The Story of Scripture: Jesus Changes Everything || David Platt

I mentioned in the sermon last week from Ethiopia that our plan over the coming weeks was to look at marriage and money like two very important facets of our lives and we're gonna do that or willing over the next two weeks before we get there we need to see the most important focus in our lives and it's an appropriate text in many ways in light of what I just shared like more than anything today I just want us to see Jesus I have a very simple aim for the next few minutes we have together my aim is to show you Jesus in God's Word in the next few minutes in such a way that by the time we're finished a few minutes from now you will love Jesus more than you love him right now and that's that's my aim my prayer God by his Spirit through his word would lead you right where you were sitting no matter what's going on in your life to a greater love for Jesus than you have right now so for some of you you're exploring Christianity and I'm praying that today for the first time you will feel affection for Jesus that a strange affection will rise in your heart even if you're not exploring Christianity maybe you're opposed to Christianity and you're here for any number of reasons that something afraid that something supernatural might happen in your heart today and you might experience an unexpected desire for Jesus and I pray thee would not resist that and then even for some of you've been followers of Jesus for 60 or 70 years I pray that a few minutes from now you would feel fresh love for Jesus so and it loving him more that you would experience deeper trust in him and desire to follow him and share him with others so in our Bible reading this week Luke 1 and 2 mark 1 John 1 Matthew wanted to it's been like Christmas in this summer so finally after reading to the Old Testament for six months finally Jesus is here and Jesus changes everything so if you haven't already pull out those notes you received when you came in and I want to show you eight ways Jesus changes everything starting in Matthew chapter 1 verse 1 so read along with me there this is how the New Testament of the Bible opens the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David the son of Abraham all right let's stop there number one way Jesus changes everything Jesus redefines history he redefines histories so this first book in the New Testament starts with a genealogy a list of names you know the kind of thing but let's be honest you skip over in your Bible reading right like I'm not gonna ask for a show of hands but who skims when they get to this like let me get something good like but this is not Alayne a list of names you want to just skip over because Matthew a disciple of Jesus from the start of this book is showing how all of history has been pointing to Jesus the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ so just in case you're wondering Christ is not his last name Christ means Messiah or anointed or Promised One so ever since the entrance of sin into the world the beginning of the Bible God promised a coming Anointed One a messiah who would defeat sin and deliver people from sin remember Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 we're not gonna have time to turn all these places you might just write down these references in your notes I'll put them on the screen right after sin entered the world God said to the serpent to the tempter genesis 3:15 i will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring a picture of the the battle with sin in all of our hearts then it talks about one offspring from the woman he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel so the tempter would bruise the heel of this one who would come but this one who would come from the offspring of a woman but bruised the tempters head some translations say he will crush your head and out of the gate matthew is shouting in verse number 1 the snake crusher has come Jesus is the offspring from woman who has come to conquer sin and Satan and the rest of this chapter will tell us the miraculous story of how Jesus would be born uniquely from the offspring of woman but not of man not from Adam the first man who succumbed to sin from whom we have all inherited our sinful nature this man Jesus would be unlike us he would not succumb to sin he would save from sin but we're getting ahead of myself so go back to the verse the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David so pause there Jesus is the offspring from David who has come to reign as king forever remember this way back in second Samuel Chapter 7 we read this when David wanted to build a temple for God God told him know that David's son Solomon would do that and in that passage God promised David that his offspring would continue and one from David's line would reign as king forever listen the second samuel chapter seven verse twelve to thirteen I'll put it on the screen God said to David when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body I will establish his kingdom he shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever now obviously that promise was initially a reference just to Solomon but notice it's about more than Solomon because the throne of his kingdom will be established how long forever second Samuel 716 says the same thing David your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me your throne shall be established forever and what we read in the rest of the Old Testament is that promise being repeated over and over and over again how I wish had time to turn in all these places but again you might just ride him down Isaiah 9:6 and 7 talks about the Prince of Peace who would come and sit on the throne of David Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 5 and 6 tells about a king from the line of David who would bring perfect justice and righteousness in the earth Ezekiel chapter 37 verses 24 and 25 tells about a Davidic King who would reign over a new covenant for all nations so we could go on and on the point is all throughout the Old Testament God's people were continually looking for a different king unlike other kings to come in the line of David and what Matthew is saying here is that the King has come in fact let me show you to you here in Matthew chapter 1 look out of verse 17 so you read this list of names it's actually not a comprehensive genealogy so not every descendant in the family tree is included here some entire generations are skipped so think about your family tree like you get to pick and choose which one's stay and which ones don't okay so it's kind of okay so why did Matthew do this and specifically look at verse 17 all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations from David the deportation of Babylon fourteen generations from the deportation of Babylon to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations so there's these groups of fourteen why well it all goes back to the Hebrew name for King David it's a little bit of Hebrew information hang with me it'll be worth it in the Hebrew they had something called gematria which is basically a way that they would assign a numerical value to certain words or names based on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet that made up that word or name so for example you would have a number associated with your name based on the number R based on the Hebrew letters that were in your name and according to that system of gematria you'll never guess with the number associated with the name of King David was just guess boom drop the mic Matthew bro puts an exclamation point on the fact that Jesus is from King David so that's second and then third so back up in verse one he's the son of David the son of Abraham so one more glance back to the Old Testament number oh you're read in Genesis 12 when God said to Abraham Genesis 12 go from your country and your kindred your father's house to the land that I will show you I will make you a great nation I will bless you make your name great so you will be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonored you all curse and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed you read on Genesis 17 God tells Abraham that he would bring blessing to all the nations and Kings would come from his line in Genesis in Genesis 49 Farge in Dez's 49 with a promise that from the line of Judah will come a king to whom shall be the obedience of all the nations all the peoples so when you get to matthew chapter 1 verse 1 it says the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of David the son of Abraham Abraham was the father of Isaac Isaac the father of Jacob and Jacob the father of who Judah so see it Jesus is the offspring from Abraham who has come to bless all the nations you say what's the point all the Old Testament history David don't miss it like the Bible is making clear to you and me right now in this passage that nothing in history is accidental nothing everything in the Old Testament all throughout this history from the very beginning has been pointing to a king who would come and from the first verse in the New Testament the Bible's announcing the king has come Jesus Christ the Son of David the son of Abraham is here he is the center of history and this is really important for us to hear because you are not at the center of history I am not at the center of history our generation is not at the center of history the United States of America not at the center of history throughout history billions of people of common billions of people have gone empires of common empires have gone countries nations kings queens presidents dictators rulers have come and gone and at the center of it all stands one person Jesus Christ he redefines history that's the only one point that'll pick up the pace - Jesus reunites humanity redefines history and Jesus reunites humanity so then we have this list of different people different generations from different backgrounds you have men and women Jews and Gentiles from upper-class kings - a lower-class prostitute but they all have one thing in common they all point to Jesus so hold your place here in Matthew chapter 1 look ahead to Matthew chapter 2 let's do a little Christmas in August first one after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King behold wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying where is he who was born King of the Jews for we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship Him when Herod the King heard this he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born they told him in Bethlehem of Judea for as it is written by the prophet and you o Bethlehem in the land of Judea are by no means least among the rulers of judah for from you shall come a ruler who will Shepherd my people Israel then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared and he sent them to Bethlehem saying go and search diligently for the child and when you have found him bring me word that I too may come and worship Him after listening to the king they went on their way and behold the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was when they saw the star they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy and going to the house they saw the child with Mary his mother and they fell down and worshiped him then opening their treasures they offered him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh and being warned in a dream not to return to Herod they departed to their own country by another way no it's actually pretty appropriate that we would read this months after Christmas because we talked about this before like the wise men did not get to the stable the manger same time the shepherds did so all those no tivity scenes that we set up at Christmas are actually biblically wrong so they didn't come till months later so this actually the word is prompting us like go go into the Attic pull out the decorations and put wise men up on the mantel in your home and when people come over and visit they're like why do you have Wiseman out you're like because we are biblically accurate in our home and we are celebrating the wise men in the summer so it's a pretty fascinating story think about it these wise men from the east now there's mystery around who these guys were by the way it never says there were just three of them and they weren't just some weird stargazers and these were well respected men with prominent religious and political influence their name literally means great or powerful ones at a high position evident and the wealth they bring with him the caravan they likely had alongside them we learn about guys like this in the Book of Daniel it's likely they had been influenced by Jewish teachings from the Old Testament when the people of Israel had been scattered across the east during the Exile and now through their study of the Stars they're drawn from the east to worship the king of the Jews now there's Old Testament background here - I really have a time to look at all these stories because nothing here is accidental back in the Book of Numbers Balak the king of Moab had called for Balaam a magician or a seer from the east to come and curse Israel for him Balaam though if you remember the story refused to do that instead he actually blessed Israel and in his last words this is what Balaam said numbers 24 verse 17 well we'll start in verse 15 just get the setup he took up his discourse and said the Oracle of Balaam the son of Beor the Oracle the man whose eyes opened the Oracle of him who hears the words of God knows the knowledge of the Most High who sees the vision of the almighty falling down with his eyes uncovered and here's what he says I see him but not now I behold him but not near a star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel so Balaam said from the people of Israel a star will come and a scepter a king will rise a star will announce a king who as you continued reading in numbers 24 who will save the people of God so think about this in numbers a well-respected magician seer from the east tells about a star and a king to rise among the Jews and now in Matthew powerful influential magicians Magi from the east follow a star to see one born King of the Jews everything here is purposeful God is orchestrating history and arranging the planets the stars in the sky to shout to the world that the King has come Jesus is the king to whom all nature points and he's not just King of the Jews because these were non-jewish men from the east and what did they do when they get to Jesus and a breathtaking scene just imagine these prominent men from the east from the nation's they bow down and worship up baby because Jesus is the king before whom all nations bow Jesus has come as king not just for one type of people but for all peoples for all the nations I'm telling you I don't make up this global mission stuff it's all over the Bible you can't escape it unless you're trying to ignore it Jesus is the king of the nations and we know this right like we're a church full of a hundred plus nations and we've gathered together in this room and other campuses all across Washington DC not because our politics are the same not because our ethnicities are the same not because our backgrounds are the same because we come from all kinds of different ethnicity backgrounds with all kind of different politics we have one king and his name is Jesus he reunites humanity a human race that is marked by sin so okay what is all this history mean for our lives like so what right well that brings us back to Matthew 1 and the third way G just changes everything to all who are caught in sin Jesus gives a fresh start I pray that these words will land on some hearts in a fresh way right now to those who are caught in sin Jesus gives a fresh start so you guys see this is first 17 verses yet a list of names of sinner after sinner after sinner story after story after story of sin you should think about yeah Judah and Tamar in verse 3 who had twins by incest verse 6 you have the story of David's adultery with the wife of Uriah whom David then murdered then you have evil king after evil king who led people into idolatry and immorality eventually resulting in the destruction of Jerusalem deportation to Babylon then back from Babylon story after story of people who rebelled against God this is it's pretty startling startling to think about like the great great great great grandparents of Jesus hated God and we're leading others to hate God but then don't miss this look at verse 18 right after this whole list Matthew writes now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way and I won't encourage a circle that word birth and make a note because you know what that word is in the Greek original language the New Testament so well Hebrew just understand something over here Greek here that word for birth and the Greek is the word Genesis and this is pretty awesome when you think about just get the picture and the very choice of language here God is taking us back to the very beginning when sinful humanity started and God is saying I am bringing a new start Jesus is a new Genesis he is a new beginning so to all who are guilty of iniquity Jesus comes to give you a new identity this is what his very name means his name is a Greek for Hebrew Yeshua or Joshua means the Lord saves Yahweh saves and just as God used Joshua in the Old Testament to lead his people into the Promised Land so Jesus the Lord saves has come to lead people into eternal life just why were you then after that in verse 18 and his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit and her husband Joseph being a just man unwilling to put her to shame resolved to divorce her quietly but as he considered these things behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream saying Joseph son of David do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit she will bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins please hear this especially if you're exploring Christianity even been opposed to Christianity this is the reason Jesus came he came to save you from your sin most everybody I talked to is hoping that when they stand before God one day they'll go to heaven because their good deeds while they outweigh their bad they've done enough good to overcome their back but here's the problem with that whole way of thinking one sin one against an infinitely holy God is worthy of infinite separation from him one sin and no matter how much could you try to do you can't erase that one sin and you've committed so many more sins every one of us has turned from God's ways to our own ways but the beauty here is that we don't have to try to overcome our bad with our good we are not safe from our sins because we are good enough we are safe from our sins because Jesus is gracious enough because Jesus has come to pay the price for all of our sins not based on anything we can do to earn it Jesus has died on a cross to cover over your sins it's the greatest news in the world today you can be forgiven of all your sins before a holy God not because you do enough good things but because you trust in His grace how can you be saved from your sin simply by trusting in Jesus as your Savior and to all who are guilty of iniquity he will give you a new identity and not just that like thinking about all the shame associated with some of these stories of sin incest adults are here Ahab a prostitute even ruth the moabite from a people known for their sexual immorality but Jesus gives a fresh start to all who are stained by shame Jesus gives you new dignity new dignity like let's be honest this is one crooked family tree and you might even ask like why are the names of such shameful sinners included here in this line that leads to Jesus and the answer is for the same reason your name is included in the line the leads from Jesus totally by the grace of God because God sent his son to save the undeserving because God sent his son to save the un-- likely just think about who's riding us Matthew the tax collector this is a man who made his living ripping off the Jewish people you get to Matthew chapter 19 all you will Matthew knows to invite to his house for a party are more reprobates Matthew knows he's the leak light at least likely person to be writing this gospel and that's what makes it the gospel all right so what makes a good news that God saves us not based upon our vain efforts and goodness but based upon his supernatural gift of grace here that goodness like to every single person within the sound of my voice in Jesus you can have a new start a totally new start since totally wiped away new identity new dignity and then you go forth we hear some of these stories apart from Jesus they're so disheartening right like what if this is the end all these stories of sin and suffering and shame like what if that's all how depressing would that be but don't miss the picture because these stories are not the end to all who have lost heart Jesus gives fresh hope fresh oh let me ask you a question do you ever look at the circumstances around you and think I just don't see any hope of coming out from this maybe maybe you send in such a way they so wish you can take that but you can't and you think that sin is going to define me for the rest of my life if you have ever thought that if you're thinking that right now there's something that comes to your mind like yeah that that's gonna define me please hear this Jesus gives you fresh hope because Jesus ensures that sin will not define your life that no sin will define your life if you are in Jesus you read the stories of the gospel over the next couple weeks you'll see story after story of people who have sinned deeply but when they encounter Jesus everything changes all the way to the cross where a thief is dying next to him ask for forgiveness and Jesus says today you will be with me in paradise Jesus ensures the sin will not define your life that's good news and then for those who suffer in this way or that way maybe as a result of sin or maybe not maybe just because we live in a fallen world and suffering is a reality win your son is riding his bike in an instant everything changes and of course you lose a heart this is your son but to all who've lost heart Jesus gives fresh hope because Jesus ensures that suffering will not be the end of your story and Mark it down suffering was not the end of Jay castles story because Jay could trusted in Jesus the one who had saved him from his sins and had come to conquer death itself with Jesus suffering will never be the end of your story with Jesus even earthly tragedy turns into eternal triumph Jesus changes everything he changes everything praise Jesus Changez effort steeds right number five she just as the one whose presence will never leave you alone so Matthew writes in verse 22 all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet the whole divergent shall conceive and bear a son and they shall call his name Emmanuel which means God with us a prophecy was given seven hundred years before Matthew chapter 1 Jesus is God with us it's the astounding truth of Christianity seems to so many incomprehensible but to those who believe it is irresistible I always think about sitting across the table from a group of men I was talking with in the Middle East who told me God is too great he's too glorious to debase himself by becoming a man like us said let me ask you a question a nice stir in my life I am an Smit a woman and my heart fell in love with her and when it came time for me to tell her that I loved her do you think I got one somebody else to go and tell her that for me or do you think I went and told her that I laughed and said of course you went so why is that I said well because in matters of love one must go himself let's send somebody else and so that's the point our God is so great so glorious that he has not just sent this prophet or that person this messenger or that message God has come himself to us because in matters of love one goes just think of it the God who spoke the world into being who rules and reigns over all creation every star in the sky he knows its name every ocean wave stops where it does because he tells it to the God around whom multitudes and myriads of angels worship and sing and praise him continually day and night the God whose glory is beyond our imagination whose holiness is beyond our comprehension this God is with you Jesus is the constant companion your soul craves no matter what happens to you no matter what happens around you no matter what you go through to all who trust in Jesus you are never alone in this world never feel lonely you ever feel like others don't understand what you're walking through what you're experiencing you ever been in a crowd full of people maybe even right now and you feel alone know this Jesus has come so that you might never be alone he will never ever leave you alone and he's the one whose guidance will never lead you astray so we read Matthew chapter 2 this quote in the middle of it from Micah chapter 5 verse 2 this promise of a coming Messiah I wish we had time we kind of do some comparison between the two but I'll just go ahead and tell you at the very end when it says for from you shall come a ruler who will Shepherd my people Israel that picture of a shepherd is actually not in Micah chapter 5 - it actually goes back to 2nd Samuel chapter 5 verse 2 where God anointed David as king over Israel and said you're not just to lead my people you are to Shepherd my people you don't just rule over them like a shepherd with his sheep you care for them you protect them you provide for them and this is the picture Jesus has come not just a reign over us as Lord yes that and we are glad about that but to serve us as a shepherd do you ever wonder which direction to take in this life do you ever wonder which decision to make in this life Jesus is the wise Shepherd your soul needs the one who rules over you and lays down his life as the Good Shepherd to lead you you are never without the guidance of the Good Shepherd and Jesus is the one whose word will never let you down so the Old Testament quotations just keep coming and Matthew chapter 2 verse 14 after Joseph and Mary flee to Egypt then come back that's not by accident Matthew says this was fulfilled with the Lord had spoken by the prophet out of Egypt I called my son so just like God had brought deliverance from Egypt in the Old Testament Jesus is coming out of Egypt to bring deliverance in the New Testament and then you get down to Jeremiah chapter 31 Matthew chapter 2 verse 17 and 18 Matthew quotes from Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 15 as families are weeping because babies are dying in Bethlehem Matthew takes us back to Jeremiah 31 where families were weeping as they were being scattered and the expert at the deportation of Babylon families being ripped apart from each other and Jeremiah 31 God promises just as I brought just I brought hope in Jeremiah 31 I said you'll have a future this will not be the end of your story so I'm promising you here but this weeping that you're experiencing will not be the end of the story the whole point is God is always faithful to his word that Jesus is the faithful deliver your soul desires so that when you walk through suffering when you walk through trial you don't have to wonder if God's Word is going to prove true God's Word will prove true every single time Jesus is a picture about all these promises that God has made over hundreds of years are coming to fulfillment here Bible talks about all of God's promises are yes in Jesus he is the picture of God's faithfulness I I was saying to our middle schoolers yesterday said I'm not going to ask for a show of hands but I'm guessing that across this room there's some maybe many of you who have had people you trusted in your life who have let you down people who have loved you for a little while and then left and I just looked in the eyes of every one of those six seventh eighth graders and I said no this when you put your trust in Jesus his word will never let you die his love will never let you down not saying everything will be easy we've obviously talked about that today but know this his word will never let you down he will always prove himself faithful to you which all leads to number eight here is where everything comes to a head Jesus does all these things we just talked about but if I was gonna summer rise it number eight Jesus is the one whose love is worthy of your life and in the rest of the book of Matthew this is the question we see over and over and over again like who is going to believe that Jesus is worthy of their life and what we will see is religious leaders reject him Roman rulers reject him but then a small band of disciples believes that he's worthy of their life and Jesus changes their lives and through them quite literally changes the world so that then leads to the question I want to ask every single one of us today all across this room right where you're sitting in other campuses do you believe that Jesus is the one whose love is worthy of your entire life and I asked that question that way because there's something we need to realize followers of Jesus are not people for whom Jesus is part of their lives this is really important followers of Jesus are not people who kind of do what they want with their lives and then tack on Jesus on Sundays that's not following Jesus that's patronizing Jesus it's the curse of nominal Christianity people who claim the name of Jesus but have no real love for him desire to follow him as their life the followers of Jesus are not people for whom Jesus is part of their life followers of Jesus are people for whom Jesus is their life and I have good news for every single one of us my new eternal life is possible for every single one of us right now in Jesus and when you put your trust in Jesus then you can be sure that life is yours forever no matter what unexpected thing happens to you this week you can be sure that nothing in this world can take away the life of Jesus from you so will you bow your heads with me like I just want to call everybody not to be distracted in any way here other campuses just to be able to focus so if you bow your heads close your eyes I just want to ask you that question which I could ask it just like sitting in front of every single person just from youngest to the oldest all kinds of different backgrounds here for all kinds of different reasons to ask you the question do you believe Jesus is the one whose love is worthy of your life and I know that a number of people who are gathered here some came in here today and the answer to that question has not been yes I some like maybe yes your heart just raises up so yes I believe that I believe that for however long but others like that's not been clear and today I want to invite you to make that clear I want to give you an opportunity right now just to pray to God and to say I want to use through my life I just want to invite you all across this room and other campuses right now if that's you just to pray right now and say in your heart god I want Jesus to save me from my sins I want used to be Lord of my life I want you to be my life I want to know this kind of guidance I want to know this kind of companionship I want to know this kind of love I don't want sin to define my life I don't want suffering to be the end of my story oh I urge you trust in Jesus your life today like you are not guaranteed tomorrow trust in Jesus is your life today I invite you to do that right now just to say that to God today I want to trust in Jesus my life and I want to give you an opportunity like all across this room and other campus with our heads bowed and eyes closed just between you and God if today you are saying I want to trust in Jesus as my life like you came in here today and you were not trusting in Jesus as your life but today right now you're saying that before God I just want to ask you just before God just to raise your hand right where you are and just to say yeah today here at other campuses praise God just raise your hand before guys you're saying today I'm trusting in your love I want your love to define my life your hope to define my future not my sin not my shame not suffering god I praise you for all these and what they represent in the hearts to just I praise you for new starts I praise you for giving new starts today praise you for giving fresh hope today Jesus you you change everything we need you we desire you and we praise you we praise you for coming to save us from our sins we praise you for coming to give us new life so we receive it all across this room for the first time receiving new life today and for all whether for the first time today summers 67 years ago started this journey of life with you or God we we pray we pray that you would draw us into deeper and deeper and deeper experience understanding of your love the life you've got is to God we pray for help we pray for help is especially in light of what's happened this week God we need your help we need your grace with hint your mercy well we don't have answers to all our questions we need your promises that we know he can stand on and you're a hope that you give us that suffering is not the end of the story so we praise you we praise you for the life Jake Castle not had but has in you for the life we have and your we celebrate you Jesus we praise you Jesus we live and you Jesus we say together today to live is Christ and to die is gain in the precious name of Jesus who makes that possible we pray

Channel: Radical

Views: 24,656

Keywords: David Platt, Pastor David Platt, Sermon, Bible, Jesus Christ, Matthew 1–2, Book of Matthew, Coming of Christ

Id: VUgWX-FogcM

Length: 43min 44sec (2624 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 07 2019