Topic: Sermon Passage: Matthew β He Came For: The Shamed. He came for everyone. They take it from the general - Christ came for all, and they become more specific. And think why they do that.
But to your friend� Man, look at its top speed, look how it takes the corners, look at all the gizmos inside! We always do this.
And what you discover as you look at these accounts, is that you find yourself somewhere among them. Where are you from? What do you do for a job? Why are you here in Switzerland? A film star! A film star and an astronaut!
Well, when you read in the gospel accounts that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, for a Jewish reader that would have been a sit-up-and-listen moment, because Bethlehem was the town of David, the great king. If today, your CV says you trained here, and this person was your supervisor, and these are your degrees and here is your list of skills.
So in the ancient world your genealogy said, this is who you are, this is the stock, the line you come from. And Matthew says, Jesus is that Son of David. But even more than that, there would be an offspring of Abraham through whom the whole world would be blessed. And Matthew says, Jesus is that offspring of Abraham. So right at the start, Matthew is saying, these two great streams of promise and hope, of a king who brings righteousness and justice and peace, and world-wide blessing, have come together and flow together in Jesus.
