Jewish people glossed over their dysfunctional familiy trees.
In recent weeks we’ve been looking at Jesus’ family tree in Matthew 1. Some of you may find it offensive to call Jesus’ family tree "dysfunctional." Well, the Jewish people wouldn’t have appreciated it either. They proudly referred to themselves as "children of Abraham." For them, the names in Matthew 1 evoked a sense of pride. But as we’ve seen, the Jews had a peculiar way of glossing over the negatives in their family trees.
- They’d mention Judah and his brothers (Matthew 1:2), but notJudah's unspeakable incest with his daughter-in-law Tamar (Matthew 1:3).
- They’d mention Boaz, the kinsman redeemer who provided for Naomi and who married Ruth (Matthew 1:5), but not Boaz’s mother Rahab who was a prostitute from Jericho, and who because of the grace of Godwas spared instead of killed with the other inhabitants of her wicked city.
- They’d mention King David (Matthew 1:6), but not his adultery with Bathsheba that escalated into the murder of Bathsheba’s husband Uriah.
Leave it to Matthew the tax collector to take our rose-colored glasses off. Matthew shows us the fraudulent side of religion, the hypocrisy; the failure of men and women to live righteously, andthier inability to master their thoughts and desires.
In addition to the dysfunctional family tree of Jesus, Matthew gives us Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 through Matthew 7. The Jewish people were religious and proud. Jews especially admired the Pharisees because they (1) gave flamboyantly, (2) prayed eloquently, and (3) fasted religiously. The Pharisees didn’t divorce their wives, didn’t murder people, and didn't strike out in anger. They wore small leather cases containing Bible verses on their foreheads and arms to signal their personal holiness.
But Matthew gives us Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which utterly humiliated the Pharisees.
No, the Phariseesdidn’t murder people. They just harbored resentment and murderous thoughts. They refused to pray for their enemies, they justified their anger, andthey absolutely refused to forgive others and show any mercy. Once you crossed these self-righteous Pharisees, it was over for you. No grace. Maybe this sounds a little like what happens around our Christmas trees at our family Christmases.
And no, thePhariseesdidn’t divorce their wives or commit adultery. They just entertained adulterous thoughts and coveted their neighbors' wives. Their shifty eyes chased and harassed every woman within eye-shot. Their hands and feet led them into environments where they could feed their lusts.
And yes, they gave to the needy, and prayed and fasted, but only when the cameras were rolling. It was all a charade. They were one thing in public, but another in private. They’d give their word, but their yes was never a yes, and their no was never a no. They condemned those who sinned. They’d rather hate than love and pray. They set low standards for themselves, but impossibly high standards for others. They worried, while telling others to trust God. They attached little leather pouches holding Bible verses to their bodies, but wouldn’t obey the word of God.
It’s all right there in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. But don’t you dare think you somehow fly above Matthew 1 or Matthew 5 through Matthew 7. Jesus' family tree is your family tree. And Matthew 5-7 is as much about your hypocrisy and my hypocrisy as anyone else's.
In Matthew 5:20 (NIV) Matthew quotes Jesus as saying, "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."Do you think that your heart is more pure than these Pharisees and teachers of the law? It’s unlikely.
Jesus holds all of us to a higher standard.
In Matthew 5:48 (NIV) Matthew quotes Jesus saying, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
It’s also Matthew who records Jesus’ conversation with the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-21 (NIV). "Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, 'Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?''Why do you ask me about what is good?' Jesus replied. 'There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.''Which ones?' the man inquired. Jesus replied, 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,'honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' "
" 'All these I have kept,' the young man said. 'What do I still lack?' Jesus answered, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' "
Not just Jesus’ family tree, not just Sermon on the Mount, butthe whole gospel of Matthew is a frontal assault on our pride. There isn’t anyone good, anyone perfect, anyone "functional",or anyone without sin. The big story right now is Tiger Woods. But why? It’s because Tiger cultivated a public image that contradicted who he really was in private. We hate hypocrisy! And we hate hypocrisy because every last one of us is some kind of hypocrite.Who we appear to be publicly is not who we really are. I’m not implying that every man is a Tiger Woods.But imagine the contempt people would feel if they knew your sinful thoughts and impulses.
What’s disturbing about Matthew’s gospel is his intimation that the whole mass of humanity (religious or not) is one gigantic dysfunctional family in need of the same cure. Abraham, David, the Pharisees, the rich young ruler, Tiger Woods: there is no one perfect, no not one.Take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
We sometimes think that we don't need God's grace.
Ever notice that God’s grace is always for someone else, but never for us? This is what makes our Christmas celebrations such a charade. We can’t quite admit that it is"we" who are dysfunctional, it is "we" who are sinners in need of a savior, or it is "we" who need God to send his grace to us. You thought that you were better than the Pharisees, didn’t you?
Do you want to know what the biggest problem in your family is? It's that you can never give something that you’ve never received yourself. You cannot show mercy until you’ve received mercy. You cannot forgive until you grasp how much God has forgiven you in Christ. Let’s just be honest here— you resent your family because you don’t think that they deserve your grace.
Well guess what! You don’t deserve God’s grace and neither do I. Yet it was God’s great pleasure in Christ Jesus to show us grace anyway. And if it was God’s pleasure to show us grace,who do we think we are to be a bunch of Pharisees at Christmas? Why should wecelebrate Jesus while denying his grace to others?
Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees in Matthew 9:12-13 (NIV) when they criticized Jesus for being with sinners? "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'(This sounds like a good assignment for Christmas!) For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
The self-righteous don’t need grace and they don’t show grace too well either. I mean, Matthew is the one who gave us Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant. A servant is forgiven millions of dollars,but turns around and strangles another for the nickels and dimes he is owed. That’s what we do to family!
Matthew 18:28-35 (NIV) says, "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So my heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."
I'll tell you what-- do you want to give your family a gift that is really going to matter, and I mean really matter? A gift that will really bring joy, and really give peace, and really be a blessing?Do you want to give a gift that your children will pass on to their children, and their children’s children? A gift that will really make your wife love you, or really make your husband love you, or your parents, or siblings, or children?
We need to give our families peace and grace this Christmas.
Stop loading your family up with junk and show them the same grace that your perfect heavenly Father showed you in Christ. Thank God that God didn’t give us more junk to fill up our closets. No, he gave us Pharisees grace, so that we would pass that grace on to people just as undeserving as us.
I didn’t invent Christmas.I am just telling what it’s about. I don’t practice Christmas perfectly, but I am just telling you how to give good and perfect gifts like your heavenly Father gives. I have enough to work on with me, but you work on you, okay?
Our Christmases would be infinitely more meaningful if all of us took off our self-righteous rose-colored glasses and began to see ourselves as God sees us. Christmas has become a ridiculous celebration of man’s goodness and generosity. But no, Christmas isn’t about our goodness. It’s about God’s goodness shown in Jesus to sinful, dysfunctional people! At Christmas we should boasting about God’s grace, not trumpeting our own.
Matthew tells us the true meaning of Christmas.
This is the meaning of Christmas.Matthew 1:18-21 (NIV) says, "This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.' "
Why was Jesus born? Was it to save those other people from their sins? No, it was to save his people from their sins.
We spend a whole lot of time preparing for Christmas in ways that don’t really matter. I love Christmas. I love the lights, the trees, warm sweaters, hot chocolate, peanut brittle, thoughtful gifts, and unthoughtful gifts. But friends! The most critical preparation for Christmas doesn’t involve a trip to the mall, or Best Buy, or Macy’s, or Pease's Candy, or Yankee Candle. The most important preparation is receiving and giving grace. And receiving and giving grace isn’t two different things-- it's one thing. What did Jesus say to his disciples in Matthew 10:8 (NIV)?"Freely you have received, freely give."How did Jesus teach his disciples to pray in Matthew 6:12 (NIV)? "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
We’ve got to get back to grace this Christmas. It’s why Jesus was sent. It’s one gift we can all give abundantly, because it’s been afforded us in Christ Jesus.