In the sermon 'The Historical Jesus' by Peter Allison, the speaker delves into the genealogy of Jesus as recorded in Luke chapter 3, emphasizing its theological significance. Jesus, beginning his ministry at thirty, is depicted as a historical figure with a human genealogy, contrasting with Adam's divine creation. The sermon explores the differences between the genealogies in Luke and Matthew, suggesting one as a legal lineage and the other as a physical one. The genealogy traces Jesus' ancestry back to significant biblical figures like David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam, each representing God's covenantal promises. These genealogies are not merely historical records but are seen as integral to understanding Jesus' role as the fulfillment of God's promises, emphasizing his lineage as both divine and human. The sermon also draws parallels between the temptations of Jesus and Adam, highlighting Jesus' victory over temptation as a pivotal point in redemptive history. The speaker argues that through Jesus, believers are adopted into the family of God, making this genealogy part of their spiritual heritage. The sermon concludes by affirming that no force can thwart God's purposes, as demonstrated by Jesus' ultimate victory and role as the fulfillment of God's eternal promises.

Please turn in your scriptures this morning to Luke chapter 3. We continue in our little mini series on the life, the work, and the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We'd like to consider this passage. Luke chapter 3, the scripture reading begins at verse 23, immediately following Jesus' baptism. Hear God's word.

Now Jesus himself began his ministry at about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of Sheila, the son of Kainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Canaan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. Then Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And In those days he ate nothing and afterward when they had ended he was hungry. The devil said to him, If you are the son of God, command this stone to become bread. But Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

Then the devil, taking him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment in time. And the devil said to him, All this authority I will give you and their glory. For this has been delivered to me and I give it to whomsoever I wish. Therefore if you will worship before me all will be yours. And Jesus answered and said to him, get behind me, Satan.

For it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve. Then he brought him to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here. For it is written, He will give his angels charge over you to keep you. And in their hands they will bear you up lest you dash your foot against a stone And Jesus answered and said to him it has been said you shall not tempt the Lord your God Now when the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him until an opportune time." Thus far the reading of God's Word. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we once again thank you for your word, for it is life, it is the truth, it is your Words to us. Words that you have preserved for thousands of years. Words that will endure for all eternity. And we ask this morning, our Lord Jesus, that you would give us an understanding heart, that you would give us eyes that see, that you would give us ears that hear what your Spirit says to your church. We ask, Lord, that you would anoint us, that we may delight in hearing your voice, that we may Look forward with great expectation to your instruction.

And that we may hear, that we may be transformed in our minds through your Word this morning. May it convict us where that is needed. May it comfort us where we are mourning. May it give us assurance where we have doubts. May it instruct us where we are ignorant.

Father, may we rejoice even more that you, the King of kings, the God, the sovereign in heaven and earth, should speak to us Such words of life and hope. We ask all this through Jesus Christ. Amen. Please be seated. We've looked at, in prior weeks, we've looked at Jesus' person as the sovereign, the creator of heaven and earth.

We've looked at what the scripture tells us of his pre-incarnate glory. What it tells us of him becoming flesh, taking a human nature, and becoming a man as this God-man, living here on earth, dying in our place, His ascension into heaven and the glory that has been given to him, the kingdom and the rule and the authority that has been given to him because of the victory that he has won. We've seen his work on our behalf as our prophet, as our priest, and as our king. And I thought this morning as we come to near the ending of this little series, to look at the historical Jesus. Because Jesus, in taking to himself a true body and a reasonable soul, in taking to himself a human nature, a true human nature, he didn't get it like Adam did.

God, Jesus' body, his human nature wasn't formed in some extraordinary way by some act of special creation like Adam, where God took the dust of the earth and formed it into him and then breathed into him the breath of life. Jesus was born, yes, he was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost, but in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He was born into a family. He has a human genealogy and it is given for us here in Luke and in Matthew. There are two of these, two of the genealogies and there are some differences and we'll look at some of those differences and why they are different.

But this genealogy, there are many misconceptions about genealogies. Some of them true, some of them maybe, well I shouldn't say misconceptions are true, but there are some perceptions of them, some of them true and some of them not so much. Sometimes genealogies are skipped as, or glossed over as being unprofitable. After all, we are told that Paul told Timothy and Titus not to pay attention to endless genealogies. Endless genealogies.

Remember that word, endless genealogies. And contentions. He lumped them together, genealogies and contentions. And Paul did not mean in giving these instructions to Timothy and Titus as shepherds of the apostolic church, shepherds of the early church. He wasn't telling them that they should skip over sections of scripture.

He wasn't saying that when you come to this section of Luke, don't pay attention to it, it's contentious. No, he didn't mean that. He was speaking of questions that were foolish and unprofitable. He told Timothy, avoid foolish questions, genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and vain. Unprofitable questions can be asked about anything.

Any doctrine, any teaching can have unprofitable questions about it. This warning should not keep us this morning from coming to this text as the Word of God, as God's message to us that is profitable. All scripture is given, is breathed out by God, and is profitable. That is the first thing Paul also said in describing the Word of God he said all of the Word of God including this genealogy and the genealogy in Matthew and any other genealogy that we have recorded in the pages of scripture is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for reproof, for instruction, for training in righteousness that we may be complete, thoroughly equipped to every good work. So if we're going to be complete and thoroughly equipped to every good work.

So if we're going to be complete and thoroughly equipped to every good work, we need to come to this genealogy, not as something to be glossed over, not as something to be bounced through reading with half of our mind, but rather come to it as we come to any other part of the Word of God. Coming, seeking to hear God's Word, seeking to know the truth that's here, seeking to understand what Jesus Christ, because these are the words of Jesus Christ, seeking what he would have, what he would teach us, seeking his blessing, seeking how he would bless us through this word. What does this text say? What is the spirit of wisdom and revelation meaning for us to learn in this genealogy of Jesus Christ. I would offer to you that instead of looking at this as a boring genealogy, think of it as your family tree.

Now there's probably nothing that is more boring than somebody else's family tree. Not quite, but you get the idea. Somebody else's relatives that we know nothing about, we've never heard of and don't know. But if it's our family tree, well that's a little different matter. It has relevance to us.

These are our grandparents, great grandparents, great great grandparents, and so on. This is our, this is the line from which we come. This is where we get our name. This is where we get our identity, this is why we are in this city and not another city, this is why we have these characteristics and not other characteristics. So if it's our family tree, it's very different.

That's of interest to us. In fact, some people spend great parts of their life digging into their family trees, their family origins, and that can be a profitable activity. Many times people find that they have godly ancestors who have come from other countries. So this morning, as we come to this text, this is your family tree. This is our family tree.

And so look at it this way because that is what it is. Those who are of Christ, the Bible says, are sons of Abraham and heirs of the promise to Him. That we are in this family tree. It is our family tree because of adoption. Because Jesus Christ has adopted us into His family and made us the sons of God.

You notice where this genealogy ends up. The son of Adam, the son of God. Jesus Christ traces his human ancestry to Adam, a real historical person, and from Adam to God, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. So you can see Jesus traces his human ancestry, his human line, his human nature to the Son of God, as well as His divine nature, being the only begotten Son of God. Jesus Christ is descended by ordinary generation.

Yes, He was supernaturally conceived, but in the womb of the Virgin Mary. And he is descended then by Adam, from Adam, and is the Son of God. Now if we look at this genealogy, We see a lot of history that is recounted here. If you look back at your family tree as you've studied it, you know certain things about different people that are in that line. And that's the way it should be when we come to this text.

Some of these people are obscure, but some are not. Some we know quite a bit about. So from Jesus, began his ministry at 30 years of age. He began his work as a prophet, priest, and king at the age at which priests begin their work. This is the age at which David became king, 30 years of age.

When Christ begins his ministry. This is the age at which priests began their ministry, at 30 years of age. This is when Christ is baptized. This is not a typical baptism, which was recorded just before this. Because John said, I need to be baptized of you.

Why do you want me, John, to baptize you, Jesus? And Jesus said, permitted at this time to fulfill all righteousness. There were reasons, legal reasons, that Jesus needed to be baptized. He needed to be set apart as our priest, because there were no priests from this line of David. The priests came from a different line of Abraham, and that is through the Levi.

So he is set apart. Even kings and prophets were anointed by God. So Jesus' baptism here is a baptism anointing Him as our High Priest. But I want you to look there. As he is baptized, while he is praying, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descends as a dove upon him.

A voice comes from heaven saying, you are my beloved son, in you I am well pleased. A voice from heaven, the voice of God proclaims that this Jesus is his beloved son in him. So we go from Jesus' baptism, probably in 26 or 27 AD, And back to the son of Zerubbabel, who was the son of Shealtiel, the son of Nehrui in verse 27. And that span of history will cover the period from the start of the exile in about 600 BC because Zerubbabel was we know quite a bit about him he's talked about in the prophets he was in Ezra and Nehemiah he is one of the leaders in the rebuilding of the temple on the return from exile. And so the son of Shealtiel is the son of Nehrai.

So that right there would be those people in compass of about 600 years of history Is recorded there up through up through? Verse 20 I said 27 I meant 25 And then it continues on back, the son of Maath, and so on, back to, in verse 31, the son of David. Now David lived about 1000 BC. His kingdom, he died around 970 AD. So he reigned from, since he reigned 40 years, he reigned from about 1010 BC down to 970.

So the next, so from Nehrui to David is another about 400 years of history of people. And then from David back to Abraham, son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham, son of Tirah, son of Nahor, in verse 34, Abraham lived about 2000 BC. So there's a thousand years there between David and Abraham. Another thousand years of history. So we're back to two thousand years of history.

And then from Abraham back to Noah is a couple hundred years. Is a couple hundred years. The flood was about 2350, so about 350 years between Abraham and Noah. And then from Noah all the way back to Adam, who was created by God, is another 2, 000 years, so 2, 300 years. No, sorry, I have that backwards.

It's about 1700 years, just under 2000 years. But we know that even though there's not very many people here, this is an era where the scriptures record very, very long ages for these men. Many of these men that are listed before Noah, Noah himself a thousand years, almost a thousand years, Methuselah, 969, Enoch, Adam, Jared, Mahalalel, these people all lived, most of them, not all but most of them, over 900 years each. And they were typically 100, some of them were over 100, some almost 200, when the next generation that's recorded was born. So there's a very, 1700 years with a very few number of generations.

But what do we learn then from this genealogy that's recorded here? Well, we see that Cain's line is completely destroyed in the flood. There are no descendants of Cain alive today, and haven't been since the time of Noah. Everybody on the earth today has descended only from Noah. We see many people who were not well known, They are not famous, and yet they are part of this line of Christ that tells us we don't always see the extent of God's plan.

We are like one tree in the midst of a big forest, and we can't see, oftentimes, the whole forest of what God is doing through us. But many of these people here, or at least here or in the genealogy in Matthew, are listed as people of faith, people who believed God. So we see that our calling is to be faithful to the Lord in where He has put us. He may not give us a great name recorded for history to remember, but that doesn't diminish our part, our work in God's plan, what God is doing in us and through us, and for us. And we need to be encouraged to continue to persevere in following the Lord, in the calling that He has set before us.

As we look at this genealogy, we see people who did that. They didn't know necessarily what was coming after them. They didn't see how they were fitting in to God's plan. But they did. They did.

We also see that our life is not defined by how we started. It's not defined necessarily by the sins that are committed. We see in Matthew that Salman, listed in this genealogy here, had Boaz, his son, by Rahab the harlot. Rahab started out her life as a prostitute, But she is listed in Hebrews 11 as somebody who believed God, who had faith in God's word. And she cast her lot with God's people under Joshua.

She believed that God would destroy her city as he had said he would. And she wanted, she believed that. And so she cast her lot, she put her life, on, staked her life on the truth of God's word, that her city would be destroyed. And everybody in her city was destroyed except for her and her family. Because she believed the Lord.

She believed his word. Here is this nation of slaves that had come out of Egypt. They didn't have any weapons of war. They didn't have an army. They didn't have chariots.

They didn't have horses. They didn't even have a land or a city that they could call their own. Now who would you trust for your security? A nation of slaves that have no military might whatsoever? Or this impregnable city of Jericho with its strong wall and defenses.

She believed the Word of God, despite what the appearances And the so-called evidence in front of her was saying, she understood that evidence in the light of the Word of God. And God delivered her. And it was through her that Salman, who is listed here, the son of Naishon, that Salman had Boaz by Rahab the harlot. So that tells you, that pinpoints exactly in time, one generation in this genealogy. In this genealogy.

Salmon married Rahab and would have lived then at the Exodus, so about 1500 BC. We see the next generation, Salmon had Boaz, and you probably know who Boaz's wife was. That was Ruth. Ruth was A Moabite. She came from a nation that didn't fear the Lord, that didn't have the word of God, the oracles, that didn't have the covenants.

They were a pagan nation. A man had gone down to their land in the time of famine. Limelach and his two sons had married, foreign wives, Mahon and Chilion, Ruth and Orpah. When Naomi's husband died and her sons had all died, she decided to go back to the land of Yisro, to the promised land. You remember Orpah stayed behind.

She loved her mother-in-law, Naomi, but she didn't follow her. She didn't want Naomi's God to be her God, But not so with Ruth. Ruth, through marrying into this family, had heard the truth, had heard the word of God, and she believed God's word, that this was God's people in the land of Israel. And she's told Naomi, I want your people to be my people. I want your God to be my God.

I won't leave you." And even when Naomi pleaded with her, she said, Look, I don't have any more sons that you can marry. I'm an old lady. I'm not going to have any more children for you. If you come with me, you're just going to follow a widow. I don't know what's back there.

I don't have anything. I'm destitute. If you follow me, we might live in utter poverty. But at least if you go back to your father's house, you know what you have there. You'll have a house, you'll have food.

That's what Orpah chose. She chose that security of her father's house where she knew that she would be cared for and fed and could live and remarry. But not Ruth. She believed the word of God. And she followed Naomi to her a foreign land with no certainty of any provision of anything.

And she had to glean. That's hard work. Gathering what's left over after the first fruits have already been picked, she gleaned out of the field. But it was through that, through because of her faith, Boaz saw her and Boaz married her. And from Boaz and Ruth was born Obed.

And Remember, Obed is the grandfather of David, the father of Jesse. You see, the sins of these people did not define them, but rather they were defined by their faith in the word of God. That's just like Jeremiah talks about. Those who repent and believe are justified, are righteous in God's sight. Also it doesn't matter how righteous you were growing up.

Those who turn away and no longer believe are under God's wrath and condemnation. But we also see here David in this regard. David did know the Lord and yet he fell into a grievous sin. But he repented of that sin and God forgave his sin. And God made a covenant with him.

That covenant is described in 2 Samuel chapter 7. It is described in 2 Samuel, or we can read about it, in 2 Samuel chapter 7. Remember, David had intended to build the temple, and he told Nathan that. And Nathan said, wonderful, whatever is in your heart do. And then after Nathan left, God came to him with a different word.

And he said, now this is what you shall say to my servant Davidî in verse 8 of 2nd Samuel 7. ÌThus says the Lord of hosts, ìI took you from the sheepfold, from following sheep, to be ruler over my people over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you and have made you a great name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel and I will plant them that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more as previously. Since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies." Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.

This is the word to David, when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, When your spirit departs this earth, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, a seed after him who would come from his own body." It means a physical descendant with His DNA. That's what it's saying there. Who will come from your body. See, Jesus descended from David's own body through Mary. And he shall build a house for my name.

I will set up your seat after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. And he shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father and he will be my son, and if he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul when I removed it from before you, and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you your kingdom will be established forever now is that forever just a long time like 400 years from a thousand a BC to 600 BC when David's descendants were taken into captivity and there never was again another throne, another king sitting in Jerusalem? Is that all forever is?

Well no. When God says forever, it means without end, forever. Your kingdom, your house and your kingdom will be established forever before you. And your throne will be established forever. According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

And David went in and sat before the Lord and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that you have brought me this far. What is my house that you would establish my throne forever? And yet this was a small thing in your sight, O Lord God. And you have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come.

Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Now what more can David say to you? For you, Lord God, know your servant, for your word's sake and according to your own heart, you have done these great things to make your servant know them. Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, nor is there any God beside you.

According to all that we have heard with our ears, who is like your people? Now the Lord God establish the, now O Lord God, the word which you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as you have said. There's David praying to God that God would fulfill what God had promised to do. That's something we should always do. We should always be able to take the promises of God's Word and pray them to Him asking for Him to accomplish them in our lives.

So let your name be magnified forever saying the Lord of hosts is the God over Israel and that the house of your servant David be established before you. For you O Lord God of hosts, God of Israel have revealed this to your servant saying I will build you a house therefore your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to you." Because God promised to him, David is praying this prayer. Now this is before his sin with Bathsheba, that comes in a couple chapters. But that sin did not define David. That sin, because David repented of it And because God forgave him of that sin, this covenant was established.

And David's seed does today sit on the throne. A seed that comes from his own body as this genealogy establishes. Because he began his ministry being as was supposed, the son of Joseph, the son of David, the son of Adam, the son of God. You can see why sometimes genealogies are abbreviated Now We also see in this genealogy that Satan can't thwart God's purpose. As you read down through here, I Hope you are reminded of all the times that Satan tried to thwart God's purposes.

Satan tried to thwart God's purposes. And I am going to go, we are going to walk backwards through history, starting with the most recent and walking back to Adam. But I want to look this morning at each of these men with whom God established covenants, with whom God spoke, that are listed in this genealogy. We have Jesus, we have Zerubbabel, we have David, we have Abraham, we have Noah, and we have Adam. Abraham, Noah, and Adam.

Jesus, Zerubbabel, David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam. Satan can't thwart God's purposes, and he has tried. He has tried from the moment of creation all the way to this present day, and he will continue to try to thwart the purpose of God, to try to defeat Christ as King and overthrow God's Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven. In the days of Zerubbabel, Israel had returned from captivity. 70 years, They were in a foreign land.

The temple was destroyed, not one stone was left standing. All the furniture, all the utensils of the temple that had been built out of gold made out of gold and silver were carried away to a foreign land. And under in the days of Zerubbabel in the second month the second year of their coming to the house of God at Jerusalem Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel Joshua the son of Josaddech so there's Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel he's positively identified and we can so we can identify him with the Zerubbabel that is listed in the Luke genealogy. They are both Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel. And Joshua, the son of Josadach, and the rest of their brethren, the priests, and the Levites, and all those who had come out of the captivity to Jerusalem began work and appointed the Levites from twenty years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the Lord.

And you know this story how St. Tim troubled that work. He raised up people to come and try to stop it. And they were these demonically inspired people. For a while they were successful in stopping the work of the temple of rebuilding the temple But God raised up Some prophets to come to them in chapter 5 of it.

I'm sorry I read from Ezra chapter 3 there where they work to restore the temple begins. Then we have the rebuilding opposed because these people wrote letters and they got the king to issue an edict saying to stop the work, they are partly successful. But then in chapter 5 of Ezra, the prophet Hegei and Zechariah, the son of Iddu, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who is over them, so Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua, the son of Josadach, rose up and began to build." Here are two men, Shealtiel, who is listed in this genealogy, Believing the Word of God that was delivered by these two prophets Who what were they saying? Well, we have their prophecies. They are in in the book of Haggai and in Zechariah and in Haggai chapter 2 Well this whole book the whole prophecy of Haggai chapter 1, in the second year of King Darius, the sixth month, the first day of the month, The word of the Lord came by Haggai, the prophet to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah.

Shealtiel is the governor who was in charge of rebuilding the temple. This work was stopped by the edict of the king. And the message was from Haggai, is it time for you, in chapter 1, is it time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses and the temple in ruins? I mean that was David's reason for building the temple. I dwell in this beautiful house of cedar and God is dwelling in a tent." That was a good thing that he thought of.

That's the word of Haggai. Is it time for you to dwell in nice houses and the temple to lie in ruins? Now Therefore consider your ways, says the Lord of hosts. You have sown much and bring in little. You eat but do not have enough.

You drink but are not filled with drink. You clothe yourselves but no one is warm. And he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes. Thus, says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. Go up into the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, get to work.

Whose word are you going to believe? The word of God? Or the word of a king? The King looked powerful. He had armies, he had gold, he had great might.

It's irrubable. Believe the Word of God. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew. Because my house is in ruins while every one of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, the earth withholds its fruit.

For I called for a drought on the land and on the mountains on the grain and the new wine and the oil and whatever the ground brings forth on men, livestock, on all the labor of your hands." God is calling for a drought. You're not going to be productive. You're not fruitful. And then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel and Joshua, the high priest, obeyed with the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord. This is a remnant.

This is a poor and weak people by themselves. They didn't have great armies. The city was in ruins. What this is describing is the land that wasn't thriving. Their crops were failing.

Their grain, the oil, livestock, the men, the labor of their hands. But God in His grace brought His word to them. And Shealtiel, this ancestor of Jesus Christ, obeyed the voice of the Lord. And so God sends another word on the seventh month, on the 21st day of the month, the word came to Haggai again and said, go speak to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoshaphat, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people. And here is the prophecy, here is the promise that God gave them.

Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? There were some that did. And how do you see it now in comparison with it? Is this not in your eyes as nothing? Be strong now, Zerubbabel says the Lord.

Be strong Joshua, son of Jehoshedek the high priest. And be strong all of you people of the land, you remnant, you poor, you weak, you helpless people, compared to the powers and mights of the earth. For I am with you, says the Lord of hosts. According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so my spirit remains among you. Do not fear.

For thus, says the Lord of hosts, once more it is a little while I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and the dry land, and I will shake all nations and they will come to the desire of all nations and I will fill this temple with glory says the Lord of hosts." They thought they were a poor weak failing people But God says that through their work, the desire of all nations will come into this temple and fill it with glory, such that the glory of this temple will be greater than the former. The glory of this temple will be greater than the glory of the temple under Solomon in all of its glory." You remember that was a magnificent thing. It was a wonder of the world. It was something people came to Solomon's kingdom and their jaws hit the ground. They could not believe the wealth, the glory, the splendor, the wisdom that was Solomon's.

But God said the glory of this temple that you are building, Zerubbabel, and Joshua, and Uremnit, will exceed the glory of the former. And in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts." And then again The word came to Haggai on the 24th day of the month, saying, Speak to Zerubbabel the governor of Judah, saying, I will shake heaven and earth. I will overthrow the throne of the kingdoms. I will destroy the strength of the Gentile kingdoms. I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them, the horses and the riders, shall come down every one by the sword of his brother.

In that day, says the Lord, I will take you as a rubble bowl, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, and I will make you like a signet ring, For I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts. Shealtiel, signet ring, the sign and seal of authority. And over in the next couple pages, Zechariah. In chapter four, we have another word, a vision that Zechariah has. He takes them up to a lamp stand of solid gold with a bowl on top.

And two olive trees are by it, one on the right and the other on the left. And I answered and spoke to the angel who spoke with me saying, What are these my lord? And the angel says, who talked with me answered and said to me, Do you not know what these are? And he said, No, my Lord. So he answered me and said, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel.

Not by might or by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Who are you, O great mountains? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain, and he shall bring forth a capstone with shouts of grace to it. Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel who have laid the foundations of this temple, his hands will also finish it. And then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you, for who has despised the day of small things?

For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the land of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord which scan to and fro throughout the earth these seven rejoice." Remember in Revelation Jesus is pictured with this image as the lamb with seven eyes. God was watching the work of Zerubbabel. It was a day of small beginnings, but he was told, don't despise it because I will make you the signet ring, just like he did with Mordecai. When he brought down Haman who had the king's signet ring and gave it to Mordecai, God is saying of the rubble the same thing.

In your hand will be the signet ring, the seal of authority. You will finish this temple. Don't despise the day of small beginnings. Many of these are things that we know and remember as precious promises of God. Not to despise the day of small beginnings, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit.

That was given to Zerubbabel in his work to rebuild the temple. Zerubbabel here is Someone from whom Christ came in the flesh. But then we go back to David. And we've looked at David's, the covenant that God made with David, that there should not cease to sit a descendant from his body upon the throne. It is with David that there are these differences between the genealogy in Luke and the genealogy recorded in Matthew.

I won't be very dogmatic about it, but there are a number of different ideas that are put forward to explain why there are two different genealogies. But I think one of the ideas that has a lot of merit is one that sees the genealogy in Luke as being the legal genealogy. As being the legal genealogy. The legal genealogy. And there are a couple of reasons why there is a legal genealogy and a physical genealogy.

One of the differences between Matthew and Luke is that in Matthew There are four generations that are skipped in the genealogy. And they come right after David. Solomon begat Rehoboam in Matthew 1 verse 7. Rehoboam begat Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat. And then it goes right from Jehoshaphat Joram and it goes from Joram to Aziah.

And there are three generations that are skipped there between Joram. Joram begat Joash, whether it was Athaliah, then there was Joash, and then there was Amaziah, and then there was Athaliah, and then you come to Aziah. Why are these lines skipped? They are omitted because they were considered part of the line of Omri, who was a Baal worshipping king in the kingdom of Judah, the northern kingdom. And this Droram married Ahab's daughter, Athaliah.

And so these houses were joined. And these three kings were Baal worshipping kings who are called by the house, who are ascribed to the house of Omri, the father of Ahab. We know that God is displeased, brings his judgment to the third and fourth generation of those who hate him, but shows mercy to thousands of them that keep his covenant. So it's possible then that these generations are removed because they are disinherited. And so they are not listed.

But in Luke's genealogy, it says that he was as was supposed the son of Joseph. We know that Jesus was not a physical descendant through the DNA of Joseph. He was through the DNA of Mary, but not of Joseph. He was as supposed the son of Joseph. Joseph had adopted Jesus legally.

He was Jesus' legal descendant. Because Jesus was born to Joseph's wife, Mary. And so he was then properly Joseph's legal descendant. And I think it's also, we also see then that the son of Joseph is the son of Heli in Luke, but he is listed differently in Matthew. It says that Matthan begat Jacob.

And I believe that one explanation for this, that can't account for this, is the application of what's called the Levirate Law. You remember under that law, and the Pharisees questioned Jesus about it, and they tried to trip him up on the resurrection saying we had seven brothers and they all Had the same woman as a wife because they all died without children the virate law required the brother to raise up a child To his who would be his brother's seed And that's what you had with Boaz, in fact, and Ruth was an application of that. That by the way is not committing adultery, that's not polygamy, it's not taking two wives. These are people who are marrying for the first time. But the brother was to raise up a seed for the brother that was deceased.

And so that first born child of the virate marriage became the legal heir, the legal descendant of the brother that died who didn't have any children. And it was the next child then that became the heir of the brother that was living. And So why is that law? Well that law would provide a way for both of these genealogies to be completely true. Where one in Luke is giving the legal genealogy.

So If Joseph himself was the legal heir of one man, but the physical heir of another brother, and if those two brothers were half brothers, That was common. It was something that happened. Joseph and let's say Levi were brothers, but they had different mothers. You could have brothers that have the same mother who had different fathers, if one died and then she married another person. And if those brothers were half brothers coming from different lines, You then have a way for there to be these branches in this family tree.

One family tree is giving the legal, so Jesus is the legal heir of Joseph, but not the DNA heir of Joseph. And then Joseph himself could be a legal heir of one man and a physical DNA descendant of another person because of the Levirate Law. And if you had brothers that were half-brothers because of deaths and remarriages, you can have these two genealogies recording what is absolutely true without any discrepancy, one giving the legal title and the other giving the DNA descendants. Now there's another aspect as well. At David we have a branch.

Remember one Matthew says gives the line through Solomon but Luke gives a line through Nathan. Both were sons of David. You can go back to David's genealogy, both were sons of David. Now how can the same person be descendant from both of those lines? Both of those lines.

Well, there was a judgment given to Jeconiah that was Jehoiakim, who was the son of Josiah. In Jeremiah 22, it records, as I live, says the Lord, through Kaniah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet on my right hand, yet I would pluck you off and give you into the hand of those who seek your life, the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. So I will cast you out and your mother who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return. Is this man, Konyah, a despised and broken idol, a vessel in which is no pleasure?

Why are they cast off, he and his descendants, and Cast into a land which they did not know, O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord, thus says the Lord, write this man down as childless." This is Jehoiachin. So Josiah had Jehoiachin, and Jehoiachin had Jehoiachin, and this is the person that is being described here. This is a descendant of David. This is the kingly line of David. Jehoiachin reigned on the throne of David in Jerusalem.

And this is what God is saying about him. Write this man down as childless, a man who will not prosper to his days for None of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David and ruling anymore in Judah. He was cursed he was cut out because he did not believe the word of God and none of his descendants would ever sit on the throne. Well he is the descendant through Solomon and so God is ending that line here. And it is through this other line of Nathan that is listed in Luke genealogy which is continuing the legal line.

The legal right to the throne is coming through this line. And so both of these lines then are bringing, are part of Jesus' historical genealogy. One bringing the DNA, the other bringing the legal right to the throne, to Jesus Christ, the historical man who was born in time. Now we can then go back to Abraham who is listed here. This covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis 17 should be a God to him and to his descendants forever, forever.

Not just a thousand years, not just two thousand years, but forever to all eternity. Genesis 15, 5, his descendants would be numerous as the stars. And in Genesis 12, God said to Abraham that in you all the families of the earth will be blessed all the families not just the descendants of Isaac and Jacob and the patriarchs but all the families of the earth you see that was realized in Jesus Christ As the middle wall of partition between the Jew and Gentile is broken down and the gospel goes to all the world, the hope of salvation, the hope of redemption, the hope of forgiveness, the hope of peace with God because of our sins. That gospel goes to all people. And in Abraham, all the nations of the earth are blessed because of Christ.

Then you get to Noah. He is in this genealogy. And God made a covenant with Noah that He would never destroy the earth again by a flood. And He gave a sign of that covenant, that promise, which was made with all of creation, He would never destroy the world. And every time we see that rainbow, it's a reminder of the promise that God made to Noah.

That promise that's fulfilled in Christ, Because it is in Christ that all the promises of God are yea and amen in Jesus Christ. It is because of Christ that these promises are being fulfilled. Although Satan is trying to thwart them. Remember, Satan inspired Herod to try and kill off that line through which Christ would come. He tried to stop the rebuilding of the temple.

He in many places tried to stop Abraham's line. Remember in that deal with Athaliah where Satanically motivated people have married into David's line and Athaliah kills off every one of his descendants. She thought she did, but she didn't. God preserved Joash through his aunt, I think it was his aunt, Jehoshua. And then Noah, in the days of Noah, Satan had corrupted the whole world.

And So that the imagination of every thought was only evil continually and God repented that He had made the world. Remember God had promised Adam this seed that would crush the head of the serpent. Satan in his attempt to destroy and thwart God's purpose, has corrupted the whole world, such that only Noah finds grace in the eyes of God. Noah and his children, his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. But Satan failed there as well.

And then we come back to Adam. Adam and Eve were given this promise that from the seed of the woman would come one who would crush the head of the serpent. God put enmity between the seat of the woman and the seat of the serpent. So Christ here is presented as the Son of Adam, the second Adam. I read the temptation of Christ because I want to compare, show you just the similarities between the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and the temptation of Christ in the desert.

Satan came to both challenging the word of God, challenging what God had said. He came to Eve and said, has God indeed said that if you eat this tree you will die? Has God said that? He wanted to put doubt in. Yes, God had said that.

He's trying to cast doubt. He's trying to bring doubt on the Word of God. Adam was right there with her Because the Bible says that she took the fruit when she saw that it was beautiful to the eyes and good to eat and able to make one wise and she gave it to Adam who was with her. So Adam is standing there. Adam who is supposed to be one who is washing his wife with the water of the Word, who is building her faith in the Word, who is defending the veracity and the truth of the scripture, is capitulating and following the one that he is supposed to be leading.

Satan came to Christ the same way, questioning the Word of God. God had declared, you are my beloved son. You are my beloved Son at His baptism just before this genealogy. In you I am well pleased. And what did Satan come to Jesus saying?

If you are the Son of God, if you are the Son of God. Prove it. He's casting doubt upon the Word of God. He's saying you need to prove this. We need to test this declaration.

Instead of receiving it as the word, as the truth, by faith, as Rahab, as Ruth, as the rubble bowl have, he's trying to build doubt. He says, make these stones, turn them into bread if you are the son of God. You can do it. If you really are what God is saying, if that is really true, If the Word of God is really true, then prove it. Jesus was hungry.

He has been fasting for 40 days. He is weak and hungry. And That's when the devil said to him, for 40 days he hasn't eaten. He's been alone in the desert among animals that would have loved to eat him. Fasting.

Here, Satan, If you are the Son of God, Satan said, turn these stones into bread. Adam, when he was tempted, was in a garden, a paradise. He didn't need faith to see what God would do. God had done it right in front of him. He was in a paradise.

He was not alone as Jesus was, but had by his side one whom God had specially made for him to be his comfort, to be his companion. Yet Adam sinned And Jesus did not. Satan came again challenging the Word of God. Prove that you are the Son of God by casting yourself off the temple. If you are the Son of God, If you are the Son of God, Satan says, both times.

He's challenging the Word of God. Cast yourself off the temple. And then he quotes scripture to boot. Well, God will give his angels charge over you, lest you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus responds, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.

He had said, respond to the first temptation with the word of God as well. Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Thirdly, Satan comes to him, takes him up onto a high mount and says to him, to you I will give all this authority and glory because to me it has been delivered and to whomsoever I will give it, I will, I give it. Just fall down and worship me." God had said to Christ something very similar. In Psalm 2, ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance.

I will give you the nations of the world." But the obedience of the Father involved travail, involved death, it involved suffering, it involved humiliation. Satan was offering Christ the same thing, the nations of the world, without any humiliation, without any suffering, without any travail, without death. He is the great deceiver, he is the great counterfeiter. Yes he did have, he is called in scriptures the Prince of the Power of the Air. He is called the ruler of this world because he has stolen that kingdom.

But he is the great deceiver and counterfeiter. He cannot offer it what he has stolen. He cannot offer it permanently. He can only offer it for a short time. And Jesus responded, to get behind me, Satan, you shall worship and serve the Lord God only Jesus succeeded where Adam failed Jesus succeeded Jesus accomplished what Adam could not accomplish By one man's obedience Paul said in Romans many were made sinners, but by one man's obedience many will be made righteous.

Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15, For as by A man came death, by man has also come the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." Jesus is here the hope of the world, the light of the world. He is the son of David who will always sit on the throne. He is the God of Abraham, who is a God to Abraham and to his descendants. This family tree is our family tree Because there are no other genealogies after Jesus in the scriptures.

None. This genealogy that started with God to Adam to Noah to Abraham to David to Zerubbabel to Joseph to Jesus ends. Why? Because we by faith are made sons of God and heirs, fellow heirs with Christ. We are the children of God, those who are in Christ.

It is Christ that has secured this adoption into this family tree that is listed here as sons of God. And there is no more genealogy because we are all sons of Jesus, sons of God, children of God, fellow heirs with Jesus Christ. This family tree is our family tree. The promises that have been made to all the people represented in this line have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and are fulfilled to us in Jesus Christ, who is the fulfillment of all the promises of God. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, We thank you for this record of Christ who was born in due time, born of Mary, who was descended of the body of Adam, descended of the body of David, of Noah, of Abraham, who is our Lord and our Savior, who is the one who has adopted us into his family as your children, the one who secures all of these promises. Father, we thank you. We ask that you would cause us to look at this record with joy, with fond remembrance, that you may in it draw our heart to you, lift up our spirit to you in gratitude, in thanks, that there is no one in heaven or earth who can thwart your purpose, who can divert your plan, who can overthrow your rule, destroy your kingdom, or take us from the palm of your hand. Thank you, Father, through Jesus Christ. Amen.