Sermon Video: The Genealogy of Jesus, Part 2 - Matthew 1:6-17

In this 2nd message on Matthew's genealogy of Jesus, there are two more women, an obvious reference to sexual scandal, and the destruction of the kingdom of Judah.  The list begins with "King David", the only person on the list given the title of king, even though the rest of his descendants until the exile were kings.  David received powerful promises from God that his descendant would one day sit upon a throne that would last forever.  Immediately following this triumphant mention of David as King comes the lowest point in the entire genealogy: the adultery and murder associated with "Uriah's wife".  Matthew didn't have to mention Solomon's mother at all, but when he did he called her "Uriah's wife" instead of Bathsheba.  This usage only shines the spotlight even more upon the deadly road of sin that David walked down from his lust to have Bathsheba, to his adultery with her, to his attempted cover-up, and eventually to his willingness to conspire to kill one of his most loyal and faithful soldiers, Uriah.
The rest of the kings in the list until the exile are a mixture of the good and the bad.  Some followed after God, others led the people astray toward wickedness and idolatry.  Overall, the trend of decline continued for the kingdom as God's people drifted further and further away from their Covenant promises.  Just before the exile in the list is the name Josiah.  Josiah became king of Judah at eight years of age when his father was assassinated; both is father and his grand-father were exceedingly wicked, what hope is there that this boy-king could save a nation headed for destruction?  Josiah's efforts at restoration had no chance of success until his high priest found a copy of the Law.  The actual words of Moses, the Covenant between God and the people of Israel had been lost!  Despite Josiah's efforts, the wrath of God at the broken promises of his people could not be assuaged.
The throne of David came to an end in 586 BC with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.  All of the names from the exile until Joseph are unknown to history, but we do know that David's throne is vacant, no fulfillment of God's promise seems possible.  And then, at the end of the list, we have something odd.  Matthew calls Joseph the "husband" of Mary instead of the father of Jesus as he had every other name in the list.  He also tells us that it is Mary "of whom" Jesus is born (the Greek makes it clear, the pronoun is singular and feminine and cannot apply to Joseph or to both Joseph and Mary).
It is at this point, with this list of ancestors, some great and some exceedingly wicked, with gentile blood in his veins (especially through the women Matthew highlighted), that Jesus is born of Mary.  Josiah was unable to save his people from their sins as he sat on the throne of David, how can a child born in far humbler circumstances hope to do better, he will have to be no ordinary child, he will have to be the Christ.

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Sermon Video