Thru the Bible

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent word.

Host: Okay, I admit it. Genealogies, while they can be a little boring, can't they? So when Matthew opens with a long genealogy, you know, Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob. It's tempting to close the book, isn't it?

But as we discover in Genesis, sometimes the seemingly unimportant parts of scripture are actually quite meaningful. Welcome to Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee. I'm your host Steve Schwetz, and as the Bible bus rolls up to the first chapter of Matthew, Dr. McGee points out some remarkable truths woven into the genealogy of Jesus Christ. For example, we'll be hearing about four women, Gentiles, whose names shine like neon lights on the page. So open your Bible to Matthew chapter 1, and let's get started. We'll begin with an introduction from Dr. McGee, followed by his prayer as we start our study together.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: This is a gospel that is very much like the book of Genesis. These are two key books of the Bible, and you need to think your way through these books. These are two books that we ought to be familiar with. I think it's important to be able to think your way through this. And I and other days would tell students, instead of counting sheep at night when you can't sleep, the thing to do is to think your way through Genesis, and then to think your way through the Gospel of Matthew. Take it up chapter by chapter. Chapter 1, what is it about? Chapter 2, what's it about? Either Genesis or the Gospel of Matthew. Those that say don't count sheep, talk to the shepherd. Well, the finest way to talk to the shepherd is to go through these two books, and that'll help you to get acquainted with him, by the way, and come to know him. And it's more important to have him talk to us than for us to talk to him. I don't know that I got too much to tell him. And he has a lot to tell me. So, probably, we ought to make it like that, and we suggest that you do that.

Now as I come today to this very important beginning that we have in the very first chapter, we have chapter 1, the genealogy and record of the virgin birth of Jesus, the genealogy and virgin birth of Jesus in chapter 1. The genealogy, which opens the Gospel of Matthew and the New Testament, is in many respects the most important document in the Scriptures. Now before we get into it, shall we look to God in prayer. Heavenly Father, make rich and real today thy word to us. And help us to know the one that is the subject of this book. Help us to see that this is thy hymn book. It's all about him. And the cry of the Old Testament is the cry of Job that I might find him. And the New Testament gives the answer as Philip cried out, "We have found him." May that be our experience to find him upon the pages of Scripture. We pray that in Jesus' name.

As we get into this gospel here, you'll notice this genealogy that opens it. You have here a genealogy from Abraham to David, then a genealogy from Solomon to the Babylonian captivity. Genealogy from the Babylonian captivity to Joseph the carpenter, 12 through 17. And I must confess it's rather boring these genealogies, but I do think they're very important. You remember back in Genesis, I called attention to the fact that book's about the families, about how important they are. Well, here you see it. This genealogy that opens the New Testament.

Now, I must confess that to give anyone the New Testament with the Gospel of Matthew here at the beginning, and this genealogy staring them in the face, they're not apt to get very far in it. A friend of mine, a chaplain in World War II, told me he gave out literally thousands of New Testaments to service men. He said, I've seen many a man as I'd give them out in a bunk house, or in some other place, take a New Testament, open it up to the beginning and read probably two minutes, start through that genealogy, and he came to the conclusion it was not for him. Can't blame him. My point is that I think the Gospel of Mark or the Gospel of Luke, or even the Gospel of John, is more appropriate than giving the Gospel of Matthew to the average person. And that's the reason that we ought to use, I think, a little wisdom in giving it out. But that does not lessen the fact of the importance of this genealogy.

Now, this genealogy, the entire New Testament rests upon it, the accuracy of it. This genealogy establishes the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is of the line of Abraham and he's of the line of David. And both are very important. The line of Abraham puts him in the nation. The line of David puts him on the throne. He is in that line. Now these genealogies to these people were very important. You'll find out that back in the book of Ezra, that when they returned from the captivity of the tribe of Levi, in Ezra 2:62 it says, "These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found. Therefore, they were as polluted, put from the priesthood." Couldn't be accepted. Now, very frankly, the Lord Jesus Christ had this genealogy that apparently was somewhere in that day for public inspection. I have a notion the temple, because they were actually a theocracy. Here was the place where the church and the state were really united, religion and the state were one.

And so, this genealogy was obviously on display. The very interesting thing is, though he's been challenged down through the years in practically every phase and feature. But this genealogy in those early days was never challenged. And the reason is obvious, it was on display. All you'd have to do to check it out, and I'm sure many did. They checked it out and found out it was accurate. Now, this is important for it puts him in a very unique position. You remember that he said, "The shepherd he comes in at the gate." The thief and the robber, he climbs over the fold some other way. Now, that fold is the nation Israel. And he didn't climb into the fold over a fence in the back. He didn't come in through the alleyway. He came in through the gate. He was born in the line of David and in the line of Abraham. That's very important. He is the fulfillment. That's what Matthew is putting before us is that he's the fulfillment of everything that had been mentioned in the Old Testament. That must be looked at. Now, these genealogies were public records in the temple. Apparently until 70 AD at the time of the destruction of the temple. And the enemy up to that time, I'm sure checked it out, and they determined that it was an accurate genealogy. He had to be challenged in some other way, and of course he was. But this is very important to see.

Now, Matthew, in this first chapter also, he teaches the virgin birth. I have never objected to any man saying he does not believe the virgin birth. He has that right. The thing I object to are two things. I don't think a preacher ought to deny the virgin birth. If he denies the virgin birth, then he ought to get a job selling insurance, and dealing with births in a little different way. And I don't mind the unbeliever saying he does not believe in the virgin birth. But the other thing is, I object to anyone saying, "Well, the Bible does not teach the virgin birth." My friend, if you know anything about the birds and the bees, and we have a lot of sex education today, and I suggest that there are a lot of liberals that ought to go back to school and maybe pick up a little of this sex education today, and find out that Jesus was virgin born. That's the record that is here.

Now, you can reject the record and say you don't believe the record. But you got no right to say that it doesn't teach it. It reveals apparently either an ignorance of what is stated here or just absolutely willfully denying what is written. The Bible, both Matthew and Luke, and Luke is a doctor, and my friend, he goes into detail. He gives you a whole statement relative to obstetrics when you get there. Now, this genealogy is so important in many ways. I find it very interesting this one, but I do find genealogies a little boring. I went to a summer conference when I was just a young fellow. In fact, it was at that conference that the Lord spoke to my heart. That's the first time that I had ever in my life had any interest. And I was in my teens about somewhere between 16 and 18. I've never really determined exactly how old I was at that time. But at that conference, the Bible teacher, and believe me he thrilled my heart as he taught the word of God. He asked one morning, "How many of you young people have read the Bible through in a year?" And not a hand was put up. And he asked the question again. He said, "I'm sure out of this crowd." And I think there must have been 2 to 300 young people there. He asked it again. And not a hand went up. And he came back to the third time. And he said, "Now look, how many of you have read the Bible through? Certainly out of a group this size we'd find some." And one young man put up his hand rather furtively, hesitatingly. And he said, "Well, I read, but I only only read that which was interesting." He said, "I didn't read the genealogies." Everybody laughed, and the teacher, he laughed too, and he said, "Well, I don't read them either." And at that very moment, it occurred to me that since the Spirit of God had used so much printer's ink in giving us this, that there must be some importance to it. Now, I'd have you note this when I'm in Matthew, for it's very important.

Notice chapter 1, verse 1, now, and we have here the genealogy of the Lord Jesus. And that's on Joseph's side. Now, we'll have another one when we get over to Luke, and that's on Mary's side. But here, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Now, this expression, this phrase here, the book of the generation, is an unique expression. You wouldn't find it anywhere else in the New Testament. And you start back through the Old Testament, begin at Malachi and Zechariah, Haggai, then keep going back and come to the Pentateuch, and you still haven't found it. And you take Deuteronomy, Numbers, and Leviticus, and Exodus, and you still haven't found it. You've come to the conclusion it may not be in the Bible then, except here in Matthew. And then you come to 50th chapter of Genesis, 49, 48, 47, 46, and on down, and you just keep moving. And finally, you get way down to the very beginning, and you're sure now, in fact, you're just about ready to close the Bible, and all of a sudden, you come to the fifth chapter of Genesis, and you see, this is the book of the generation of Adam. There's the expression again. There are two books, the book of the generation of Adam, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. How did you get in the family of Adam? You got in by a birth. Did you perform it? Oh no, you had nothing to do with it, tell the truth, but that's the way you and I got into the family of Adam. We got there by a birth. But in Adam all die.

Then there's another book, and that's the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. How do you get into that family? Into that genealogy? Well, you get in by a birth, a new birth. The Lord Jesus said, "You must be born again." Now, that's the Lamb's Book of Life, and you get in there by trusting Christ. These are the two books. All of us are in the first one, the book of the generation of Adam. I trust all of us today are in the Lamb's Book of Life. Now, he says he's the son of David, the son of Abraham. Now, didn't Matthew know that Abraham came before David? Of course he did, because he makes that clear in the rest of the genealogy. But why did he put it this way? Because he's presenting the Lord Jesus as the Messiah, as the one who is the King and who is the one to establish the kingdom of heaven on Earth. And that comes first. And he must be in the line of David in fulfillment of the prophecies that God made to David. He is the son of David, but also he's the son of Abraham, and it's very important that he be the son of Abraham in this nation, because God had said to Abraham, "I'll make you a blessing to all nations. And in thy seed." And Paul says, "That seed was one, and that seed was Christ." So he's the son of Abraham.

Now, you go through the genealogy. Let me read a little here. Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, Jacob begat Judas and his brethren, Judas begat Pharez, Sarah of Thamar, Pharez begat Esrom, Esrom begat Aram, Aram begat Aminadab. How many of you think that's interesting? Well, I see a few hands that are put up, some way over in the Highlands, some up in the state of Washington, and some down in Texas, and way across the Pacific. There are some hands up. You find this interesting, do you? Well, then I ought to read a little bit more then. Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab, Boaz begat Obed of Ruth, Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David the king, and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias. Now, I won't read any more, even for those of you who put your hand up, because the names now get so they're difficult to pronounce. And I'll just bypass them if you don't mind. But did you note in this section that I read there are four names that stand out in neon lights. That's just the way they do. First of all, there are the names of Gentiles. And Gentiles just didn't seem to get into these genealogies. And yet they did. The genealogy of David certainly has Gentiles in it. And then in that line, also, you find these four names are names of women. And women just didn't count in that day. My, how times have changed. They count today. But we still have a carryover. When a couple gets married, whose name do they take? They take the man's name. His name's carried on. Not the woman's name. Well, why don't they carry on the name of the woman? Well, out here in Pasadena several years ago, there was a couple got married, and they took the woman's name. A great many thought it would be illegal. It's not illegal. It's a custom. They take the name of the man. That's the way that we do it. It's the man's genealogy today, you see, that is carried on. And not the woman's genealogy, and that was true in that day. Now, I've had couples that have come before me that they would have done well to have taken the name of the woman. Some couple comes up and the fellow's name is a funny name like Schekelgruber or something like that. And she's has a lovely name like Jones or Smith. She has to give up that lovely name in order to take his name. Well, that's the way we do it today. That's custom. But here are the names of four women, four Gentiles.

Tamar is the first one in verse 3. And she got into the genealogy because she was a sinner. You remember her story. I said that was the worst chapter in the Bible. Back in Genesis we saw that. And Rahab is the next one. And she's not a very pretty character when we meet her, but she became a wonderful person by the way, when she came to a knowledge of the living and true God. And by faith the harlot Rahab perished not when she received the spies in peace. She got in the genealogy of Christ for the very simple reason that she actually believed. She had faith. You just notice the steps here. You come as a sinner, and then you reach out the hand of faith. And what happens? Well, the next one that's mentioned here is Ruth. And she's a lovely person. You won't find anything wrong with her. But the law now kept her out. You see, the law would have kept these other two out, but there was no law in that day, but there's a law now. And Ruth was shut out because the law said a Moabite or Ammonite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. And the law kept her out, but there was a man by the name of Boaz, who came into his field one day, and he saw her, and it was love at first sight. The minute he saw her, he fell in love with her. And somebody says, "You don't believe in love at first sight, do you?" I said, "I sure do." I believe in love at first sight. I proposed to my wife the second date that I had with her. And the only reason that I didn't propose the first date was because I didn't want her to think I was in a hurry. May I say to you, I believe in love at first sight, but don't misunderstand if you're a young person today. We waited a year before we got married to make sure. And I think that's always wise. But this man Boaz loved her, and he extended grace to her, put his mantle around her, and brought her, a Gentile, into the congregation of Israel. May I say to you, she said, "Why have I found grace in thy eyes?" And for you and I can ask that question today. We come as sinners, we hold out the hand of faith, and he by his marvelous grace saves us.

There's a fourth one here. Her name's not mentioned. It says to her that had been the wife of Urias. We know who it is, Bathsheba. But why isn't her name given? Well, it wasn't her sin. It just happened to be David's sin. And David was the one that really had to pay for it, and he did pay for it. She got in the genealogy of Christ because God does not throw overboard one of his that sins. And one of his will always come back. A sheep can get out of the fold and become a lost sheep, but we got a shepherd that goes after a sheep, and he'll always bring them back into the fold. He brought David back. And this is the whole story of salvation right here. But there's a very interesting name that is mentioned here. You find out that a great many here in the genealogy are left out. They need to be filled in. I find out in verse 8, Ahaziah, Joash is left out. They're not here. And I find out a little farther that there are others that are left out of the genealogy. That gives me the idea that probably the genealogy way back at the beginning of Genesis before the flood, that we are not given a complete genealogy. I think man has been on this Earth, friends, longer than Usher's dating has it. I had a clipping, somebody asked a question of one of these persons in a magazine that answers, when was the creation of the Earth? And they gave the dating that you have in the Bible that is that's been put in there by Usher. Well, may I say to you it's as faulty as it can be, it doesn't belong there. We haven't any idea the original dating of the Earth and as I've suggested it could have been millions of years. And I think frankly, that probably today they're getting close to it. They say now 5 billions of years. They're getting, I think, close to it because I think it could have been 50 billions of years. Our God had a great deal to do in the past, and he did not need to confine it in just a few thousand years. But be that as it may, there is a name that is here that is left out and we're told verse 10, Ammon begat Josias and Josias begat Jeconiah. Now, actually Jehoiakim is left out of here. And Jeconiah is one that you find that's not in the genealogy at all because of the fact that God had made the statement that no one in that line would ever be able to sit on the throne of David. You find in Jeremiah 22:24, "As I live saith the Lord, though Coniah," now it's Jeconiah but God took the JE, which is his name off of it, "the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, though he were the signet upon my right hand, yet I would pluck him thence." And then in Jeremiah 22:30, he went on to say, "Thus saith the Lord, write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days, for no man of his seed shall prosper sitting upon the throne of David and ruling anymore in Judah." And because of the sin of this man, no one in his line. Now Joseph is in this line. But this is the line that has the title to the throne of David. May I say this is one of the most remarkable things in the scripture. That's what Matthew's trying to show us. Joseph could not be the natural father of Jesus. All he can do is to give him the title, the legal title to the throne of David. And by being the husband of Mary, who was the one who bore Jesus, he therefore could pass that on to him. But he has to be in the line of David, and Mary's in that line of David. And you'll find that David had many sons. One of them was named Solomon. Through him Joseph came according to this genealogy, according to the one that's in Luke, the third chapter. You'll find in Luke 3:31 that Nathan was a son of David. Through that line Mary came, and Jesus was born. They both went up to Bethlehem, the house of David, because they both belong to that house to be enrolled for the taxation. Now we'll have to leave right off there today, but you see there these genealogies, when you dig into them have many things in them that are fascinating and interesting. Until next time, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

Host: If you're discovering a new joy and hunger for God's word as Dr. McGee explains the Bible so clearly, why don't you invite a friend or neighbor to hop aboard the Bible bus with you? If they missed the message, just point them to TTB.org where they can listen online or download our app. And if you're already listening in the app, you'll also find Dr. McGee's notes and outlines right there to help you follow along. And for those who want to spend more time in God's word, check out our Bible companion for Matthew. It's really a helpful guide whether you're studying on your own or gathering with friends, and it's designed to spark thoughtful reflection and meaningful discussions. Our prayer is that as you spend more time lingering in God's word, your heart would be stirred and your understanding would grow. The Bible companion for Matthew is available for free digital download in our app or at TTB.org or call 1-800-65-BIBLE to purchase a paperback copy for yourself or a pack of 10 for your small group. For those of you who are using the Bible companions as you travel through Matthew or another book of the Bible, you know we'd love to hear from you too. What are you discovering along the way? Are the reflection questions helping you dig a little deeper? Has reading the short summary after each message helped reinforce what you just learned? Well, you can drop us a note in the app, you can send an email to biblebus@ttb.org or mail your letter to Box 7100, Pasadena, California, 91109. In Canada, you can write to Box 25325, London, Ontario, N6C 6B1. And if you've got any questions about this ministry, call 1-800-65-BIBLE. Now be sure to keep climbing aboard the Bible bus as our study of Matthew continues. I'm Steve Schwetz, and I'll be right here saving you a seat.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Jesus made all to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.

Host: Our story on the Bible bus today is just one step in a five-year journey through the entire word of God. Come along for the ride and you'll study both the Old Testament and New Testament, discovering God's great redemption story. Is this your story too?