Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Matt. 1: 1-17 Dec. 7, 2025

Message: : “The Genealogy of the Baby Jesus!

by Pastor George Gnade

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Introduction:

1. The month of December always reminds Christians of the birth of the baby Jesus. Most churches refer to this as the Advent Season.

2. In the Gospel of Matthew, Matthew begins his book with a very concise statement. In vs. 1, he writes: “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

a. Please notice that the phrase “son of” does not mean “the immediate son of.” It simply means someone in your genealogy. 

b. Sometimes it means your father, but it could easily be referring to your grandfather or someone else. 

3. In this particular genealogy, Matthew simply picks some of the people who were better known than others and divides Jesus’ genealogy into three groups of 14.

a. In those days, writers often did something like this to help people remember or memorize the information being shared.

b. Unlike us, most people did not have a Bible of their own. So the writer or speaker often tried to make what was written or said easier to remember. 

4. Please notice in vs. 1 that David is mentioned first and Abraham second. David lived about a 1,000 years before Christ was born and Abraham lived almost 2,000 years before He was born. 

a. But Matthew then reverses the order in which he writes about them. In vs. 1, he is looking back. Starting in vs.2, he starts way back and works forward.

b. Clearly, these two men are the most important and the most well-known people in this genealogy.

5. In Hebrew, the alphabet not only provides the letters; it also provides the numbers. A = 1, B = 2, C = 3 etc. except Matthew is using the Hebrew alphabet. Using the Hebrew alphabet, David adds up to the number 14.

a. So the fact that Matthew divided the genealogy into three parts, each including 14 names, is meant to draw special attention to David and his relationship to Christ.

b. The purpose of this genealogy is to remind us that the birth of Christ did not just occur at an arbitrary time. It happened in fulfillment to prophecy. 

A. Since Abraham is mentioned in vs. 2, let us begin with him.

1. If you have read the O.T., the Book of Genesis starts with the creation of our first parents and explains how they sinned. Then it carefully explains how our world was quickly divided into people who loved the Lord and people who deliberately chose not to follow the Lord.

a. This eventually led to the story of the flood. After the flood, history continues with the story of Noah and his children. Sadly, once again, it did not take long for many to turn away from God while some continued to believe in Him.

b. But around 1,950 B.C., we are told how Abraham was born and how God spoke to him and chose him and his descendants for a very specific reason. 

2. In Gen. 12: 1-3, God spoke to Abraham and told him “to leave your country and your people, and your father’s household and to go to a place I will show you.” 

a. “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a bless-ing. I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse.”

b. “And all the people on the earth will be blessed through you.”

3. The question is: How would this happen? The answer is it would happen through one of his descendants. And as you continue to read your Bible, it becomes very clear that the blessing of Abraham that would bring God’s blessing on all men would happen through the coming of the Christ.

a. In Greek, the word for “Christ” means “anointed one.” And in Hebrew it means “the Messiah.” 

b. Matthew wanted the world to know that the  promise given to Abraham would be fulfilled through the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, people from every tribe, tongue, and nation would be blessed.

4. Matthew and the writers of the N.’T. want you to understand that we are not to seek the blessing of Abraham. We are to seek the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the promise made to Abraham. That is why Abraham is the first name mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy.

B. Abraham’s name is then followed by 14 other names which brings us to David. Why is he so important?

Why was so much stress put on him?

1. As I said earlier, David lived about 1,000 yrs. before the birth of Christ. And God called David a man after God’s own heart. 

a. As I already told you, the word for Christ means “the anointed one.” In I Sam.16: 1-13, Samuel anointed David and told him God had chosen him to become the next king over Israel. 

b. At first many probably thought David was the one through whom the world would be blessed. It did not happen that way.

2. But God promised David the throne of Israel would always be from David’s lineage until the promised King was born. Matthew wanted everyone to know that it had finally happened. 

a. In fact, that is why Matthew tells us in chapter two the story of the wise men. They came looking for the one who was born to be the king of the Jews.

b. And they brought Him gifts worthy of a king, including gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  

3. They were astrologers who studied the heavens. They claimed the stars in the heavens revealed this to them.

a. How different from our world today which encourages you look to the stars to tell you about yourself.  

b. In contrast, David wrote many of the Psalms and in Ps. 19: 1, he writes: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the skies show forth His handy work.” 

4. Wonderful books have been written to show that the story of Christ and His salvation are clearly taught by the stars, from the virgin birth to the cross to His ascension into heaven where He presently reigns as God’s great king.

In Conclusion: 1. Matthew told us about the genealogy of the baby Jesus in order to provide proof that Jesus came from the lineage of Abraham and many years later from the lineage of King David.

2. His goal was to point us to the Christ through whom the whole world would be blessed and through whom God’s Messiah and King would establish His kingdom, a kingdom that will last forever. 

3. Christmas is the story of a little baby who would grow up to be God’s great king. It took faith to believe this back then and it still takes faith to believe it today. May God give all of us the faith to believe in Him and to commit our lives to Him. Amen.