Matthew Continued from Zec.14:2-5
Mt.1:1-17[8123] Matthew's Geneology of Christ. Katsumasa Hirota: As you all
know, the story of Christmas is written both in Matthew and Luke. Most people,
I've heard, prefer the story in Luke for their Christmas play, for I think it's
very easy to understand and the events are clear. The reason people prefer Luke
is that [in Matthew] we find a geneology of Jesus that is very long and
complicated. But this morning we realize that Matthew wanted to tell us (the
Israelites) that Jesus was a descendant of David, whose ancestor was Abraham,
the father of faith. As you know, people hardly believed in Christ, so Matthew
truly wanted them to know that Jesus was Christ, whom they had long been waiting
for.
The first time I read this part, I wondered why there were only four ladies
mentioned in this geneology. Also, why those women!? You would think of Sarah
or Mary as examples of faithful women in the Bible: Tamar (Vs.3) had a baby
through tricking her father-in-law into fathering her child; Rahab (Vs.5) was a
prostitute; Ruth (Vs.5) was a Gentile; Bathsheba (Vs.6) was Uriah's wife -- She
became David's wife, but before that she committed adultery with David, and
perhaps even knew that David was having her husband killed. Some theologists
have strongly criticized the reference of these sinful women, saying that this
geneology is not holy. We say that all of these women were sinful, but behind
each of them, we find sinful man. Those kings after David, how sinful they were!
In vs. 12, [we find] that the Israelites were living in Babylon, but they had
been taken to that nation because of the sinfulness of their kings, and God
couldn't [help] but bring [this disaster] down upon them. [Allegiance with Him
demands holiness!]
In Gal.1:4 and Rom.4:25, we again see how sinful men and women are. [Truly,
we cannot blame each other] because we are all sinners. To make us free from
sin[, in God's sight then], Jesus was born into our world on Christmas Day
(Mt.1:21). God always tries to reach [out to ] us. Christmas is one of [the]
ways He reaches out to us. On the cross, Jesus bore every one of our curses. We
could be a family of curses, due to our sinfulness, but Jesus took all of our
evil with Him to the cross. Now, [because of what God has done for us (Jn.3:16),
we can be] members of the family of the blessed!
[Jesus came to us, born to Israel's royal family, yes, but also born to a
family bearing its own skeletons, just like us, to identify with us. He came not
only for Israel but for mankind, and why? - because it was God's plan to offer
up a perfect sacrifice in our own likeness in payment for our sinfulness in
order that we may have the freedom to choose and be with Him, and we do have
this freedom. Jesus really has given us reason for joy! May God be praised!]
Mt.1:18-25[8122] God is with us. Katsumasa Hirota: Upon receiving the birth
of Christ, the promise of God, "Immanuel", was fulfilled. [Immanuel means "God
is with us" Mt.1:23b.] At the beginning, in the Old Testament, and at the end,
in Matthew 28:20, God is with us. No matter where we are, God is there.
Actually, right now, while we are collected together for worship this morning,
God is here among us. See Mt.18:19.
[Matthew's message here] is that Christ, the Saviour, is the God of
Immanuel. In answering our prayers, God is Immanuel. In sending us into the
world as a witness, our God is Immanuel. We often think [of] and experience the
[difficulty] of making people believe in God. It is very good and proper for us
to bring others to Jesus, but we feel the difficulty of doing so more and more!
Why should this be? For, God is Immanuel, and He protects us and guides us with
God's wings. We should be experiencing this Immanuel.
Mt.1:21[8123]
Mt.4:1-11[9015]
Mt.4:14-17[9104]
Mt.4:23-25[9104]
Mt.5:3-11[8064]
Mt.5:13[8064]
Mt.6:33-34[9091]
Mt.6:31[9091]
Mt.7:12[7113]
Mt.7:20-27[7101]
Mt.7:21-28[9061]
Mt.7:24-28[9011]
Mt.9:9[9022]
Mt.9:35-38[8081,9010]
Mt.11:16-17[9032]
Mt.11:28-30[9024]
Mt.11:28[8081]
Mt.11:29[9031]
Mt.12:24-28[8072]
Mt.12:47[9052]
Mt.13:54[9023]
Mt.14:26-27[9024]
Mt.16[9015]
Mt.16:18[8021,8085,9012]
Mt.18:1-10[7113]
Mt.18:1-14[8124]
Mt.18:15[8124]
Mt.18:19[8122,8124]
Mt.18:23-35[8124]
Mt.19:14[9032]
Mt.21:1-16[9031]
Mt.21:7-16[9101]
Mt.21:15-16[9032]
Mt.22:35-40[9051]
Mt.23:13[0064]
Mt.23:37-39[0064]
Mt.23:39[0064]
Mt.24:4-14[9084]
Mt.24:29-35[9084]
Mt.24:35[9011,9061]
Mt.25:31-46[9051]
Mt.25:41[8042]
Mt.26:31-32[9104]
Mt.28:1-10[9041]
Mt.28:10[9104]
Mt.28:18-20[8021,9042]
Mt.28:18[9064]
Mt.28:19-20[9044]
Mt.28:20[8122]
