The Who, What, Where, Why and When of the Messiah - Sermon (12-16-12)

Hebrews 3:1 - "Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession."

The word "apostle" means "sent one." In Hebrews chapter 3 verse 1 the Lord Jesus is called "the Apostle and High Priest of our confession." and we're told to consider Him, and that's what I want to take time to do right now. The Lord Jesus was sent forth from eternity to come into the world and what I want to do now is consider five questions regarding the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle, the sent one. There were certain credentials laid out in the Old Testament that the Messiah had to fulfill, so the first question we want to ask is, Who, that is, Whose Son is He? The Messiah was prophesied to come from a particular line, and we're going to consider that lineage, the genealogy of the Christ. Secondly, we're going to ask what, what means did God choose to bring His Son into the world, namely the virgin birth and the significance surrounding it. Third, we're going to ask where Messiah was to be born, and consider the birthplace of the Savior, Bethlehem, and the significance of that. Fourth, we'll see, why Christ came into this world, the purpose that He had in stepping into human flesh, the purpose for the incarnation and mans need for a Savior. And finally we'll ask the question when, and see Gods perfect timing in sending forth His Son. So we have the who, what, where, why and when surrounding the birth of Messiah.

- WHO -
In Matthew 22:42 the Lord Jesus poses this question - "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" This is a very important question, because our answer to this question determines our response to Him. Matthew begins his gospel in verses 1-17 with the genealogy of Jesus Christ through the line of Joseph, although Joseph was not the biological father of Christ. In chapter 1 verse 1 he abbreviates this genealogy highlighting and emphasizing two main characters in the line of Christ. Matthew 1:1 - "The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham" Although this genealogy is full of people and stories with significance that we could spend a great deal of time studying, we're just going to focus on a couple of them and see why it was crucial that our Lord should come from the exact tribe and family that He did.

Abraham -
The Messiah was prophesied to be the seed of Abraham. Abraham was told that in his seed all the families of would be blessed. The Lord said to Abram in Genesis 12:3 - "And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." and again He says in Genesis 22:18 - "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." And in talking about Abraham and the Jewish nation in Romans 9:5 the apostle Paul says - "from whom is the Christ according to the flesh." Gods promises to Abraham stated that through him He would bless all the nations. In order for this to happen Christ had to come through Abraham, He had to be of Jewish descent, and indeed He was. This is where Matthew begins his genealogy, Christ was the Son of Abraham. But Christ was also prophesied to be from the tribe of Judah.

Judah -
Matthew 1:2 - "Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers." Of the twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve tribes of Israel, each one had a special blessing given to them, and the tribe of Judah was chosen by God to by the kingly tribe. It was from this tribe that God was going to bring His Christ into the world. A Messiah who would come and sit on the throne as we'll see a little later. In Genesis chapter 49, right before his death, Jacob called his family together and begin to bless each one individually. He says to Judah in Genesis 49:10 - "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes." Shiloh in this verse is a reference to the Messiah. And we know, not only from this genealogy and the one given in Luke chapter 3, but also from the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ that He was indeed from the tribe of Judah. You'll remember that scene in heaven in Revelation chapter 5 one of the elders said to John - "Behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals." The writer to the Hebrews also makes this point clear, in Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 14 where he was writing of Christs priesthood being after the order of Melchizedek rather than being from the tribe of Levi, and he says - "For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests." His priesthood was not according to the tribe from which He came, but His kingship was, and that brings us to the next character which we want to point out in this genealogy.

David -
Matthew presents Jesus to his readers, and particularly to the Jews, as a king. There is an emphasis throughout this book on the kingdom. And as far as genealogy goes, the Jews were relentless when it came to family line. If someone was going to be presented to them as a king he had to have the right pedigree. The family line and the tribes of Israel were very important to the Jews. For example, after the conquest of Canaan, it was essential for the Israelites to determine what their tribe was and what their heritage was so that they knew where they were to live, because the land was divided into tribes. According to Numbers chapters 26 and 35 they had to know their tribe, they had to know their family and they had to know their fathers house so that they could identify their location in the land. So tribal identification was very important to the Jews. You'll remember also after the return to the land from Babylonian captivity those who were to serve as priests had to prove themselves in the genealogy. We also see in Luke 2 that this was still important at the birth of Christ. In Luke 2 Mary and Joseph were going down to register according to their house and lineage. Luke 2:1-4 - "Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David." So this was still critical during the time of Christs birth. Paul knew and stated his own credentials in Romans and Philippians.
To the Jews this was very important. There are at least fifty genealogies in the Old Testament. These had to do with the royal line, the priestly line, property transfer, and so on. This has changed today. Jews today have no record of their tribal ancestry. It has completely vanished. No Jew today could ever prove himself to be a son of David. If anyone comes along claiming to be the Messiah he could never prove it. Jesus Christ is the last verifiable claimant to Davids throne. If He is not the Messiah no one else could ever lay claim to it. There are those today who believe that Messiah is still yet to come. But no one today claiming to be the Messiah could ever prove it.

It was prophesied in 2 Samuel 7 that from David would come one who would reign on the throne forever. 2 Samuel 7:12-13 says - "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." This was never fulfilled through Solomon. Christ is the only one who could fulfill this prophecy, and He had to fulfill it. This prophecy is reiterated in Isaiah 9:7 where we read - "There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this." And the Lord says again in Psalm 89:3-4 - "I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations." Again a promise to David's seed, that He would be establish forever. Paul tells us in Romans 1:3 concerning Christ - "Who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh."
In looking at the gospels we see that those who owned Jesus as the Christ recognized Him as the Son of David. We see this with the Canaanite woman in Matthew chapter 15, as well as the blind men at Jericho in Matthew 20 and the crowds in Matthew 21 who were crying out as He entered Jerusalem, "Hosanna to the Son of David." He was recognized as the descendant, the Son of David. Even in Matthew chapter 22 when Jesus asked the Pharisees, "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They responded by saying, "The son of David." They didn't necessarily attribute that to Him or recognize Him to be the Messiah, but they did give heed to the fact that the Messiah was going to come from the line of David and be the royal heir to the throne.

When we compare the genealogy here in Matthew chapter 1 with the one found in Luke chapter 3 we see that they complement one another very nicely. The one in Matthew is a descending record, that is it begins with Abraham and ends with Jesus the Messiah, whereas the one in Luke is an ascending record, that is it begins with the Lord Jesus and works backwards. As if to say that no matter which way you look at it Christ is the focal point. He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end.
Matthew is showing the legal descent while Luke shows us the lineal descent. That is, Matthew is showing us the royal line, the line of the king coming down to Jesus, and Luke shows us the blood line. The kingship, the royal line always came through the father. Jesus had no earthly father, so in order to have the blood line to reign He had to have the blood of David through His mother, and He had to have the right to reign through His adopted father. Josephs line, the kingly line came from David through Solomon. Marys line came from David through one of his other sons, Nathan. So Jesus Christ is the legal heir to the throne through Joseph and He also has the blood of His father David, not through Joseph, but through His mother Mary. This is an essential fact, and we'll see why in a minute.
We read in Matthew 1:16 - "Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah." Notice what it does not say. It doesn't call Joseph the father of Jesus, but rather the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born. In taking Mary as his wife, Joseph was legally adopting Jesus as his firstborn thus making Him the heir to the throne of his father David. He inherited the right to reign through Joseph. Joseph was constituted as His legal father. The Lord Jesus is David's actual seed through Mary, and He is the legal heir to Davids throne through Joseph.
The Bible never calls Joseph Jesus' father, but the Lord Jesus was considered by everyone to be Josephs legal heir, his first born, not by birth, but by adoption. Luke 3:23 says - "When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Eli." And in Luke 4:22 the question is posed concerning the Lord Jesus - "Is this not Joseph’s son?" Thus through Joseph Jesus inherited the royal line and will be able to fulfill the prophecies of Davids seed reigning on the throne forever. Matthew is establishing that Jesus Christ had the right to be King.

I want to look at one more thing in Matthews genealogy, and this will lead us into our next question. Matthew 1:11 says - "Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon."
Jeconiah -
We have an interesting situation introduced to us here in the person of Jeconiah. Jeconiah was the son of Josiah and king of Judah, part of the royal blood line. But because of this we have an interesting predicament, because in Jeremiah chapter 22 the Lord pronounced a blood curse on Jeconiah. We read in Jeremiah 22:30 - "Thus says the Lord, ‘Write this man down childless, a man who will not prosper in his days; for no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah.’" So Christ had to fulfill the prophecies of Messiah by coming from the royal line of David in order to sit on his throne, and yet He could not come through Jeconiah because the Lord had declared that none of his descendants would sit on the throne of his father David. God had to devise a plan by which He could carry on the royal line, and yet bypass the blood-curse on Jeconiah, and He did this in an ingenious way, through the virgin birth.

-WHAT-
That leads us to our next topic, the means by which God brought His Son into the world, namely the virgin birth. This takes us back again to Christs question in Matthew 22:42 - "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" By being born of a virgin, as we've already seen, the Lord Jesus inherited the royal line through Joseph, but avoided the blood-curse of Jeconiah because He was not Joseph's Son by blood, only by adoption. Only God could devise a plan so wonderful, and thus fulfill His Word without contradicting Himself.

The genealogies at which we've looked gave us the royal and blood lines of Christ. The genealogy tells us whose Son He is, namely Davids, but the virgin birth of Christ also tells us whose Son He is, namely Gods. By being the Son of David we see His humanity, by being the Son of God we see His deity. We see His human side in David, and we see His divine side through the virgin birth. If Matthew 1:1-17 was all we had, Jesus would have had the legal right to the throne, but He could have never dealt with our sins problem, because only God can do that. There is only one God and Savior. Therefore, verses 18-25 had to be here, in order that Christ might be, not only the Son of David, but also the Son of God.
In Matthew 1:18 we read this - "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." The word "birth" in Matthew 1:18 is the same as the word translated "genealogy" in verse 1. In verses 1-17 we're given His earthly line, and in verse 18 we're given His Genealogy of deity. He was both God and man. While verses 1-17 present us with "the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Verses 18-25 present us with the "genealogy of Jesus Christ, when His mother Mary was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit."
We're given this account in more detail in Luke 1:26-35 - "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 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 bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God." We read back in Matthew chapter 1 that all this took place in order to fulfill what was spoken by God through the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14 where we read - "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel."

Christ's virgin birth was essential because it was only by the virgin birth that Christ could be sinless. If Christ had a human father, He would not be the Son of God, and not only that, but He would have inherited Adams sin nature. The sin nature is passed down from the fathers to the children throughout history. Since Christ had no earthly father He inherited no sin nature. 1 Peter 1:18-19 when talking about our redemption we read this - "knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." These words describing the blood of Christ are very interesting. we're told that He had no blemish and no spot. A blemish is an acquired mark, a spot is an inherited mark. In other words, a blemish is a mark or a defect that is inflicted upon someone, whether by self or an outside source. A spot is a defect that you're born with. The Lord Jesus had neither. He never committed a single sin, and He wasn't born with a sin nature. As it relates to the sin of mankind He was truly unblemished and spotless.

In Philippians chapter two we're given a marvelous passage concerning the Lord Jesus Christ and His humility in stepping into the world which He created. He is set up in the passage as our example of humility, and we're told to have this mind in us which was also in Christ Jesus, and it goes on to say in Philippians 2:6-7 - who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." Christ humbled Himself to the point of being made like His creation. We're told He was made in the likeness of men. And He accomplished this through the virgin birth.
This humility presented to us here in Philippians 2 leads us to our next topic.

- WHERE -
Matthew 2:4 - "Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born." Here Herod is asking about the location of the birth of Christ, and that's our next question as well.
The location of the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ brings out an aspect of Christs humility. In Philippians 2 Christ humbled Himself by being made in the likeness of men. In that act alone we cannot fathom His humility. But He didn't just become a man, He became the lowest of men, and this is illustrated by His birth in Bethlehem. Christ could have been born in a palace in Rome, the capitol of the world at that time. He could have been born in Athens, the intellectual center in those days, or at least Jerusalem, the capitol of Gods nation. And even if He did come in one of these cities, in what we would consider to be high society, that still would have been an immeasurable leap downward for our Lord to make. Think about it, He stepped out of eternity and the splendor of heaven, and even if He had been born to the richest most powerful family in the best circumstances and the best location on earth, that still would have been an immeasurable humbling. But He went beyond that. He didn't just step into our world, but He became the lowest of the low, not being born in Rome or Athens, or even in Jerusalem. He was born in a little town called Bethlehem. In Micah 5:2 we're given a prophecy concerning the birthplace of the Messiah. Micah 5:2 says - "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." Interestingly enough, this verse not only talks about the humble birthplace of the incarnate God, but also tells that the Christ, this leader of Israel, would be God. For the prophecy says that "His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity." God alone is eternal, and so, again, it's only by the virgin birth that God could become a man, step into human flesh and humble Himself to the point of death, even death on a cross.

This humble birth is recorded in Luke 2:4-7 where we read - "Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." The Lord Jesus Christ went from the highest, loftiest position to the most humble in one step. You can't get any lower than this. He came in to this small, humble nowhere town, and not only that, but when He was born there there wasn't even a room found for Him. His mother didn't have a blanket to wrap Him in, just some rags, swaddling clothes, to wrap around Him, and they had no bed in which to lay Him, simply a feeding trough, a manger. This was the humble beginning of the earthly life of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The One who spoke the universe into existence. He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond servant and being made in the likeness of men.

That passage in Philippians goes on to say - "Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." The humility that is seen at the birth of Christ was characteristic of the life that He would live and of the death that He would die. In Matthew 11 the Lord Jesus describes Himself. He says in Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Notice how our Lord describes Himself, "Gentle and humble in heart." Christ became low, He humbled Himself, and He did it in order to save the likes of us. That brings us to our next question.

- WHY -
Why would God step out of eternity into time? Why would He be born of a virgin in the little town of Bethlehem? Why would God take on human flesh, humble Himself and die? Of course you know the Scriptures. In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul gives the testimony - "It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all." There it is, plain and simple. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. In Ephesians 2:1-7 we read - "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." The Lord Jesus Himself told us His reason for coming in Luke 19:10 where He says - "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." That was Christs purpose. He says again in John 3:16, the most famous verse in all the Bible - "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."
We're told again in Hebrews 2:14-18 the reason why God became a man - "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." He is able to sympathize with us, to come to our aid, to intercede on our behalf, to save us from the penalty and power of sin and enable us to live for Him all because He took on human flesh. It all began at the incarnation. The reason for the birth of that little baby in Bethlehem is the greatest message the world has ever heard.

We read in Galatians 4:4-5 - "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Here, again, we have the reason for the incarnation, and these verses also lead us into our next topic, and that is the timing of the Lords coming.

- WHEN -
Galatians 4:4-5 - "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons."

God deliberately determined the time of Christs coming. In Gods prophetic timetable all the religious, cultural and political conditions were just right in order for the Messiah to be born. I won't go into detail on these issues, but concerning the timing of our Lords birth I'll simply say that back in the ninth chapter of the book of Daniel, a prophecy was given saying that after a certain amount of time Messiah the Prince would come. I haven't done all the research on this myself, but in his book 'the coming prince', sir Robert Anderson lays Daniels seventy weeks and shows that at just the right time Christ died on the cross. At the time that was predicted in this prophecy Christ came and was rejected. The timing of all of this was foretold, and it is laid out in prophetic history. So Paul can say with confidence in Galatians chapter 4 - "when the fulness of time came" or "at just the right time, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law." The first words that the Lord Jesus speaks in the gospel of Mark are found in chapter 1:14-15 where we read - "Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled."" or, "the time is come." We read in Romans 5:6 - "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." In his sermon on Mars Hill, the apostle Paul says concerning God in Acts 17:26 - "having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation." All the events, the circumstances and even the timing surrounding the birth of Christ were controlled and carried out by God according to His perfect plan and purpose for mankind.

What should be our reaction to these things? To close with I just want to share a few accounts of people who saw the new born Christ. People who saw God incarnate, and I suggest that our response to these things should be the same as theirs.

First we have the response of the shepherds, Luke 2:15-20 - "When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them."

Shortly after Christs birth, Mary and Joseph brought Christ up to the temple, and there was a prophetess there named Anna. This is her response. Luke 2:38 - "At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem."

And finally in Matthew 2:10-11 we see the response of the Magi - "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."