A Messed Up Family Tree Part 1: God’s Love in Action

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by Harvest Partners. Helping people everywhere know God. If you would like to know how you can become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org.

That's harvest.org. The story of Jesus is not about God helping perfect people. It's about God saving lost people. At Christmas time, the traditions of the holiday tend to divert our attention from the real reason Christ came. Pastor Greg Laurie points out it's God's love in action.

We have God doing for sinners what they can't do for themselves, reminding us of why Jesus came. Jesus came to heal broken lives and to restore shattered hopes. Christmas cards are often full of warm, fuzzy thoughts that make us say, aw. But the first Christmas wasn't warm and fuzzy.

It was cold and inhospitable. And Jesus didn't come to inspire heartwarming cards. He came to save lives. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie has some surprising facts you may not know about the Christmas story.

We'll see the perfect Savior dwelled in the midst of Earth's imperfection and accomplished His mission. I don't know if you've noticed, but all the rage right now is people tracing their ancestry. Sites like 23andMe and others will have you take a little swab and send it in, and they'll tell you where your parents came from, your grandparents, your great grandparents. I read recently that 26 million people have taken an at-home ancestry test.

How many of you have done this already? Quite a few of you, actually. We're curious about our roots. Well, there's a genealogist who attends our church. And he came up to me recently and said, you know, I studied your family tree.

This is what I do. And here's what I discovered. And I have to admit, I was pretty surprised by some of the things he came up with. And some of the people I found out that I have a relation to, some closer, some more distant. For starters, I found out that I am actually related to Johnny Cash. And I wrote a book about him. Now, we look nothing alike, Johnny and I, of course. Johnny has hair.

I don't. But I was kind of excited because I wrote a book about Johnny Cash, obviously. And as it turns out, my great grandmother, I didn't even know this until this genealogist told me, my great grandmother was named Lutetia Cash. She was from the same Cash family that emigrated from Scotland to Virginia. So Lutetia Cash, my great grandmother, her daughter, Stella, and then Stella married a guy named Charles McDaniel. We called him Daddy Charles and Mama Stella.

That's my grandmother. And then Stella had a daughter named Charlene and I'm the son of Charlene. So I'm distantly related to Johnny Cash. I found out also I'm actually related distantly to Steve McQueen. I wrote a book on him, too.

How about that? I didn't know that when I wrote these books. It's just interesting to find these things out. I also found out that I'm distantly related to Billy and Ruth Graham. So it's kind of a funny thing because all these, and I'm writing a book about Billy Graham right now. So I didn't know any of this when I started writing these books.

Okay, so that's amazing to hear. I also found out I'm a distant relation to Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, and Walt Disney. Now, I've always loved Walt Disney. Lincoln and Jefferson, too. They were okay. But Walt Disney.

I'm kind of kidding. I've really always been enamored with Abraham Lincoln. I've read a lot of books about him. But Walt Disney, you know, I've always loved the creativity of Disney.

And when I was a little kid, he was like my hero. I wanted to be Walt Disney when I grew up. I just wish I could get some Disney passes out of this somehow.

What is it? Like a year long pass? Like $10,000 now or something like that? Okay, so that might be kind of impressive to some people. Wow, you're related to these people. But I also found out I'm related to some more notorious figures. I'm related to Benedict Arnold.

Ever heard of him? He was a traitor. And he went and served for the British in the Revolutionary War. And so I'm related to him. I'm also related to criminal John Dillinger. I'm not very excited about that.

Though I'm thinking of growing a mustache like he has maybe one day. And finally I'm related to Jesse James, the outlaw. Okay, so I've got some impressive people in my family tree and not so impressive people.

I have some heroes and a few zeros. You know that's interesting to find out. You say, well why do you bring this up? Because we're going to talk now about the family tree of Jesus. And you might be surprised to know there were a few rogues in the gallery. I'm talking prostitutes, liars, adulterers, even a murderer.

You heard me right. All of these people and more were in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Because the family tree of Jesus was decorated with notable sinners. And I bring this up because you know we all have relatives we're a little bit embarrassed by. Right? And I hate to break it to you but you might be one of the relatives someone else is embarrassed by.

Right? And when the Christmas comes we get together with relatives. Some we're looking forward to seeing.

Some we wish we didn't have to see at all. But here's the real message of the genealogy of Jesus which is something we often skip over when we talk about the Christmas story. The genealogy of Jesus Christ basically says that God can change your story. Even if you've made a mess out of your life He can turn your mess into a message.

He can turn your test into a testimony. He can redeem the mess you have made of your life. And we've all made messes haven't we?

We've all done things we wish we had not done and said things we wish we had not said. Well let's look now at this genealogy. Now I hope this doesn't bore you. But we're going to read a bunch of begats right now. But as I'm reading through them I'm going to encourage you to underline a few of these names that we'll talk about in a moment. So go to Matthew 1. Start in verse 1.

Read along with me. The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David. Underline that phrase the son of David. Abraham begot Isaac. Isaac begot Jacob. Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar.

Underline Tamar. Perez begot Hezron. Hezron begot Ram. Ram begot Amenadab. Amenadab begot Nashon. Nashon begot Solomon. Solomon begot Boaz by Rahab.

Underline Rahab. Boaz begot Obed by Ruth. Obed begot Jesse. And Jesse became David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Underline that phrase the wife of Uriah.

That's Bathsheba by the way. Solomon begot Rehoboam. Rehoboam begot Abijah. Abijah begot Asa.

Now we're going to drop down to verse 15. Iliad begot Eleazar. Eleazar begot Mathen.

Mathen begot Jacob. Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary of whom was born Jesus who is called the Christ. That's a genealogy of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew through the line of Joseph. The genealogy of Jesus through Mary is found in the gospel of Luke. And that's why there's some discrepancies there because they're different people.

There's some pretty surprising names in this line up. By the way most Jewish genealogies did not include women. For instance in Luke's genealogy of Jesus there are no females but Matthew includes five. Who are they? Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and of course Mary. A number of these women well were pretty immoral at one point. So why include them?

Answer. Because Jesus' story is not about God helping perfect people. It's about God saving lost people.

Let me say it again. The story of Jesus is not about God helping perfect people. It's about God saving lost people.

In this genealogy which is a key part of the Christmas story we have God doing for sinners what they can't do for themselves. Reminding us of why Jesus came. Jesus came to heal broken lives and to restore shattered hopes.

Let me say that again. He came to heal broken lives and to restore shattered hopes. He came to save us from our sin. That's the message.

You should call his name Emmanuel. For he has come to save his people from their sins. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Hey everybody Greg Laurie here inviting you to join me every weekend for what we call Harvest at Home. It's a church service. It's a worship service.

It's a Bible study. And it's wherever you want it to be. In your home. In your car. Sitting on a beach. Walking down the street.

Watching it on your phone. Wherever you are you can take it with you and be ministered to every weekend. Join us for Harvest at Home at Harvest.org. Today Pastor Greg is revealing Jesus checkered lineage to show us how the Lord extends his grace to all of us. No matter our imperfections. Now let's look at this family tree of Jesus and pop a few of these names out. Let's start with David in verse 1.

What a colorful character. A lot of ink in the Bible dedicated to his life and his exploits. He is uniquely identified as the man after God's own heart. He was plucked out of obscurity and anointed by the prophet Samuel to take the place of the wicked king Saul. And he was the greatest of all of the kings of Israel. We know about his victories. The defeat of the massive giant of a man Goliath.

Nine feet six inches tall. And we also know about his horrible failure with Bathsheba who is identified in this genealogy as the wife of Uriah. You could sum up David's name with those other two names. David and Goliath. His greatest victory. David and Bathsheba.

His worst defeat. But yet he makes it into the most exclusive genealogy in all of human history. And he is not just a part of it.

He is the most important member of it. Because Jesus was identified in his earthly ministry as Jesus the son of David. Remember Bartimaeus who was blind saw Christ coming. And he said son of David. He shouted it. Have mercy on me.

And then we are told that the Lord said to Mary in Luke 1 32 of Jesus. He will be great. He will be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. David.

After all the mistakes he made. Yet he is part of this exclusive genealogy. Talk about the redemption of a life and a name. Did you know that God can redeem your life?

And he can redeem your name as well. How many of you have heard of the Nobel Peace Prize? Raise your hand up. Well I have one and I am giving it away today.

No I don't. But this is a prize that is given out to a person who has worked for the cause of peace. And it was established by Alfred Nobel.

But the story behind it is interesting. As it turns out Alfred Nobel was reading the paper one morning and he came to the obituary column and was shocked to find his name listed. They had made a mistake and had said that Nobel had died.

He was very much alive. And he was remembered for this thing. Alfred Nobel the inventor of dynamite. Now at that particular time historically dynamite was used in warfare a lot. And Nobel thought I don't want to be known as the guy who invented dynamite. So he decided to establish what would be known as the Nobel Peace Prize. So now when we hear his name today we think of the peace prize.

We don't think of dynamite. So basically what happened with Nobel is he redeemed his name and he redeemed his reputation. That is what we see happening in this story. God redeemed David despite his shortcomings. Number two we have Tamar in verse three. Who is she? I have to admit to you I am shocked she made it into this family tree. She was a woman who was a prostitute and not a godly woman that I can see from the story. Yet she is in the messianic line.

Again it is a story of redemption. Then there is Rahab. Usually she is just called Rahab the harlot. Rahab the prostitute.

Rahab the hooker if you will. That is what she was. That is what she did in the city of Jericho. But when two spies were sent in to check the city out before the Israelites invaded.

Joshua and Caleb. She hid them in her house. And because of that she was spared when the Israeli army came in. And somehow she makes it into the messianic line.

Absolutely amazing. Then we come to Ruth. And like Tamar and Rahab she was not a Jewish woman. She was a Gentile. She married one of the two sons born to a woman named Naomi. The sons of Naomi were named Malin and Chilian. And their names meant sickly and pining. And then they both died.

Which almost seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy. You named your kid sickly you know. Why would you marry a guy named sickly? Hi I am sickly. Want to get married?

No. But she married him and he died. So now both of the boys are gone. And she says to her mother-in-law Naomi. Hey wherever you go I am going to go. Your God is going to be my God. And your people are going to be my people. And as a result of this this woman who is a Moabite. Ends up in the most exclusive genealogy in all of human history. And then that brings us to Bathsheba.

It is interesting. She is identified as the wife of Uriah. Verse 6 says that. Of course we all know the story. David committed adultery with Bathsheba.

And he tried to cover it up which should not work. And so he effectively had Uriah killed in battle. And she is identified that way.

So it is a little reminder. You see this is how she became the mother of Solomon. And the wife of David. She was the wife of Uriah. But again it is just a reminder that God can take a life that is self-destructed.

And turn it around and He can put it back together. And finally we have Mary the mother of Jesus. Mentioned in verse 16. Far from being promiscuous Mary was the very opposite. She was virtuous and morally pure. Quite an accomplishment considering the fact that she lived in a city called Nazareth. Nazareth was known for its wickedness. That is why when Jesus called the man Nathanael. Nathanael replied. And I don't know if he went.

But I think he did. He said can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Remember that verse?

Why did he say that? Because it was known for sinfulness. They had a saying in the day. Whatever happens in Nazareth stays in Nazareth. No that is Vegas. Excuse me.

But that was the idea. Because Roman soldiers would stop over in Nazareth on their way from one place to another. And more than one young girl living in this city ended up pregnant out of wedlock. So here is Mary despite this immoral background living this godly life. She is just a young girl. Some commentators think she was as young as 14.

Perhaps even 13. She was living in a nowhere town in a nowhere place in the middle of nowhere. She wasn't some princess.

Just an ordinary peasant girl. But she was handpicked by God to be the most privileged woman who ever walked the earth. She was chosen by God to be the mother of the Messiah. Mary is the only woman who actually had Jesus both in her womb and later in her heart. And so Mary was chosen by the Lord and Gabriel was sent to tell her. Now when Gabriel shows up something big is coming down. There are two angels that stand out in Scripture. Michael and Gabriel.

And when they appear you know it is a big deal. So Gabriel is dispatched from heaven with the good news that Mary will be the mother of the Messiah. Let's pop over to Luke 1 now and look at that verse together.

We will drop down to verse 26. Luke 1 26. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth. To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. Having come in the angel said to her rejoice highly favored one the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. And when she saw him she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was.

We will stop there. Now let's understand what was actually happening. Gabriel was not suggesting that grace emanated from Mary. See the problem and this is taught in the Catholic church is that Mary was sinless.

And that God chose her because she was a sinless vessel. And the way it is sometimes translated hail Mary full of grace the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus. Which is a prayer that Catholics will pray. Sometimes a priest will say you need to pray ten our fathers and five hail Mary's right. So we think of that as a prayer.

That was not a prayer from Gabriel to Mary. When he says hail Mary. Hail is just an old translation of a word that means hello or hi. In California we will say hi. Maybe in the south they will say hey.

If you are from Hawaii you will say how is it right. But it is just a greeting. In fact Jesus himself used the same greeting after his resurrection when he saw two disciples. The King James Version says all hail. He is not hailing disciples. He is saying hi hello hi here I am. So basically the angel says hello Mary.

Loose paraphrase. You have been handpicked by God to be the mother of the Messiah. The Bible says she was troubled or literally agitated. That comes from the Greek word freakouto. We get our English phrase freak out from it.

No there is no Greek word freakouto sorry. She was surprised. Why was she surprised? She was surprised that God would pick someone like her. She had true humility.

Why would you choose someone like me? It is not like Mary said well hello. I have been living a godly life in this godless city. It is about time someone recognized that I should have the highest privilege of all time and be the mother of the Messiah.

No she said nothing of the kind. And that is because the more spiritual you are the more aware you will be of your own sinfulness. And listen Mary was a sinner. She was not sinless. She was a godly girl. But she was a sinner.

Because later in Luke after this announcement was made to her she gave what is sometimes called her magnificat. It was really the psalm of Mary. And then she said there in Luke 1 46 my soul rejoices in God my Savior. My Savior. Yeah she needed the Savior too. And so what a special person she was. Pastor Greg Laurie with good insights on Mary the earthly mother of Jesus today here on A New Beginning. And there is more to come from this message. But if you missed any part of what Pastor Greg brought us today you can get a replay right now at harvest.org.

Just look for the study called A Messed Up Family Tree. Or request a CD by calling 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. You know Pastor Greg every year around Thanksgiving you point out how important it is to have an attitude of thankfulness. And we're thankful both to God and to our listeners for their partnership in making these studies available. Every dollar it takes to bring these studies each day is a dollar donated by someone who said, Yeah Pastor Greg count me in I'll help. And boy on our part gratitude is an understatement isn't it?

Yes it is. I just want to thank every one of you that have taken the time to give to this ministry. It just means so much not to me only but to the people you impact. Because of your generosity they can hear the word of God at no charge. They can hear hope.

They can hear purpose. They can hear a message that will point them to Jesus and in many cases call them to Jesus. As you know we're one of the ministries out there that throws the net. By that I mean we give opportunities for people to come to Christ.

You know when you listen to our show and you've wondered well why does he do that all the time? Because every time I do it thousands of people respond over a given year. And I'm going to keep doing it. You have my word on that. So if you believe that more people need to hear the gospel. If you believe that Christ is the answer.

If you believe that the word of God being taught can impact people's lives. I would encourage you to support us financially. And I want to thank you for that and as my way of saying thanks I want to send you a gift. I want to send you this brand new copy of our cinematic crusade that we did in cooperation with my friends over at Kingdom Studios. And the title of it is A Rush of Hope.

You probably saw it over Labor Day weekend when we premiered it to the world and people literally watched from around the world. Well now you can have your own copy to show whenever you want, to whomever you want, wherever you want. And there's some other resources included with this Rush of Hope DVD. Including a booklet that I wrote called Life's Most Important Questions Answered. And a special piece that we wrote telling you how you can host a watch party. How you can show this film in your house or in your backyard or somewhere else as an outreach to your neighborhood, your community.

So many ways you can use it. So for whatever you can send us financially we'll rush you your own copy of A Rush of Hope. So thanks in advance and God bless you. Yeah that's right and you know your gift couldn't come at a more important time.

The end of the year is the most strategic in determining how many people we can reach next year. So we hope you'll contact us today for the DVD of A Rush of Hope. Also we'll send a digital download code so you can watch online right from your computer or tablet or smart phone. That way you can take it with you and share it with a friend.

Sort of a cinematic crusade right in your pocket or purse. So write us today at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. And we can take your call 24-7 or just go online to harvest.org. Well next time Pastor Greg brings us more insight from this important Christmas message called A Messed Up Family Tree. Join us next time here on A New Beginning. But before we go Pastor Greg, what's on your mind with Christmas almost here? I'm thinking of the message of the angels 2,000 years ago where they said peace on earth and good will toward men. Man we look around us right now and we're thinking where is the peace? But it's an interesting thing the angels said when they said peace on earth and good will toward men. It could be better translated peace on earth among those with whom God is well pleased. The reason we have all the turmoil, all the conflict, all the violence is we're not living lives that are pleasing to God. I hope that every one of us will just check our own life and say am I pleasing the Lord with my life? Am I seeking to walk with Christ? Then you will have peace first in your heart and one day when Jesus returns we will have peace on earth too.