Genealogy and Greetings
Two of my favorite Christmas songs are The Most Wonderful Time of the Year and The Little Drummer Boy. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year begins with these words:
It's the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you, "Be of good cheer!"
It's the most wonderful time of the year
It's the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings When friends come to call
It's the hap-happiest season of all
The Little Drummer Boy begins this way:
Come they told me, pa rum pum pum pum
A newborn King to see, pa rum pum pum pum
Our finest gifts we bring, pa rum pum pum pum
To lay before the King, pa rum pum pum pum
Rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum So to honor Him, pa rum pum pum pum
When we come
Christmas is excitement, anticipation, appreciation, sharing, wonderment, and love. Christmas is the Nativity. Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ. It is the most important birth ever on this planet. It is the birth that changed this world. It is that birth that made the songwriter say:
Hark the herald angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled
Of the four gospels, only Matthew and Luke record the birth of Jesus, and both describe the birth to different audiences. Matthew wrote his account of the birth for a Jewish audience, and he stresses some aspects of the birth, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that Luke does not stress. Luke, the only Gentile writer of the New Testament, wrote with the details of a doctor and historian to as if to appeal to the logic of those questioning the Christ in the early church age. I know, to some, the birth narrative of Jesus Christ is “old” news. but dear friend, the narrative of the birth of Christ should never get old to you. If you are saved, that birth is what gave you hope. If you are lost, the details of the birth narrative tell you that with God nothing is impossible, even the impossibility of saving your lost soul.
Luke and Matthew have similarities and differences. Both were detailed record keepers. Matthew, as a Roman tax collector, would have kept impeccable records in his profession, and Luke, as a doctor and historian, would have kept impeccable records too, but as a historian, Luke would have questioned anyone associated with the birth of Christ. Matthew made sure to include the genealogy of Christ, because as a Jew, he wanted to show the Jews that Jesus Christ was the King to come of which the Old Testament prophesied. As a Gentile, the genealogy was unimportant to Luke. More important to Luke, was historically revealing the details of the birth.
Even though they are different, both accounts help us paint a complete picture of the birth of Jesus.
I. GENEAOLGY
Matthew 1: 16
And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.
Why would Matthew, under divine inspiration, include the genealogy? Keeping records and dealing in fact were two things Matthew’s profession, prior to following Christ, demanded. He used those qualities in listing the genealogy of Christ to show that, in fact, Christ was in the line of David but not through Joseph but through Mary. Did you know that Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, was descended from Solomon? You should from this verse in Luke.
Luke 2: 1-4
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So, all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David
Joseph was in the line of David, but Joseph was not the one who was to deliver the seed. Did you know that Mary, the mother of Jesus, also descended from David? She descended from Nathan, the second surviving son of David and Bath-Sheba. Mary was from the line of David, and she was chosen to be the one to bring God’s Son into the world. Think about it for a minute. What did God when He was handing judgement in Eden?
Genesis 3: 14-15
So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
God cursed the serpent and prophesied of the enmity between his seed and the woman’s Seed. If you read 1 and 2 Chronicles and 1 and 2 Kings, you will see Satan engaging in an all-out assault on David’s line as he tried to eliminate all male survivors of the line of David, but that Ole Slimy Joker forgot that God was sovereign, and that God always has a plan. Satan attacked the line of David with ferocity, but there was another line meandering down the back alleys of history, away from the spotlight of the throne. That line ran from David and Bath-Sheba through Nathan to a village maiden named Mary, and she, as promised in the earliest days of history, would be the one to deliver God’s Son. It was Mary through whom God brought forth His Son. Mary was a Jew, and she was in the line of David, and it was through her Seed that the world was blessed.
There is no Christmas without that virgin birth and try as he did to stop the line of David, Satan is not sovereign, but God is, and what God says is going to happen is going to happen, and God had already told the Serpent that from the Seed of the woman would his head be bruised, and so it was when Mary gave birth to Jesus, and Matthew used the record of the genealogy to point that out! AMEN!!!!!
II. GREETINGS
Luke 1: 26-35, 37-38
Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
God sent Gabriel, the messenger angel, to greet Mary and to deliver to her some shocking news. What was that shocking news? Mary was going to have a baby and normally, that would be reason to celebrate, but for Mary, it was shocking because she was a virgin and had not been with a man, and biology says that it is impossible to get pregnant without that sexual intercourse.
Physically and biologically, it was impossible for Mary to have a child, and you better believe she was shocked upon hearing the news. We have already established that Mary was in the line of David, but outside of that, what was so special about Mary that made her worthy to bring Immanuel to earth?
A. Mary was a virgin.
Mary was a virgin. Luke the historian, researcher, and record keeper identified Mary as the virgin. Unequivocally, let me say this. Mary was a virgin. It is an absolute fact. I personally believe that you cannot have the faith to accept what Christ did on Calvary if you deny how He came into the manger. Mary was a virgin. She had not been defiled. Mary was a virgin physically and spiritually. What do I mean?
Physically, Mary had not had sex with any man. She was pure. Spiritually, she was pure in that her faith in God had not been defiled. If you think I am going out on a limb, think about this. How does the Bible describe the undefiled bride of Christ, the church?
Revelation 19: 6-8
And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright(white), for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
The Bride of Christ is pure, arrayed in clean, white linen. The Church is presented to the ages as the pure Bride of Christ undefiled by this world. Contrast that with how the Bible describes those that are spiritually defiled.
Revelation 17: 1-4
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me, saying to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” So, he carried me away in the Spirit into the wilderness. And I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast which was full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication.
The great spiritually defiled false religion is described as a harlot. The harlot is abominable, filthy, and clothed with the trappings of this world. Now, is there a difference between a virgin and a harlot? Absolutely!!!! Mary was physically and spiritually undefiled. She was a virgin.
B. Mary was faithful.
Mary was blessed among women, chosen to be the one to give birth to the Messiah because she was highly favored.
Luke 1: 28
And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
Mary’s faith in God made her worthy to bring Jesus into the world. Do you want to see how faithful Mary was?
Luke 1: 34-35, 37-38
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
There are no bad questions, only bad answers, and Mary asks Gabriel a great question: “How is this possible?”
Mary asked a sincere question because she did not know how she could be pregnant since she had not been with a man. Mary asked the question, and the Word of God delivered by the angel, answered her question. Gabriel told Mary that the Holy Spirit would come upon her, and the power of God would overshadow her. Let me ask you this. Is this phrase mentioned elsewhere in the Bible? I believe it is.
Genesis 1: 2-3
The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
How did the Holy Spirit hover over the face of the waters resulting in light? How did the Holy Spirit overshadow Mary to bring light into the world?
I do not know, but I accept that absolute fact by faith and so did Mary. God’s Word always has the answer, and sensing the consternation in her voice with the question she asked, God, through his messenger says this:
Luke 1: 37
For with God nothing will be impossible.
When God said that through Gabriel, Mary’s faith was revealed.
Luke 1: 38
Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Dear friend, with God nothing is impossible, and Mary, the highly favored, faithful, virgin believed what God said. With God, nothing is impossible is one of the greatest phrases in all the Bible. It is impossible for a virgin to have a child, but God made it possible, and it serves as a great example for us.
As Christians, if we have faith and remain undefiled by the filth of the world, God can make the impossible, absolute. If you are lost, you might think it is impossible for you to be saved from your sin, but dear friend, with God, nothing is impossible. Do you know what God did to make it possible for you to be saved from eternal hell?
John 3: 16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Because God sent his Son, you can have eternal life, all you need is the faith to believe what Jesus said.
John 14: 6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
With God, all things are possible, and if you follow the Way and the Truth, you will have eternal life.