The Jesus Who Is The Christ: A Sermon on Mt 1:1

Let’s pray:  “Father, may we submit, love and obey Your Beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  May we understand we are nothing without Him!  He is our all in all.  He is the Messiah and the Christ.  He is the eternal Son of God.  We gladly submit to Him and love Him.  May You teach us by Your Spirit to understand Your matchless Word!  Amen.”

Matthew 1:1:  “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

          Early church history demonstrates that Matthew was widely known and widely read as a true Gospel.  This is seen in its position in the canon; the very order shows that it is quite significant and important.  Only two exceptions reveal show that it was not first but the majority show it to be first.  Before 180 AD it is quoted by far in a widespread citation by people.  It was popular due to apostolic authority.  Matthew was associated with it from at least the second century AD.  Second, its emphasis on the teaching of Christ.  Churches needed the Word to instruct and refute wrong beliefs. 

The genealogy of Jesus refers to a broad scope of individuals in biblical history.  This is an introduction from the pen of Matthew.  This is seen from Matthew 1:1-16.  The broad scope of the genealogy makes up the people of God.  This genealogy refers of Jesus from Joseph:  Joseph is a literal descendant from King David.  Jesus was an adopted Son of Joseph.  Joseph was not his father.  The spiritual father of Jesus Christ is the divine Holy Spirit.  Jesus became Joseph’s legal heir.  This was regarding His inheritance.  “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” (Mt. 1:16 NASB).  In contrast to Luke’s genealogy (in Luke 3:23-38) records the genealogical line of Mary.  It is carried back to Adam, so it is further back then Abraham.  This is implied by Luke 3:23, “Jesus…being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph.”  The meaning of “as was supposed” shows that Jesus was not the biological son of Joseph.  But the public assumed Jesus was the biological son of Joseph.  Through Mary Jesus descended from a line of ancestors as Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties by Gleason Archer.  And Jesus was descended naturally through Nathan, and legally through Solomon.  Is. 9:6 speaks of the Christ who Matthew speaks of:  “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

          Christ means “Anointed One.”  He is the promised Messiah.  He is the One who Moses, David, Daniel and the prophets spoke about.  He is the ordained Man who is God and man.  He is the Prince of Peace; the King of kings; the Lord of lords; the Lion of Judah; the Lamb of God; the Lily of the Valley; the Son of Man; the Son of God; the Son of David; the Son of Abraham.  The title “son of David” is a Messianic title.  It was popular Jewish title which referred the Messiah.  The “son of Abraham” is very significant because the Gospel of Matthew was intended for a Jewish audience. 

          Regarding the kingly succession presented by Matthew, Hilary states, “What Matthew publishes in order of kindly succession, Luke has set forth in order of priestly origin.  While accounting for each other, both indicate the relationship of the Lord to each ancestral lineage.  The order of his lineage is thus duly presented, because the association of the priestly and royal tribes that was begun through David...”  And so, while Matthew recounts his paternal origin that began in Judah, Luke teaches that his ancestry was taken from the tribe of Levi.  Each in his own way demonstrates the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is both the eternal king and priest, as seen even in the fleshly origin of both of his ancestors.  It does not matter that the origin of Joseph instead of Mary is recounted, for indeed there is one and the same blood relationship for the whole tribe.  Moreover, both Matthew and Luke provide precedents.  They name fathers in order not so much by their lineage as by their clan, since the tribe began from one succession and origin.  Indeed, Christ has to be shown as the son of David and Abraham, so Matthew began in this way: “The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”  It does not matter who is placed in a given order as long as the whole family is understood to derive from a single source.  Joseph and Mary belonged to the same kingship line.  Joseph is shown to have sprung from the line of Abraham.  It is revealed that Mary came from this line, too.” 

Isaiah 53 speaks of “The Suffering Servant”:  I submit that this Servant is the all-sufficient Jesus Christ:

    1^(A)Who has believed our message?
         And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
    2For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
         And like a root out of parched ground;
         He has ^(C)no stately form or majesty
         That we should look upon Him,
         Nor appearance that we should ^[a]be attracted to Him.
    3He was despised and forsaken of men,
         A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
         And like one from whom men hide their face
         He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
    4Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
         And our sorrows He carried;
         Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
         Smitten of God, and afflicted.
    5But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
         He was crushed for our iniquities;
         The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
         And by His scourging we are healed.
    6All of us like sheep have gone astray,
         Each of us has turned to his own way;
         But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
         To fall on Him.
    7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
         Yet He did not open His mouth;
         Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
         And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
         So He did not open His mouth.
    8By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
         And as for His generation, who considered
         That He was cut off out of the land of the living
         For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
    9His grave was assigned with wicked men,
         Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
         Because He had done no violence,
         Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
    10But the LORD was pleased
         To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
         If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
         He will see His offspring,
         He will prolong His days,
         And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
    11As a result of the anguish of His soul,
         He will see it and be satisfied;
         By His knowledge the Righteous One,
         My Servant, will justify the many,
         As He will bear their iniquities.
    12Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
         And He will divide the booty with the strong;
         Because He poured out Himself to death,
         And was numbered with the transgressors;
         Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
         And interceded for the transgressors.

These are the verses that speak of Christ.

Matthew refers to the birth and refers to the birth of Christ:

Matthew 1:18, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.”

Here we see the works of Christ.  His works belong to Christ:

Matthew 11:2, “Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples.”

His apostle refers to Jesus as the Christ:

Matthew 16:16, “Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Christ warned His disciples that they should tell no one:

Matthew 16:20, “Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”

          The Jesus who is the Christ fulfilled all the messianic prophecies revealed in the Old Testament.  Jesus is the Incarnate Deliverer; He is the great Savior and Redeemer.  He is the Anointed Prophet, Priest and King.  Those who are looking for a Messiah: look to Jesus who is the Prince of Peace, the very Incarnate Messiah who takes away the sin of His people.  The apostles were all Jewish people who were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah.  Indeed, He was and is the Messiah, the Christ who was predicted in the Old Testament, which is revealed in the New Testament.  The living and active Word (the Scriptures) speaks to the reality of Jesus as the Messiah.  Gentiles believed in Christ and were convinced that Jesus was the Christ.  We must submit to the will of the Father through His Beloved Son.  Will you submit to His will in obeying the Son of Man, the very Son of God?  The prophecies of Christ seen in Jesus are clearly evident, and the laws of probability support Jesus as the Messiah.  Turn then to this Messiah who can forgive and take away sin.  Turn to Him for life and truth and grace.  His is the only way to the Father: He is the Beloved Son who lives and reigns forevermore.  He is the One who died for a purpose and lives to make intercession for His people. He died and it brought Him glory; He rose and it brought Him glory; He is the Living One, the very Chosen One of God. 

          Calvin wrote, “Jesus, who is called Christ By the surname Christ, Anointed, Matthew points out his office, to inform the readers that this was not a private person, but one divinely anointed to perform the office of Redeemer. What that anointing was, and to what it referred, I shall not now illustrate at great length. As to the word itself, it is only necessary to say that, after the royal authority was abolished, it began to be applied exclusively to Him, from whom they were taught to expect a full recovery of the lost salvation. So long as any splendor of royalty continued in the family of David, the kings were wont to be called χριστοί, anointed. But that the fearful desolation which followed might not throw the minds of the godly into despair, it pleased God to appropriate the name of Messiah, Anointed, to the Redeemer alone: as is evident from Daniel, (9:25, 26.) The evangelical history everywhere shows that this was an ordinary way of speaking, at the time when the Son of God was “manifested in the flesh,” (1 Timothy 3:16.).”

          Jesus is the promised Messiah as revealed in Gen. 3:15.  The earliest gospel message was seen in the Old Testament.  Athanasius wrote in On the Incarnation of the uniqueness of God the Word, the very Messiah Himself:  “What, then, was God to do? What else could He possibly do, being God, but renew His Image in mankind, so that through it men might once more come to know Him? And how could this be done save by the coming of the very Image Himself, our Savior Jesus Christ? Men could not have done it, for they are only made after the Image; nor could angels have done it, for they are not the images of God. The Word of God came in His own Person, because it was He alone, the Image of the Father Who could recreate man made after the Image.”

          The Word of God, Jesus Christ, who is the real Messiah, is greater then the prophets of old, and elect angels in heaven.  He is the express Image of the Father manifested in human flesh.

          Augustine wrote in On Christian Doctrine regarding the Trinity, and we shall see how the Son is described in explaining the Trinity:  “The true objects of enjoyment, then, are the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, who are at the same time the Trinity, one Being, supreme above all, and common to all who enjoy Him, if He is an object, and not rather the cause of all objects, or indeed even if He is the cause of all. For it is not easy to find a name that will suitably express so great excellence, unless it is better to speak in this way: The Trinity, one God, of whom are all things, through whom are all things, in whom are all things. Thus the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and each of these by Himself, is God, and at the same time they are all one God; and each of them by Himself is a complete substance, and yet they are all one substance. The Father is not the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is not the Father nor the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is not the Father nor the Son: but the Father is only Father, the Son is only Son, and the Holy Spirit is only Holy Spirit. To all three belong the same eternity, the same unchangeableness, the same majesty, the same power. In the Father is unity, in the Son equality, in the Holy Spirit the harmony of unity and equality; and these three attributes are all one because of the Father, all equal because of the Son, and all harmonious because of the Holy Spirit.”  We see that the Son is divine, and co-equal to the Father and the Spirit.  We must bow the knee to the Son of Glory and do so glorify. 

          Do you submit to the divine King of kings?  Do you bow the knee to His Kingship, His Lordship and His Saviorship?  Do you realize when you read the sacred pages of Scripture you are reading the Word of the Messiah, the very Incarnate Savior Himself?  This Messiah is God the Son, the very divine Person who resided in eternality past, and He took upon Himself a human nature as God, and became man.  He is the Incarnate Logos.  Matthew wants us to know that Jesus is the King.  The birth of Christ is the birth of a great King.  The 2 chapters of Matthew center on the royal elements of the birth of Christ.  Let’s look at this great King at His birth.  Let us be immersed into the sacred pages of Scripture seen in Matthew.  Matthew wants us to understand the royal heritage of Jesus.  I wanted to show, and I believe I have, that the royal heritage of Jesus; portrays Jesus as divine, the Second Person of the Trinity.  All kings have a royal heritage.  Jesus has an authentic linage because He is King.  To be King Jesus must have royal blood.  Do you believe that Jesus had royal blood?  To you, is He the King incarnate?  To be fit for His throne He must be fit for a long line of royalty.  Thus this is evident and true with Jesus. 

          The racial line of Jews came from Abraham.  The father of the Jewish people is Abraham.  Racially, Jesus needed to be a descendant of Abraham.  The royal line began with David.  We must focus on the pedigree of a king (royal lineage).  We must see in Jesus (to see Him rightly) to be a son of David and son of Abraham.  Through Abraham in Genesis 12, the racial line was promised.  Through David, the royal line was promised in 2 Samuel 7.  Jesus, to qualify, He needed to be the son of David and Abraham as Matthew 1:1 speaks.  Abraham was for the racial lineage, and David was for the royal lineage.  Verse 16 shows that it leads to Christ ultimately.  Thus the Lord Incarnate, Jesus Christ, is the son of Abraham and David.  Jesus perfectly fits with the royal requirement.  Jesus needed a royal lineage to ascend to the throne.  Matthew did not falsely state what he stated but correctly and truthfully stated the fact of Matthew 1:1.

          The vital names were given first: Abraham (the racial lineage) and David (the royal lineage).  Verse 2 indicates a detailed demonstration of the genealogy beginning with Abraham, and moving right to David, seen in Verse 6, and ultimately to verse 26 to Jesus Christ the only true King of kings.  And then the Lord Jesus is the true son of Abraham and the true son of David. Christ perfectly corresponds with the royal lineage.  The detail of this genealogy is vitally significant.  The audience of Matthew is indeed a real Jewish audience.  It is regarding the matter of pedigrees.  The matter of certification is very important to them.  The entire culture is built upon that very thing.  Dr. MacArthur wrote once, “For example, when the children of Israel came into the land of Canaan and God gave them that land in which to dwell, He apportioned the land giving specific territory to every given tribe. So the tribe to which you belonged dictated where you lived and what land you possessed. Within the tribal territory, families assumed certain portions of land and your link to your family said where your home was, where your land was. And so, your lineage was very very important to establish the place of your residence. Tribes, families and ancestors' houses were utterly essential in understanding your relationship and rights and privileges in the land of Palestine.”

Acts 2:36, "Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified."  That is, God ordained that Jesus Christ be both Lord and Christ.  To be the Christ is to be Lord.

Acts 2:38, “Peter said to them, " Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  The name of God is the name used for baptism.  The way of Jesus only groups have misunderstood this verse, but it does not deny Trinitarian baptism. 

Acts 3:6, “But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!"  Peter used the name of Christ reverently and in His name a miracle occurred.  This is the son of Abraham and the son of David. 

Acts 3:18, "But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.”  Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies: He is the Christ the son of David and the son of Abraham.

Acts 17:3, “explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, " This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."  The Jesus Matthew spoke of, He is the Christ, and this is who Paul proclaimed as the Living Christ. 

Romans 1:3-5: 3concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake,

Note that Christ is the Father’s Son.  He was a descendant of David.  He was the royal lineage of David.  He was according to the flesh: begotten of the Virgin Mary touching His humanity and He was declared to be the Son of God.  It came with power by the resurrection of the dead.  Christ rose Himself as did the Father and the Spirit.  Christ was according to the Spirit of holiness.  Jesus is our Lord.  His people have Him as Lord.  He is the matchless Lord.  There is none like Him in all of time.  Through Christ we have received grace and apostleship.  Paul was an apostle of Christ; to live for Christ is to have true obedience of faith among the Gentiles for the name of Christ.  Our salvation rests on His good name. 

Dr. MacArthur wrote, “God said when the King comes He will be born of a virgin. When He comes He will be born in Bethlehem. When He comes He will come out of Egypt. When He comes there will be a massacre that causes weeping of women for their killed children. And when He comes He will take up His residence in a place called Nazareth in order to be called a Nazarene. Jesus fulfilled every element of the royal decree of God. He is King in every sense. He is King by birth. He is King by decree. He is King by lineage. He is King by character. He is King by homage and worship.”
“And the carols say it, don't they? "Born a King...born a King," over and over again. "Christ the newborn King." But what kind of King, in closing? Is He a king over an earthly nation? Is He a king over many nations of the earth? The Bible tells us that He is a divine king. The Bible tells us that He Himself said, "My Kingdom is not of this world." He said, "The Kingdom is within you...or among you, or in your midst." And we learn it is a spiritual kingdom. He rules the hearts of those who believe in Him. He is sovereign over those who love Him. He is sovereign over those who bend their knee and bow to Him and seek His gracious forgiveness for their sins. He is King over those who accept His death and resurrection for their salvation. And some day He will be King over the earth and the whole universe will submit to Him. He is King now in the spiritual sense, He is to be King in the earthly sense and He is to be King in the eternal sense.”
“He is not a king like any other king. That's why Pilate couldn't understand Him. He couldn't understand what kind of king it is who lets Himself be killed. He couldn't understand what kind of king it is whose subjects don't fight for Him. He couldn't understand what kind of king it is who possesses no earthly authority, no earthly power, no earthly sphere of domination. He couldn't understand that kind of king. He is a king and He rules over the hearts of all who love Him and serve Him and give Him their lives. And one day He will rule over this whole world when the kingdoms of this world, says the Revelation, become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ and He shall reign forever and ever. That spiritual kingdom will become an earthly kingdom and blossom into an eternal kingdom where He will reign forever and ever and ever and we with Him.”

Let’s pray:  God the Father grant through Your Beloved Son that Your people would understand and comprehend Your Word, and to grow in grace.  May we understand this son of Abraham and this son of David: Jesus the Incarnate Son of Man!  Amen.