Category: Sermon

This sermon is part of the sermon series “God’s Blessing through Suffering”

Job was a righteous man who feared God and had been blessed with wealth, children, and good health.

• Job loses his children and wealth
• His wife tells him to curse God and die
• Three friends come to comfort him
• They sit in silence with him for seven days

The Reality
Every human experiences suffering in some form – physical pain, emotional distress, loss of loved ones, financial hardships, or spiritual struggles. It’s a universal part of the human experience that connects us all.

In times of suffering, we often feel isolated and alone, but Job’s story reminds us that even the most righteous people face intense trials.

Today’s passage – After losing his children, wealth, and health, Job breaks his seven-day silence with an outpouring of anguish and lament.

1. Job Expressing The Weight of His Suffering (Job 3:1-10)

After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said:

“Let the day perish on which I was born,
and the night that said,
‘A man is conceived.’
Let that day be darkness!
May God above not seek it,

nor light shine upon it.
Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.
Let clouds dwell upon it;
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
That night—let thick darkness seize it!
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
let it not come into the number of the months.
Behold, let that night be barren;
let no joyful cry enter it.
Let those curse it who curse the day,
who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.
Let the stars of its dawn be dark;
let it hope for light, but have none,
nor see the eyelids of the morning,
because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,
nor hide trouble from my eyes.”

Job curses the day of his birth, wishing he had never been born.

• He curses the day of his birth
• He wishes for darkness to claim that day
• He expresses deep regret for his existence

Imagine the intensity of his pain – unbelievable pai

• He longs for complete non-existence rather than facing his current pain
• He views his birth as a tragic event that brought him into suffering
• He sees life itself as a burden too heavy to bear

2. Job Questions the Purpose of his existence (Job 3:11-19)

“Why did I not die at birth,
come out from the womb and expire?
Why did the knees receive me?
Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
For then I would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,
with kings and counselors of the earth
who rebuilt ruins for themselves,
or with princes who had gold,
who filled their houses with silver.
Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,
as infants who never see the light?
There the wicked cease from troubling,
and there the weary are at rest.
There the prisoners are at ease together;
they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.
The small and the great are there,
and the slave is free from his master.”

Job questions why he was given life if it would lead to such suffering.

• He ponders why he didn’t die at birth
• He observes how death brings rest to all people
• He notes how suffering ends in the grave

3. Job Questions why God gives suffering (Job 3:20-
26)

“Why is light given to him who is in misery,
and life to the bitter in soul,
who long for death, but it comes not,
and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,
who rejoice exceedingly
and are glad when they find the grave?
Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
whom God has hedged in?
For my sighing comes instead of my bread,
and my groanings are poured out like water.
For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
and what I dread befalls me.
I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest, but trouble comes.”

In verses 20-26, Job grapples with one of the most profound theological questions: why does God allow suffering to continue?

• He acknowledges God’s sovereignty over life and suffering
• He wrestles with the paradox of God giving life yet allowing misery
• He expresses the futility felt by those trapped in cycles of pain

The Reality of Pain in the Christian Life

• Faith doesn’t exempt us from suffering

Scripture provides many examples of faithful people experiencing suffering:

• David’s psalms of lament (Psalm 13:1-2): “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”
• Paul’s thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-9): “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this… But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you'”
• Jesus in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:38): “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death”
• Jeremiah’s struggles (Lamentations 3:1-3): “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath”

These examples demonstrate that even those closest to God experienced deep suffering while maintaining their faith.

• God allows space for genuine lament

The Bible offers numerous examples of lament and crying out to God:

• “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (Psalm 22:1)
• “Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1)
• Pain can coexist with deep faith

As people of the new covenant, we ought to look at suffering through the lens of the Gospel.

How the Gospel Transforms Our Pain

The gospel doesn’t eliminate our pain, but it reframes it in several powerful ways:

• Jesus experienced human suffering, demonstrating God’s empathy
• The cross shows that God can bring purpose out of pain
• The resurrection promises ultimate restoration
• Our suffering is temporary in light of eternal hope

Practical Steps for Processing Pain Through the Gospel Lens

Acknowledge the Pain: Like Job, we can be honest with God about our
suffering

1. Acknowledge the Pain: Like Job, we can be honest with God about our suffering
2. Remember Christ’s Suffering: Jesus experienced physical, emotional, and spiritual anguish on the cross
3. Trust God’s Presence: Even when we can’t feel Him, God promises to never leave us (Hebrews 13:5)

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”

4. Look to Community: Share burdens with fellow believers who can pray and support us

5. Focus on Eternal Hope: Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with future glory (Romans 8:18)

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

The Purpose of Pain in Light of the Gospel

• Pain can deepen our dependence on Christ
• Suffering can make us more compassionate toward others
• Trials can refine our faith and character
• Our testimony in suffering can point others to Jesus

Remember: The gospel doesn’t just give us hope for the future; it gives meaning to our present suffering as we follow in the footsteps of our suffering Savior who ultimately triumphed over all pain and death.

Conclusion

As we conclude our study of Job 3, we are reminded that expressing pain and questioning God in times of suffering is not a sign of weak faith. Job’s raw honesty teaches us that we can bring our deepest anguish to God.

However, unlike Job who could only see his suffering through the lens of the old covenant, we have the privilege of viewing our trials through the transformative lens of the cross. We know that our suffering is not meaningless and that God Himself, through Jesus Christ, entered into our suffering to redeem it.

Application Question: How will you view your current struggles differently when seen through the lens of Christ’s suffering and triumph?

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you that you are not distant from our
pain but entered into it through your Son Jesus Christ. Help us to trust you even when we don’t understand our suffering. Give us the strength to persevere, knowing that you are working all things for our good and your glory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Good morning church! Hope you’re well this morning. Happy Women’s Day to all the wonderful women at our church. On behalf of the church, I just want to say that we’re so thankful to God for each of you & the immense blessing you are to our church.

I can’t begin to put into words how much I’ve been encouraged and challenged by your faith & you all are indeed indispensable (critical) partners with us in the mission of God. Thank you for all that you do – you all are truly a blessing!

So with that, let’s turn our attention to our time with the Word this morning. As a church, we place a high value on this time with the Word because we believe that the God of the universe speaks to us individually & personally through His Word.

This isn’t like a Ted talk where an expert shares his opinions and experiences on different topics. No, it’s our conviction that if this passage is faithfully opened up and preached as it is, then we’re not listening to someone’s opinion but to God Himself. Which is precisely why Paul could say this to the Thessalonian believers in 1 Thess 2:13:

13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.    

That’s why this time is critical, so let’s prepare ourselves to listen to God’s Word with attentive ears and open hearts.

If you’ve been tracking with us, you’re probably aware that we began a new series last week from the book of Job titled God’s blessing in suffering.

For some of us, this title seems like a contradiction because we’re not used to saying blessing and suffering in the same breath. We always think of these as two opposite ends of the spectrum.

What’s even more strange to our ears is to suggest that God blesses us in suffering because when someone goes through suffering, the last thing that he or she would say is “I’m blessed”. This simply defies our logic and expectations of what we consider as a blessed life.

And so the journey that we have set on is in seeing how God’s blessing comes in different shapes, forms and sizes. Sometimes blessing will come in the form of prosperity which is what Job experienced at the start of the book.

But other times, blessing will come in the form of suffering which is what we’ll explore over the next few months. And let’s state it right off the bat – some of these lessons aren’t going to be easy for us.

Some lessons might challenge our deep rooted beliefs (that we’ve held onto for many years). Some lessons might require unlearning. Some lessons might mean humbly surrendering to God’s will (instead of fighting with God’s will). Are we prepared to be unsettled? We need help, so let’s pray and ask God to help us.

(Pray)

It’s important to remind ourselves of the context in which Chapter 2 plays out. In a single moment, in a blink of an eye, Job lost everything he had.

He lost his property – his hard earned wealth and resources that he accumulated over many years. Some may say that’s just material stuff – but it wasn’t just that, he lost his own children!

They were pieces of his own heart. As a loving dad, he loved his kids, he gave them everything he could give them, he looked after them, he watched them grow up, he prayed for them & even offered sacrifices on behalf of them.

And yet for no reason of his own, he finds himself propertyless and childless – just like that. He’s still processing his shock and grief, and instead of becoming bitter toward God, he chooses to worship God!

That’s how we arrive at chapter 2 – where the suffering doesn’t seem to stop. It persists. What do we do when suffering persists? That’s the question that we will seek to answer today.

1. We acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand (v1)

There are things happening in the background which we aren’t privy to.

1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

It’s almost like the curtains to God’s throne room have been pulled back. We’ve been given exclusive inside access into one of those throne room discussions.

V1 tells us that the sons of God or angels present themselves before God & similarly Satan also presents himself to God like he did in Chapter 1.

In other words, Satan is answerable & accountable to God. Which tells us that like any other created being, Satan is not an equal to God and he exists under the authority of God.

Sometimes people assume that Satan is equally powerful & authoritative as God’s enemy. No, absolutely not – he is a lesser being and he is subjected under the authority of God.

Although, we know that he hates God’s authority & continuously rebels against that authority. In fact since creation, Satan has been making several attempts to usurp God’s authority – and that’s the biblical storyline which is played out from Genesis to Revelation.

But the main thing we need to take away and admit is that we often don’t understand what happens in the background. Even as all this is happening, Job has no clue about this. (Minutes of the meeting weren’t shared with him).

This should tell us that we should not jump to conclusions when we witness people experience suffering. As Saju explained last week, there is no simple explanation and in fact we should avoid simplistic explanations for suffering. Many times it’s actually not helpful when we try to explain all suffering to some sin that the person committed. We have to acknowledge that suffering is complex and our limitation to understand what happens in the background.

But not only do we acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand, we also

2. We should also acknowledge that there’s no suffering without God’s purpose attached to it (v2-6)

2 And the Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.”

V2 & 3 is almost like a repeat of the discussion in Chapter 1 where God commends Job referring to him as His servant (my servant) and then gives the most remarkable testimony of his faith where God says that there’s no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns from evil.

And then God adds a line which is different from Chapter 1. He still holds fast his integrity – despite all that has happened to him, he has not forsaken and sinned against God. He’s maintained his innocence.

And then God accuses Satan and says although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.This can be a troubling verse for us because it almost seems like God is admitting to being tricked, provoked and manipulated into doing something that He didn’t want to do. And if that’s possible, then how different is God from us?

But that’s where we’ll need to filter this through against our understanding of who God in the whole Bible.

From the Bible we know that God is all-knowing who also sees the hidden intentions in His creatures hearts and so there’s no way He can be tricked or provoked or manipulated to doing something that He doesn’t want to do.

That’s what separates God from fallen beings like us. We are weak and flawed. He is not. So then why did God give into the ask from Satan? Let’s look at the previous Chapter. Maybe that might give us a clue – Job 1:9:

Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason?

What Satan was trying to do was say that Job’s faithfulness is transactional – matlabi. He loves God only because of the gifts & blessings that God gives Him.

Satan’s challenge was that the moment you take away these gifts and blessings, Job will lose all reason to remain faithful to God. And that’s the same challenge which was being continued in Chapter 2:4-6:

4 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.”

So God wasn’t being tricked or provoked or manipulated by Satan. God’s allowing Satan to do this!

Please underline this – God is permitting Satan to do this and also setting clear boundaries for what Satan can do and what he cannot do. Satan is restrained and constrained by the boundaries that God has put for him. He can’t operate independently.

So the question is why? Why is God allowing and permitting Satan to do this? God is allowing this to happen to Job so that the true quality of his faith is uncovered and revealed.

It’s to show if Job’s faithfulness is tied to God’s gifts and blessings or if it’s tied to God Himself. Does Job love the gifts or the gift giver? 

Even as we think about Job, I’m sure it’s also hitting us at a very sensitive spot in our own hearts. Oftentimes suffering and difficulties will uncover and reveal the true quality of our faith.

It will reveal our faith for what it is. It shows us if our faith is tied to all the good blessings and gifts that God gives us or if our faith is tied to God Himself?

If God were to remove the blessings in our life one by one, would we still love God? If God were to remove our comforts, physical health, material wealth, our jobs, relationships one by one, would we still love God? Is God God for us only because of the blessings that He gives? Or is He God just because He is our God and Savior?

Who is God to you and me? If we see God only for the gifts he gives us, then He’s no more than a genie to us – someone who exists to make all our wishes and dreams come true.

But God is not a genie. He is our Creator and Redeemer and in fact one of the reasons Jesus came into the world was to save us from this transactional relationship and help us see Him as the best Gift ever! 

But not only do we acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand & not only should we acknowledge that no suffering is without God’s purpose but

3. We acknowledge that it’s only the truths of God that can keep us rooted in Him during suffering (v7-10)

7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.

9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

In V 7 & 8, we see the after-effects of that meeting in heaven.

After facing the terrible unbearable pain of losing his family & property, if things couldn’t get worse he now carries loathsome sores all over his body – no area was untouched.

It’s not just his physical attractiveness that was affected. Whenever people looked at him, they would see him as someone unclean who needed to be kept at a distance. This was going to impact the way others saw him and related to him.

And it’s at that time that his closest confidant in life speaks to him – V9.

She’s basically telling him “What’s the point in you holding on to this God who has brought this upon you?”

You can imagine how discouraging it was for him to hear that. But not just that, when you’re experiencing such pain and processing that, it’s very easy to get swayed by thoughts like this because we’re in a very vulnerable place. And yet somehow we see Job choose to honor God in that moment.

10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

There’s a rebuke for what was being told to him but more than that there was an acknowledgment of truths that Job knew to be true about God.

He didn’t view God as a genie whose job was to deliver good gifts and blessings to him. He saw God as a wise Father who knows best what needs to be given and what needs to be taken away. Although he didn’t fully understand God’s ways, he wanted to trust in the wisdom and judgments of his God.

I know as we’re hearing some of this, most of us would probably think “this is so difficult to implement. Job was a great holy man, so he was able to trust God. I’m not like Job and I can’t do this”. 

I just want to say that I resonate with that. None of us have it in us to produce this kind of clarity and trust in God especially when we’re hit with unexpected suffering.

That’s why we need God’s Word and the Holy Spirit’s help to nail down these truths about God in our hearts, because when we’re being tested that’s when these truths come to our aid.

That’s why the church – form an appetite for good bible theology. It’s not so that we become puffed up in pride and use that as a way to look down at others but so that our hearts are changed so that we’re aided in seasons of suffering to go back to what we know is true about God.

It’s like consuming junk food and consuming healthy food. In the short term, it may seem like junk does the job in filling your stomach but in the long run when sickness and illness hit us, junk food wouldn’t be able to sustain us – in fact it’ll cause more issues. And so that’s why – don’t settle for shallow theology. Form a good solid biblical appetite for God’s Word.

11 Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

So terrible was his physical condition at the time that Job’s friends failed to recognize him. All they could do was weep and grieve with him because his suffering was so great. In the coming weeks we’ll see if they were actually able to do what they planned to do which was offer sympathy and comfort. But let’s realize that as people who are friends with those suffering, we do have a responsibility.

Just to summarize – what do we do when suffering persists?

• We acknowledge that there are things happening in the background which we don’t understand
• We acknowledge that there’s no suffering without God’s purpose attached to it
• We acknowledge that it’s only the truths of God that can keep us rooted in Him during suffering

How is God calling you to repentance and faith this morning?

Good morning church! A warm welcome to all who have joined us at the hall & those who have tuned in online. Happy New Year! This being the first Sunday of 2025, I wondered what’s the one thing that we all need to focus on at the start of the year?

As I prayed and pondered over this, this passage from John 15 was impressed on my heart. And it’s a wonderful passage that tells us about Abiding in Jesus. But before we proceed, would you join me as we pray and ask God to help us understand and apply this passage?

Every new year gives us another chance to do things that we weren’t successful at doing the previous year. Which is why we have new year resolutions.

And what’s usually at the top of everyone’s list? Improving physical fitness – and that’s why every new year is the best time for gym businesses around the world. Gym memberships see an unusual spike at the start of every year.

Even among believers, we’ve got our own version of spiritual new year resolutions:

• Bible reading plan – to complete the entire bible in one year
• Spend at least 30 minutes of quiet time in prayer and the word daily

But exactly one month into the year, what happens? These spiritual new year resolutions rarely last!  Which often leads to spiritual dryness, disappointment and discouragement and then we wait till next year to re-attempt once again. That’s the typical cycle.

And so these grand new year resolutions which began with great intentions end up becoming a burden for us. Within a month, it ends up looking like any other joyless task. But that’s not God’s intention for us. God wants a relationship not a resolution.He wants an abiding relationship with us.

Brothers and sisters, if you’ve been there & if you’re able to relate with this struggle, then this message is for you. God desires abiding. God wants us to know what it means to abide in Jesus.

Today we’ll learn 6 things about abiding in Jesus from John 15:1-11:

1. Abiding is a gift (V1)

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.

Jesus would often use everyday examples to explain spiritual truths to His disciples. So that’s the obvious part that we see in this passage where Jesus uses an everyday example of a vine & branches to explain a spiritual truth. But as I studied this passage, my mind was blown away to realize that there was another reason why Jesus used this specific example.

Firstly, Jesus refers to himself as “I am”. He intentionally uses the word “I am” or “Yahweh” which is the name by which God introduces Himself to Israel in the OT. It’s referring to God’s eternal nature (He’s always existed) and His total rule and authority over every single thing.

That’s the weight in the name. And that’s why Jews would take a lot of care to ensure that it’s not used casually. And yet, here we find Jesus unapologetically saying that the “I am”, that’s me! “I’m the eternal God who’s always existed and rules over every single thing”. 

Secondly, Jesus says that He is the true vine and His Father is the vinedresser. Now we might not get this immediately but for a Jew they would immediately make an OT connection. In the OT, God would often use an example of a vineyard to describe His relationship with His people. Look with me at Isa 5:1-4:

Let me sing for my beloved

          my love song concerning his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard

          on a very fertile hill.

2 He dug it and cleared it of stones,

          and planted it with choice vines;

he built a watchtower in the midst of it,

          and hewed out a wine vat in it;

and he looked for it to yield grapes,

          but it yielded wild grapes.

3 And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem

          and men of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

4 What more was there to do for my vineyard,

          that I have not done in it?

When I looked for it to yield grapes,

          why did it yield wild grapes?

So God’s people Israel are the vine which God planted with so much of love and care, but it yielded the opposite of what was expected – “wild grapes” which is why judgment has come upon them.

In contrast, Jesus is the True Vine – the True Israel – the True Son – who did exactly what His Father wanted Him to do. He lived a life of perfect obedience. He yielded the fruit which was acceptable to the vinedresser. Where we all failed, Jesus succeeded.

But here’s the amazing truth – Jesus shares His success story and acceptance with everyone who trusts in Him. By dying on the cross for us, Jesus took on the judgment for our failures & unfruitfulness.

And by His resurrection on the Third Day, all of us spiritual failures who trust in Him and are united with Him are now looked on by God as an extension of Jesus’ success story & His acceptance! That’s why we are called branches in this passage – we are silent beneficiaries of Jesus’ success story & acceptance.

Let this truth humble us this morning to realize that Abiding is a gift from God. It’s not a right for any of us. To be able to abide – that in itself is a complete gift!

But not just that,

2. Abiding is pruning (V2-3)

2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.

Pruning is a gardening process by which certain parts of plants like branches, leaves or shoots are removed to improve its health, shape and productivity.

V2 tells us that every branch which doesn’t bear fruit is taken away or removed. This isn’t referring to believers but unbelievers. Believers by definition will bear fruit. Some fruit of the Spirit will definitely be visible in that person’s life if he is a believer. Even in seasons where you feel like you aren’t growing, some fruit will be there because the Spirit of God is within you.

But for the true branches that bear fruit, V2 says that the vinedresser will prune us, will cleanse us, will clip out everything that is not good for us so that we can bear more fruit. That is what the Father is committed to doing. How does He do that?

V3 – through the word that Jesus has spoken. God’s primary way of pruning us, cleansing us, clipping away the unhealthy stuff is through His Word. That’s why spiritual growth cannot happen outside of God’s Word.

Over everything else in our church, we prioritize God’s Word because that’s God’s primary way of pruning us. And if this is God’s primary way of pruning, then we need to expect God’s Word to make us uncomfortable. We need to expect God’s Word to reveal many things that we need to unlearn. We need to expect God’s Word to convict us of many things that we need to repent of.

If that’s not happening, then something might be wrong. Then we need to question if we are being pruned. If we are not being pruned, we need to question if we are truly in the faith because the Father will not stop doing what He is committed to doing.

And so when we sit down with God’s Word everyday, we need to expect pruning to take place. We need to sit down with the expectation that I will have to unlearn and change myself because the Father is in the process of pruning.

Abiding is pruning! But also,

3. Abiding is depending (V4-6)

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. That word “Abide” is a beautiful word – It means – Remain in me – Be attached to me. Jesusis explains the concept of abiding by telling us that we are not the vine or the stem, we are simply the branches attached to the vine.

We know that the plant gets all of its nourishment & strength from the stem or the vine and not the branches. So for the branch to be fruitful, it can’t do it by itself, it has to be attached to the vine.

By using this example, Jesus is making it clear that we aren’t independent people. We aren’t self-sufficient people. We cannot bear any fruit apart from Jesus. “Apart from me you can do nothing”. Nothing? Something I can do right? Nothing!

Such a humbling verse right? It hits at the core of our pride. Sometimes as believers we get into this thinking where we admit that we needed grace to believe, but then after that it’s up to our discipline and commitment which makes us grow. What does this verse say? “Apart from me you can do nothing”.

Which means that you may be a year into the faith or seventy years into the faith, your status is still the same – you are simply a branch who needs to abide in Jesus. You are totally dependent on Jesus.

What would it look like if we woke up every day this year not saying – “what all can I accomplish today by myself?” but rather declaring “Jesus, apart from you I can do nothing”. “Apart from you, I have no hope to grow spiritually, I have no hope to grow physically, mentally, financially, relationally”. That’s total utter dependence on Jesus for our nourishment and strength.

But not just that,

4. Abiding is surrendering (V7-8)

7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

If we read V7 quickly, we might wrongly assume that God is telling us to wish for anything and he’ll give it to us as though he was a genie or a personal vending machine.

But that’s not what the verse is saying. It’s telling us that if we abide in Jesus and His words in us, then whatever we wish will be done for us. In other words, as Jesus’ words shape our hearts, we will desire and ask for things which are in accordance with His will and that will yield answered prayer.

God is glorified in those prayers which are made according to His will. And that’s why I think it’s more appropriate to see these verses as surrendering – surrendering to God’s will in prayer.

Many times we think about prayer as only asking things from God. Now that’s one part of it, but more than that God wants us to surrender ourselves to His will through our prayers.

When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane just before his crucifixion, what did He pray?

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

And when He taught the disciples how to pray in Matt 6, what did He teach right at the start of the prayer:

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,[b]

    on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt 6:10)

As God speaks to us daily through His Word, we should expect that it changes our prayer life. The tone of our prayers should change from demanding to surrendering.

If you and I were to go and stand before a powerful king, would we go there and just make demands? No, we would put forward our requests with a disclaimer – “as long as you’re okay with this”. And so when it comes to God – we know His authority, we know His character and we also know what He wants through the Word, and so that should change the way we pray and surrender ourselves to Him.

But not only that,

5. Abiding is obeying (V9-10)

9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

Jesus is saying that just as He abides in the Father’s love by obeying His commandments, He wants us to abide in Him by obeying His commandments. Abiding happens through obedience. Just one chapter earlier in Jn 14:15, Jesus said this “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

He doesn’t say “If you love me, you will know 1000 worship songs by heart”. He doesn’t say “If you love me, you will have the bible knowledge of a theologian”. He says that “If you love me, you will keep my commandments”.

Now knowing 1000 worship songs or bible knowledge isn’t bad. But the question is – what’s the point in knowing 1000 worship songs and having all the bible knowledge in the world if there isn’t obedience? If there isn’t any obedience, can we really say that we love Jesus? In Jesus’ economy, obedience counts more than anything else.

That’s why if we’re really trying to abide in Jesus, it can’t be limited to our 30 minute daily quiet time or our weekly Sunday gathering. Our abiding actually happens throughout the day and throughout the week – because that’s when we actually have to obey what we have heard and read. That’s when we have the opportunity to express our love for Jesus. That’s when our love is actually tested – after a stressful day of work, after a conflict at home. But that’s not to say that obedience means perfection. God knows that we are prone to fail daily, and so oftentimes our obedience involves confession.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Obeying God means not hiding from God, neither does it mean justifying before God but confessing to God so that we can receive forgiveness and cleansing daily.

But not just that,

6. Abiding is enjoying

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

The reason why God wants us to abide in Jesus is because He wants us to experience joy to the fullest! He’s not trying to suck the joy out of our life but He wants us to truly enjoy our relationship with Him!

And again that can’t be limited to a 30 minute quiet time. Imagine if I were to sit down with my wife and tell her – “Honey, I’m giving you 30 minutes of my time. Make the most of it. Tell me all that you need to tell me & all that I need to do within these 30 minutes”.

It would be offensive and dishonorable to her if I were to reduce our relationship to simply 30 minutes every day. What she wants is a relationship which I would enjoy with her, not a task or a chore that I somehow need to complete.

Oftentimes that’s what we reduce our relationship with God to. And God doesn’t want that, He wants a real abiding relationship where we would enjoy being with Him. And to tell you the truth – there might be seasons in life where 30 minutes would be a luxury.

Ask young moms who are scrambling between responsibilities to care for their infants that they don’t have enough time to sleep. But even in those seasons, they can still abide in Jesus. How? Even in the little time that they can have with the Word:

1. They can acknowledge how abiding is a gift from God
2. They can show their openness to be pruned by God
3. They can express their total dependence on Christ
4. They can surrender themselves to God’s Word and will
5. They can commit to obedience and confession
6. They can enjoy their relationship with Jesus

So this 2025, don’t work towards a spiritual new year resolution. Work towards abiding in Jesus! 

Good morning church! Hope you’re well. As a church we began a new Advent series titled Receive the King. And what we’ve been trying to do is reflect on what it means to receive Jesus into our lives – not just as a baby or as a holiday symbol but as the King of our lives!

Couple of weeks back we spoke about the Prophecy about the King – prior prophecies were given to God’s people to prepare them for this coming King. Last week we spoke about the Lineage of the King – Jesus is the centre point of human history & all the covenant promises given to Abraham & David – and his lineage and genealogy is evidence for it.

Today we’ll talk about the Birth of the King. One thing we can all agree to is that in terms of the prophecy & lineage regarding Jesus, it’s nothing short of extraordinary. Similarly, even the birth of Jesus is nothing short of extraordinary! It was an extraordinary event! There was nothing ordinary about how Jesus came into the scene & what He came to do. But before we move ahead, I’d love to pray for us.

In many movies, they introduce a surprise character entry somewhere in the middle of the movie. It’s usually the point of the movie where the tension has built up to its peak.

It seems like the bad guys are winning, and the good guys are losing. And when we least expect, is when the surprise character bursts into the scene & lowers our blood pressure.

And in some ways that’s how Jesus Christ is being introduced into the biblical storyline. The only difference here is that God’s people have been given hints throughout the Old Testament about a coming King. In that sense, it’s not really a surprise.

But yes, the surprise was in terms of the timing because people didn’t know when Jesus would appear & also in the details of what He was going to come and do. Hints and clues were dropped in the Bible but people didn’t have the full picture.

So what Matthew is trying to do here is after laying down the foundation of Jesus’ lineage, is unravel the details about this King! He’s beginning to show how this King is no ordinary king. Everything about him is extraordinary!

So today we’ll look at 3 extraordinary aspects from the Birth of the King:

1. Extraordinary circumstances (v18-20)

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed[f] to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 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.

The circumstances in which Jesus was born was in no way ordinary! V18 introduces us to this recently engaged or betrothed couple Joseph & Mary.

Just to help us understand the context – a betrothal was different from how we perform engagements nowadays. In those days, betrothed couple would need to have a marriage agreement in place which was legally bound & it was done in front of a witness.

The only way you could be break the betrothal is through a process of divorce. That’s way different from how we view engagements today. In our modern day and age, engagements are simply a formality indicating our intention to marry someone but there’s no marriage agreement which is being signed.

And now you can imagine the difficult, confusing situation that this recently engaged couple finds themselves in. Joseph gets to know that Mary is already pregnant – and the only plausible rationale is that she probably had committed adultery with another man. All the expectations that Joseph was building up to his wedding day immediately came crashing down. All he can experience now is betrayal, hurt and confusion. How was he going to respond?

And yet in V19 it tells us something interesting about how Joseph responded. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

The punishment for adultery was not just shame & humiliation but was death! According to the OT, any person involved in adultery was to be stoned to death!

The easiest thing for Joseph to have done was to shame & humiliate Mary who he thought did all this to him, but we can see the character of this man that even as he was experiencing deep betrayal and hurt, he wanted to protect Mary. He didn’t want her to be shamed. So he contemplated a quiet divorce.

But as he contemplating through this. As he wrestled through his emotions, V20 tells us that an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. We see God’s providence to comfort this newly engage couple but not just that, to advance His plan of redemption. Yes, protect their marriage off course but the big picture is to move forward God’s plan of redemption!

How does the angel address Joseph? Joseph, son of David. It’s not by coincidence that the angel calls him that. Joseph – in the lineage of David – he’s playing a part in God’s redemptive plan to unveil the coming King.

And then the angel goes on to instruct him to not fear, to not be frightened to take Mary as a wife because her conception is from the Holy Spirit not a result of adultery.

The angel is making it abundantly clear that the child who is in Mary’s womb is not a result of physical, sexual relations between 2 individuals but a miracle of God to set God’s redemptive plan into motion.

The obvious question is why did it have to happen this way? Why did it have to happen through a virgin birth? Why was it necessary to conceive by the Holy Spirit and not by natural means?

The reason was to preserve this truth about Jesus – that He was fully human & fully divine at the same time. It wasn’t as though Jesus suddenly came into existence during His earthly birth. No, He’s the eternal God who Has always existed. This is how apostle John refers to Jesus in John 1:

John 1:1-3: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Everything else in creation has been created with a start date. But not Jesus, He’s always existed. He is the pre-existent God. That divine nature had to be preserved even as He entered into the world, and so the only way that could be done is through the virgin birth where He was conceived with the help of the Holy Spirit.

And so as we think about the Birth of the King, let this truth of the extraordinary circumstances of Jesus’ birth amaze you & draw you to worship. That the pre-existent God would chose to enter into our shoes, put on the clothes of humanity while still maintaining His divine nature. What an amazing, extraordinary God we serve?

But not only do we extraordinary circumstances during the Birth of the King, but we also see

2. Extraordinary calling (v21)

21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

In biblical times, the name given to person had a much greater significance than just identifying that person. To know a person’s name was to know something about that person’s character & nature.

And here the earthly parents didn’t get to choose from a catalogue of baby names but the angel told them precisely what to name the child – he told them to name him Jesus which means “God saves” – for He will save his people from their sins.

Right at the start itself, we have clarity on what is the calling of the King – what is the mission of this King – what is the purpose of the King – to save His people from their sins!

That word “save” means to be “delivered, rescued, protected”. It’s the idea of people being in grave danger like drowning in an ocean and desperately needing someone to rescue them.

What do we need to be saved from? We need to be saved from our sins. This ocean in which we are drowning, suffocating and struggling to breathe is our own sins.

That’s something that we don’t readily acknowledge. Even referring ourselves as sinners doesn’t come naturally to us. If we had to describe ourselves: we’d first list out all our accomplishments, all our good works and then maybe leave a couple of line for a few sin mentions.

But that’s not how the Bible views it. Look at the way in which our sinful condition is described in Ephesians 2:1-3

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

This passage takes it one step further by saying that we’re not just drowning in sin, we are dead in our sins. We are lifeless.

And this life of sin is not just minor faults or mistakes that we make through the day, sin consumes every aspect of our lives and a result of that is that we are objects of God’s wrath. And we know that being an object of God’s wrath and punishment is not a good thing. That’s why we’re in grave danger!

But for Jesus – “for He will save His people from their sins”. What’s expected from God is wrath, judgment and punishment for all that we’ve done. What’s unexpected from God is to be the Same One who saves, rescues and protects us from that judgment. That’s unbelievable.

That’s why Jesus came – to boldly go up and that cross and bear the wrath of God to save, rescue and protect us from our sins.

That’s Jesus’ single-minded calling. He didn’t come to be a healer – though He did heal people. He didn’t come to be a teacher – though He taught quite a bit. He didn’t come to change the politics of the land – though rulers and kings became quite threatened by Him. He didn’t come to give people a better, comfortable life – though He promised people of a better life in the afterlife. He came to save people from their sins!

Do you recognize the extraordinary calling & mission that Jesus came to fulfil? You’ll only find that calling precious and valuable if you see yourself as someone drowning in the ocean of sin.

If you feel like you’re on a boat or on a cruise, then you’ll never value and appreciate the single-minded calling and purpose and mission of Jesus Christ. But if you see yourself as drowning in sin, then be hopeful and assured because your Saviour has come. He has come to save His people from their sins. His name is His mission statement.

Not only do we see extraordinary circumstances and extraordinary calling, but in the Birth of the King we also see

3. Extraordinary commitment to be with us (v22-23)

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel”(which means, God with us).

The word “Immanuel” is a word that we often hear said or sung during Christmas season especially with songs like “O come O come Emmanuel”. We’ve become very familiar with the term Immanuel but I feel like the impact sometimes gets lost.

So the word means “God with us” as defined in V23. But let’s take a minute to understand what a big deal this truth is for broken sinners like us. Broken sinners like us have no business being around Holy God & that’s what makes this such a big deal!

Let’s rewind back to the creation story where we see the first glimpses of “God with us”. After creating Adam and Eve, we see that God spoke to them, walked with them & provided for them. They looked forward to being with God. There was immense safety and security in their relationship with God.

But all of that quickly changed after their rebellion in the garden. Genesis 3 tells us that after sinning, they hid from God! They no longer looked forward to being with God. Instead of safety and security, they now experienced immense fear & guilt in their relationship with God.

That feeling of fear and guilt in front of God has been transferred to every single human who has ever lived. All of us know what fear and guilt means.

Just when the idea of “God with us” seemed impossible, God introduced an arrangement of the tabernacle / temple where God could still be with us but it wasn’t the same. Everyone didn’t have access to God, only a select few during certain times of the year after observing certain rituals. Still not the same as it was earlier. “God with us” at this point seems like a distant dream.

But then we come to the New Testament, and we find out that this God is so committed to be with us that He sends His Son to step into the shoes of humanity & then die on the cross for us so that every barrier that stood between us and God could be removed once and for all.

For those who trust in Jesus, no more fear and guilt in our relationship with God. He’s restored back the safety and security which was lost. We can finally look forward to being with God. And to top it all, He’s placed His Holy Spirit within us to remind us that “God with us” is a definite reality!

And don’t assume that this “God with us” is a temporary reality, Jesus tells us this in Matt 28:20: And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Revelation 21:1-4 ESV

[1] Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

From start to end, this is a story of God’s extraordinary commitment to be with us! What’s your response going to be to this King who has shown such extraordinary commitment to make “God with you” a reality? Do you look forward to being with God today? What defines your relationship with God today? Is it safety and security or is it fear and guilt?

Brothers and sisters, the Birth of the King is no ordinary event! It tells us about:

• Extraordinary circumstances surrounding His virgin birth
• Extraordinary calling to save people from their sins
• Extraordinary commitment to be with us

Good morning church! Hope you’re well. So glad that we have another opportunity to gather together as God’s people and hear from God’s Word. It’s a privilege!

As we’ve entered this Advent season, we’ve begun a new month-long series titled Receive the King. And what we want to do through this series is reflect on what it means to receive Jesus – not simply as a baby or a holiday symbol but as our True King! Last week Saju preached on The Prophecy about the King & today we will spend some time on The Lineage of the King.

Now at the outset I want to acknowledge that this is not a simple passage to interact with. Some of us who aren’t into history or list of names are probably thinking that “this is the history lesson that I did not sign up for”. Or if there was an option to “Skip Intro” & directly jump into the action of Jesus’ birth, then that’s what we would go for.

But the reason why we’re tackling this text is because we believe that “All Scripture is God breathed and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction & training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). Every single verse (including passages on genealogies) is a 100 percent God’s Word & relevant for every believer.

But it’s not just that, Matthew who is the author of this Gospel account has intentionally put the genealogy in there to serve a purpose. We’ll come to that in just a bit, but first let’s pray and ask God for help to interpret and apply this passage in our lives.

Before we get into the genealogy and why it’s in there, I think it’s important for us to understand the context. The context always reveals a story!

Throughout the OT, one consistent pattern that we observe is that God speaks & tells His people about a coming Messiah. Despite all the ups and downs of God’s people, that consistent pattern of God speaking & telling them about a coming Messiah continues…up until prophet Malachi.

After Malachi, something unusual happens. There’s pin drop silence…for 400 years! For 400 years between Malachi and Matthew, there’s no hearing from God & there’s no message about a coming Messiah. Pin drop silence!

Just imagine what must have gone through the minds of God’s people. “Has God forgotten us? Is He mad at us? Has He changed His mind about sending us a Messiah? Have we really messed up bad this time? Has God’s grace been exhausted once and for all? Has God shut the door on us forever?”

And it’s in the midst of that where we hear the comforting words of Matthew like a glass of cool water on a hot day: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham”.

God hasn’t shut the door on His people after all! That’s precisely why Matthew wrote this book. And as a proof that this IS the real deal…this is the main thing, he starts out with the genealogy. He starts out with the Lineage of the King.

3 things that we learn from the Lineage of the King:

1. We get to know that Jesus is Centrepoint of all human history

He is the focus & culmination of all human history. All of human history has been marching towards the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (v1)

Genealogies played a very important role in the life of a Jew. Genealogies were used to establish a person’s credibility, position in society & inheritance rights.

Even if we go to the countryside or our native villages, we’ll find that people often ask us about our family name & background to establish our credibility, position in society & inheritance.

Similarly, Matthew uses the genealogy or lineage of Jesus to establish Jesus’ credibility, position & inheritance rights.

And Matthew does that by referencing him to Abraham & David. Now both of them were ancestors, but more than that Matthew intentionally mentioned these two “biblical hall of famers” to establish a direct connection between God’s covenant promises (God’s unbreakable promise) that He made with Abraham & David.

In other words, the arrival of Jesus was no accident. It was rooted in the covenant promises which were made centuries before with Abraham and David.

What were those covenant promises?

• Abraham

Way back in Gen 22:18, God made a covenant promise with Abraham: and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed

Who is this offspring? Not Isaac. Paul explains who this offspring is in Gal 3:16: Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

So Jesus Christ is the promised offspring by whom blessing would flow out not just to the nation of Israel but all nations of the earth!!

• David

God made a covenant promise with David in 2 Sam 7:16: And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.[c] Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Take a minute to think about the enormity of this promise. It’s one thing to promise David that he and members of his family will reign for the next 10 or 20 generations.

It’s whole another thing to promise David that his family’s throne would last forever! He was going to have a permanent, unending, forever reign!

And the crazy part is that in V11 it seems like this forever plan didn’t work out: and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

Jechoniah was the last of Israelite kings who reigned for only mere 3 months before the mighty Babylonians came and captured the entire nation & took them back as prisoners & slaves.

Was God just exaggerating just like some of tag lines that say “Diamonds are forever”? Or was God actually serious about doing this? And if God was serious, did God actually have the power to see this promise to the end?

V16 gives us the answer – and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ which means Anointed One. All of history was being prepared for the revelation & unveiling of the Christ – the anointed One who was specifically selected to fulfill these covenant promises and have a permanent, unending, forever reign!

What’s unbelievable is that the timeline between the time when God made the covenant promise with Abraham & the coming of Jesus Christ was nearly 2000 years! And if we go back to Adam, that would have been 4000 years.

So think about this – God had to orchestrate all human history with all of its ups and downs and turns to ensure that it was all moving towards this centre point and focus – which was the revealing and unveiling of this Promised Forever King who was going to be the source of great blessing to all nations of the earth. He is the centerpoint of all human history.

But not just that, but through the lineage

2. We get to know that Jesus is the Saviour for all kinds of people

As we look at the list of names throughout this passage, we’ll notice a few unexpected mentions – some of them who have made questionable moral choices are included.

V3 – Judah is mentioned as the father of Perez & Zerah by Tamar. This was the result of a sad, outrageous sexual encounter with Tamar who was Judah’s daughter in law. She disguised herself as a prostitute and became pregnant with Judah’s child.

V5 – Boaz’s mother was Rahab – who was a prostitute living in land of Jericho & because she spared the Israelite spies out of confidence in God, she and her family’s lives were spared when Jericho was conquered. Also, Joshua allowed her to live among the people of Israel – in other words, even though she was a Gentile she was integrated into God’s people.

V5 – Ruth was also Gentile – a Moabite to be precise. Moabites were actually enemies of God’s people for the longest time and Israelites were commanded to not marry them primarily because they would lead the people into idolatry.

But in Ruth’s case, she embraced and feared the Israelite God as her own and the result is that not only was she included into God’s people but also along with Boaz, she became the grandparents of the most loved Israelite king David.

And as I read the list, it’s quite surprising that these names feature on the list. If any of us were given the choice to design the lineage of Jesus Christ, I’m pretty sure we would have come up with a list very different from this.

Many of these names would have been rejected because of their moral choices and because they don’t fit the bill of respectable people in society & yet God doesn’t have any such qualms in using them in the lineage of Christ. And I wondered why was that the case?

I think it was to show us the scope of Jesus’ saving grace – for all kinds of people! Not just the ones whom we by our worldly standards would qualify as cultured, well-mannered, respectable & religious.

Jesus Christ in fact has special interest in those who in the world are considered as the back-benchers in religious life…the black sheep…the outcasts…the worthless.

In fact, this was something that Matthew understood up close and first hand. Let’s not forget that he used to be a tax collector who needed to collect taxes on behalf of the Romans.

But most of the time these tax collectors would be corrupted & would take more than they needed. Hence, they became the most disliked people in Jewish society. If people needed to take an example of the worst sinners, they would often think of a tax collector.

So that was his life until Jesus met him. What’s amazing is that Jesus sees him while he’s in the middle of collecting taxes & instead of judging him despite everything Jesus knew about him, he calls him to follow him!

Immediately Matthew gets up, leaves his work in the middle of the day, follows Jesus & then is later seen dining with Jesus. Some Pharisees who saw Jesus hanging out with Matthew and his tax collector friends were not happy and asked Jesus’ disciples why Jesus did that. And this is Jesus’ response. It’s the most remarkable response – “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” – Mark 2:17

The point Jesus is trying to make is not to say that there are some people who need Jesus, and some who don’t. All of us are sick and helpless in our sin. But often times it’s the ones who have already hit rock bottom in their sin who will humbly and desperately turn to Jesus Christ.

Those who see themselves as morally good will find it extremely hard to turn to Jesus Christ because they simply don’t see any reason to do it. And so Matthew understood that despite being on the blacklist of religion, he was still not out of the reach of Jesus’ saving grace. He is truly a Saviour for all people.

But not only does the lineage of the King help us know that Jesus is the centrepoint of human history and that He is a Savior for all people, but it helps us

3. To know that Jesus is Superior than all other kings

This list mentions quite a few kings in the lineage – some were good kings – others were wicked kings. But the most well known and loved out of all of them was King David. In the heart and mind of every Israelite, he was the ideal king.

In fact, the bible describes him as “a is man after God’s heart” (1 Sam 13:14). Wow! What a testimony about the kind of person He was. And yet this is how David is mentioned in V6: 6 and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah

It’s interesting that Matthew doesn’t filter out his description. He doesn’t try to sound politically correct. He doesn’t conveniently overlook certain character flaws in David. No, he tells it as it is: David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah. He was guilty of committing adultery with Bathsheba and then tried to cover it up. And when the cover up failed, he ended up murdering Uriah – Bathsheba’s husband.

Although King David does repent & receive forgiveness from God later on, it’s humbling to recognize that someone as ideal as King David was, as gifted as King David was & as faithful as King David was – was ultimately broken & deeply flawed. At best he could offer a faint glimpse of what the perfect King would be, but He could never be that perfect King.

But where King David and the other kings failed, King Jesus succeeded. This King Jesus lived the perfect life unto God that you and I were required to live but failed to live.

And then this King Jesus sacrifices His own life on the cross to pay for our failures. This concept of self-sacrifice is sometimes hard to comprehend in our world where people who are in high authoritative positions will do whatever it takes to protect themselves even if it means throwing others under a bus.

And here’s our King who willingly puts Himself in harms way to pay for our multiple moral failures. He dies on the cross, gets buried and then on the third Day rises from the dead to give us what we couldn’t earn – His own perfect life credited to our name with a brand-new identity & relationship with the Father which will last unto eternity.

Wow! What a wonderful King Jesus is!

I’ve always wondered why do elections become very emotional & personal for many people. Obviously, there are the immediate practical needs like state of the economy & safety which have a direct impact on people’s lives.

But I feel that deep down there’s a longing in every heart a true ruler who will govern us with fairness, justice & kindness. Maybe all of us are longing for a True King. Well, today’s passage introduces us to the lineage of that True King:

1. This King Jesus is the Centrepoint of all human history
2. This King Jesus is the Savior for all people
3. This King Jesus is Superior to than all other kings