, and you read about God's just judgment upon the whole world, sending a worldwide flood to destroy all flesh except for Noah and his family. It's a gripping account of God's interaction with his creation and with his image bearers. Mankind made in his image. But then what happens? You get to Genesis chapter 10 and 11, and then there are two more chapters of genealogies. Oh, can I really make it through them? But you plow through and you keep reading, and then you get to Genesis chapter 22, and there's another genealogy. And then you get to chapter 25, and chapter 36, and Exodus chapter 6, and Numbers chapter 1, and Numbers chapter 2, and Numbers chapter 7, and 10, and 13, and 26, and 34. Why do these genealogies keep interrupting the good story? They seem so grueling and painful. And you come to Joshua chapter seven, another genealogy, Joshua 13, Ruth chapter four, and then you're still plowing ahead. You get to first Chronicles. Whew, made it this far. And then you just kind of look ahead at what you're gonna read. And there are nine straight chapters of genealogies. What are they here for? What is it that God is trying to teach us? What is He showing to us? Why did the Holy Spirit inspire these words and include them in His revelation to us? Well, you make it through the Old Testament. And I didn't even mention all the chapters in the Old Testament that have genealogy, and you say, whew, finally, done. And I come to the New Testament. I open up to Matthew chapter 1 and there's another genealogy right at the beginning of chapter 1. Grueling, even painful to have to read through these genealogies. Why the interruptions? But I ask you this morning, what if you were to turn things around? Even turn this perspective of genealogies on its head? What if you saw the narratives of the Bible, the stories, as the interruptions? You say, what? What if you saw the stories of the Bible as interruptions to the genealogies? But actually, the main plot line is the genealogy. And all the stories are interruptions to the main plot line. What if you saw things that way? That God is up to pointing out to you the main plot line which is going somewhere. Genealogies which are going to a particular address. Which are driving to a particular end point. that are in fact emphasizing God's principal promise to you and to me, that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. The serpent who was the occasion of tempting our first parents into sin in the garden and plunging the entire human race into an estate of sin and misery underneath of the condemnation of God. That the seed of the woman is what we're looking for. And these genealogies are all looking for the one to come. When will he come? And all of the narratives, all of the stories in the Bible, we might say, are interruptions to the main plot line, where we're trying to get to the seed who has been promised to come to undo all that our first father did. What if you saw the genealogies like that? And I suggest to you, you should. And you should be thankful to God that we see so many genealogies and even the beginning of the New Testament and the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ being embedded in a genealogy, which is, in fact, the continuation of the single storyline of the Bible to get us to the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, the son of God. become flesh. Oh yes, here is the streamlined plot of the entire Bible. And God uses the genealogies to get our attention focused upon the seed who was promised to come and now has come. He's here. All those genealogies coming to a climax. in the coming of Jesus of Nazareth. And so our Lord announces that His long-awaited promise has now come to pass, and He does so in a peculiar way by means of these long genealogies. But He does so, secondly, with a painful reminder. With a painful reminder. The genealogies of the Bible present another message to us as well. What's the other message that the genealogies drive home like hammer blows to us? Well, the other message that the genealogies drive home like hammer blows to us is that death is in this world. Death. Mankind was not created to die. God created mankind to live. But because Adam sins, death is in the world. And the wages of sin is death. And the genealogies forcefully remind us again and again and again of the dreadful curse that we are under. Death. Everlasting death. Death, in fact, seems to reign with a sly grin on its face throughout all the genealogies. Death overtakes every generation. A painful and relentless message is proclaimed in the genealogies that death leaves every generation, every nation, every city, every town, every neighborhood, every household, every family bereaved. And the genealogies drive this home with emphasis, with force. As you read through the genealogies, it's like the nailing shut of a lid on a box, but not just any ordinary box. It's like the nailing shots of the lid of a coffin, each nail being set and driven home by the hammer. And he died. And he died. And he died. And he died. That's how the first genealogy is set up. So all the days of Adam were so many years, and he died. All the days of Seth were so many years, and he died. All the days of Enosh were so many years, and he died. And we could add other names, couldn't we? Even names here today, all the days of Becky, were so many days and she died. All the days of Dan were so many days and he died. Like relentless hammer blows, the genealogies remind us of the curse which we are all under because of Adam's sin and because of our own personal sinfulness and because of our own personal sins which we commit each and every day. A painful reminder because of what one man did, we all die. The fate of all mankind is now sealed in a box to be buried six feet under. A painful reminder. A painful reminder. Here in Matthew chapter 1, there are 42 generations of death and futility. And the question arises, where is the one who will break the chain? Where is the one who will overcome the curse? Where is he? It's interesting, Lamech, Noah's father, in Genesis chapter five, named his son Noah. And the name Noah means rest. Rest. And you remember what Lamech said? Perhaps, maybe, maybe this one will give us rest from all of our weariness and the curse. But Noah didn't give rest. No. Maybe Abraham. Abraham didn't give rest. Maybe David. David didn't give rest. Maybe Josiah, one of the godliest kings in the Old Testament, could not give rest. There's a painful reminder, you see, and there's a longing for one to come to undo the curse which came to us all through one man. Where now is the one man in whom blessing will come instead of cursing? Why the genealogies? There's like a searching, a straining, a longing, a grasping for the seed of the woman to come. Year after year, decade after decade, century after century, millennium after millennium, the people of God wait. But what does God announce to us today? He has come. Hallelujah. He has come. The waiting is over. He has come. And this leads us to our last point this morning. As the Lord announces that His long-awaited promise has now come to pass, He does so not only in this peculiar way through the genealogies, not only with a painful reminder, but lastly, with a precise focus. a precise focus. The one whom we have been waiting for has now come. The seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David has come. He has come God had said to Abraham, I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you. And in you, all the families of the earth shall be blessed. In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. God said to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7, when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And the blessed one has now come with blessing in his hand. You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He has come. And the very genealogy of Matthew chapter one arrives at the appointed specific address, Jesus. It's in fact emphasized in the passage, the pattern is broken. If you read it carefully, you'll see that there's a very consistent pattern in Matthew chapter one. We have Abraham begot, Isaac begot, Jacob begot, Judah begot, Perez begot, Hezron begot, Ram begot. I'm not going to read through the whole thing again. But look what happens when we come to verse 15. Elihud begot, Eleazar begot, Matthan begot, Jacob begot, Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called the Christ. The pattern breaks. Something new under the sun has arrived. Oh, Ecclesiastes says there's nothing new under the sun. Oh, but verse 8, verse 16 of Matthew chapter 1 tells us there is something new under the sun. The sun has come down to dwell amongst us. The Son of God. with healing in his wings, takes to himself a true human nature, a true body and a reasonable soul, being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her without sin, to be what? The spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is come. And there is a precise focus upon Him, the Christ, the anointed one, the appointed one, the Messiah. He has come. Think of the songs that we sing around this season. Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free, Israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the earth thou art. We often sing, O come, O come, Emmanuel, O come, O come, thou rod of Jesse, and free thine own from Satan's tyranny, from depths of hell thy people save, and give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel. Not shall come. He has come. He's come for us. He's come for you that you might put your hope, your faith, your confidence, your all in Him. All the generations were waiting for Him. And He is here. He has come to live the life which we cannot live, a life of fulfilling all righteousness and to die the death of the damned for us. A death which we could never endure but must endure. But He has done it in our place. And He has broken the bonds of death. He is risen. And because He lives, we shall live too. Is this your hope today? Is this your confidence? This is what God announces to you today. That His long-awaited promise has now come to pass. But how can we apply this? Let me suggest to you three applications as we come to a close here today. The first is this, that God's promise to you can be trusted. God's word of promise to you is trustworthy. How many generations lived and died without having seen the promise fulfilled. How many were tested and tried in their faith as to whether or not God would hold true to His promise? And yet many died in faith, believing that God, who had promised, would indeed fulfill His word. Having never seen the promise fulfilled, they died in faith, trusting the Lord. How about you? How much more you today can you know for sure that God's word of promise is trustworthy for you? That it's not just some la-la land promise which we find in the Bible, but that it is a rock solid promise which you can build your life on. that God's promises are yea and amen in Jesus Christ, the motherlode promise of promises. Your confidence in your faith needs to be strengthened today as God announces to you that his promise has come to pass. But secondly, secondly, you need to see that death pains, which lead to damnation, can be transformed into birth pains, which lead to everlasting life. What do I mean? I've already said that the genealogies emphasize this painful reminder of death. Without the coming of the seed of the woman to undo the damnation of death, There is no hope. There is only the prospect of bleakness. There is only the prospect of despair. But because this one has come, we are told that the death pains which lead to damnation can be transformed into birth pains which lead unto everlasting life. There's a big difference between death pains and birth pains. When somebody is moving towards death, the pain perhaps intensifies. Maybe we seek to medicate them so that the pain is not so excruciating. But those death pains are leading to a demise, to the dust, and to damnation. But birth pains, Birth pains which can be excruciating, which can last for hour upon hour. And some of you women here today know that much better than I could ever tell you. Birth pains, by God's mercy, lead to the expectation of life. New life. New life. And because the Christ, the Messiah has come, All the pains and difficulties and trials, all the suffering which you experience in this world can be transformed from the prospect of death and damnation to but birth pains leading to life. That's how Romans 8 puts it. Romans 8 says the whole creation groans and travails in birth pains. waiting for the public adoption of the sons of God when they will be revealed. Birth pains have an expectation of life. And God, by His grace, you see, transforms all the difficulties and trials, setbacks, disappointments, from that which destroys to that which strengthens, and that which prepares you for life, for entrance into life. But a last application today is that here in this passage, there's a word for the weary, isn't there? A word for the weary. Are you weary of waiting? Are you downcast and troubled by certain particular events in your life? Are you tempted to lose hope? Are you struggling today to see how all the pieces fit together? There's a word here for the weary. How so? Well, think about what we said. The narratives of the Bible actually only have purpose and meaning as they're connected to the genealogies. Because the genealogy is in fact the trunk of the tree, which has life in it because it leads to Christ. The narratives need to be seen as connected to the tree trunk to have any meaning whatsoever. And just because the seed of the woman has now come doesn't mean that you don't personally need to be connected also to that tree trunk. It's very easy to, as it were, have things collapse on you And you unable to see anything but your own story. And to grow weary and discouraged and troubled and downcast. But what needs to happen? You, as it were, need to get your head above water and see that your story is connected to the story. To the tree trunk. that your life takes on meaning as it's connected to this much bigger story of what God is up to, that your personal story only finds significance in its connection to Christ's story. In The Hobbit, the hobbit and the dwarves are going through Mirkwood Forest. It's dark. It's murky. It's dreary. The air is heavy. It's thick. They've lost orientation. They don't know which way is east and which way is west, which way is north and which way is south. They are having trouble putting one foot in front of the other. And what do they need? They need somebody to climb up top and to get his head above the trees and to see that the sun is still shining. To see that there is a breeze which refreshes. And isn't it true that that's what you and I need? We can get so bogged down and, as it were, covered with a blanket and we can't see But what needs to happen? We need to, as it were, get our head above the trees. And we need to see this big picture that God announces to you and to me today, that my life has significance as it's connected to this genealogy, which has the destination of Jesus Christ. Do you see your need today? Do you see God's provision today? Are you tired of waiting? Wait no more. He who is to come has come and He's coming again. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your promise beginning in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15 and coming to fulfillment in the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ of the Virgin Mary. And we thank you and we praise you that your promises are trustworthy. Not only of Christ's first coming, but we can trust you wholeheartedly that Christ is coming again and that where he is, we shall be too. And we pray, our God, that we might see that the troubles and trials of our lives, the reminder of death and decay and despair should drive us to him who transforms these things into birth pains leading to life. Father, we pray, I pray, especially today for those who are weary, that they, Lord, would see that their story needs to be connected to this story in a dramatic way. Grant, O Lord, faith to be strengthened today in our hearts. Grant us repentance to turn away from the things which cannot satisfy. Grant, Lord, faith to be created where it is absent today. May we look and see that you are the God who keeps your promises. And may we trust you and know that in Christ, there is all that we need. We pray these things in his name. Amen.