Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Matt. 1: 6-16    Dec. 21, 2025

Message: “Undeserved Grace of the Lord Jesus!  

by Pastor George Gnade

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Introduction:

1. In our first sermon on the genealogy of the baby Jesus, we were reminded of the promise given to Abraham that the whole world would be blessed through one of his descendants. The Book of Galatians clearly teaches us that Jesus was the one (Gal. 3:6-16).

2. But this genealogy also put great emphasis on King David, who was anointed by Samuel to take King Saul’s place. 

a. But while Saul had been chosen by God to be their first king, he never fully followed what the Lord told him to do. As a result David was chosen to replace him.

b. But when God chose David, He promised him the kingdom would never be taken from his descendants. And the day would come when a special king would arise who would rule on David’s throne forever.

c. Of course that is exactly why Matthew provides the proof that God kept His Word through the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A. But the genealogy of the baby Jesus draws attention to the fact that the real story was not that simple.

1. First of all, after showing how David was chosen to become king, Matthew immediately mentions how he sinned and took Bathsheba to be his wife. Yet God chose to continue the kingly reign through their son Solomon (Matt. 1:6). And through Solomon, Israel reached the peak of Israel’s reign before the kingdom was divided. How unexpected was that? Let’s keep going.

2. As we learned already, Matthew broke the genealogy of Jesus down into 3 groups of 14 descendants. 

a. The first group brought us from Abraham up to David. But the second group ends with King Jeconiah and reminds us how the kingdom was taken from Israel when they were conquered by the Babylonians.

b. From Solomon down to King Jeconiah (Matt. 1: 11), Israel continued its path away from the Lord until it was taken into captivity (Please notice the footnote on vs. 11 telling us Jehoiachin is another name for Jeconiah). And Jeconiah’s sinful leadership was a major reason for this. 

3. All of this was so depressing, Jeremiah the prophet wrote: “Record this man as if he were childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Israel” (Jer. 22:24-30).

a. Remember, we are studying the genealogy of the baby Jesus! How could this be true?

b. The very next group of 14 descendants begins with Jeconiah’s son Shealtiel, followed by his grandson Zerubbabel (Matt. 1:12). Shealtiel led the first group of Jews out of captivity and back into Judea under the rule of Cyrus the great. And God promised Zerubbabel that “I will take you … declares the Lord, and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you…” (Haggai 2:23).

c. Most scholars agree that this meant that someday the Lord Jesus would retake the throne of David through Jeconiah’s descendants.

B. That is exactly what happened. 

1. When the Jews were given permission to return to their own land, the descendants of Jeconiah were allowed to govern the people. But no Jewish king would ever rule over the Jews again until Jesus was born hundreds of years later.

a. You are all familiar with that story, found in Matt. 2, how the wise men came from the east looking for the new born king of the Jews. 

b. These were astrologers from the east who specialized in the study of the stars. They claimed a very special star had led them to Bethlehem where they found Jesus and proclaimed Him to be that king. 

3. As soon as Herod found out, he tried to have Jesus killed. But the Lord sent Joseph to Egypt so that Jesus would be safe. Then, at the proper time, God said: “Out of Egypt have I called my Son” (Matt. 2:15).

a. Clearly, Matthew wrote this genealogy and shared how Joseph was a descendant of King David to prove that Jesus had a right to the throne of David.

b. Doesn’t that contradict what Jeremiah said about any descendant of Jeconiah prospering or ruling on David’s throne? Remember, Shealtiel was his son and Zerubbabel was his grandson. 

c. Haggai shared how Shealtiel and Zerubbabel were blessed by the Lord, and predicted one of  Zerubbabel’s descendants would someday sit on the throne of David. 

C. Did the Bible make a mistake? Was Jeremiah’s prophecy wrong? Or was Haggai’s prophesy correct? There are several possible solutions to this apparent contra-diction.

1. One solution is to emphasize the phrase “during Jeconiah’s lifetime” (Jer. 22:30) no one from his lineage would reign on the throne. That certainly was true. The Jews were taken into captivity where they would remain for 70 years. 

2. Another possible solution is to affirm that while many of Jeconiah’s descendants were allowed to rule as governors, no one ever sat on David’s throne as a king until Jesus Himself was born. He was born of the virgin Mary.

a. Since Joseph married her and was her husband, he was legally Jesus’ father.

b. But since he never had sex with her until after Jesus was born, the blood of Jeconiah was not in Jesus’ body.

c. But Mary was also a descendant of David through a different son so Jesus was also related to David through His mother.

3. A third solution to this problem would be to compare the story of Jonah with the story of Jeconiah. 

a. Jonah went throughout Nineveh saying: “In forty days Nineveh would be destroyed” (Jonah 3:4). But when the people all humbled themselves, God spared the city. Jonah was angry at God for not keeping His Word. But the repentance of the people caused God to do something different (Jonah 4). 

b. Jeconiah (Jehoiachin) was taken into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar.  But after 37 yrs. in captivity, something happened that caused the new king to release him and allow him to eat at the king’s table until he died (II Kings. 25:28-30). Did he repent while in captivity? 

c. Is that why God was gracious to him and forgave him? That would also explain why his descendants were allowed to rule as governors after the exile. 

4. Not only that, Shealtiel and Zerubbabel were very godly men. Haggai clearly says that Zerubbabel was chosen by God to continue the Davidic line to the coming of the Christ. If this genealogy was written for any other purpose, it was written to illustrate the mercy and grace of the Lord.

In conclusion: 1. Isn’t that what the story of Christmas is all about, that unto us “a Savior was born who is Christ the Lord?”  Our message last week also illustrated this truth in even more detail.  That is the truth we must never forget.

2. As we celebrate Christmas, let us praise the Lord for being such a gracious and forgiving God. What He has done for others, He can do for us too. Amen.