← ArchiveMatthewMatthew: A New King and a New Kingdom (Matthew 1:1; 17)DateMay 4, 2025SpeakerDr Josh BurnhamTextMatthew 1:1Passages in this sermonMalachi 42:04Matthew 12:04Genesis 19:38Genesis 310:11Matthew 1:111:231 Corinthians 15:2531:17Matthew 433:43TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00We'll be right back. Welcome to the church that gathers here at Bethel.0:30Whether this is your first time here, some of you have journeyed back from Texas today. It's awesome seeing you guys. If you're watching online, you're not only welcome here, but you're wanted here. Thank you for gathering because we believe every time and any time that we gather in the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord does great things in our heart.0:56I'm going to invite you today. By the way, my name is Josh Lee, pastor of Bethel. I'm going to invite you to turn with me to the book of Matthew. The book of Matthew. We will be in Matthew most of the summer. When I say most, I mean all of the summer. In a series we're calling Kings and Kingdoms.1:24The book of Matthew. Matthew. Matthew. It's hard to wait sometimes when all we hear is silence. And for 400 plus years, God's people sat in silence.1:53From Matthew 1, 1 to Malachi 4, verse 6. This little page represents 450 years of silence. No fresh word from the Lord.2:22People wondering, God, we need you. Where are you? It's just silence. No prophet. No vision. Only the final words of Malachi ringing in the ears of God's people. If you're in Matthew 1, you can turn one page to the right and find Malachi 4, verse 6.2:52The end of this verse says, Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse. Can you imagine the weight of that lingering word in your ear for 400 years? Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.3:22The Old Testament does not end with a blessing, but with a warning. Then, silence. And God's people sat and wondered, Yahweh, are you still speaking to us?3:53Have you ever felt that way? God, have you walked away from us? Is it too late?4:14These are questions that a blank page asks of our souls. And it's not simply Israel alone. Maybe you're asking the same questions. God, where are you? God, I need I need something a word a promise not a warning. God, we're walking through the valley of the shadow4:42of death. We only seek darkness. Some light would be nice. Year after year after year after year nothing. But God reminds us today that His silence is not abandonment in your life. And as only as the Lord can do God didn't break5:10the silence with a shout. God breaks the silence with the cry of a child in a manger in Bethlehem. God says to His people and He says to you if you need a word I got a word for you. I don't have a word I have a person and His name is Jesus. And today again we will see that God came for His people.5:39And not just for them but for you. the Lord comes for you by His Son Jesus Christ. May we feel the weight of silence today. And may we feel the weight of God's comfort. Today's message is called A New Kingdom and A New King. the bigger question is are we listening when God6:09when God is quiet. Matthew 1 verses 1 and then 7 sorry verses 1 and verse 17 today. An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David the Son of Abraham. Now I just assume because you are church people at Bethel that you have the genealogy memorized so we're going6:39to skip it today. Don't let me down. Verse 17 so all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 from David until the exile to Babylon 14 and from the exile of Babylon until the Christ 14 generations. Let's pray. Father there are times7:05in our lives where the silence is deafening. Lord would you speak to us again today. maybe for some you speak for the very first time. Lord speak to them in the hardness of their heart and the blindness7:34of their sin. Speak to them in the death of the chains of their iniquity and Lord call them forth from the grave for the very first time and may they hear you Lord. for those that are walking in heaviness Lord speak for those who are weary of heart speak again for those who need refreshment speak yet again through your word. Father8:06Father we know you are a God who speaks but may we be a people who listen through the grace and the mercy of Jesus Christ. Lord this is my prayer in Jesus holy name I pray amen and amen. So Matthew begins with the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Apparently Matthew failed8:36failed 8th grade ELA because that's not the way to start a riveting piece of literature with a genealogy. but there's more than meets the eye right here in Matthew chapter 1. So in the Greek it's an account or the geneseos the genesis of Jesus Christ. So you've heard that word before genesis the beginning the genealogy of Matthew puts us right back9:05right back into the rest of the Bible beginning with genesis the very first book so you can turn to genesis if you want to just to prove that it's there genesis is the beginning of the world it's the origin of humanity this is where God spoke the foundations of the world into existence genesis is where God began a covenant relationship with his people in9:35in the beginning genesis 1 chapter 1 and so Matthew reminds you that there was a beginning and Matthew says there's going to be a new beginning and we need a new beginning because if you turn again into Malachi the end of the Old Testament ends with a warning that if you disobey God there is a curse and Malachi doesn't make10:04doesn't make that up he goes to Genesis and says Adam and Eve disobeyed God and that's where the curse began in Genesis chapter 3 in verse 1 through 10 ish and then verses 11 through 16 God says this beginning of the gospel God says there will be a day where the serpent will bite the heel of the seed of the woman but that seed will crush the head of the serpents because10:33because Genesis says Satan plays checkers and Jesus plays chess and that's good news for us spiritually and Matthew knows his Bible he's a good student he went to the synagogue and he earned high marks he's like some of our students who had a 4.5 GPA back when I was going to school that wasn't impossible I went to school before they gave grades they said we're11:03we're done with you go in peace good luck kid but Matthew made high marks and he knew that Genesis has a curse and he knew that the Old Testament ended with a warning and so he knew that God's people needed a new beginning and so he begins Matthew 1 1 with this new beginning the beginning the genesis of the genealogy of Jesus Christ see11:33see the gospel of Matthew awakens us to our need Matthew speaks to you where you sit and says listen you might not realize it but you need a new beginning in your life and that new beginning has a name and his name is Jesus because we live under a warning we live under the curse of the law the curse of our sin and Matthew says there is someone better to be born and when you realize your need for Christ then he can12:03can meet that need the God of beginning the God of beginnings and Matthew is inviting you to begin anew today and maybe you say well pastor I've given my life to Jesus Christ I know where you're going with this I'm not walking the aisle again but don't you need a new beginning today in your life don't don't don't don't you know that the word says that his mercies are made new every morning I'm thankful for that because12:33because I need a new beginning every day through the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus Christ and for those that say Lord I need something new I need you to speak I don't need silence Matthew says I got you the genesis of the genealogy of Jesus Christ but Matthew knows something about us in human nature by inspiration of the Holy Spirit Matthew doesn't say you need a new beginning you13:02you need to know about Jesus Matthew reminds us that we need to know Jesus personally intimately personal faith and so Matthew the account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham see Matthew this is not simply decorative it's declarative Matthew says you don't simply need an ontological new13:32new beginning we're not talking abstract he says you need a specific new beginning because you are dead in your sins and trespasses you need a new beginning and the new beginning has a name he's a person and his name is what Matthew 1 1 his name is Jesus Christ if you say well what does Jesus mean what does his name mean we're going to get to that because Matthew tells us because you need Jesus Christ for very specific reasons14:02reasons now you might notice that the genealogy of Matthew and the genealogy in Luke look different and there have been lots of scholarly papers written on this some would say well Luke traces the genealogy of Mary and Matthew traces the genealogy of Joseph and we're not sure how those two reconcile but really what we see in the genealogy is a complementary track Luke14:30Luke traces the personhood of Jesus Christ so and so beget so and so like this person beget this person who beget this person that's not what Matthew is doing Matthew is tracing the succession of the throne of Jesus Christ so if Luke is saying God had a real son and his son is Jesus Matthew says that is true15:00true but Matthew is tracing the genealogy to say God had a son but I'm going to trace his son through the throne because Matthew wants you and I to know that Jesus isn't just a normal dude he's the king he left his throne in heaven to come to earth and Matthew traces the throneship the succession of the king of Israel from king to king15:29to king to Jesus Christ so if you don't hear anything else I say and some of you might not hear what Matthew says Jesus Christ is king of kings and he is lord of lords kings that's that's why the genealogy is given Matthew saying don't miss this Jesus is king so we start with where Matthew starts behold your king15:59king let him be king of your life now I want to say this nicely and then also not so nicely I'll say it not so I'll say it nicely first and then I'll say it not so nicely second first Jesus is king that's a good thing that's nice but here's what you need to know about Jesus and here's what I need to know whether you make Jesus king of your life or not he is still16:29still king does that make sense I don't make Christ king you don't make Christ king and now Matthew is saying to receive Christ as Lord of lords and king of kings is to surrender your life by conviction of the Holy Spirit in faith but whether you submit your life to him or not Jesus is still reigning as king of kings and Matthew is inviting you in today the word is inviting us in to say listen16:59listen don't miss this because he is either going to reign over you in judgment or he is going to reign over you in worship and the choice is yours by faith he is king if you don't believe me just go home and read the genealogy Abraham Judah Aram Solomon Asah Uzziah Hezekiah Josiah king of kings king of kings 14 generations exile 14 generations to17:29to David exile 14 more generations he is king he is king he is king he is king have you made him king of your life today Matthew says oh when you do you will never be the same not only he says behold your king but then he says behold your return so embedded in the genealogy which again I assume that you've memorized Matthew17:57Matthew uses this very unique word embedded within the text now I'm going to read parts of this look at verse 11 Matthew says and Josiah fathered Jeconiah you got it Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile in to Babylon and after verse 12 the exile to18:26to Babylon Jeconiah fathered I know this pastor sheatiel you nailed it and sheatiel fathered Zerubbabel from the exile and then Matthew as a way of summary in a way that we would not forget this verse 17 he said so all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations from David until the exile to Babylon 1418:5614 generations and from the exile to Babylon until the Christ 14 generations why would Matthew mention the exile when no other gospel writer mentions it because Matthew is reminding us that exile is not simply a physical condition19:26condition because he's writing to a people that would read this and say Matthew we're no longer in exile why does this matter to us God we're living back in the promised land we know this but it's okay God brought us back and Matthew is reminding us no no no no without Jesus Christ you are still living in exile exile is a spiritual condition19:55condition first physical condition second and Matthew is saying do not forget where you were without Jesus Christ and don't you ever think that you can't go there again for Israel God would send them away from the promised land because of the sin and disobedience this is the warning in Malachi if you disobey I will come and strike you with a curse and without Christ we too20:25too live abandoned far away from the Lord so let's talk about exile for a moment God's people had rebelled they disobeyed the word of God they turned a hard heart and a deaf ear to the prophets of the Lord and God's people Israel simply said to themselves we are God's covenant people our father is Abraham he had many sons I had one of them and so are you right20:55right arm left arm and because we are God's people it doesn't matter what we do and God said no life of faith requires you to walk according to my way and because they had turned a hard heart to God's word God sent them into exile and21:24and as God's people often do when we find pain because of our sin what do we do what do you do I know some of you are much more holy than I am but for those of you who are on my level when you tell your child don't run on the carpet because if you fall you will skin your knee and they don't listen to you21:54you and they fall on the ground or on the carpet and they skin their knee what do they do ow that hurt and then they cry out we are no different and sometimes they will blame you why did you let me run why why did you let me get hurt you don't love me you hate me you're a bad22:23a bad father you're a bad mother you let me experience pain and some of you have had those conversations haven't you I know for our graduates you never would have said that to your parents that's the human experience and Israel is no different we in our sin we suffer the consequences of our sin and instead of us saying God22:53God you told me I know I shouldn't have done that let me repent God forgive me what's our first response ow that hurt God where were you is that not our lives that is exile and God fulfills his promise that he says the wages of your sin is pain the wages23:23wages of your sin is death and God is content in his holiness to let you and I experience some pain of our sin that we might run back to him you see exile is a reminder that you can return by faith still and sin that leads to death that leads to an unrepentant heart if you do not confess Jesus Christ the ultimate spiritual23:53spiritual exile is hell and Matthew says you don't have to go down that road Matthew says four times exile exile exile exile he's saying stop where you are God is calling you back home don't cry out in pain or when you do cry out in pain don't cry out and say God how dare you cry out and say God I'm sorry the pain of your life is a reminder to call24:23to call out to a father who loves you cry out because exile is not the end in Jesus Christ this is the hope do not treat God's word lightly every promise he makes whether judgment or mercy he keeps and then Matthew says okay let me tell you why you need Christ verse 1824:5218 the birth of Jesus Christ came about this way after his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit verse 19 so her husband Joseph being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her publicly decided to divorce her secretly but after he had considered these things an angel of the Lord appeared to25:22to him in a dream saying Joseph son of David don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit she will give birth to a son and you are to name him Jesus because why he will save the people from their sins verse 22 now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet Isaiah see the virgin will25:52will become pregnant and she will give birth to a son they will name him Emmanuel which is translated God with us when Joseph woke up he did exactly as the Lord's angel had commanded him he married her but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son and again he named him Jesus so we have behold your king in the genealogy of Matthew he says now behold your return26:22return you can return and now he says behold the last Adam behold the last Adam now the story is not a myth or a legend the birth of Christ is rooted in time space and flesh and Matthew gives you a front row seat to the physical historical birth of Jesus Christ Matthew doesn't leave out any of the difficult details Mary is engaged26:52engaged okay I got that super easy she's a virgin okay interesting but I got that she's engaged to a righteous man okay still going well and she's pregnant this is where things go off the rails because if we were going to rewrite the gospel and only keep the easy bits and not the messy bits this27:22this wouldn't be in there because now we see Joseph's reaction to this news right his instinct is righteous and to shield Mary from shame while he was going to quietly step away so Joseph knew several historical things in this moment he heard that she was pregnant and he believed that she was pregnant do you agree with that because his reaction says Mary's pregnant and I believe she's pregnant and I know it's not mine that's27:51that's not my words that's the Bible's words and Joseph says well I can divorce her quietly it's good for me I can maintain my righteousness I don't have to deal with this anymore and it upholds some dignity in her life and just from a historical value can you imagine the heartbreak of this for Joseph and for Mary many28:18many of you have walked with family members or you yourself of having this unplanned pregnancy and I would argue that this is not planned how Mary and Joseph had discussed it in their pre-marriage counseling it's not right they didn't tell the priest they just so you know we're going to have Mary's going to get pregnant from the Holy Spirit but it's okay an angel is going to declare this and this is the son28:48son of God and into this difficult moment that the angel speaks what has been conceived in her is by the Holy Spirit again this is the gospel saying to us this is no ordinary child you have never heard or seen anything like this before and if you would say well I don't know if I believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ29:18Christ well then you can't call yourself Christian this is a foundation of what we believe the church has believed this from its inception right I believe in Jesus Christ the only son of our Lord who was conceived by the Holy Spirit born of a virgin Mary church this is not optional theology this is the foundation and the bedrock of that which we believe why29:48why does the virgin birth matter well first it's in the Bible and if the Bible says it's true you should believe it it matters that way but also your great great great great great great lots of great grandfather Adam passed down down down to you a broken gene in the genome project and that gene was called inherited30:17inherited sin and that propensity to sin in your life is so strong that guess what you sin Adam didn't make you do it but he passed it down to you Adam said tag you're it Jesus born of a virgin born of the woman is fully man but because he was not Joseph's biological30:46biological son Jesus was the begotten eternal son of his heavenly father which means that Jesus is born of flesh but he is also born of spirit and so Jesus didn't inherit the sin problem that you and I have now listen to what Paul says about that here's why it's necessary that Jesus is born of a virgin because31:16because in 1 Corinthians 15 25 Paul calls Jesus the last Adam interesting don't you think Jesus is the last Adam or the ultimate Adam because Jesus did what you and I couldn't do because Jesus lived a sinless life because he was born of a virgin and because he lived a sinless life you and I can receive complete31:46complete forgiveness because Jesus did what you and I should have done but we could not do he can redeem you and I he can pay for your sins because he is born of flesh and he could pay for your sins because he bought your ransom with his sinless life what a glorious savior32:15savior is this from the virgin birth and Matthew says in all of this behold the last Adam church only a sinless savior could save sinful people so trust the one who was born of a virgin and lived without flaw for you and for me this is your salvation is no accident your redemption is pre-planned32:44pre-planned in eternity past God didn't wake up one day and say Jesus let's go no God planned your redemption price in the last Adam born of a virgin fully king fully man sinless who paid for the sinful and then Matthew says one more thing his name is Jesus we're going to end on that but he also has a nickname and there's no evidence that33:14that anyone actually calls Jesus this but in verse 23 the Bible says see the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son and they will call him em em and you el el el is god em is with so he will be called god with us now let's pause Matthew33:43Matthew four times in the genealogy reminds us of what word exiles exiles who are people who are living in a place that's not the land of promise exiles are people who are asking god we need to hear from you and god you are not near to us and34:10and Matthew says hey the son of god has a name what's his name again Emmanuel what does Emmanuel mean for people who have ever asked god are you near Matthew says look at his name he is near it's a name for weary exiles if you have ever asked god have you34:40you left me god are you really here Matthew reminds us that god did not withdraw from us but he drew near to us in Christ they will call him Emmanuel which means god with us god draws near to us in Jesus Christ so if you ever asked is god near me Matthew says look to Jesus is god still speaking look to35:10to Jesus he did not withdraw but he drew near and the reason that god could do this Matthew says again verse 25 they named him Jesus they named him Jesus now let me just say Matthew loved him some Jesus because no fewer than 150 times35:39times does Matthew use the name Jesus Christ again let's quickly just rehearse some historical narrative in Matthew's life Matthew's occupation was you would call him an accountant CPA but he was an accountant not with one of the big three he was accountant with the big one the Roman government he was a trader he was a swindler but he made bank he was rich Matthew36:09Matthew was the person that God's people would say he's a sell out he's a sinner he is not redeemable and I often wonder if Matthew loved the name Jesus because Matthew needed the name Jesus I think Matthew used the name Jesus over and over and over again because Matthew knew that he needed salvation for himself because36:38because he probably heard every day here's the Roman government tax here's the excessive tax you're a traitor and God hates you how dare you do this to your people how dare you do this to the sons and daughters of Abraham you swindler you scoundrel you will never man's bosom and I can believe the first day that Jesus walks up and says here's a denarii for Rome here's a denarii37:08denarii for you Matthew but why don't you come follow me leave the tax booth I'll change your life because I came for people like you I don't think that was a day that Matthew ever forgot and so if you get tired of hearing the name Jesus don't don't talk to Matthew but if you ever feel guilty for your sins if you feel like you're not redeemable that you're37:37you're too far beyond the reach of Christ that if you're involved in things that you could never be saved from Matthew would say hey hold my calculator because I was you and God sent his son born of a virgin to draw near to me and his name is Jesus because he will save the people from their sins this is the grip of Jesus Christ and38:07and Jesus doesn't simply save us from the consequences of sin he saves you from the impulses of sin when Jesus grips you he loosens the grip of sin in your life meaning that you and I can't hold on to Christ and hold on to our sin at the same time you can't you don't have two hands we have one faith is a single handed proposition you're either holding on to Christ or you're holding38:36holding on to self in the moments where you are weak and you feel like your grip is loosening on Christ just remember that his grip is infinitely more stronger than yours the days where you want to go back to the world back to lust back to sin back to the tax booth you say I'm slipping I'm falling again I'm sinking help that's the moment when Christ says Josh you're not saved because you hold on to me you're39:05you're saved because I hold on to you Matthew said don't forget his name they named him Jesus why because he will save the people from their sins I know this song wasn't written in Matthew 's day but can I go new school for Matthew and old school for you just for a moment I feel like Matthew wants us to know that song Jesus Jesus Jesus let all heaven and earth proclaim39:35proclaim kings and kingdoms will all pass away but there's something about that name there is something about the name of Christ and Matthew wants us to know that name so when Matthew says Jesus he's not giving you a label he's pointing you to a savior the world may change empires may crumble and Rome did40:05did but the name of Jesus Christ will still be standing and the name of Jesus stands today unchallenged unshaken and unrivaled Matthew Matthew Matthew today says trust the name of Jesus because he will save you if you call out to him and not40:35not simply trust but treasure the name of Christ because not only can he save you but he is saving you there is something about that name actually I misspoke there's not something about the name of Jesus there is everything about that name today for the first time if you have heard the word as pastor I41:03I need to come to faith we invite you to do so to confess your sins to say God forgive me I know that I'm a sinner to believe that Jesus is who he says he is to believe that he lived a sinless life born of a virgin that he died on the cross for your sins that he rose again that he ascended into heaven he sits at the right hand of God and believe what the word says that everyone who calls upon the name of the41:31the people from their sins would you call upon the name of Jesus today and if you have already trusted the name will you treasure it will you treasure the name of Christ above all we did this a couple weeks ago and I'm going to ask in our time of response to do the same42:01same if this morning if you say pastor I just want people to pray over me maybe you've had a difficult week and you said every day last week was a Monday I lived a week of Mondays last week I just need people to pray over me we're going to pray42:27Sundays ago that he stood up and asked people to pray over him and did not know when he stood up that that very week his wife would have a massive brain bleed but the Lord knew and someone in this church prayed over him as a spirit of God prepared him for that week Christian God has given you the spirit of reconciliation for your brothers and your sisters so I don't need42:57need I want someone to pray over me good bad neutral man would you have the boldness just to stand where you are I'm not going to ask you to come forward if you just stand up and we're going to pray over you anyone here to say you know what I believe in the spirit of God and I could use prayer today anyone I'm not going to force you a couple in the back anyone else say43:26say you know what I don't know what next week looks like I need someone to pray that God would give me the boldness to pray over me today here's what we're going to do as we worship for those that are standing in the back I'm going to ask those nearby to pray over them if you want to come forward our pastors will be down front to minister to you in any way and if you say well pastor I need prayer I just don't want to stand we will also pray for you but43:56but specifically for those who are standing as a testimony we will pray for you this morning that God's will would be done Father weNext in Matthew →Matthew – Prepare the Way: Repentance That Leads to Jesus (Matthew 3:1-6)More sermons on Matthew →
