WEBVTT 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:01.520 Good morning. 00:00:02.959 --> 00:00:06.639 Today's scriptures from Matthew 1, 1 through 6. 00:00:06.959 --> 00:00:11.679 The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:46.960 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah, the father of Perez and Zarah by Tamar, and Perez, the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram, the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nashan, and Nashan the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David, the king. 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:49.039 This is the word of the Lord. 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:50.159 Please be seated. 00:00:50.399 --> 00:00:55.840 And this is the second week of Advent, so I'm going to light the uh peace candle. 00:00:58.479 --> 00:01:00.079 I'm just gonna do it like this. 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:03.119 Well, look at this. 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:12.159 I got it. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:12.640 Okay. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:14.079 I need help. 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:22.319 That didn't work out as well as I thought it would be too. 00:01:25.040 --> 00:01:25.840 I'll light it. 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:47.280 And I'll uh yeah, we'll wait till you see what else I have in my chest. 00:01:50.400 --> 00:01:51.680 Thanks for joining us this morning. 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:53.040 My name is James Rathman. 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:55.680 I'm the pastor here at Redemption Church Denver. 00:01:55.920 --> 00:02:02.079 Uh I love these cozy snowy mornings, especially when we sing the O come, oh come, Emmanuel. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:03.840 That was that was wonderful. 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:13.439 Um this is our uh second week in our Advent series, and I'll explain what that is after we pray. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:17.199 Lord Jesus, we thank you for gathering us together. 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:45.919 We thank you that as we sing that song of longing, O come Emmanuel, that we sing it knowing that that hope has been fulfilled, and that you have come and you have ransomed, and that it was effective and sufficient, and that we have been atoned for and made pure by your work, that you have fulfilled the part of your covenant with us that because of the weakness of our flesh we could not fulfill. 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:52.800 But you took on flesh and you satisfied the full requirement of the law for us. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:57.680 Lord, we praise you that by faith in you we are ransomed. 00:02:58.080 --> 00:03:10.080 We pray that you would teach our hearts this morning to trust that that was successful, that it has been accomplished, and that your spirit is poured into our hearts that we might lead lives that glorify you. 00:03:10.319 --> 00:03:12.560 Father, we praise you for all this good news. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:14.159 We lift that up in Jesus' name. 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:15.039 Amen. 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:24.479 So, this is our second week of our Advent series, and this year we are going through the uh Matthew's genealogy. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:29.120 Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus. 00:03:29.439 --> 00:03:34.800 Now, that's interesting because Jesus is the second person of the Trinity. 00:03:34.879 --> 00:03:36.400 He is the Son of God. 00:03:36.800 --> 00:03:42.080 But when he took on flesh, he did not just take on the appearance of our humanity. 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:49.680 Uh, he was not just the uh uh some some sort of apparition of God that looked fully human. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:54.080 He was fully human and fully God. 00:03:54.879 --> 00:04:02.159 And so when he took on our humanity, he took on every aspect of what it means to be a person. 00:04:02.400 --> 00:04:15.599 And that means he did not just spawn in the middle of the desert somewhere and we happened upon him, but he took on a lineage, a genealogy, because people come from people. 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:25.680 And so all of us, although we are born and we it's just like, okay, we just got here, there's been a whole story happening for a long time, even before we showed up. 00:04:25.839 --> 00:04:32.720 And so we are all participants in this story that's been happening, and all of us to be a human means to have a lineage. 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.839 And so Jesus takes on a lineage. 00:04:36.079 --> 00:04:49.040 And we could sit and just wonder at that for probably the whole rest of our morning together, because the one who is eternal, having no beginning and no end, took on an origin story. 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:53.279 As he entered into our story, he takes on all aspects of that. 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:59.600 And so Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy, the genealogy of our Lord. 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.079 And there are lots of threads that we could pick up in order to understand the genealogy. 00:05:04.480 --> 00:05:09.519 It uh takes place in three stanzas of fourteen generations, each stanza. 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:23.040 The first of the fourteen leads up to David the king, the last is a descent into exile in Babylon, and then the third and final of the fourteen is the rise to a king again, the true king Jesus. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:33.600 But amidst this genealogy, it's laid out in a pattern, which when you're reading it, you just get in the rhythm of was the father of, was the father of, was the father of. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:41.519 But then four times in the genealogy, that pattern is interrupted by the introduction of four particular women. 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:49.439 And the question is, why did Matthew include these four women in his genealogy? 00:05:49.839 --> 00:06:01.040 What is it about Jesus' story that Matthew said, in order to understand where he came from, in order to understand the lineage of Christ, you have to understand that these four women are a part of it. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:07.439 Now it's it's interesting because of the four women that he chooses to include in Jesus' story. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:14.319 You see, when we see a genealogy in Scripture, it's not like a tax record or something. 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:16.639 It's not like a government census. 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:26.319 It's it's telling us the story of how God has guided these generations of people and how God has shown particular care to this family. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:36.720 And so when we see uh something anomalous in a genealogy, it means that the author of that genealogy is drawing our attention to it. 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:42.079 And he's saying, in order to understand the story, you have to see the inclusion of these four people. 00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:54.160 And that's why, for this advent, uh, we're looking at the story of these four women in Jesus' genealogy, and how is it that they are essential to understand Christ's story? 00:06:54.560 --> 00:06:57.839 Why it is that Jesus brings them into his own story. 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:08.160 Now, these four women have four things in common that are, they have two things in common amongst them that are particularly unique. 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:27.439 They are all Gentiles, so none of them are Israelites by birth, and they all intervene at a critical moment for either the line of the king, which leads to Jesus, or for the kingdom itself, where the kingdom itself hangs by a thread. 00:07:27.839 --> 00:07:37.120 And it is in these similarities that they are Gentiles that by their faith secure the line or the kingdom itself. 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:48.079 We see this truth about Jesus, that his kingdom and his redemption is from the Jews and for the whole world. 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:52.879 That it is a redemption that all of us are able to participate in. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.839 And we see that laid out in these four stories. 00:07:56.079 --> 00:08:01.040 The four women are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. 00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:02.399 And this is our second week. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.759 And so the second woman listed in the genealogy is Rahab. 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:13.040 And her story is one of the most thrilling stories in Scripture. 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:18.240 Honestly, my sermon today is like not much commentary. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:26.800 I just want us to look at this story together and be thrilled by it, because I think that's I think that's the point. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:28.800 Let's look at her in the genealogy. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:30.639 Matthew 1, verses 4 through 6. 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:46.399 It says, And Raham, the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nashan, and Nashan the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:52.320 Now Rahab is a character who's introduced to us in Joshua chapter 2. 00:08:52.799 --> 00:09:04.480 And in her story in Joshua, where she's we hear the most of her story in Joshua chapter 2, and then we hear how it kind of comes to completion in Joshua chapter 6. 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:10.559 We aren't told that she marries into Israel, and we aren't told that she has a child. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:25.759 It's only here in the genealogy that we realize that not only was she this critical participant in the bringing about of the kingdom, but she is also a participant in the line that leads to the king. 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:35.519 And so really we don't get the fullness of Rahab's story until we see it brought into Jesus' story. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:46.240 And this is true of all of the women that we're looking at in the genealogy, that the fullness of their story comes about in their inclusion in Jesus' story. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:54.879 We see that she is connected to Boaz as a mother. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:07.759 And this leads, of course, to the line of uh to the story of Ruth, and by Ruth and Obed, Jesse, and Jesse is the father of David. 00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:16.080 So in the genealogy, as it's told here, there are likely generations that are left out that took place, just in order for the timing to make sense. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:28.720 But as the as Matthew is communicating the narrative of what is taking place in these generations, he's showing us that there is this direct connection between Rahab and King David. 00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:32.879 She is directly connected to the promised king. 00:10:33.919 --> 00:10:42.720 But her emphasis in her own story in Joshua chapter 2 is not particularly about the preservation of the line. 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:46.000 That's not what's at stake in her story. 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:52.159 Last week with Tamar, we saw that the promised line, which is Judah, is really brought to an end. 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.759 There's a sense in which it dies by the selfishness of Judah. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:10:59.360 But by Tamar's intervention, the line is resurrected. 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:02.240 Well, that's not really the story for Rahab. 00:11:02.399 --> 00:11:04.559 For Rahab, it's the kingdom itself. 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:10.639 And it's whether or not the promise of the kingdom in the promised land will be fulfilled. 00:11:10.960 --> 00:11:16.159 And we are brought to a moment where that hangs by a thread. 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:22.240 But by the intervention of Rahab, the kingdom comes to fruition. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:26.480 Okay, so let's just jump in and look at Rahab's story. 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:28.879 This is Joshua 2, verse 1. 00:11:29.279 --> 00:11:37.840 And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, Go view the land, especially Jericho. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:43.200 And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 00:11:45.039 --> 00:11:47.919 A little context on what's going on. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:57.679 The Israelites are gathered just outside the promised land, and they are on, they're camping right now on the plains of Jericho, and there is a lot of them. 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.480 This is at the end of their wilderness wanderings. 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:09.600 Moses has already died, and Joshua is now in charge of the Israelites, and his commission is to take the promised land. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:11.360 This is the second generation. 00:12:11.600 --> 00:12:14.639 The first generation was not able to take the promised land. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:22.399 But this second generation is commissioned under Joshua to go into the land of Canaan and to subdue it. 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:29.759 Here on the outskirts of that, one of the entrance towns on the plains of Jericho, there is this large number of people gathered. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:32.960 Now they've been in this situation before. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:39.600 The first generation who went through the Exodus and was brought out of Egypt was meant to take the promised land. 00:12:40.320 --> 00:12:45.519 And they too, under Moses, sent spies into the land of promise. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:55.600 And these spies were there for several weeks, and they explored the land and they saw that it was there was good fruit that was in the land, and they brought back evidence of the good fruit that was in the land. 00:12:55.919 --> 00:13:10.960 But all of the spies who were sent, except for Caleb, who speaks first, and then Joshua, who we find out later was on the side of Caleb, all of the other spies say, The people of the land are too strong for us. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:16.799 They were like giants before us, and they will certainly conquer us. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:20.799 We don't stand a chance, we will not enter the promised land. 00:13:20.960 --> 00:13:27.039 And because of their cowardice and fear, they melted the hearts of the rest of Israel. 00:13:27.279 --> 00:13:34.799 And Caleb, who was one of the spies who went, he said, Surely the Lord has given us this land, and he has promised to give it to us. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:38.000 And Joshua rallies with Caleb and says, Yes, I was there too. 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:43.120 And surely the Lord will give the land into our hands, but it was too late. 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:46.240 The hearts of the rest of the Israelites had melted. 00:13:46.639 --> 00:13:57.039 And they even threatened to stone and to kill Joshua and Caleb for their optimism and their faith in what the Lord had called them to. 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:07.200 But the Lord prevents them from entering into the promised land, right on the edge of the land. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:11.759 And then they are cursed to wander again in the desert. 00:14:12.080 --> 00:14:20.559 So this first generation who saw the Exodus, who saw the miracles performed in the wilderness, does not get to enter the promised land. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:29.440 And so here we are once again, right on the edge of the promised land, the second generation, no longer under Moses, but under Joshua. 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:33.759 And it's time to send spies once again. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:39.919 So you can feel the narrative tension that's here in this story for the Israelites. 00:14:40.159 --> 00:14:46.480 At this very moment, the last time this was tried, they failed. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:52.480 And their cowardice won the day, and it melted the hearts of the whole nation. 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:55.200 And so they were not able to enter the land. 00:14:56.720 --> 00:15:02.559 In Numbers 13, where that story is told, there's a lot of mention and a list of the names of the spies that go in. 00:15:02.799 --> 00:15:06.320 In this story, this time, we don't even learn the names of the spies. 00:15:06.399 --> 00:15:16.080 There's one central character, the story uh regarding the story of the spies this time, and that central character is Rahab, who is introduced immediately in telling this story. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:23.600 Joshua tells the spies, Go view the land, especially Jericho, and they went, and they don't skip a beat. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:30.000 And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there. 00:15:31.279 --> 00:15:34.559 Now, how is it that they wound up in that house first? 00:15:34.720 --> 00:16:05.600 This is something like conjecture, but there's evidence that on the uh sort of marginal territories of these towns, so like right along the wall, there would be houses that were something like hostels or taverns where travelers would stay for the night, and in those places where this is typically the way cities and towns are structured, there's a center where things are civilized, and there's a margin where the more marginal characters and marginal practices take place. 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:09.919 And that is where prostitution and the travelers are. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:26.079 On the roof of her house, they were hidden in the uh stalks of flax, which is where she had put them to be hidden. 00:18:26.319 --> 00:18:34.559 But for some reason, Rahab treats her own king and her own people as enemies. 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:46.559 And she sides instead with these Israelite spies, and she lies to this to the men who are coming to uh uh inquire about them. 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.680 You know, there's a there's a there's an ethical point here. 00:18:50.640 --> 00:18:58.880 You like can't read a a Christian ethics book without coming across the Rahab example because it's like this this quandary. 00:18:59.680 --> 00:19:02.079 How many of you think Rahab did the right thing? 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:03.920 Right, right. 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:06.319 How many of you think she shouldn't have lied? 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:07.920 One. 00:19:08.559 --> 00:19:09.200 Wow. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:11.599 A true deontologist. 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:14.000 Rare in this neck of the woods. 00:19:14.240 --> 00:19:32.720 The um uh the the I there are there are some great theologians that argue that Rahab did the that you should never lie, that um uh i it's a it's an it's it's an absolute it's an absolute wrong to ever tell a lie. 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:40.079 Um the I don't think you can make the biblical case for that, uh, considering Rahab's story here. 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:46.640 I think in circumstances like this, which is a a wartime circumstance, lying is like murder. 00:19:46.960 --> 00:19:50.480 You know, there is no war without killing. 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:56.400 Uh in fact, the word would be would be killing if we're going to parse it that far, not murder. 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:00.720 And so in that sense, Rahab participates in, she does the right thing. 00:20:00.880 --> 00:20:02.799 Rahab does the right thing. 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:17.039 Uh so if ever you're in a situation in which somebody asks you, you know, could you ever tell a lie to the classic example of is of course, hide the Jews from the Nazis in your own home. 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:19.359 The answer is yes, you can. 00:20:19.839 --> 00:20:22.160 And and Rahab is the example of that. 00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:29.359 People will say that the scripture doesn't celebrate her lying, it just celebrates her being friendly towards the spies. 00:20:29.680 --> 00:20:39.039 To parse those things, I think, is operating at a level of absurdity that uh yeah, is not particularly relevant. 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:43.519 But what we're what we see in that, it yeah, what's the lesson so far? 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:44.559 I can lie. 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:50.880 Yeah, no, that's that's not the the lesson here. 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:57.359 The lesson here is that the the ethics of God makes sense in in context. 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:11.279 And that in circumstances such as a wartime circumstance, just as killing, which would otherwise have been prohibited, is now required and is actually an ought, that there is an oughtness to her protection. 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:18.640 And what her protection means here is risking her own life for the sake of the spies. 00:21:19.279 --> 00:21:21.440 Because she commits treason. 00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:25.039 And treason, that seems bad, right? 00:21:26.799 --> 00:21:30.880 Well, the question is, it depends. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:33.920 Who's your treason against? 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:49.680 And here, her options are treason against the purposes of the living God, or treason against her king, who stands in opposition to the intentions of the living God. 00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:55.039 Hopefully the decision seems obvious there. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:22:03.200 But the question that remains for Rahab that the text Has not yet answered is why. 00:22:04.880 --> 00:22:09.119 Why does Rahab side with the spies? 00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:18.960 It's because Rahab has faith in God. 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:21.200 Welcome to church. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:32.160 But let's look at what it is, because it's one of the most incredible pictures of faith that we get to see, I think, in the whole Old Testament at least. 00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:39.839 So after she deflects the king's men and they're out, you know, quick, let's go, and they're running after nothing. 00:22:42.079 --> 00:22:49.759 She goes up to the roof of her house before the text tells us before that the uh spies had fallen asleep. 00:22:50.079 --> 00:23:04.720 And in Joshua 2, 9, it says, and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.680 And the spies are thinking, Where'd you know that? 00:23:10.319 --> 00:23:22.079 The spies get this immediate insight from this Gentile, and what they hear, the first thing that she says, I know the Lord has given you this land. 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:27.119 She knows the purpose of the Lord. 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:39.119 She knew where she was standing and who she was siding with when she deflected the spies, when she risked her own life that they might be spared. 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:46.640 She knew that the Lord was on their side, and therefore she could be on the Lord's side. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:24:00.960 The first generation of Israelites out of the exodus, when they stood on the cusp, those spies melted before the people of the land. 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:10.160 But what they didn't know was that all the while the people of the land were melting before them. 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:24.799 Rahab, this Gentile prostitute, has more faith than the first generation that witnessed the Exodus. 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.200 Now, Rahab continues. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:36.640 So we see this incredible, you know, this news, which must have just been like, whoa, to the spies. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:42.000 I know that the Lord's given you the land, the fear of you has fallen upon us. 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:47.359 All the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 00:24:48.160 --> 00:24:50.079 So how, why is that? 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:54.240 Why does she have such faith? 00:24:54.400 --> 00:25:05.200 Was it just like there was there was one uh prostitute in Canaan, and God was just like, I'm gonna give this little faith to her, and she'll have it among all of them. 00:25:05.359 --> 00:25:17.200 Well, probably something like that, but the way that she receives it is actually much more plain than that type of you know uh uh intervention. 00:25:19.519 --> 00:25:22.079 Listen to her explanation in verse 10. 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:31.920 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt. 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:43.519 And what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:46.000 That was enough. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:55.440 She continues in verse 11 and says, and as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted. 00:25:56.559 --> 00:25:59.839 There was no spirit left in any man because of you. 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:05.599 For the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens and on the earth beneath. 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:10.079 I just want to I don't want to read that like a thousand times. 00:26:14.400 --> 00:26:22.160 The first generation walked through the waters that were parted. 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:25.920 But it was not enough. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:31.599 They saw the salvation of the Lord. 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:36.960 And still they didn't believe him. 00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:39.519 They did not trust his goodness. 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:48.000 They just tore each other apart, tried to tear down Moses on the way to the promised land. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:52.400 They turned from God at the first chance that they got at the base of Sinai. 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:58.319 Didn't trust God's provision the whole way, and they had seen it. 00:26:59.440 --> 00:27:04.319 But outside of the camp of the Israelites, what was the conversation? 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:05.680 Did you hear? 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:12.640 Uh, you know those that nation that's not a nation that's wandering in the wilderness for this whole time? 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:14.960 Are those Egyptians? 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:15.359 No. 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:17.359 Have you not heard the story? 00:27:18.400 --> 00:27:20.960 They were back to against, you know, the Red Sea? 00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:23.039 Yeah, of course I know the Red Sea. 00:27:24.240 --> 00:27:25.839 The waters parted. 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:27.039 Okay. 00:27:27.839 --> 00:27:29.599 No, I'm serious. 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:39.279 The their God parted the waters of the Red Sea, and that whole nation walked through them. 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:42.400 Do you know the Ammonites? 00:27:42.720 --> 00:27:45.119 Yeah, yeah, I have a couple of good friends that are Ammonites. 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:46.240 Not anymore. 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:57.119 All of the Ammonites were devoted to destruction by this people. 00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:58.640 The Ammonites? 00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:00.799 They had just conquered. 00:28:00.880 --> 00:28:03.440 They were the strongest in the region. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:05.599 Yeah, they're gone now. 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:09.119 So you're telling me. 00:28:10.319 --> 00:28:11.839 Their hearts melted. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:16.160 Inside, there's no we don't like this manna so much. 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:19.680 Outside, terror. 00:28:20.880 --> 00:28:21.519 Terror. 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:26.240 Is that not what the church is like? 00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:30.799 Inside, it's like intramural sports. 00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:32.799 You know? 00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:36.559 And outside, how does this thing keep moving? 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:48.720 Wasn't this the we hadn't we reached the end of religion progressing in the world, of religion as a movement in the world? 00:28:49.839 --> 00:28:53.200 We'd all we all knew that that was over. 00:28:54.559 --> 00:28:56.319 And it keeps going. 00:28:58.720 --> 00:29:04.319 There's some engine in this thing that can't be stopped. 00:29:04.480 --> 00:29:06.640 And Rahab saw it. 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:10.400 She didn't see it actually, she just heard. 00:29:12.319 --> 00:29:28.880 And the the question is somebody could come to could come to Rahab or come to the rest of the people whose hearts were melting and say, well, but why are your hearts melting before these people, really? 00:29:29.279 --> 00:29:31.680 I mean, they don't seem particularly special. 00:29:31.839 --> 00:29:34.640 It's not like they're particularly gifted warriors or something. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:37.440 They don't have like this great warrior culture. 00:29:38.160 --> 00:29:41.519 Why is it that your hearts are melting before them? 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:49.440 And then they would say, their God parted the sea so that they might walk out. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:54.559 What more information do you need? 00:29:57.279 --> 00:30:07.839 What other factor could I could I lay before you that would be, now you would, now you would think, oh, this might be a formidable opponent. 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:15.519 She didn't need to, she didn't see the spies and think, wow, you guys are the sneakiest I've ever seen. 00:30:16.640 --> 00:30:21.359 No, she thought, it's been 20 minutes in Jericho, and I've already had to cover you. 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:27.759 But what's the factor? 00:30:27.920 --> 00:30:31.839 What is it that makes them the people that they are? 00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:41.119 Your Lord is the Lord of the heavens above and the earth beneath. 00:30:42.160 --> 00:30:46.000 Your God is the true God. 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:50.480 And your God is with you. 00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:53.279 That is the distinction. 00:30:53.839 --> 00:30:54.799 That is it. 00:30:55.359 --> 00:31:01.359 And Rahab, having just heard the stories, said, that's enough. 00:31:03.519 --> 00:31:06.400 Look, we're like Rahab. 00:31:07.599 --> 00:31:10.079 All you've done is hear the stories. 00:31:12.480 --> 00:31:13.759 It's enough. 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:17.680 What more information do you need? 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:22.799 Yeah, but those stories were a long time ago. 00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:25.839 Well, how long ago is relevant? 00:31:27.359 --> 00:31:30.720 If God parts the sea and brings his people through it? 00:31:31.440 --> 00:31:40.079 Is there an expiration date, a statute of limitations, on whether or not this God is the God of the heavens above or on the earth beneath? 00:31:40.480 --> 00:31:42.319 Has there been a competitor since? 00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:51.119 Because you know there's that other great religious story that's similar in its scope and scale of God's intervention on behalf of a people. 00:31:51.359 --> 00:31:52.480 Oh wait. 00:31:53.680 --> 00:32:06.480 There is no other story of a God going into a nation and bringing his people out of it by his strong hand and his outstretched arm. 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:09.519 So compare it. 00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:17.440 Let's go to our comparative religions department at CU Boulder. 00:32:17.759 --> 00:32:19.200 Where do you locate that? 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:22.640 I can stand in the place where I can see all the religions. 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:27.039 There's no floor there. 00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:30.319 I think you're standing in your own religion. 00:32:31.680 --> 00:32:33.440 Now I stand here and compare you. 00:32:34.079 --> 00:32:36.000 That's the way the game is played. 00:32:41.759 --> 00:32:44.400 It was sufficient for Rahab to hear. 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:52.000 To hear the great works of God and to know he is the God of the heavens and the God of the earth beneath. 00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:55.519 I'm going to side with that God. 00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:58.960 What other chance could there possibly be? 00:33:01.039 --> 00:33:03.920 Now, this is the similarity between each of the four women. 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:07.119 They all intervene at this critical moment. 00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:16.559 And here, at this critical moment, the faith of the spies is just full. 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:23.279 You know, we don't hear, we don't hear the names of these spies. 00:33:23.359 --> 00:33:33.039 We don't hear, there's not like a Joshua and Caleb among these spies, these heroes who stood up against the backdrop of faithlessness and their faith shined forth. 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:40.640 They didn't need that because they ran into this Gentile prostitute named Rahab. 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:44.160 And it was, they heard all that they needed to hear. 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:47.759 There's a sense in which they glean their faith from her. 00:33:48.720 --> 00:33:52.480 Because they hear the news, this like objective news. 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:54.799 We're melting away before you. 00:33:55.440 --> 00:33:58.960 We know what your God did, we know what he's like. 00:34:00.319 --> 00:34:02.960 And they thought, I guess we can know the same. 00:34:03.359 --> 00:34:04.480 They're able to. 00:34:07.359 --> 00:34:11.519 So Rahab then makes a deal with the spies. 00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:20.719 She recognizes that there is no salvation from this God who has given this land to his people. 00:34:21.440 --> 00:34:27.360 But perhaps Rahab considers there might be salvation in that God. 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:30.960 And there might be salvation in that people. 00:34:31.440 --> 00:34:42.639 And so Rahab, before she had this deal cut with the Israelites, she's already given herself no place else to go. 00:34:43.199 --> 00:34:46.320 She's already been treasonous against her own king. 00:34:47.280 --> 00:35:02.000 So this incredible sacrificial risk that she makes, even before she receives the security that she might receive from the Israelites, she then goes on to make clear the security that she desires. 00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:23.199 So she says in verses 12 to 13, Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that as I have dealt kindly with you, you also will deal kindly with my father's house, and give me a sure sign that you will save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death. 00:35:24.639 --> 00:35:28.400 The Israelites swear immediately, our life for yours. 00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:39.039 So she she says, Look, you've seen this kindness that I've shown, count me among you. 00:35:39.920 --> 00:35:52.960 And not just me, but notice, she did she does not have this concept of thinking of just advocating for herself, but she thinks of her salvation in line with her father's house. 00:35:53.679 --> 00:35:57.199 Like, has Rahab read the Abrahamic covenant? 00:35:57.599 --> 00:36:07.599 Did it sneak, did she like get a, did she pick up a tract from some traveler? 00:36:08.239 --> 00:36:19.039 She recognizes if I will be saved, it will be a salvation, not just for me, but at my father's house, because that seems to be the level at which this God makes his promises. 00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:32.480 And so the spies agree with her that she will be saved alive, and they make a deal, and this is the sign that the spies come up with. 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:47.519 They say in verse 18, Behold, when we come into the land, you shall tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you shall gather into your house your father and mother, your brothers, and all your father's house. 00:36:47.840 --> 00:37:08.559 And so what happens is in Joshua 6, there's the Jericho event, which is an incredible story in itself, where they march around six times, blasting the trumpets, then on the seventh day they march around Jericho seven times, and then they shout, and the walls of Jericho fall down. 00:37:09.280 --> 00:37:12.960 And then they invade and they annihilate the whole city. 00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:23.440 But there's reference to the cord, the red cord that hung out of Rahab's window. 00:37:23.679 --> 00:37:34.559 And the spies themselves go back and they go right there, and everyone who was in the house that was covered by the red cord is saved. 00:37:36.960 --> 00:37:47.679 There's four chapters between the spies going in and the invasion, the conquest of Jericho, Jericho being raised. 00:37:50.239 --> 00:38:05.360 Right before the spies go in on the plains of Jericho, this generation has their first Passover in the land, their first celebration of the Passover. 00:38:05.840 --> 00:38:07.840 Do you remember the story of the Passover? 00:38:09.199 --> 00:38:18.159 Where the angel of death was going to come through Egypt and would take the firstborn from each family, the firstborn male from each family. 00:38:19.039 --> 00:38:30.159 But the Israelites were instructed that they would kill a lamb, they would eat it as a whole family, and they would put blood on their doorposts. 00:38:31.440 --> 00:38:40.480 And the blood that was on, if your home had blood on the door for doorposts, then when the angel of death came over your house, your house would be passed over. 00:38:43.679 --> 00:38:46.800 You would be counted among the Israelites. 00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:56.159 Now, with the invasion of the land, God's own people are his arm of vengeance. 00:38:56.880 --> 00:38:59.199 They are his angel of death. 00:38:59.519 --> 00:39:01.519 And they pass through the land. 00:39:03.599 --> 00:39:13.039 But a gentile is brought in because there is a red cord above her door hanging out her window. 00:39:14.320 --> 00:39:23.039 And by seeing that, she is counted among the Israelites, brought in, and her and her family are saved. 00:39:24.559 --> 00:39:36.800 Hebrews 11 31 says, By faith, Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. 00:39:38.639 --> 00:39:44.079 Look at Rahab and her faith, just from having heard. 00:39:44.400 --> 00:40:01.679 Look at Rahab and the risk that she took, being willing to be counted treasonous of her own people, so that she might be counted among God's people, being willing to be cut off so that she might be counted in to the people of God. 00:40:04.000 --> 00:40:06.559 It was enough for her just to have heard. 00:40:08.400 --> 00:40:11.039 Now consider our Passover. 00:40:12.480 --> 00:40:15.760 Consider the great salvation that we have. 00:40:17.599 --> 00:40:42.480 The story of God becoming a man, dwelling among us, being born of this very line which comes from Rahab, that we might find under his blood and under his covering, that we too might be passed over by the wrath of God, and that our sins might be covered by him. 00:40:44.239 --> 00:40:49.599 Do not be among the generation that hears such a great story and rejects it. 00:40:51.119 --> 00:40:56.639 Hear what great a salvation we have in Jesus. 00:40:56.880 --> 00:41:03.119 Be willing to be counted treasonous from whatever else you may find yourself loyal to. 00:41:04.960 --> 00:41:07.519 That way you might find salvation in him. 00:41:08.880 --> 00:41:12.960 So Rahab's story is brought into Jesus' story. 00:41:13.199 --> 00:41:19.760 And we hopefully might have a faith like Rahab in the Son of God. 00:41:20.320 --> 00:41:22.159 Are there any questions today, Matthew? 00:41:23.599 --> 00:41:25.119 Yes, they're behind me. 00:41:25.360 --> 00:41:33.039 What are we to understand from the big differences between the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew and his genealogy in Luke? 00:41:33.360 --> 00:41:41.280 They're one of the things that we that we have to understand is that when they're doing genealogies, they're they're doing a narrative genealogy. 00:41:42.000 --> 00:41:56.559 And they're they're not so much interested in the uh the chronology, just because it rhymes and it makes it sound like it's true, but so much as they're interested in the Christology. 00:41:56.719 --> 00:41:58.480 They're telling us the story of Christ. 00:41:58.639 --> 00:42:11.280 And so Matthew is picking up a thread which is particular to his audience, because the argument that he's making is this Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Jews. 00:42:11.440 --> 00:42:14.480 And he's writing particularly to Jewish people. 00:42:14.960 --> 00:42:22.800 Luke is picking up his genealogy, and he's describing Jesus is the savior of the world to all peoples. 00:42:22.960 --> 00:42:27.280 And so there's salvation for the Gentiles in this in him as well. 00:42:27.440 --> 00:42:35.760 And so you can tell Matthew's genealogy begins with Abraham, and so we can see that what he's describing is a covenantal narrative. 00:42:36.000 --> 00:42:38.880 Luke's genealogy begins with Adam. 00:42:39.119 --> 00:42:42.800 So we can see that he's telling a story that encompasses the whole world. 00:42:42.960 --> 00:42:56.400 So when we understand the narrative intentions and how the threads that they lay down in these genealogies are picked up in their throughout the rest of their gospels, then we can start to participate in the meaning that they are trying to communicate with us. 00:42:56.559 --> 00:43:05.599 Um, rather than what that is doing, by the way, is we're letting the Bible teach us how to understand itself rather than doing something like this. 00:43:05.760 --> 00:43:06.800 Oh, a genealogy. 00:43:06.960 --> 00:43:09.760 I know what a genealogy is, these are wrong. 00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:13.119 That's the other option of how to do it. 00:43:13.360 --> 00:43:15.760 Instead of, oh, interesting, a genealogy. 00:43:16.480 --> 00:43:19.039 How does the Bible use genealogies? 00:43:19.199 --> 00:43:21.599 Let me learn from what it teaches me. 00:43:21.760 --> 00:43:23.760 Do you see how those are different postures? 00:43:24.079 --> 00:43:24.400 Yeah. 00:43:24.880 --> 00:43:26.400 The second posture is typical. 00:43:26.480 --> 00:43:28.239 We call it critical scholarships. 00:43:28.639 --> 00:43:31.599 Critical scholarship, and it comes from those Germans. 00:43:33.599 --> 00:43:37.840 Not just Germans, but a lot of German critical scholars in the 20th century. 00:43:38.079 --> 00:43:46.960 And um now, praise the Lord, that that that was basically destroyed by the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 00:43:47.360 --> 00:43:58.719 And there's been a rediscovery of learning how to let the Bible teach us how to read it, how to come under the Bible again. 00:43:58.880 --> 00:44:02.239 Um so that's Been a glorious thing that's been happening in the church. 00:44:02.559 --> 00:44:06.800 So now let's take communion. 00:44:07.199 --> 00:44:11.920 Communion is, in a sense, a it takes place on the Passover. 00:44:12.719 --> 00:44:18.000 Jesus longed to celebrate the Passover with his disciples, and that's what he was celebrating. 00:44:19.679 --> 00:44:31.119 And he gives us this once-for-all time sacrifice that is in Jesus, but then he gives us this ability to celebrate it and remember it week in and week out. 00:44:32.000 --> 00:44:45.519 Paul writes, describing it, For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, This is my body which is for you. 00:44:45.840 --> 00:44:48.000 Do this in remembrance of me. 00:44:48.480 --> 00:44:53.679 In the same way also he took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood. 00:44:53.920 --> 00:44:56.880 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. 00:44:57.199 --> 00:45:03.199 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 00:45:03.519 --> 00:45:06.800 Rahab risked her life for her Passover. 00:45:07.519 --> 00:45:12.400 Jesus gave his life that we might be covered and passed over in him. 00:45:13.599 --> 00:45:15.360 What a great salvation. 00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:18.480 Do not neglect such a great salvation. 00:45:18.719 --> 00:45:21.360 So come to the table to celebrate it this morning. 00:45:21.519 --> 00:45:28.320 All of you who are Christians, baptized into the faith, we welcome you into, we welcome you to the table this morning. 00:45:28.559 --> 00:45:39.599 If you're not a Christian, we'd ask that you would abstain, as this is in part, as Paul says here, a proclamation of our faith done in remembrance of these things that we take to be true. 00:45:41.119 --> 00:45:50.320 But if you're not a Christian, there is salvation in Jesus Christ. 00:45:51.360 --> 00:45:54.320 Your sins can be passed over in Him. 00:45:54.800 --> 00:45:56.880 He welcomes you to Him. 00:45:57.679 --> 00:46:06.639 You might have just heard the stories, just heard that God became a man to lay his life down on behalf of sinners. 00:46:06.800 --> 00:46:09.199 Well, it is enough to just hear. 00:46:09.840 --> 00:46:12.400 For Rahab, it was enough to have just heard the stories. 00:46:12.719 --> 00:46:19.280