At Just the Right Time

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Intro:
Thanksgiving Stories
Give us a sense of who we are and our place in the order of things.
We’re moving into Advent and Christmas. (reminder: Advent means “arrival.”
It’s natural to start the season by noting the circumstances that lead to the arrival of Jesus.
Apostle Paul reminds us:
Galatians 4:4 NLT
4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.
I’ve noticed a tendency for us to “cut” the Jesus’ birth story out of context and tell about it with reference to how it all came to pass.
Matthew’s stories of Jesus’ birth begin in what seems to be a stupendously boring way: the “begats.”
Now, if you’ve ever decided to read through that gospel story, if you’re like me, you kinda move past that first part of chapter one, to get to the “good stuff.”
But we miss some fascinating stories that tell us some much about Jesus’ purpose and place and the big scheme of things. We also learn a lot about our own story, too.
So let’s take a look at the big story and how God worked through individuals and their own stories to bring everything to “just the right time.”

The Big Story

Macro level. The Big picture. Matthew reminds his 1st C readers of where they came from.
He does this by reciting their family tree from Abraham down to Jesus.
One purpose is to show how Jesus has fulfilled the promises God made to Abraham millennia beforehand:
Genesis 17:6 NLT
6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them!
He shows God’s work through his chosen people through three sections:
Matthew 1:17 NLT
17 All those listed above include fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the Babylonian exile, and fourteen from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah.
Matt. 17:
In all these “begats” we see God’s people living out life, moving closer and further from God but always, somehow, bringing God’s plan closer to reality.
Continuing to experience God’s love and grace.
It’s important to see on this macro level that God’s hand is in everything. He is ultimately sovereign.
No matter what happens economically, politically, socially, God is using all of these events and circumstances to move us closer to the 2nd advent of his son, Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:10–11 NLT
10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
XTION:
While it’s important to try to discern on a macro level what God is doing, we don’t live way up there.
We live in the span of a generation and our lives and stories cover smaller amounts of time and attention.
In this list of names (which is essentially a family tree), Matthew reminds his Jewish readers of the individual stories that make up this great history.

People and Their Stories

Built into this family tree are a lot of individual stories .
The 1st c. reader would have been intimately familiar with them. (a lot like mentioning a family member’s name at the TGiving gathering and everyone knowing exactly who and what you’re talking about.)
Some of the people mentioned bring to mind the great works of God in Israel’s history.
Abraham - given the promises of land and nation:
Genesis 12:1–3 NLT
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
David - Given the promise of a line of kings:
2 Samuel 7:12–13 NLT
12 For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever.
2 sam. 12
But not all were such heroes of Israel’s story. (even they were a mess, too!)
Jesus’ family tree has quite a few people of dubious morality and character:
For a Jewish genealogy, it is really odd to have women listed.
All four (except Mary) were unusual:
All were gentiles.
Tamar was an adulteress who pretended to be a prostitute to get her father-in-law to impregnate her. ()
Matthew 1:3 NLT
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (whose mother was Tamar). Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron was the father of Ram.
Rahab - probably a pagan prostitute in Jericho.
Matthew 1:5 NLT
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz (whose mother was Rahab). Boaz was the father of Obed (whose mother was Ruth). Obed was the father of Jesse.
Bathsheba was seduced, her husband killed by her lover. Her illegitimate child dies. But God works through all of these sins and awful circumstances to move the kingdom of Israel forward through her son, Solomon.
Matthew 1:6 NLT
6 Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).
matt. 1:
Ruth was a Moabitess. Not suppose to have anything to do with Israel.
Deuteronomy 23:3 NLT
3 “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants for ten generations may be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
Bathsheba was seduced, her husband killed by her lover. Her illegitimate child dies. But God works through all of these sins and awful circumstances to move the kingdom of Israel forward through her son, Solomon.
By including these foreign women in Jesus’ story, Matthew reminds us that God uses all kinds of people to accomplish his purposes. In fact, He seems to delight in doing so.
Many of them were just ordinary folks who lived their lives and may never have known how they were part of the bigger plan.

Our Stories

Our circumstances are different in many ways from Jesus’ family tree.
Yet, not so much.
Like Jesus’ ancestors, we are living, loving, choosing, and dealing with our circumstances.
Beyond proving the identity of the Messiah, Matthew’s recitation of the family tree serves as an encouragement and reminder that God is active and purposeful in our lives, too.
Like Abraham, David, Hezekiah, we have a calling from God to make a “holy difference” in our world.
Like Bathsheeba, Ruth, Rahab, sometimes life just happens to us. Events, circumstance, other folk’s choice impact us.
That impact can look so negative, like there’s no way anything good can come from what has happened to us.
Romans 8:28 NLT
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
Conclusion:
On the surface, it’s just a bunch of “begats”. A family tree.
At the same time, this list of names helps us to connect with and appreciate the baby born in the manger who ultimately brings us grace. Who causes our stories, with all their ups and downs to become part of God’s great story of grace and redemption.
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