Sunday 12 • 15 • 19

Like Jeff said, I'm Anderson Shore, and it's a privilege to be able to come before you and preach God's word.

Let me pray. Father, thank you for this morning. Thank you for your word. Lord, thank you that you comfort the broken hearted, and Father, that you call us to be disciples. And Father, I just ask that you would use me this morning to preach faithfully your word and that your people will be moved to become more like you. In your name we pray, Amen.

Today we'll be continuing our series on the Mothers of Jesus based off the women in the genealogy of Matthew one. As Paul and Jeff have shown us in previous weeks, we need to remember that Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience and showing them that Jesus is king. And not only that, but he is a king for everyone, not just for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles. You see, Jesus is actually multiracial, and his line consists of Jews, Canaanites, and a Moabite. Today we will look at Ruth, the Moabite woman, and how she points us to the king.

Before I get fully into the sermon, I want to give credit to Tim Keller and a couple of his sermons that I listened to, and also a book that I read called A Loving Life by Paul Miller.

Let's go ahead and go to God's word, and I'll be doing the reading this morning. I'll be reading from Matthew 1:1-6 and then Ruth 1:1-22 and a little bit of chapter four. Try to stay locked in—it's a bit to read, but it's beautiful.

Matthew 1: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 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 Zerah by Tamar. And Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nashon, and Nashon 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. — Matthew 1:1-6

Ruth 1: In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem and Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab. He and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem and Judah. They went to the country of Moab and remained there, but Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Kilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food. So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, return each of you to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you, in the house of her husband." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, "No, we will return with you to your people." But Naomi said, "Turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me." Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.

And she said, "See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law." But Ruth said, "Do not urge me to leave you or return from following you, for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you." And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, "Is this Naomi?" She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt bitterly, very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty." — Ruth 1:1-22

Why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me? So Naomi returned and Ruth, the Moabite, her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he went into her and the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a redeemer and may his name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age. For your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons has given birth to him. Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name saying, a son has been born to Naomi. They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. — Ruth 4:13-17

For me, this series has reminded me of the TV show, The Crown. The Crown is about how Queen Elizabeth the Second came to wear the crown to be the queen of England. But one of the most interesting storylines that runs throughout this series is how the people that are marrying into the line of the crown experience tension there. You see, there's King Edward the Eighth marrying an American socialite who had been divorced, which actually forced him to step down from being king. There's Queen Elizabeth marrying Prince Philip, who was in exile from Greece and a very boisterous personality. And we even see this today in the unwarranted criticism with Meghan Markle marrying Prince Henry last year.

If all this royal family talk is way over your head, let me simplify it for you this morning. The royal family is portrayed in the TV show, The Crown, as judgmental of those who marry into the royal family. The spouses are put under a microscope and are expected to choose the way of the king to not embarrass the royal family.

Matthew's audience, or the religious, might be embarrassed by those that are in this genealogy, thinking that the line isn't as clean as they would like it. They may even ask the question: What can I learn from these women, these foreigners? Matthew is trying to show them something about the king's line. God is trying to show us something about the type of God he is.

What we need to see is that these women, these foreigners, they are not ruining, but they are preserving the king's line. As we put Ruth under a microscope today, we will actually see that she is not embarrassing the king's line, but rather she shows us the king's way. She shows this by entering into Naomi's life and bringing a future hope.

Three People: Naomi, Ruth, and the Son

So we'll focus on three people this morning. Naomi, the one who needs hope. Ruth, the one who brings hope. And the son, the one who is hope.

I want to set up Naomi's story before we get too deep into it today and show you that actually Ruth and the book of Matthew are connected in a pretty cool way. Matthew is showing the Jewish audience that Jesus is king. You see, there had been a time of darkness before Jesus had come—about six hundred years before the last king from the Davidic line had reigned. And the setting of Ruth also comes during a time of darkness, a time of no king. This story is set during the time of Judges.

A study Bible that I read recently said this about Judges: that Judges is a downward spiral of Israel's national and spiritual life into chaos and apostasy, showing the need for a godly king to lead it. In both situations, there was darkness and they needed a king.

Naomi's Downward Spiral

Let's look at Naomi's life and see how it was going in a downward spiral and that her spiritual life was in chaos. I mean, did you hear what she went through? What her and her family went through? I mean, they were going through some dark times.

First, her family had to leave their home in Bethlehem due to a famine—no bread. Which is kind of ironic due to the fact that Bethlehem actually means "house of bread." I mean, that kind of stinks. Come to Naomi and say, "Hey, how are you Naomi? Where are you from?" "Oh, the house of bread." "Cool, lots of bread there?" "No." Okay. So there's strike one.

Second, when she gets to Moab, the enemy city for the Israelites, her husband Elimelech ends up dying. Strike two. And then ten years later, her two sons die. Strike three.

I mean, talk about a three-headed monster of sorrow. She had to move away from her home, she lost her greatest companion, and she has lost hope for the future with her sons dying. When you get to that point, she's lost hope for the future.

You see, it's important to note that in this day and age, having no man in the house, no sons to rely on is a big deal for Naomi. It's because a son would take over the responsibilities of a father, take care of the land. The head male was the ruler of the family and the line will continue through the offspring of that son, which means Naomi is in a tough spot and starts to become hopeless—hopeless to the point where she wants to be called bitter. Bitter because of how she thought God had dealt with her.

Her husband's name meant God is king. So there's another awkward conversation. God is king? That's something hard to believe when your husband and your two sons die. I mean, I would change my name. Think she's changing her name to bitter really does get the point across. But can you blame her? I mean, let's be honest, isn't it easy to doubt God and then choose something else to fill our souls in times of darkness?

In the midst of pain, everyone on this earth turns to something to try and relieve it. Whether it's either knowing that pain or finding something else to fill it, to put their hope in? From the looks of it, Naomi might have preferred a husband, preferred her hometown, preferred financial stability rather than God in this moment. You see, in my research, I found a quote by Sinclair Ferguson where he says:

God plus nothing is greater than no God plus everything.

God plus nothing is greater than no God plus everything. You think Naomi believed that in that moment? A moment where she had nothing and she also felt like there was no God? Before anyone comes to faith in God, they are living in a no God plus everything mindset. But in times of hopelessness, do you believe that equation to be true? Do you believe that equation to be true? In times of no bread, no hope, no companion, it is easy to choose the everything for comfort and security rather than choosing God.

Can we agree on something this morning? Can we agree not to look down on Naomi? I mean, let's not look at her and say, how dare she treat God like this? She is human. This is what she turned to in time of despair. I read this once: We don't need to quiet people with good theology. Woah. We don't need to quiet people with good theology. I mean, when was the last time it helped someone when you prove to them that their suffering wasn't as bad as Jesus' suffering on the cross? I mean, it might be true, but that doesn't mean that's what they need in that moment. Why would we do this to other Christians? And why on earth would we try to do this to the people that have chosen the no God part of the equation? Why would we do that?

You see, in times of darkness, moments of pain and suffering, we don't need people giving them good advice. They need a friend to weep with. And that is what Naomi needed as well. She is bitter, but God meets her in her darkness and provides her someone to weep with. Thankfully for Naomi, Ruth brings hope by laying down her life. Ruth brings hope by laying down her life.

Ruth's Sacrifice

Let's look at Ruth. What I find interesting is that Ruth's circumstances aren't that much different from Naomi's. See, Paul Miller sets up her situation kind of like this. He says, without a male protector, Ruth is sexually vulnerable. Without money, she is financially destitute. Without a friend, she is lonely, and without her country, she is open to prejudice. She has no protector, no husband, no tribe, no family, no food. But Naomi doesn't think that Ruth should choose that way of life. She's begging her to not go with her. She's pretty much saying to Ruth, my life is over, yours doesn't have to be. You are young, you can remarry. I am as good as dead. Don't join yourself to me.

But Ruth makes a choice. She makes a hard choice, one that requires risk. Ruth chooses to become vulnerable, chooses to leave her hometown, chooses to leave the hope of possibly finding another husband, and joins herself to this poor, bitter old woman, and goes to a city that she knows nothing about. And what we will see is that Ruth becomes a friend.

In the book of Ruth, we see that in joining herself to Naomi, she is able to be a friend that is physically and emotionally present in her life. You see, Ruth not only joined herself to Naomi by going to Bethlehem, but she also went to the fields to gather grain for them. She gathered enough for herself and also for Naomi. She went to the fields of Boaz, who we heard about last week, the son of Solomon and Rahab. See, Ruth gathered up plenty and because Ruth is physically present in Naomi's life, because she is a friend, she is able to know her needs and try to provide for her in that way, to try to care for her.

We also know that Ruth could have brought hope to Naomi's life by being emotionally present. Emotionally present. You know, through reading the book of Ruth, it's so evident, I mean, didn't you all hear it?

How much emotion is in the book of Ruth? It's being poured out in a time where husbands and sons are dying. There are tears being shed and Ruth's presence as a friend is life giving for Naomi. We know this to be true because of the hardship that we go through.

Take a moment to think about the time that you were distraught in your life. Now take a moment to think about who was with you. Now think about if they weren't there. How it would have felt. You see, we know that having a friend in the midst of darkness and pain, someone to cry with, someone to talk to about the things other than the pain is huge for us. Ruth was this for Naomi. Don't we want to be this for other people? Don't we want to be a good friend? I'd be hard pressed to find somebody that answers that question with, "No, I think I'm good." Friendship is ingrained in us. We can see the markers of how Ruth was a good friend to Naomi, but we also need to look at why Ruth did this. How could she do this? Why would she choose to join herself to a bitter old lady?

We find the answer in Ruth 1:16-17, which is a beautifully written poem by Ruth. She says this to Naomi:

Do not urge me to leave you or return from following you, for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God shall be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. — Ruth 1:16-17

See how she organizes this poem? She puts her commitment to God at the center. In the first stanza, she promises Naomi that she'll be physically present. In the third stanza, she says that she's going to be committed to the end even if it's in death, but she centers it in the middle stanza: "Your God shall be my God." That's what she centers on.

Imagine that Ruth had heard about this God, the Yahweh God in the house of Elimelech. The Yahweh God that makes covenants with his people. The relational name of God, the one who says to the Israelites, "I will be your God and you shall be my people." This is how Ruth is able to cling to Naomi. Ruth knows she can take a risk. She knows she can go out on a clean limb, clinging herself to Naomi because God had clung to Ruth. Ruth knew that she could be a companion to Naomi because God is a companion to her.

Ruth shows us that in the midst of darkness and wondering what is next, faith in God, the one who joins himself to his people will be enough and is also what gives her the power to lay her life down. Ruth left her everything in Moab. She chose God plus nothing. She took a risk. She went to Bethlehem. She clung to a friend because her God had clung to her.

Cindy Lou Who and the Cost of Friendship

I can't help but think about the movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." We're in Christmas time, so we gotta mention one Christmas movie in this series. Cindy Lou Who is probably one of my favorite characters because she wants everyone to experience the joy of Christmas. Even the bitter, old Grinch. She goes to great measures to make sure he would experience it. She falls in a mail sorter, she nominates him as cheer meister, she even goes all the way up to his house on Mount Crumpet to invite him to the Christmas party that all the Whos were having in Whoville. If you haven't seen that movie, that might sound like I'm speaking a different language. But Cindy Lou Who shows a commitment in wanting everyone, all different types of people to experience the joy of Christmas. Maybe Cindy Lou Who has read the book of Ruth. I doubt it, but she gets it.

You see, the thing about Cindy Lou Who and the thing about Ruth is they know in order to be a friend to someone, they will have to lay their life down, sacrifice their ambitions so that others can experience joy, peace, hope. Have you laid your life down? Have you left everything in order to choose God plus nothing? Something is not allowing us to be the friends that we are called to be, to be like Ruth, to be like Cindy Lou Who.

The Cost of Following Jesus

The question needs to be asked this morning. What did you expect when you became a Christian? What did you expect when you became a Christian? Do you expect that it would be an easy life?

You see, in Matthew 16:24-25, it says this:

Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up the cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." — Matthew 16:24-25

Have you decided to lose your life? Have you picked up your cross? Friends, the Christian life is where you say to God, "I will go wherever you call me to go. I will go and love those that you are calling me to love." And so many times, I think we are trying to merge the equation together.

Instead of saying God plus nothing is greater than no God plus everything, I think we're putting those two together. We're trying to choose God, we're trying to choose everything, and that just won't work. For me, I know it's easy to sprinkle a little bit of everything from this world. I sprinkle a little bit of Netflix for comfort. I look to money for security. I sprinkle in the next best thing on my calendar for a little bit of hope, something to look forward to. We do this, right?

Why do we do this? Is it because we don't really believe God is enough? Is it because we don't truly believe that he will join himself to us? Or is it because we don't really want to lay down the everything of life?

Look, the key to all of this—the key to being a good friend, the key to being able to lay down your life—comes in this. It's from Tim Keller: You will never be like Ruth until you become like the one who Ruth points to. You will never be like Ruth until you become like the one who Ruth points to.

It will not be enough for me to stand up here this morning and say, "Hey, go be like Ruth. You can do it. Go be a good friend." That's not enough motivation to win souls to Christ. Ruth is in the line of the king. She is in this genealogy because she shows us who this king is.

How Ruth Points to Jesus

Look at how Ruth points us to Jesus. Ruth's commitment to Naomi comes from her commitment to God. Jesus was committed to God's plan and will never forsake you. Ruth leaves her home to dwell with Naomi. Jesus left his home, he left his throne, and came as a baby to dwell here on earth. Ruth provided grain for Naomi. Jesus is the bread of life. Ruth cried with Naomi. Jesus joins you in your tears. Ruth sacrificed her life so Naomi could live. Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross, paying for all of your sins so that you can have eternal life with him.

This friend we have in Jesus—this friend we have in Jesus—is enough, and he is inviting us to be redeemers that bring people to the Son that is hope.

The Son That Is Hope

So last point: the Son that is hope. Back to our story, Naomi needed a future hope. She had Ruth who was taking care of her. Ruth met her in her darkness, but Ruth was not going to be able to bring her out of that darkness. They needed a go'el, which is Hebrew for redeemer. They needed a redeemer to take care and purchase their land, their home, and they needed someone to carry their line on because Naomi didn't have a hope for the future.

Ruth laid down her life. She came to Bethlehem and God is going to use that. Boaz saw how committed Ruth was to Naomi and he ends up taking the role of redeemer of Naomi's land and also her line by marrying Ruth. And by God's grace, Boaz and Ruth have a baby boy. A son is born in Bethlehem. A son is born in Bethlehem.

Ruth is able to give Naomi a son that will carry on her line. The son is laid on Naomi's lap and the community around her is rejoicing and exclaiming that Ruth is better than seven sons. Seven—a number of completeness. Ruth, a woman in a time where sons were desired and needed for security. Ruth, a Moabite, who was like a member of ISIS to the people of Bethlehem.

Hear this: Ruth, a Moabite woman, is better than seven sons because of her sacrificial love and how God used her to bring a future hope. Ruth is also a redeemer. I thank God for the redeemer that shares with me the grace of Jesus. I thank God for the redeemer that told me that Jesus has done all that is needed for me to have eternal life with him.

Who is that someone for you? Are you thankful for them? God uses friendship to redeem. Don't we consider that person, that friend to be better than seven sons?

The amazing news for you this morning is you can be better than seven sons. You can be a friend. You have the opportunity to be that for someone. Will you do it?

You see, unlike Ruth and Naomi, we know that from this line, a son was born in Bethlehem. We know about Jesus, the bread of life, who was born in the house of bread. You could end the famine in a friend's life. This is how you can redeem someone's life from the pit. You can be like Ruth. You can lay down your life for them and tell them about the great king—the king from the line of Boaz and Ruth that can bring them out of very eternal darkness.

The best way for you to be a friend is to share the good news of the great redeemer, to place Jesus on someone's lap.

The show that I mentioned earlier, The Crown, focuses on a horrible coal mining accident that happens to a town in Aberfan. This accident was kind of like an avalanche of mining waste, and it came and destroyed part of the town. 144 people killed, 116 of them children. A generation swept away. This town needed something to hold on to, something to hope in. They needed the queen to show up. And after a long wait, the queen finally came to visit the victims' families.

And on the way out of one of their homes, she kind of dabs her eyes, there's press there, and they're taking pictures of this, so she dabs her eyes to make it look like she was crying. It's kind of an awkward scene. But in contrast to that, the episode shows the town at the gravesites of all the victims. And they are singing the hymn, Jesus, lover of my soul, the one that we just sang. And there seems to be a peace, a hope that they were experiencing in that darkness.

You see in this show, Queen Elizabeth talks about how she doesn't cry. She didn't cry when her father died. She didn't cry when her grandmother died. She didn't cry when her sons and daughters were born, and she didn't cry when she went and visited those people. So the queen hears about the funeral, she hears about the hymn, and she gets a hold of the hymn and is listening to it in Buckingham Palace. And the episode ends with the camera starting to move in on the queen's face. They zoom in on her eye, and tears are welling up in them. And the episode ends with a single tear running down her face. It's beautiful.

In the credits, we learn that the queen actually has gone back to Aberfan. She's gone back more than any other member of the royal family. And maybe, maybe it's because she was so affected by that hymn that it moved her to go back to the people, that she wanted to give them hope, that she wanted to be a friend.

Part of the hymn goes like this:

Hide me, oh my savior, hide till the storm of life is past. Safe into the haven guide, oh receive my soul at last. Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee. Leave, oh leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have a king who is a safe refuge. And that can give us great confidence to go and take risk in his name. The king's way is to be a disciple that makes disciples. A Christian and a disciple, they are not different things. So you have to think about those that are about to be hit with the avalanche of eternal darkness. Are they experiencing the refuge of God? The one that brings salvation, the one that joins himself to helpless souls and supports and comforts the brokenhearted?

Do we dab our eyes for those that have no hope, or are we changed by this hymn of grace that Jesus has sung for us, that we go back to Aberfan, that we go to the people that we know, and we place Jesus on their lap?

I recently heard Jerome Gay, a local pastor in the area say this: the church is in the business of depopulating hell. The church is in the business of depopulating hell.

Please know this. The king is not and will not be ashamed of you. He is not putting you under a magnifying glass to see if you're good enough. He wants to invite you into his family. He wants you to choose him, to hope in him, and he is inviting you into the business of depopulating hell.

Matthew 28 says, go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit, and I will be with you to the end of the age. — Matthew 28

Jesus, the high king, will be with you. For unto us a son is given. The son that was born in Bethlehem, king Jesus. Will you place him on someone's lap? When will you do this? He is not delayed in coming to you in your darkness. Do not delay in taking the good news to someone you know. Who is that?

Let me pray. Father, we know that you love us because you sent your son. This is heavy and this is hard. When I look at my life, I know that there are times where I choose the everything of this world, and I don't go and tell people about the glorious grace that you have given. Father, would you comfort your people? Would you comfort me this morning to be able to know that you love us and you want to use us and invite us into sharing the great news of Jesus the king. In your name we pray. Amen.