Well, we really are gon na study God’s word this afternoon also, but we’re not going to do what we’re doing in the morning. We’re gon na do something brand new, and it’s originating from Matthew and, I’m delighted to go through this with you all, understanding what God’s gon na teach us, particularly about the extremely fact that Jesus is the Messiah that the Jews are waiting on or have actually been waiting on and, and they need to still be awaiting. But Jesus has actually come and He has actually made Himself readily available and He will come again as the reigning King. However this is before His first coming as He is the assured Messiah that is to come and to conserve the Jewish nation, both physically and likewise spiritually. We’re visiting this in the introduction of it in Matthew chapter 1 verse 1 through 17. Let’s read this together and if you have the word of God, just open it and we will enter into this. Perhaps a few of us skip this passage, but really a very, very essential passage for us to consider. Let’s read all of it.
It states, the book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the child of David, the kid of Abraham. Abraham was the dad Isaac, and Isaac the dad Jacob, and Jacob the daddy of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the dad of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the daddy of Ram, and Ram the dad of Amminadab, Amminadab the daddy of Nahshon, and Nahshon the daddy Salmon, and Salmon the father Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the daddy of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the daddy Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was a dad Solomon by the partner of Uriah, and Solomon the daddy of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the daddy of Abijah, and Abijah the father Asaph and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat the dad Joram and Joram the dad Uzziah Uzziah, the daddy Jotham, and Jotham, the father Ahaz, Ahaz, the dad Hezekiah, Hezekiah, the daddy Manasseh, Manasseh the father Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his siblings at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah was the daddy Shetiel, Shetiel the father of Zerubbabel, Zerubbabel the dad of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor. Azor the daddy of Zadok. Zadok the dad of Achim. Achim the father Elud. Elud the daddy of Eliezer.
Eliezer the dad of Mattan, and Mattan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the hubby of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, 14 generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ, 14 generations. Let’s bow in the word of prayer. Our Father, we are so grateful for this passage, and even though in the extremely outside of it, it appears like it’s simply a bunch of names, but we understand, Lord, that this is a list of the gracious evidences of God to sinners. Lord, we know that we’re sinners. We need your saving grace, and this list of individuals show that. So we hope, daddy, that we would see ourselves, Lord, as really those who are amongst this list because, Lord, you show grace to us equally that we are sinners saved by you. We thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.
We, as a society, do not comprehend grace. In the Bible, there is a particular story, a story by which we have actually seen in one of the parables of Jesus in which he stated that there was a particular male who was a master and he went out to the market to search for servants. In those days, in the Jewish world, there are those who were simply waiting by the markets for work. It’s sort of like when you go to the Home Depot and there are those who are awaiting work. Well, in those days, there are those in the markets. And this master went out and said, I need people to come and operate in my field. I’ll pay them.
So in the very morning, he went out, 6 in the morning, that’s when the day begins, he made a deal with those who are going to start the work at 6 in the morning and stated to them, I will pay you one denari for your work. One denari is a excellent wage. It’s a great wage. It’s a reasonable wage. And certainly, as a individual who is waiting there for work and, you’re simply waiting and and you desire that task, and those males happily took it. They get to eat. They get to earn a living. But the master didn’t stop there.
What he did is that at 9 AM, he went out to seek for more employees, and he got more employees coming in and he stated to them, I will pay you nevertheless much I think is right. So the workers are said, are saying, all right. Okay. I will trust you because. But the master didn’t stop there either. At 12 midday, you went out and welcomed more people, saying the exact same thing, I will pay you however much I please. And after that also happening at 3 and then at 5 in the afternoon, purposefully that the work ends at 6 PM. That’s the end of the work day.
Because extremely sense, we see that there are a variety of individuals coming to work for the master, but they work different set of hours and different set of times. So the day ends and the master states, welcome, everybody. I’m gon na begin paying you. And he begins with the guys who came at 5 PM, and you understand what he gave them? One denarii. He provided one denarii. And this got individuals in the back all delighted because the people in the current or the people in the back and at the end of the line are the people who began at 6 in the early morning. They They saw individuals in the front who just for work for 1 hour and they got 1 denarii, and they’re saying to themselves, hey, that means that we’re gon na get 12 denari. I mean, we worked for 12 hours.
However lo and witness, what took place was that those who were paid beginning with 5 PM to 3 PM to 12 PM to 9 AM, all got just one denari. And after that when it boils down to the workers who initially started working there and approached the master, these are the 6 AM folks. They stated to the master, Master, you, how much are you going to pay us? And the master offered to these people once again the same one denari. And he started to complain. They said, that is unfair. You’ve provided everyone the very same thing and we have been here for 12 hours slaving away, laboring, in a sense. However the master said to them, is it not a good wage? Is it not a bargain? Why did you accept it? Did I not treat you relatively? Did I offer you I offer you what you should have according to what we decided was right? Is it not my prerogative? To provide to individuals whatever it is I prefer to provide. See, this is a story of God’s grace.
You see, we deal with God the same way. Initially, we might be extremely, extremely excited over what God has actually provided to us. Say, get wed to a terrific lady. You’re thrilled, you’re grateful, however then with time, you start to complain about this woman that you’re wed to. No longer are you as happy as you were when you began. Possibly a job. You are working at a particular job which you’re glad for when I initially employed you because you got absolutely nothing else, But then over time, over this time of working there, you start to grumble over your job. Or maybe it’s just eating and drinking and breathing, you even say, that I’m consuming whatever it is that God has given to me.
I’m consuming whatever that God has given me to consume. I’m breathing His air, but then we are not appreciative over the grace which God has actually given to us in our lives. See, this is what took place to Adam and Eve in the very beginning. That’s why guys sinned. Adam and Eve were given the best graces of God to live in a place of bliss and pleasure and gratitude and blessings, but they wanted something. They wished to have something which is not theirs. They were not glad for what God has actually offered to them already. So they stated, we could be our own god.
We might live our lives apart from God. And as a result, sin entered the world. Sin is that hurtful word, that painful action, but truly sin is originating from our hearts. That heart of jealousy, the heart of hatred, the heart of envy, the heart of selfishness, which are in our hearts that promotes itself in ugly words and unsightly actions, which injured ourselves, naturally, were damaged on the inside because of sin, however likewise ruin others because of our sins. What does God do? Certainly, God could evaluate. God might and must judge, But what God does for us in this world is that He has actually given to us grace. Grace is a present of God undeserved. And this grace is offered specifically through the person of Jesus Christ.
WATCH VIDEO FOR THE FULL SERMON! Introduction of Matthew