Any Bibles with me in Matthew chapter one? Matthew chapter one. Using one of the few Bibles, that's page 807. Matthew one. And before we read God's word together, let's pray. Lord, your word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. So we pray now that you would open our hearts and give us life according to your word. Through Jesus we pray, amen. Follow along as I read Matthew 1 verses 18 through 25. This is God's word. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son, and he called his name Jesus. May God give us ears to hear his word. You've probably heard this before, but they say that until you know a little bit about somebody's story, you don't really know that person. Until you know a little bit about somebody's background, family history, upbringing, where and how they were raised, their childhood, you really don't have a deep relationship with them. You almost can't. I mean, just imagine what it would be like if you had no background information at all about, say, your husband or wife, your parents, your best friend, your roommate. You knew nothing about their childhood, their family, their experiences growing up, what their parents were like. Well, of course, you could certainly love such a person and be a faithful friend to such a person. Your relationship would always feel shallow and superficial. Am I right? This is part of the reason why we ask those who desire to become members here at Trinity to share just a brief testimony of their life story, how they came to know the Lord and what the Lord has done in their lives since. We want to know this because if we're going to be partnering together in advancing the Great Commission, it's just helpful to know a little bit about this person and what they believe. Now, since this is the case, we shouldn't be surprised that the Bible contains a good amount of material on Jesus' background, Jesus' family history. God gave us the Bible so that we might come to know him and his son Jesus, either be introduced to him for the first time or to grow in our relationship with him. And that's why the Lord has revealed to us some fascinating information about Jesus' early childhood and his background. So to help us this morning to come to know Jesus better, either for the first time or maybe for the thousandth time, This morning, this Christmas Sunday, we're going to be studying one of these passages that teaches us about Jesus' background, Matthew 1. In this passage, we'll consider Jesus' surprising ancestry, Jesus' supernatural birth, and Jesus' saving mission. And my hope is that as we consider some of these details together about Jesus' early life, the Lord will give all of us a richer, deeper, more fulfilling understanding of who he is. Let's begin together by considering Jesus' surprising ancestry. We'll see this in verses one through 17. Jesus' surprising ancestry. Now take a look at verse one. God's Spirit says, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Now pause there. Realize that verse functions as a title for verses one through 17. What we have to follow is the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. It's a record of his family tree, his ancestry, tracing it back through King David and even all the way down to Abraham. Now, what follows in verses 2 through 16 is one of the many genealogies in the Bible. Even if you're brand new to church and brand new to Christianity, you're probably familiar with the genealogies in Scripture. They're parts of the Bible that people like to make fun of. But we're going to read part of it and try to make sense of it nonetheless. Begin with me at verse 2. Verse 2, Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez, and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nashon, and Nashon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. We'll stop there for now. I realized that of all the chapters in the entire Bible, the genealogies are some of the most famous and maybe even infamous, and some of the ones that skeptics like to mock. If you ever get into a conversation with a skeptic about the Bible, they'll probably bring passages like this up, and they'll start quoting in a melodramatic voice, so-and-so begot so-and-so, so-and-so begot so-and-so, so-and-so begot so-and-so, and the entire idea is the Bible is just filled with all this irrelevant, pointless information, almost like reading a phone book. I understand that even Christians have a hard time with the genealogies. If you've ever tried to read the Bible cover to cover and you've come across one of these passages, there's a great temptation to just skip right over it and keep going. If you or I were given the responsibility of creating an abridged version of the Bible, chances are we'd leave these sections out. I don't think I've ever seen a children's Bible that includes the genealogies in them. And I'd understand that if, as I just read Matthew 2, 1, 2, and following, that you found your mind sort of wandering as I read these strange names. But here's the deal. The Bible makes a big deal out of genealogies, and not only here in Matthew, but in several other places. God saw fit to include these records of people's names. The longest of these covers 1 Chronicles 1 through 9, but other genealogies are found in Genesis, Numbers, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Luke. And the question we need to grapple with is, what's the point? I mean, if all scripture is inspired by God, if this really is the word of God, God speaking to us, why did God see fit to include these long lists of names? Let me give you three lessons that God teaches us through the genealogy that we have here in Matthew 1. You can apply these to some of the other passages so that when you're reading, say, the Bible cover to cover and you get to, say, 1 Chronicles, remind yourself of these lessons, but these are specifically tailored to Jesus' genealogy here. First, Jesus' ancestry illustrates God's faithfulness to his covenant promises. We clearly see that here. Jesus' ancestry illustrates God's faithfulness to his covenant promises. Now, if you've read this genealogy, two very important people are emphasized. Who are they? Abraham and David. This comes out first in verse one. If you look again at verse one, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. If you jump down to the very end, verse 17, these guys are mentioned again. Verse 17, so all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations, and from David to the deportation of Babylon were 14 generations, and from the deportation of Babylon to the Christ, 14 generations. So in this genealogy that mentions roughly 50 individuals, for some reason Abraham and David are especially emphasized. Now why might that be the case? Well, if you remember the Old Testament, God made some special covenant promises to both Abraham and to David. To Abraham, God promised this in Genesis 12, I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Special covenant promises to Abraham. God made similar covenant promises to King David. 2 Samuel 7, 12, I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Like Abraham, God promised David a descendant, an offspring, but the unique thing about the promise to David is that his offspring would one day rule the entire world. Now with those promises in mind, look again at verse one. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. What the rest of the book of Matthew is going to demonstrate is that Jesus is the fulfillment of those promises both to Abraham and to David. He is that seed of Abraham in whom all the families of the earth will be blessed. He is that descendant of King David who will one day rule the entire world. Let me give you another lesson from Jesus' ancestry. Jesus' surprising ancestry reminds us that God doesn't always accomplish his plans immediately or obviously. We see that here. God doesn't always accomplish His plans immediately or obviously. Now, the Bible clearly teaches that God is mysteriously orchestrating everything, every last detail, according to the counsel of His will. Everything from the rise and fall of the kingdoms to the hair that falls from your head. God is somehow weaving that all together to accomplish purposes that He ordained from before the creation of the world. It's a mysterious idea. It's the entire idea of God's sovereignty, God's providence, and it's why we Christians can believe that God is working all things together for good. Now, like I said, God is faithful to his covenant promises to Abraham and to David, but what we've got to understand is that God did not fulfill those promises overnight. In fact, it took a long, long time for those promises to come to pass. What do I mean by that? Well, Abraham lived about 2,000 years before Christ. When he received that original promise that you're going to have all these children, he probably wasn't thinking 2,000 years later. David lived 1000 BC. When he received that promise that one of your descendants is going to rule the entire world, he probably wasn't thinking a thousand years from now. But nonetheless, Jesus was born in the fullness of time at the very best time conceivable. Realize this is contrary to the way that we often think God fulfills his promises. We tend to think that if God is going to do something, it's going to happen pretty quickly. You know, if God wants me to be married, or if God wants me to have children, or if God wants to save my spouse, or if God wants me to become a missionary, we imagine the details sort of effortlessly falling in place relatively quickly and easily. Realize, brothers and sisters, that's typically more the exception than the rule. More often than not, God works very slowly, and this very sort of to us feels meandering, like where is this all going? But through it all, God is faithful nonetheless to accomplish what he has purposed. We need to keep this in mind, especially as we think about the second coming of Jesus. Often people think, you know, Jesus died 2,000 years ago. In 2,000 years, he hasn't come back yet. You'd think he would have come by now. So therefore, since he hasn't come back yet, he's never coming again, and the entire Bible must be wrong. But realize that is very human reasoning, human thinking. Jesus certainly said, I will come again. But just like the promises made to Abraham that took 2,000 years to come to pass, the promises made to David that took 1,000 years to come to pass, God is free to do whatever he wants according to his timetable, not our expectations. And he's no less faithful in the process. Listen to 2 Peter 3.8. Peter writes, do not overlook this one fact, beloved. what the Lord one day is as 1,000 years and 1,000 years is as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. In addition to that, consider the way in which the fulfillment of God's promises here, it was not obvious to those who were fulfilling them. What do I mean by that? Well, this genealogy here in Matthew 1, it covers around 2,000 years. In those 2,000 years, the folks involved probably had no idea where history was going. Even a lot of the folks mentioned in this genealogy, they probably had no clue that they might be the long descendant of... Millions of people during this time lived and died having no idea where history was going, and yet, nonetheless, God was working behind the scenes bringing to pass what he had purposed from before the foundation of the world. Realize this is how God works today. Though we don't see it, though we don't understand how it's happening, God is still working all things according to the counsel of his will. The fact that you're here this morning hearing this sermon, that was ordained for you when time was not. I mean, if you get that, that'll kind of blow your mind. Wow, God, like a zillion, zillion years ago, God had planned for me to be here to hear this very sermon? Absolutely. That's not because I'm so special or we're so special, but because God is so special and he can do things that we cannot comprehend. We trust in a sovereign God who will do all that he has promised, but in a way that's not always obvious to us and that often feels meandering. But what's our response? Our role is to trust in him. Trust in him. We don't know how he's going to accomplish it, but that he will, he's proven over and over again. So let's trust in him. Let me give you one final lesson from this genealogy. Jesus' surprising ancestry, it also reminds us of his willingness to associate with notorious sinners. That's probably the most famous lesson from this passage. Jesus' surprising ancestry reminds us of his willingness to associate with notorious sinners. Now, as we read the genealogy, several good guys pop out, guys that you want your kids to grow up and be like. There's Abraham, the paradigm of what it means to have faith. There's King David, the man after God's own heart. There's godly Boaz, wise Solomon, courageous Josiah. I mean, there are a lot of good guys in Jesus' family tree, again, people that we want to emulate. But in addition to that, there's also some scoundrels in Jesus' ancestry, guys that you would not want your children to grow up and be like. We got evil Rehoboam, faithless Abijah, sinful Joram. Maybe most shocking of all, Jesus is a direct descendant of King Manasseh. And of Manasseh, it says this in 2 Chronicles 33.9, Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem astray to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel. So this king that led the nation to do more evil than the pagans that didn't know God, he's a direct descendant of Jesus. What's maybe most surprising in Jesus' family tree are the women who are listed and who are not listed. For example, there's no mention of Sarah, Rebecca, or Rachel, whom you kind of would expect to be included. But there is included Tamar, who engaged in incest and adultery. There's Rahab, the prostitute. There's Ruth, the Moabite. And then there's the one simply described as the wife of Uriah. Jesus' ancestry, it doesn't hide the fact, but it actually seems to emphasize that he's descended from some rather scandalous situations. Sometimes people think this way today. You know, my grandfather, he murdered somebody. My dad was a drunk. My uncle was a compulsive gambler. There must not be any hope for me. Brothers and sisters we need to fight that kind of thinking tooth and nail. Jesus was a direct descendant of some really gross scoundrels and yet obviously he turned out alright. Along these lines you might remember the way in which Jesus during his lifetime was known as the friend of sinners. a friend of sinners. The folks that were comfortable being around him were tax collectors, which are kind of like sleazy loan sharks. More than one prostitute was in Jesus' presence. Hardened soldiers hung around with Jesus. These were the people that were comfortable being around him, even eating meals with him. And when Jesus died on the cross, he didn't die to save the righteous, but whom? Like Romans 5, 6 says, while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Jesus was and remains today the friend of sinners, the one who, because of his death and resurrection, can gladly forgive and save all of those who turn from their sin and embrace him. Regardless of your background, regardless of your family tree, your ethnicity, your criminal record, your behavior, your lifestyle choices, if you turn from your rebellion and embrace him with faith, he'll save you right now. One last comment on Jesus' surprising ancestry. Look at verse 16. In verse 16, it says, and Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. Now in this verse, the pattern that has been followed for 15 verses suddenly changes. For 15 verses, we had this pattern, so-and-so is the father of so-and-so, so-and-so is the father of so-and-so, so-and-so is the father of so-and-so. That's the pattern, but then all of a sudden, things change here in verse 16, and we get Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ. Now, why would the Bible do that? Why is that significant? Well, that brings us to our next point here. Consider with me next Jesus' supernatural birth. In verses 18 through 25, notice Jesus' supernatural birth, and let's begin in verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Now, here's the answer as to why verse 16 suddenly changed everything. The reason for it is because Joseph is not Jesus' biological father. He's born in a different way than all the other folks mentioned in this genealogy. Now, I want to make a few observations on these verses, and the first thing I'd like you to consider with me is the emphasis on the Holy Spirit as the agent of Mary's conception. Clearly, this comes out twice in this passage. The emphasis on the Holy Spirit as the agent of Mary's conception. Look at verse 18. Before they came together, which is Bible terminology for marital relations, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Again, in verse 20, it says, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. So the true father of Jesus was no human at all. Though he is a true human born as a little baby, he was not conceived the way that we are through normal human reproduction. Instead, he was conceived by a miracle of the Holy Spirit. Speaking of this miracle, this is what we have in Luke 135. The angel said to Mary, the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. Now, perhaps you're here thinking, you know, this whole virgin birth thing that Christians claim, I think it's nonsense. I mean, didn't you all pay attention in biology class? Don't you understand how human reproduction works? Isn't a virgin birth a contradiction in terms? Well, here's how we Christians would respond to that. We have many, many, many good reasons for believing that the Bible is the very Word of God. Many. And if you want to talk to me afterwards, I'd be delighted to discuss it. This is actually one of my favorite topics to talk about. So ask me at the door. But we have many, many good reasons to believe that the Bible is the inspired, living Word of God. What Scripture says, God says. And if God, in His trustworthy Word, has told us that Jesus is born of a virgin, we believe that since we trust the Bible. Additionally, God, because He's God, is able to do things called miracles. That's kind of like part of the definition of what a God can do. God can manipulate the laws of nature and physics and biology and do things that we cannot comprehend. And you think about it, if God did this in the beginning, I mean, if He created this entire universe out of nothing, and frankly everybody believes that, that there was a time when there was nothing and then all of a sudden there was everything, if God can do that, certainly He can circumvent normal human reproduction and cause a version to conceive, don't you think? It's like the Holy Spirit says in Jeremiah 32, 17, Ah, Lord God, it is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. If you're here today and you're somebody that really struggles with some of the miracles in the Bible, and it's not only the virgin birth, but the virgin birth and maybe Jonah being swallowed by the fish or the resurrection, you know, there are a lot of miracles in the Bible. If that's you, the question I'd encourage you to deal with is this, is the Bible the word of God? Don't start with, you know, could a person live in a fish's belly for three days? No. Take a step back and consider a more foundational question. Why do Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God? Again, you can talk to me, but I'd actually encourage you to talk to any member of this church. Hopefully they're ready to go and ready to give you some good answers here. But that's the question I'd encourage you to explore, because until you get that nailed down, other matters won't make a whole lot of sense. Now, thinking about the virgin birth as to why it's important, we don't have time to explore this entirely now. I did preach a sermon a few years ago on Isaiah chapter nine, or I think it was seven, pardon me, Isaiah seven, if you want to understand all sort of the details of the virgin birth. But quickly, let me give you three reasons, and I'm not going to explore these in detail, three reasons why the virgin birth is important. First, the virgin birth is a fulfillment of ancient prophecy. The fact that Jesus was born of a virgin is the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. Isaiah Chapter 9 prophesies this. Isaiah is about 700 years BC. So he's fulfilling this prophecy in part to show that the Word of God is in fact the Word of God and not the words of men. Additionally, the virgin birth shows us how Jesus is fully God and fully man in one person. Christians believe that Jesus is totally God, like eternal God, equal with the Father, equal with the Spirit. We also believe he's truly human. Not a sinner like we are, but nonetheless a true human. How better to illustrate that than something like a virgin birth? Coming from Mary, showing us humanity, but coming from the Holy Spirit, showing us deity. The last thing I'll say about the virgin birth, the virgin birth illustrates how salvation is a work of God and not a work of man. The cool thing about the virgin birth is that we could not accomplish it if we tried. Go home and try and accomplish a virgin birth and come back next week and report how it went. We can't do that. So also in salvation, nobody is saved by anything that we do. Not by works of righteousness that we have done. No, it's by God's mercy, God coming down to us and performing a miracle. That's how we're saved. And again, that's illustrated beautifully in the virgin birth. Those are just three reasons. Again, you can explore that more if you want to on that sermon from Isaiah 7. But all of this is true because of Jesus' supernatural birth. We're almost done, but let's consider lastly Jesus' saving mission. We have this in Matthew 1, 21 through 23, Jesus' saving mission. And to organize our thoughts here, I'd like us to consider Jesus' two names. First, Emmanuel, and then his proper name, Jesus. Let's begin in verse 23. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. So the first name given to Jesus is Emmanuel. Emmanuel, now what's that all about? Well, the word Emmanuel, it literally means God with us. If you know the word Emmanuel, you know your first Hebrew word. It literally means God with us. And we see Matthew define it this way in verse 23, Emmanuel, which means God with us. So in some sense, this baby brings God to us. Now, what does that really mean? Well, in the Bible, God being with somebody, it's really a metaphor for his blessing and protection. If God said, I will be with you, that's not just wishful thinking. We talk that way sometimes. I'll be with you on your trip to Texas next week. We don't really mean that in any kind of literal sense. It just means kind of like, we're going to be thinking about you. That's not what God means when God says, I will be with you. When God says, I will be with you, it's a unique way to protect you, to bless you, to almost be this force field of grace around you as you go. You see this everywhere in the Bible, but consider Deuteronomy 31.8. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. So the question we need to ask then is, in what sense is Jesus Emmanuel? In what sense is he God with us? Is he just sort of like a reminder that God is with his people? You know, kind of like a hallmark card? Or is it more than that? Well, when you consider other passages that speak of Jesus as the incarnation of God's presence, you discover it's a whole lot more than just sort of a sentimental reminder that God is with us. For example, in Isaiah 9, another great Christmas passage, listen to this, Isaiah says, So this little baby, laid in a manger, is almighty God. That's what it means that he is God. He's like literally God with us, not just a hallmark card, not just a sentimental reminder. He is God himself in the flesh dwelling among us. Watch the first name, Emmanuel. Let's talk about the second name, Jesus. Twice it's Emmanuel, but his proper name will be Jesus. If you look at verse 21, if you will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Now, the name Jesus was actually extraordinarily popular in the first century. When I say Jesus, you think of the Jesus in the Bible. But in the first century, Jesus was a very, very common boy's name. If I remember correctly, roughly 10% of Jewish boys born in the first century were named Jesus. And of the 10 high priests that ruled during the first century, four of them had the name Jesus. So this name alone would not have caused Jesus to just sparkle with uniqueness. The name Jesus is actually the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Joshua. Joshua Hebrew, Jesus Greek, they're the same name. So if you're Joshua here, you could use your name, you could call people, you could tell people your name is Jesus if you wanted to. But there is an important detail in this passage that sets this Jesus apart from every other Jesus. And it's in verse 21. You shall call his name Jesus. And why? Because he will save his people from their sins. Because he's got a people that belong to him that the rest of the Bible tells was Chosen before the foundation world that he would come to redeem and he will succeed in saving them from their sins and notice It's not a potential. It's not like he he might save them or he's gonna try to save them But he will succeed in saving them from their sins Maybe you're here today and you're not a Christian You're not a follower of Jesus. If that's the case, we're delighted to hear. Sincerely, thank you for coming. You're always welcome to be with us. In fact, there's nowhere we'd rather you be at 1045 than here with us, hearing God's word, singing God's praises. But if you're here today and you're not a follower of Jesus, let me just explain a bit more about what it means to be saved from our sins. What does it mean that Jesus will save his people from their sins? Well, the Bible tells us that you were created to know God. That's why you're on this planet. All right, you ever wonder about, you know, why am I here? Well, let me tell you why you're here. You're here to know God, to have a relationship and to gladly embrace his leadership in every area of life, over your finances, over your marriage, over the way that you raise your kids, over the way that you work your job. That's why you're here. And you don't need to go just sort of wandering around the back country of Europe trying to figure out why I'm here. Here's why you're here, to know God and to have a relationship with him. But the Bible tells us that we have all sinned and rebelled against this God. We've basically told God, God, thank you very much for creating me. Thank you very much for giving me everything that I have. Basically get lost, I don't want you to tell me how to live. I'd rather live life my own way. And be honest, I know that sounds kind of harsh, especially on a Christmas Sunday when we're supposed to be filled with peace and joy and whatnot, but isn't that really the way that your heart responds when God tells you to do this or that? When he says, don't do what you really want to do, or do do what you really don't want to do, aren't you like, yeah, God, I prefer if you go get lost? That's who we are by nature. And when you think about it, we've been created for God's glory to glorify Him in every area of life and have a relationship with Him. And then when you think about it, we've basically all told God to take a hike. It's a huge sin. I mean, that's a massive rebellion. We have utterly failed in the reason for our existence. More than that, we have like kicked the reason for our existence to the curb and said, I don't want to do what I'm supposed to do. And we're all guilty of that. Now, under those circumstances, God would have been righteous and just to just condemn us all. Say, you don't want to have anything to do with me? You don't have to. Be lost forever. The glorious message of the gospel is He didn't. He pursued us even when we ran from Him. He sought a relationship with us even when we told Him to get lost. And what did He do? God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, the eternal second person of the Trinity. Like we've talked about all morning, He takes on flesh and blood, a true human body. He grows up going through all the different stages of human development, experiencing all the frustrations that are just part and parcel of life in this world, fully obeys God perfectly all throughout life. And then he has this relatively brief ministry toward the end of his life, performs miracles, casts out demons, shows compassion and pity, shows courage and strength. But most importantly, he dies on a cross. And what's going on on that cross? He's bearing the judgment our sins deserve. Get this. All that judgment I deserve for telling God to get lost falls on Jesus on the cross in my place as my substitute. This is how Jesus saves his people from their sins. He bears it completely. He suffers entirely the judgment of God I deserve, and not only for me, but for all of those, from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation, from all of human history, all who would turn from their sin and embrace Jesus. He absorbs it entirely. Three days later, God the Father raises Jesus back from the dead to demonstrate that what I'm telling you right now is true. And now there's an open invitation. Come to me. Trust in me. Be forgiven. Turn from your rebellion. Stop telling God to get lost. Stay out of my life. Thank you. I'll live life my own way. Stop doing that. Instead, rely on what Jesus has done. Embrace his loving leadership and be permanently, instantly reconciled to God. This is what it means that Jesus will save his people from their sins, and that is offered to you right now if you'll turn from your sin and embrace the Lord Jesus. So as we begin to close up here, this is what I'd invite you to do. If you've never put your hope in the Lord Jesus, right now recognize, you know, I have been living a fool's dream, thinking that I could find happiness and joy and fulfillment in rebellion. Right now, I repent from that. I recognize that as the utter foolishness that it is, and I rely entirely on what Jesus has done. Do that right now when you will be reconciled to your Creator, made right with God, and enter back into that relationship with God you were created for in the beginning. As always, if any of you would like to discuss any of this further, any clarification on anything that I've said, would like somebody to pray with you, pray for you, please talk to me after the service. I'll be at the front door to greet people on the way out. But again, trust in the Lord Jesus and today, enter back into that relationship with God you were created for. Now, thinking about these two names, Jesus and Emmanuel, what do you think the relationship is between them? Do they relate in any way? I think they do. I'll read what commentator RT France says, because he says it better than I could. But he says, the point is not that Jesus ever bore Emmanuel as an actual name. If you read the Gospels, nobody ever calls him, hello, Emmanuel. but that it indicates his role in bringing God's presence to man. This meaning is related to that of his actual name, Jesus, in that it is sin which separates man from God's presence, so the salvation from sin results in God with us. Remember that next time you read Matthew chapter one. Well, to conclude our time this morning, I made the claim at the beginning that until you know a little bit about a person's story, you don't really know that person. Of course, you can love them and serve them and be a friend to them, but your relationship will always be a little bit superficial until you know a little bit about their background. Well, if that's the case, how thankful we should be for Matthew chapter one. I mean, how kind was it for God to include this chapter in the Bible, which tells us about Jesus' background and family history. In this chapter, we've seen Jesus' surprising ancestry, how he's a fulfillment of those ancient promises made to Abraham and David. We've seen Jesus' supernatural birth, how Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary in fulfillment of ancient promises. And God has revealed to us in this passage Jesus' saving mission, how he not only brings God's presence to people, but is literally God among us, come to save us from our sins. So at this Christmas time, I wonder, what is the proper response to all of this? I mean, how really should we? Why did God include this in the Bible? How should we respond? I think there's really only one proper response, and that's to worship. To worship. To stand in awe, to stand in praise, to stand in marvel that God would love us so to send us a Savior, a Savior in our great need. A Savior who came down from heaven, a Savior who was born of a virgin, who lived a perfect, sinless life, who died a horrible death on a cross, but was then raised again to life, all to save us from our sins. Let this Christmas be fuel for your worship. Let's pray. Gracious God, thank you for having mercy on us. We were those lost in darkness, lost in ignorance, lost in rebellion. We were those careening headlong into hell. Not even caring. Lord, you had mercy on us and gave us a savior, a savior who comes to save his people from their sins. And he did succeed in saving his people from their sins. We praise you for that. Lord, for those of us who know you, please move in our hearts that we would give you the worship you're worthy of this Christmas time. And for any that don't yet know you, work in their hearts right now by your spirit and give them faith and repentance. Through Jesus we pray, amen.