In your Bibles, we turn to Ruth chapter 4. This is the last leg of our journey through Ruth, Ruth chapter 4. We finished our Christmas series or our Advent series this morning on the book of Ruth. I hope you've enjoyed the series as much as I have. I've learned a bunch along the way. We've looked deep into this Old Testament story, and what we have seen is the Christmas story staring back right at us. It is the last one, so let me just remind you of some of the things we've discovered along the way, alright? In chapter 1, we saw that Ruth is the story of a young woman, who made a radical commitment of faith to God, and then journey to faith where Bethlehem, I'm sorry, where she gave birth to a child who would change the world. And that, just the parallel with Mary, is obvious and undeniable. We also saw in Ruth chapter 2, that it also includes a righteous man who offered kindness, protection and provision to a young woman in her time of need. And you need to connect the dots, right, to Joseph in the Christmas story. Because remember, even though Christmas is behind us, And it just feels like Christmas has been so long ago already, right? I don't know about you, it's only the 29th, it's only been 4 days. But boy, it doesn't seem like it's rear view, I'm like, oh my word. But we say it, so let me say it one last time here, alright? If Christmas doesn't lead you to Calvary, what? You missed the point, and hopefully Ruth has helped us seeing that. Especially last time, we saw in chapter 3 verse 1 through chapter 4 verse 10, that Ruth is the story of a kinsman redeemer, who redeemed his beloved from a desperate situation at great cost to himself. And in the story, it refers to Boaz. But in the Christmas story, we're talking about none other than the Lord Jesus Christ, who redeems his bride, he redeems his beloved at great cost to himself. In chapter 1, we saw how Naomi leaves Bethlehem and she leaves full. She has a husband, a couple of sons, the sons marry, yet then the husband dies, the sons die. And she's left with just one of the two daughter-in-laws and her name is Ruth. And she returns to Bethlehem, there's nothing else in Moab. So she returns and when she gets there, the folks in Bethlehem say in chapter 1, verses 20, can this be Naomi? And she replies, don't call me Naomi, call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. So the book opens with the emptying of Ruth. But we saw through the remaining chapters leading up to this morning, that God is faithful and slowly but surely the hand of God has been at work and has been restoring Naomi. First, in the fact that she has her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Next, through the hand of God, we saw Boaz and we saw he's that kinsman redeemer. He's that family member that can serve as a kinsman redeemer. He can marry into the family and carry on the family line. So you see the hand of God at work there. When we left last time, chapter 4, verse 10, Boaz has just cleared the final legal hurdle. Remember the sandal incident. All right, the sandal incident and that stood in the way of him marrying Ruth and redeeming Naomi's family. But there's still one big deal missing on the screen there. The story will not be complete unless Ruth bears Boaz's son to carry on the family name. Yeah, so what? So boy met girl. And boy fall in love with girl, and they both married, and they lived happily ever after. But the story doesn't make sense, doesn't come to its climax, unless Ruth bears a son. Now, here's the catch. Will Ruth have a son? Can she even bear children? Remember, she had been married for 10 years. And there's nothing in the Bible that says that she had a son. In fact, if she would have had a son, it would have been a different story to read. But can she? Can she? What happens if she's barren? You and I have the benefit of reading this and we have the end of the story. But if you're reading this, if you're living this, you're going, well, okay, great. They've met so far and here it is. But what happens if she can't? Because everything hinges now on the birth, not only of a baby, but it needs to be a baby boy. There's a number of surprises along the way, and the big reveal is yet to come. And we'll show that, we'll see that at the end. But before we begin, let me give you my sermon summary, what I hope you get out of all this. On the screen, Ruth chapter 4, verses 11 through 22, tells the story of a child in the line of Judah, who was born as a Redeemer, setting the stage for the arrival of the ultimate Redeemer, the Messiah. God works through sacrificial love and seemingly impossible circumstances to bring about redemption through a baby who was born in Bethlehem. Nothing else, I want you guys to walk away with this. This is my goal, this is my aim. As I present to you the study, as we study together, you walk away going, okay, it wasn't just blabbering, it wasn't a TED talk. This is not a TED talk. If this was a TED talk, I would tell you to stay home. This is you and me studying God's Word together, waiting for Him to do a work in our hearts and impressing upon us how we should live in light of what we learn. So let's dig in. And we ask and answer the question, what child is this? Because we know a child is going to be born. But what child is this? The first thing is, this child is born in the line of Judah. You see it there in verses 11 and 12. He's born in the line of Judah. Boaz has just declared himself as the Redeemer, the one who can restore the family line. And especially because of his relationship to Naomi's deceased husband. And now the elders and those at the town gate respond as witnesses. We pick up the story in verses 11 and we see 2 things in the response that the city elders at the gate Give to Boaz. Number one, there's a blessed... They pray, they desire a blessed future. Look at verse 11. Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together build up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem. Stop there. Stop there. They pray for two things. You see it there in verse 11? What's the first thing? Talk to me. Talk to me. What's the first thing? Your Bible's like my Bible, and I read just what you just read, so what's the first thing? I'm sorry? That's right. It's a prayer for great fruitfulness. It's not just bears a child, it's great fruitfulness in the marriage. Because who do they compare? Right. Is that a big deal to the Jews? Rachel and Leah? Of course it is. It is through those 2 women and their handmaidens that the nation of Israel comes to existence. They built up the whole house of Israel. And therefore now the townspeople say, may she be just as equal of a blessing to you as Rachel and Leah have been to the nation of Israel. Secondly, what's the second thing in verse 11 that they pray for? Not only fruitfulness in marriage, but they prosper. What about Boaz? that he will be good standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Ephrathah is just another word for Bethlehem. So they're praying that Boaz's name will always be known in this town. And God answered those prayers in ways that they could have never imagined. Because God is always at work. When you and I don't see Him doesn't mean that He's not at work. He's doing a million things like we've shared with you before. As Piper says, He's doing a million things. You and I get to see just a handful. But He's doing a million things even this moment. In your life, in my life, and in lives across this world. You see, Ruth would give birth to a child. Just like Rachel and Leah gave birth to children who built up the nation of Israel, Ruth would give birth to a child, and one of those child's descendants would form a people, the people of God, from every tribe, every nation, and every language. Boaz will not only be famous in Bethlehem, but thousands of years later, from this pulpit and in this house of worship, his name is being mentioned. That's how God works. That's how God works, a blessed future. But now don't only think of that, look at verse 12, there's a scandalous past. He says, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young man. And we go like, hey, that's still a blessing. Yeah, but there's a little bit of scandal there. A little bit of a... I mean, if you know your Old Testament, specifically Genesis 38 and 39, why is this scandalous? Why is this scandalous? Talk to me about Tamar and Perez, who's a twin by the way, but of the both twins, the more famous one, the one that's mentioned here is Perez. So talk to me, why am I saying that this is a scandalous past? Yeah, you can't make this up. If you and I were writing the Bible, we would not have included Genesis 30 and 39. So you have Tamar, whose husband also dies. And then the kinsmen redeemer are from Judah, and there's 2 brothers, and one is reluctant and Judah forbids the other. So what does Tamar do? Yes, as one of religious prostitutes along the way, Judah and his travels, does a side trip and he gets her pregnant. And out of that scandal come twins, which one is Perez. See, Jesus' family line does include some scandals. It does. It's not picture perfect. You know why? Because none of our lives here are picture perfect. So this is why he's saying that and he's showing us this. Listen, the parallel between Ruth and Tamar are right there. Let me give you some of them on the screen. Number one, Ruth and Tamar were both foreigners who had married into Israel. The first husbands of both women died, leaving them widows. Tamar seduced Judah under the cover of a disguise, but Ruth encouraged Boaz under the cover of night. When Judah and Tamar appeared before a public tribunal, they were ashamed and condemned. But when Boaz and Ruth did so, they received praise and blessing. In both cases, the husbands were considerably older than the wives. Both women, however, bore sons in the Davidic messianic line, Ruth honorably and Tamar dishonorably. Tamar bore Perez, literally. a breach, and Ruth bore Obed, literally, he who serves. Obed lived up to his personality trait name by serving as Boaz and Ruth's son, and as Naomi's grandson, and as a link to David. See, there's scandal. Even from there, even from this story, there's a scandal, but there's also a great promise. Where do we find a promise? Genesis chapter 49, on the screen there, "...the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and the obedience of the nations is his." Referring to the Messiah. Boaz is in the line of Judah, descended from Tamar and Perez. So his child is one of the children of promise. So even in the midst of what looks like a disaster and a scandal, God is redeeming, redeeming people. So here we have, what child is this? A child born in the line of Judah. Number two, what child is this? It's a child born a Redeemer. Verses 13 through 17. Again, don't miss the parallels between Ruth and the Christmas story. Number one, a miraculous conception. Look at verse 13. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he went into her and the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son. Now, we're not specifically told that Ruth was barren, but she had not born a child yet. It says here, again, we don't know if she's unable to bear children, but she hasn't. But look, the key here is that the Lord gave her conception. And that was a miraculous conception. The parallel to Mary is that there's an immaculate conception. The reality is that what was not expected happens. Now the difference between Ruth and the Christmas story is seen when you place Ruth chapter 4 and Matthew 1 side by side. I've done that for you there on the screen. Ruth chapter 4, So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he went into her and the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son. Matthew chapter 1, when Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until he had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. The two passages are similar wording. What's the big difference? It's right there before you. Let me turn, let me make sure. Yep, it's right there before you. Has to do with biology. There's kids present, so just keep it PG. That's right. That's right. And if you didn't hear the word letters S-E-X, that's too bad for you. Right? The difference. In Ruth's story, natural biology happens, but God grants the conception. In Mary's story, there's none. And that's to preserve. The virgin birth matters. Because Jesus did not come from regular generation. It was from supernatural generation. Because if he comes from regular generation, then he's a sinner like you and me. And sinners can't redeem sinners. Only God can redeem sinners. So the virgin birth matters. So when you come across someone that says the virgin birth doesn't matter, you look at them and go, yes, it does. Yes, it does. That's what happens there. The reality is that the Lord enabled both to conceive. So you see that there's a miraculous conception. But the child is a child redeemer. Verses 14 and 15. Then the woman said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer. And may His name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to Him. Early on, Boaz is the Redeemer. Now the child is the Redeemer. And notice the prayer for this child. The elders have prayed that Boaz would be of great renown. And here they say the same thing. May his name be renowned in all of Israel. He's the one. And he comes from Ruth, who's better to you than seven sons. What a blessing so far we're seeing. What child is this? A child born in the land of Judah, a child born Redeemer, who's yes, yes, a miraculous conception. He is a child Redeemer. And look at verses 16 and 17, a son, a son for Naomi. Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the woman of the neighborhood gave him a name saying, a son has been born to Naomi. They named him. They named him. Boy, let me tell you, I don't know about you, but did you ask your neighbors to name your kid? I know I didn't. I was in Little Havana. I was not going to take that risk. Can you imagine? They would have said, who knows what? Who knows what? Right? But they said, they said, all right? They named him Obed, and he was the father of Jesse, the father of David. So here you have Naomi now has a son full circle now. She's as as full and complete as when she first left Now God has done a work She's no longer considering herself Mara a bitter now. She is She's pleasant. She's Naomi Has a son born in the line of Judah born as a child Redeemer, but did you catch verse? This is the big reveal here Okay, verse 17 at the end. They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse the father of That's the big reveal. That's the big reveal. Okay? These are probably the most beautiful verses in the chapter because Naomi is now redeemed. Now she can hold her head high. She's like, wow, God is not against me. God is for me. But the bigger of the two is that Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David, here is the grandfather of King David being born. This is fantastic. Magnificent. What child is this? Child born in line of Judah, born a Redeemer. And lastly, On the screen, this child sets the stage. I put is, right? Yeah, poor English. I should have gone to English class more often. This child sets the stage. We take out the is. Sets the stage for the birth of the future king. The future king. Again, Ruth is not only the story of a child who was born as a Redeemer, but he sets the stage for the ultimate Redeemer, the Messiah himself. Look at it. You have the genealogy of David, verses 18 through 22. And it says there, Now these are the generations of Perez. Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Aminadab, Aminadab fathered Nashon, Nashon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. This is the rest of the story. This extension here of the genealogy of David is added by the writer, just to make sure that you and I don't miss the point. Because you could have missed it in verse 17. And he goes, well, let me give you a few more verses of the genealogies. And if you know Jews, if you know your Old Testament history, your Old Testament genealogies were confirmed. The lineage, what confirmed the blue blood, what confirmed who you were. They had to be able to trace it. So that's what the writer does. So you and I can sit here comfortably today, thousands of years later, know that the veracity of what the Bible says is true. That the Bible is true. That He who was born, was born as the grandfather of King David. And He traces it back, all the way back to Paris. There's the genealogy of Boaz, there's the genealogy of David, but don't miss it. In here sets the stage for the genealogy of Christ. You may not see it here in Ruth, but on the screen there's Matthew chapter 1, and there's some familiarity as we read that. Look at it with me. And Judah, the father of Perez, and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nashon, and Nashon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king, and David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. Right there the genealogy of Christ, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Because God doesn't make exceptions. God saves the worst of sinners. There was a blessed future and a scandalous past. It is He, Jesus, who comes, born in a manger, but grows up, lives the perfect life, so He can die the perfect death. He came and identified with sinful humanity, so He can provide humanity redemption. Second chance now listen Naomi Boaz and Ruth didn't know they were part of a bigger story You might be part of a bigger story for your own family That's why your testimony is so important. That's why how you live your life is so important. We have families here, and I love to see the families of the young kids. And by the way, families, aren't you blessed by those gospel goody bags? Praise the Lord for those, right? Again, you have not left your children to what Joaquin and I probably, and we got three PKs right here. We formed that crazy triangle. All right, the crazy triangle. All right, PK is left to ourselves, just a bulletin and boredom and our crazy imaginations. Okay, no, no, they have that. But here, you and I have that, you're a bigger part. Who knows as you parents are training up your children, who knows their children's children, your grandchildren, your great-grandchildren, who they'll grow up to be before the Lord. They didn't know this. They didn't know that we'd be studying their lives and their connection to the story of salvation thousands of years later. That their names would be uttered from my lips, from your lips, in this place. You never know. Your life before Christ and how you live it does make a difference. So live it, not only as we end this year, but as we start next year and throughout next year. Live it in a way that's honorable, that brings glory and much worth to the one who redeemed you, who died on your behalf. That's what we have. That's what we have. God was working quietly behind the scenes, preparing for Jesus to be born on that first Christmas. And it was gospel of good news. The angel said it. Luke chapter 2 on the screen there. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you gospel, good news of great joy, that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. That's the story of Ruth. And that's how it connects to the story of Christmas. So what can we take with us this morning before we turn our attention towards the Lord's Supper? Let me just leave you a few things. A couple of truths to ponder. Number one, Ruth's story shows how God overcomes the obstacles that stand in the way of our redemption. There were obstacles left and right in the story of Ruth. There were obstacles left and right in our own redemption. We refer to that a little bit in the Christmas Eve service. Christmas is war. Christmas is not just these lights and whatever you received and whatever credit card bill is coming now in January. Christmas is not that. Christmas is war. Christmas is God keeping his promise made in Genesis 3. And when we read it in Matthew 1 and Matthew 2 and Luke chapter 2, the God who made a promise kept it against all odds. Even hell itself came against him. But you know what? He couldn't conquer because God has no equal. God has no rival. So even though you and I sang these past Sundays, Silent Night, Holy Night, it was far from that. Satan opposed himself time and time again, but God worked it still out. Just as he saw that Ruth would be redeemed by Boaz and from their union would come the grandfather of King David, from him in the line of David, 2 Samuel 7, would come the Messiah. Number two, Ruth's story illustrates Jesus' sacrificial love. You know, self-sacrificial love makes outsiders insiders. Do you understand that? As you and I are about to observe the Lord's Supper, with these elements, what they're saying is that through his self-sacrificial love, Jesus has made outsiders insiders. He has turned rebels to children. He has turned traitors to the crown of heaven, to princes and princesses. That's the beauty. And that's what Ruth reminds us, that Jesus demonstrates His love by identifying, by leaving the glories of heaven, and identifying with sinful humanity, and dying on behalf of His own. He Himself said it. He came not to serve, but to serve and gave Himself as a life of ransom for many, Mark chapter 10. Third, Ruth's story reminds us that the baby born in Bethlehem changes everything. It does. In the worst of times, a baby was born. In a time when there was no king, the book of Judges, a boy was born that would lead to the birth of the King of Kings. That's the beauty of it. Matthew 1 verse 5 mentions Ruth as part of Jesus' family tree. Do you understand that Jesus' family tree has five women? Unheard of in Jewish genealogy. You just didn't include the women. You think you live in a bad misogynistic 21st century America? Go travel back in time a little bit. Five women, a couple of them have some checkered pasts. Ruth, not even Jewish, she's a Moabite. In every town, again, we are mentioning her because through her came the royal line of David and our Savior. Ruth is a great love story, but it's only showing us the greatest love story, which is the Lord loving His own and securing their salvation. See, on the screen there behind the scenes, God is working out His providential plan to bring King David to His throne and to eventually His own Son, King Jesus, to save us. Why? Because like I said in the sermon summary on the screen there, God works through sacrificial love and seemingly impossible circumstances to bring about redemption through a baby who is born in Bethlehem. Amen? And I sure hope you remembered that this past Christmas 25. December 25th. When you gathered, and I hope you just thought a moment of what that day represents. I know we can go back and forth on Christmas the 25th and it wasn't exactly in Christmas. It wasn't, listen, listen, listen. Don't lose the forest for the trees. The reality is we have set aside a day to remember God's kindness toward humanity. So having informed our minds, we now have our hearts ready for what's next. And as you can tell, we have communion next. And how should we view and understand the Lord's Supper? Listen, there's some of you that come from a Roman Catholic tradition. And the Roman Catholic tradition says that these elements will change and they will become the actual body and blood of Christ. We reject that. We reject that. What we see here is a symbolic meal. Jesus has died once for all. We don't have to re-crucify Him. What we have here is a symbolic meal of salvation. These elements represent the body and the blood of Christ given for you and given for me. I was thinking about you, brothers. I was getting this ready. The sermon you preached on the Lord. So I was like, you know what? I need him to preach it like once a month on the first Corinthians just to be reminded of the beauty and the awesomeness. I don't know if that's an English professor. Awesomeness. Is that a word? Awesomeness? Yeah? Yeah? I don't know if you know, but Eddie teaches English at Miami-Dade. So he's at ENC 1101, 1102, and all them goodies. That's my man right there. So every time I'm preaching, I'm like, oh my gosh, he's gonna write to me, yo man, you missed a comma, you should have put a semicolon. What is wrong with you, buddy? But, huh? It's awesome, yeah, yeah, yeah. All right? So the beauty of it, I was thinking of it, I'm like, my gosh, we lose sight of it. It is. The Lord's Supper sends us a clear message. I say it time and time again. It's there on the screen. Because of the dying of His body and the shedding of His blood, a holy God has dealt with our sins. And why should we observe the Lord's Supper? To remember the body, the bloody death of Jesus. To reflect on our sin and His promises. To renew our commitment, not only to Christ, but to one another. That's what got the church in Corinth a problem. They were going through the motions and he said to them, when I address you, you think it's the Lord's Supper you're celebrating? No, I fear not. No, it's not. It's not. So it's to renew our commitment, yes, to the Lord, but to His own also, and to rejoice, for He has set us free, and He's coming back. See, in just a few moments, we're going to come together again, this last Sunday of the year, and we're going to proclaim as a body, as a body of believers, as His kids, that through the death of Christ, we have found life in Christ. Amen? Psalm 139, I leave it there for you. to consider for a little bit. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting. If you have your Bible, you turn to 1 Corinthians 11, and I'm going to ask the men who are going to help us serve the Lord's Supper to come and take their place here in the front row. And for you and me, we go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Again, we remind you that if you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we welcome you here at the table. The table is available to you. If you've trusted in Christ, This is what you're celebrating, the reality of his death, the reality of his body breaking, his blood spilling for you. If you have not trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we fence it. We ask, no, no, no, don't do it. Again, especially for your kids, this is not snack time at Pines Baptist Church. This is Pines Baptist Church recognizing her Savior. So we welcome you if you know the Lord. We ask you to refrain if you don't. But either way, would you go to the Lord in prayer right now?