Grace and Truth – The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
Pastor Tan Thai · Dec 12, 2015
This sermon explores the grace of God revealed in the genealogy of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1, where women, Gentiles, and notorious sinners are all named in the Messiah's lineage. The message emphasizes that no one is worthy to enter God's family by their own merit, but all are received by grace alone through faith.
The sermon opens with two hypothetical scenarios illustrating the importance of balancing grace and truth. If a first-time visitor to church is ignored and unwelcomed, no matter how doctrinally accurate the sermon may be, that person will not return. Conversely, if a false religious group warmly and practically helps someone in need, that person may easily be drawn in. The sermon establishes that truth without grace is cruel, and kindness without truth is meaningless and dangerous. Jesus Christ is presented as the only One who perfectly embodies the balance of grace and truth, as affirmed in John 1:14.
The core of the sermon focuses on three surprising elements in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-17. First, the genealogy includes the names of women, which was highly unusual in a male-dominated culture. Second, it includes Gentiles from despised ethnic groups such as Tamar the Canaanite, Rahab the Canaanite, and Ruth the Moabite — peoples whom the Mosaic law explicitly excluded from the assembly of the Lord (Deuteronomy 23:1-3). Third, the genealogy names morally disgraced individuals: Rahab was a prostitute, Tamar bore children through her father-in-law, and Bathsheba committed adultery with David. Even David himself, called a man after God's own heart, was not free from grave sin.
The sermon argues that Matthew deliberately names these individuals to reveal the grace of God as clearly as possible. No one in the lineage of Jesus Christ qualifies on the basis of moral merit; all are received solely by grace. Ephesians 2:8-9 is cited to affirm that salvation is God's gift, not by works, so that no one may boast. Those who believe and receive Christ are clothed in His righteousness, and God no longer sees their sin.
The closing section explores the numerical structure of the genealogy: three groups of fourteen generations equal six groups of seven, making Jesus the seventh of the seventh generation. The number seven represents completeness and perfection. Leviticus 25 is referenced to explain the Year of Jubilee — the fiftieth year when debts were cancelled, slaves were freed, and land was restored — as a picture of total new beginning. Jesus is declared to be the true Jubilee, the One who cancels sin, grants rest, and brings genuine peace to all people.
The sermon concludes with a gospel invitation: the good news of Christ's birth is for everyone, regardless of race, gender, social status, or sinful past. Women, Gentiles, kings, prostitutes, and the morally disgraced all sit at the same table in the family of God. Jesus has torn down every wall and barrier so that all people may feast at the Lamb's table and find true rest in Him.