Born A King!
Born A King!
Sermon Summary:
As we embark on our Lenten journey, we’re invited to explore the profound depths of Jesus’ identity through Matthew’s Gospel. The opening genealogy, far from being a dry list of names, reveals a sweeping narrative of God’s redemptive work in history. We see how Jesus fulfills the promises made to Abraham and David, ushering in a new era of hope and salvation. This royal lineage isn’t just about bloodlines; it’s about God’s faithfulness across generations, culminating in the birth of the Messiah. As we reflect on this, we’re challenged to consider our own place in God’s ongoing story. How are we participating in His redemptive work today? The inclusive nature of Jesus’ genealogy – featuring women, Gentiles, and those with checkered pasts – reminds us that God’s grace extends to all, regardless of background or status. This Lenten season, let’s embrace the inclusive, transformative power of Christ’s kingdom in our own lives and communities.
Sermon Points:
RE-BIRTH OF HISTORY
ROYAL REDEEMER – JESUS MESSIAH!
REDEMPTIVE HISTORY – The genealogy of Matthew 1 reveals the grand sweeping story of God’s redemptive work in history.
REDEMPTIVE MISSION AND MESSAGE – The genealogy of Matthew 1 reveals the inclusive, holistic nature of the Messianic mission and message of King Jesus: men/women, Jew/Gentile, and saint/sinner.
Key Takeaways:
- Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy to establish Jesus’ identity as the Messiah
- The genealogy reveals Jesus as both royal (son of David) and redeemer (son of Abraham)
- Matthew’s genealogy outlines three periods of redemptive history: promise, decline, and fulfillment
- The inclusion of women and Gentiles in the genealogy demonstrates the inclusive nature of Jesus’ mission
- Jesus was born a king, not just became one, emphasizing His divine nature and purpose
Scripture References:
- Matthew 1:1-17 (The genealogy of Jesus Christ)
Stories:
- The story of Caravaggio’s painting “The Calling of St. Matthew” and its significance
- Brief mentions of Old Testament figures in the genealogy, including Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba
- The pastor’s personal anecdote about his own family history and the origin of his surname
- The daily prayer of the Pharisees contrasted with the inclusive nature of Jesus’ genealogy
Sermon Transcript
Thank you, Michael.
Everybody said amen, right?
Amen.
Well, our theme for this year, you know, is built around flourishing.
Since we have embarked on this multi-year journey, flourishing together.
And this first year, we have chosen to spend some time learning what it means to be rooted in Christ.
just exploring the roots of our faith and understanding fully what it means to flourish.
And our theme for the Lenten Easter season, since we turned that page on our calendar on Wednesday, here in this room for our Ash Wednesday service, our theme is going to be the real story.
Excuse me.
Matthew is going to be our guide for the Lenten season.
So if you have your copy of the New Testament, we’re going to look at Matthew 1 today.
So I’ll invite you to look at that with me.
I’ve entitled the message today, Born a King.
And as I said, we’ll start in Matthew 1.
So if you have your New Testament, you can look at that with me.
I invite you to stand with me as we honor the Lord Jesus in the reading of the gospel.
Matthew 1, verse 1.
This is the genealogy of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham was the father of Isaac.
Isaac, the father of Jacob.
Jacob, the father of Judah and his brothers.
Judah, the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar.
Perez, the father of Hezron.
Hezron, the father of Ram.
Ram, the father of Amenadab.
And Amenadab, the father of Nashon.
Nashon, the father of Salmon.
Salmon, the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab.
Boaz, the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth.
Obed, the father of Jesse.
And Jesse, the father of King David.
David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.
Solomon, the father of Rehoboam.
Rehoboam, the father of Abijah.
Abijah, the father of Asa.
Asa, the father of Jehoshaphat.
Jehoshaphat, the father of Jehoram.
Jehoram, the father of Uzziah.
Uzziah, the father of Jotham.
And Jotham, the father of Ahaz.
Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah.
Hezekiah, the father of Manasseh.
Manasseh, the father of Ammon.
Ammon, the father of Josiah.
And Josiah, the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.
After the exile to Babylon, Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, and Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.
Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akeem, Akeem the father of Elihud.
Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Mathan, and Mathan the father of Jacob.
Jacob, the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
And Mary was the mother of Jesus, who’s called the Messiah.
Thus there were 14 generations in all from Abraham to David.
14 from David to the exile to Babylon.
And 14 from the exile to the Messiah.
Thank you.
You may be seated.
You may wonder…
why we’d read that genealogy out loud.
Well, don’t you think if your name got in the Bible, somebody ought to pronounce it in public, don’t you think?
Just in case you get to heaven before I do and you run into one of these guys, you can at least let them know we called their name out loud at church.
But think about it.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all were given the assignment of writing the story of Jesus.
How would you have done it?
How would you have opened the story?
Well, it’s interesting.
Each one of those gospel writers opens the story differently, and it’s reflective of their unique perspective.
Matthew is writing primarily to Jews, and so we shouldn’t be surprised that he opens his gospel in a very Jewish way by outlining a genealogy.
Well, how about Matthew?
Don’t you love Matthew?
I have a great appreciation for Matthew.
Every year that Kurt and I lead this trip to Rome, we always visit churches.
There are 900 churches in Rome, and contrary to what some of your friends who’ve been on the trip say, we have not been, we don’t go in every single church.
That’s not true, okay?
But we’ve been in a lot of them.
And one of the churches that we typically visit is the Church of St.
Louis.
And it is a French church just around the corner from the Pantheon.
And one of the reasons that we go there, really the main reason we go there, is because in one of the chapels up to the front of the church next to the high altar on the left, there is a chapel that contains three beautiful paintings by Caravaggio.
And the paintings outline or highlight three different episodes in the life of Matthew and
The most famous one is The Calling of St.
Matthew.
Let me show you a photo of it.
And Caravaggio was very, he was known for all kinds of things, actually.
He was a very interesting person to begin with.
But he used realism, he used light and dark contrast in his paintings.
This painting was commissioned and dedicated in AD 1600.
There’s also the inspiration of Matthew hanging in this chapel and the martyrdom of Matthew hanging in this chapel.
But this one has been the most intriguing.
And it’s interesting the way Caravaggio did this.
If you’ll look on the right of the painting, you’ll see a man with his hand extended with that finger sticking out in the air.
You might recognize that pose.
That comes from the Sistine Chapel, which was painted by another man.
Caravaggio’s name was Michelangelo but he went by Caravaggio because there was another guy with the name Michelangelo and well you’ll notice that’s Adam’s finger from the Sistine Chapel but in this painting he’s put that finger on the hand of Jesus who’s on the right of this painting Simon Peter is next to him
And interestingly enough, this is Jesus calling Matthew to become one of his disciples.
And Matthew is seated in a tavern with some of his fellow tax collectors.
Once again, another interesting way that he portrayed this.
They’re all dressed in Renaissance era clothing, not in first century clothing.
So he’s painting this as if it happened in his lifetime.
And you’ll notice at the end of the table, there’s a young man with his head down.
And then second to his left, our right, there’s a guy with a finger pointing.
And scholars disagree over which one’s Matthew.
Is it the one that seems to be pointing at himself, or is he actually pointing at the guy at the end of the table?
You’ll see bags of money laying around.
This is a gathering of tax collectors.
Well, regardless of which one of them is Matthew, I think it’s the bearded one.
This is Jesus singling this man out.
And this time in the Sistine Chapel, the finger of Adam is receiving life.
But in this painting, Jesus is the second Adam.
He’s giving life.
And he’s calling Matthew out of this life from being a publican, a tax collector, to actually become a disciple.
And so it’s a very famous painting.
Pope Francis says when he was a young priest, every time he came to Rome, he would go sit in this chapel there in St.
Luigi and look at this very painting because it inspired him to reflect on his own calling to ministry, to the priesthood.
It’s a very famous painting.
And it’s a painting that represents the spiritual awakening of
of Matthew.
Matthew’s story is found in the gospels.
Sometimes he’s called Levi.
In this gospel he’ll be known as Matthew.
His story is found in Matthew 9 in this particular gospel.
And Matthew worked for the government.
He was a tax collector.
And the way that worked was you negotiated with the Roman government or the folks who represented the Roman government in your area
And the tax collectors were given bids, an opportunity to bid, and the job went to the highest bidder.
So in other words, the person that thought they could collect the most taxes, make sure that Rome was satisfied, they could keep the rest.
So as you might imagine, this particular profession was notorious for people taking advantage of others.
And so Matthew would have been in that group.
We’re pretty sure he would have known Jesus already.
Jesus was living in Capernaum as he made his way across Israel.
Matthew was there.
And at some point in the story, Matthew 9, Jesus stops at Matthew’s booth and challenges Matthew to leave his job as a publican and come follow him.
And Matthew leaves everything and follows Jesus.
He becomes an apostle.
And eventually he becomes the person who writes the first book of
in the New Testament.
It’s a remarkable story, don’t you think, that he would be transformed out of this life that caused him to live in so much disdain in his community to actually become one of the most famous men who’s ever lived in the Christian story.
So, I love to reflect upon Matthew, but let’s just think for a minute about Matthew.
He has been tasked by the Lord to write the gospel about Jesus.
Well, let me just ask him, how would you have done it?
And here’s the question on the table in Matthew’s lifetime.
Why is there so much fuss over Jesus?
Who was Jesus?
Why does it matter what anybody believes about Jesus?
What do we even know about Jesus?
So Matthew is facing that particular question.
What is the deal with Jesus?
What are you supposed to do with Jesus?
What do we know about Jesus?
So Matthew writes this gospel in that context and answers that question.
And he does it in a very remarkable way.
So again, how would you begin the story?
Well, guess what Matthew decides to do?
He decides to begin the story by recounting the family tree of Jesus.
And as he does that, here’s what he describes.
If you were paying attention, you would have heard it.
He describes the rebirth of history.
by recounting the family tree of Jesus.
I don’t know if y’all have ever done much research into your own family tree.
You know what I mean?
You can go to that ancestry.com, I think, or, you know, one of those things where you can kind of find out about your family.
I haven’t done a whole lot of that, to be honest with you.
I’m not sure I even want to know everything about mine, but nevertheless…
Here’s what we do know.
I have a brother and some other family members that have done some of that.
The name Wiles, my last name, actually originated in England in a little town called Willam, which those of us who grew up in our particular family find that interesting.
The name Wiles was used to describe fishermen who lived in that little community of Willam.
And the reason for that is the word Wiles means trickery.
So they would use trickery to catch fish.
They would use the bait, if you will, so they were known as the Wiles.
What’s fascinating about that is I grew up in Willam, Alabama.
In other words, there were a group of people from that part of England who actually came to Alabama and settled that town and named it Willam.
And so the Wiles family grew up in Willam, Alabama without knowing that we had connections to Willam, England.
We didn’t find that out until many, many years later.
We think that’s kind of interesting.
And so I don’t know a whole lot about it.
I know that my dad was the 13th child in his family, that my grandfather was 54 years old, and my grandmother was 48 when she found out she was pregnant with my dad.
She had a child every two years for 26 years, and she declared that my daddy was the last one by edict, actually.
I do know that much.
I never met her.
Obviously, they were
Long gone by the time I came around.
And I was born late in life.
I’m the last child in my family.
I have older siblings.
And my mother, my sister was already married and had a baby before I was born.
So my mom was a grandmother when she had me, which has always been an interesting conversation as well.
So Cindy’s family, they’ve done a little research in her family.
She’s the baby in her family as well.
But I don’t know everything about either one of our families.
But here’s what’s interesting.
Matthew did his homework.
Because genealogies were incredibly important in the first century.
You know, if you wanted to be a priest in Israel, you had to prove genealogically that you were a part of Levi’s family.
So you had to be traced in your genealogical journey all the way back to the tribe of Levi to authenticate your genealogy.
qualification to be a priest, the genealogies were stored in the temple in Jerusalem in the first century.
So there were genealogical records there that were kept on families.
So when Matthew begins this story, he decides to start here.
Now here’s what’s interesting.
If you were reading this in Greek and not in English, if you don’t have your Bible open, let’s just look at it this morning.
If you were to look at verse 1,
In Greek, the New Testament is written in Greek.
Matthew wrote in Greek.
When you see this phrase, this is the genealogy.
The word genealogy in Greek, you know what that word is?
Genesis.
Now, Matthew would have lived at a time when he probably read the Greek translation of the Old Testament, which was known as the Septuagint.
He knew that the first book of the Hebrew Bible translated into Greek was named Genesis.
And so he begins his story about Jesus with the word Genesis.
This Genesis, as a matter of fact…
We didn’t read this, but look at verse 18 of Matthew 1.
If you’ll just skip what we just read.
The NIV translates it like this.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about.
The word birth translated in the NIV is actually the word Genesis.
It’s the same word.
And so it’s actually a phrase that’s found in Genesis 2 verse 4, Genesis 5 verse 1.
This is the account of, this is the genealogy of, this is the Genesis of.
So in other words, Matthew is writing the rebirth of history.
And if you were paying attention, what he’s letting you know is, is that Genesis is the story of creation.
The gospel now is the story of recreation.
Genesis is the beginning of the story of the covenant.
Matthew or the gospel is the beginning of the story of the new covenant.
And so history is being rebirthed with the birth of Jesus.
In other words, the launching of the messianic era.
Now here’s what Matthew wants to make sure you know.
Just in his genealogy.
I mean, before he even shares the story, he wants you to know who Jesus is.
And so he declares it publicly in the genealogy.
But some of us aren’t as familiar with the Old Testament and we’re not paying attention.
And so we typically, when we’re reading Matthew, most of us skip the first 17 verses and we just say it’s just a whole bunch of hard names.
Let’s get to the story.
Matthew is doing this on purpose because he’s declaring in the genealogy who Jesus is.
And so, we’re going to start the Lenten season with the declaration of who Jesus is.
Well, who is he?
Matthew proclaims he’s the royal redeemer.
He is Jesus, but he’s the Messiah, he says.
Look at verse 1.
This is the Genesis.
This is the beginning.
This is the account of
Of the man Jesus, he’s the anointed one, he’s the Messiah.
He is royal, he’s the son of David.
He’s a redeemer, he’s the son of Abraham.
So the very first sentence, Matthew is letting every Jewish reader know this is not a story about just any person.
This story is about the person who fulfills everything we’ve been hoping for.
He is the son of David.
He has a royal lineage.
And Matthew likes that phrase, son of David.
As a matter of fact, when you’re reading Matthew’s gospel, there are eight different passages where he refers to Jesus as the son of David.
17 times in Matthew’s gospel, he mentions David.
So David features very prominently in Matthew’s gospel.
You know why?
Because he’s portraying Jesus as a king.
He’s declaring Jesus was born a king.
He’s of the royal line of David.
There’s a connection to David.
But he’s also the son of Abraham.
So there is a connection to the story of redemption because Abraham is the one who received that promise from God.
Through you, I’m going to bless all the families of the world.
And so Matthew is telling us in the very beginning, this is a story about the man Jesus, but you need to know he is from the line of King David.
He’s also from the line of
of Abraham, and he is the expected one.
He’s the Messiah.
Now, with that said, here’s what Matthew does in this genealogy that I just read.
But like I said, we usually read it so quickly, we’re not paying attention.
Some of us don’t know our Old Testament well enough to know what’s going on.
But Matthew’s telling a story just by recounting the family tree of Jesus.
As a matter of fact, here’s what he’s teaching us.
He’s teaching us redemptive history.
So if you slow down and pay attention, which I want to encourage us to do this morning, just looking at the genealogy, the genealogy of Matthew 1 reveals what I would call the grand sweeping story of God’s redemptive work in history.
All that’s in this genealogy.
So let me show you what I mean.
Look at verse 17.
After Matthew gives you all of these names, in the old King James version, it’ll say begat, begat, begat, begat, okay?
So there are 14 generations, he says, from Abraham to David.
So it’s in three divisions.
14 from David to the exile, 14 from the exile to the Messiah.
Well, what is he telling us?
Well, notice the first division.
Look at verse two.
Starts with Abraham, it ends in King David, okay?
That’s the section where he is making reference to the very promise of God in redemptive history.
God called Abraham, singled him out, called his family, gave to them the promise.
They were to steward that promise.
And they were supposed to be faithful to God and be the messengers from God, a light unto the Gentiles.
And so the story unfolds and it reaches its climax when David is the king.
Here is this warrior shepherd king.
It’s a high time in the life of Israel.
Israel extends its borders.
There’s never anyone else like King David.
However, when you finish verse 6, the promise given to Abraham has not been fulfilled.
Israel has not been the messenger to the nations.
The promise of God has not been fulfilled through Abraham’s family yet.
It still is in the future.
Then you come to the next section and notice the decline that happens.
You go from David, look at verse 11, to the exile in Babylon.
Now those of us who know the Old Testament know what Matthew’s saying because if you look back at verse 6, here’s King David.
Do you know what happened in 2 Samuel 7 when David was king?
God came to David and said, I’m going to bless your family.
As a matter of fact, one of your descendants is going to rule on the throne of my people forever.
What an encouragement to David.
He’s thinking about what it’s going to be like in the future.
One of his descendants is going to rule as king over his people forever.
That’s a promise from God.
But you come to verse 11 and notice where we are now.
The children of Israel are exiled to Babylon and guess what they no longer have?
A king.
There is no king over Israel anymore.
Verse 12, when they return from Babylon, they don’t even own their country anymore.
As a matter of fact, they will not rule over themselves for any length of time.
ever again until the modern era.
And so the promise that was given to Abraham that Matthew’s calling your attention to in verse 2, you get to the story of David, it’s still unfulfilled.
The promise given to David in 2 Samuel 7, you get to the end of verse 11, it’s not only unfulfilled, the opposite of it has happened.
Israel returns back to Judah, and now they’re going to be a vassal state.
They’re going to be ruled over by all different kind of kings.
They’ll be governed by different kind of nations.
As a matter of fact, when Matthew’s writing this, the Romans are in charge, and there’s a Gentile in Jerusalem overseeing their nation.
So not only do they not have a king, they don’t really even have a nation that they can call their own, that they own and run themselves.
But then I want you to notice how history turns in verse 12.
What’s happened now is more generations are going to follow the exiles back home to Jerusalem.
And look what happens in verse 16.
Now in verse 16, Matthew says, guess where we are now?
We’re in the era of the Messiah.
He says, we’ve been waiting.
We’ve been waiting on this promised one.
And the new era has now been lost.
So in other words, here’s what Matthew is telling us just in the genealogy.
Are y’all still with me?
Just in the genealogy, we started here, creation, covenant, blessing, promise, future.
And then we go here, judgment, exile, no land, no king, fearful for their future.
And Matthew says, now we’re in another era.
We now have ascended, and now we’re living in the era of fulfillment.
The prophecy.
Everything that God said to Abraham is about to be fulfilled.
Everything God said to David is about to be fulfilled.
Because this child that has been born, I’m going to tell you his story.
Guess who he is?
He’s the son of Abraham.
He’s the son of David.
As a matter of fact, he’s the anointed one.
He’s the Messiah.
There’s hope for the people of God.
That’s just in the genealogy.
It’s a powerful story.
It tells this whole story really of humanity from creation to fall to ultimate redemption to consummation that will take place in the future.
It’s a beautiful, powerful story of history.
Now, not only that, y’all, he doesn’t just give us the story of redemptive history in the genealogy.
He also makes sure that we understand the redemptive mission of
and message of this Messiah.
When you read just the genealogy of Matthew 1, it reveals this, what I would call, inclusive, holistic nature of the messianic mission and message of King Jesus.
If you read that genealogy, you’ll notice there are men and women, Jews and Gentiles, saints and sinners.
It’s a beautiful rendition of what’s happened here.
The genealogy includes some interesting people.
Do you know when Matthew was writing this, do you know that every Pharisee in Israel started their day with the same prayer?
You know how they started their day?
They started their day with this prayer.
God, I thank you that I’m not a publican, I’m not a Gentile, and I’m not a woman.
That was the prayer.
I want you to look at this genealogy.
First of all, Matthew’s a publican.
So, the guy writing this is a tax collector.
Thank you, God, I’m not a Gentile.
Well, did y’all look at this genealogy?
Got some interesting people in here.
You’ve got Tamar.
Y’all remember her story?
Her relationship with Judah.
She was interesting, victimized by Judah.
Nevertheless, engaged in a non-marital relationship that resulted in a baby.
Scandalous.
Then you’ve got Rahab.
Y’all remember Rahab?
She’s Gentile, for sure.
Tamar maybe, but for sure, Rahab.
Then you’ve got the woman who isn’t even named.
She was just a wife of Uriah’s father.
Bathsheba, another Gentile.
And then you’ve got Ruth, who was a Moabite woman, also a Gentile.
And then you’ve got Mary.
I want you to notice what he says about Mary.
Did y’all catch it?
Look back at the genealogy.
You’ve got all the begats.
Begat, every dad, begat this one and begat this one.
Then you get to verse 16, and he says, And Jacob, the father of Joseph…
Now Joseph was a husband of Mary and all of a sudden we turn into the passive voice.
And she was the mother of Jesus who’s called the Messiah.
And all of a sudden the focus is now on her.
And she has received this great blessing.
She is not included in the begats.
She’s the one now who’s received this blessing.
And even Mary is suspect because she is determined to be with child without Joseph.
So you’ve got five women with very suspicious stories, if you will.
Some of them are scandalous.
Several of them Gentiles.
So what is Matthew saying?
Matthew, if you’re paying attention, is wanting you to understand that this Messiah that has now been given to the world, He is for everybody.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile, whether you’re a saint or a sinner, whether you’re a man or a woman, the message and the mission of this Messiah includes everybody.
That would have been scandalous then, but it’s celebrated today.
Praise His name.
So, you start the Lenten season asking the question, well, who is Jesus?
Well, actually, what Matthew says is, well, he’s born a king.
He’s from the line of King David.
You’ll hear it over and over.
Matthew 2, the magi will come to Jerusalem and say, where is he who has been born king of the Jews?
Herod said, hold on.
I’m the king of the Jews.
Guess whose genealogy was covered up in the temple?
Herod’s.
He wouldn’t let it out.
You know why?
He was the king of the Jews.
Guess what he wasn’t?
A Jew.
He was an Edomian.
He was an Edomite.
In other words, he didn’t come from the line of Jacob.
He came from the line of Esau.
He was a cousin, but not a real Jew.
He hated genealogists.
In fact, there’s some evidence that he tried to cover them up because he was afraid somebody was going to come along and claim to be the Messiah.
First thing he does when they say, where is he who’s born king of the Jews?
Remember what he does?
He tells the scribes, go to the temple and find out who this is and where he’s supposed to be born.
Because the question was, where is he who’s born king of the Jews?
You get to the end of Matthew’s gospel and Pontius Pilate, a Gentile, looks at Jesus and says this, are you the king of the Jews?
And then you remember what Pilate did?
When he said, okay, you can crucify him, Pilate had it written out.
And Matthew records it.
This is Jesus.
Put it on top of the head of Jesus on the cross.
Remember what it said?
This is Jesus, king of the Jews.
Matthew wants you to know he’s born king.
He didn’t become king.
He was born king.
He’s the Messiah.
He’s the son of Abraham.
He’s the son of David.
He’s the son of man.
He’s the son of God.
He’s the Messiah.
Come on, y’all.
He’s the Savior of the world.
He came to die for our sins.
He came to show us how to live.
He came to show us the way to heaven.
He came to show us the way to live in Arlington because he really is the son of God.
And his message, his mission is for every single person on this earth.
And what Matthew was saying is, he hasn’t even got started yet.
This is the genealogy.
I can’t wait to see what he tells us.
But Matthew said, this guy that I’m about to tell you about, he is the single most significant, important, monumental human being who’s ever lived on this earth.
Pay attention to what I’m about to tell you.
So let’s slow down during the Lenten season and let’s just let Matthew guide us and show us who Jesus really is.
And hopefully it’ll encourage me and you to be more faithful followers of the Jesus way.
May it be so.
Let’s pray together.
Father, we just want to thank you today for the gospel.
We’ll thank you for Matthew, for his faithfulness to you, his willingness to follow Jesus, record the story of Jesus, give testimony about who Jesus is.
We’re in his debt today.
So thank you for our brother Matthew.