DBG - October 5 - Matthew 1-4

Matthew writes his Gospel primarily to a Jewish audience.  He presents Jesus as the promised Messiah and King.  He constantly points to fulfilled prophecies from the Old Testament and highlights Christ’s kingdom.  Another interesting feature is the structure of the book.  It is not arranged in a strictly chronological manner, instead arranging parts of Christ’s ministry thematically.  In doing so, there are five discourses highlighted, as found in Chapters 5-7, 10, 13, 18, and 24-25.  Some believe this arrangement is an intentional callback to the five books of Moses. 

A few quick facts about Matthew:

In this chapter are the genealogy of Christ and His birth.

vs. 1-17 – Christ’s human genealogy is given here and in Luke 3:23-38.  The two do not match exactly, each showing a different line connecting Christ to David.  I believe Matthew shows Christ’s legal lineage through His earthly father Joseph.  This is what the Jews would have checked to determine if He had a claim to David’s throne.  It contains four Gentile women: Tamar (Genesis 38), Rahab (Joshua 2, 6:22-25), Ruth (Book of Ruth), and Bathsheba (II Samuel 11).  The list is not exhaustive.  For example, the three kings Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah are not listed in vs. 8 between Joram and Ozaias (Uzziah).  It is thus edited to fit a series of three sets of generations containing 14 names: Abraham to David, David to Josiahs, and Jechonias to Christ.  There is a total of 41 names in the list.  The line connecting Christ to David goes through Solomon and Jeconiah (vs. 12).  Jeconiah’s line was cursed in Jeremiah 22:30.  Whether that was lifted with Zerubbabel in Jeremiah 22:24 or Haggai 2:23 is unclear.  It seems easiest to conclude that the line used by Luke through Mary is a better line to use for the Davidic ancestry claim.

vs. 18-25 – Matthew’s Gospel does not deal with much of the details of Christ’s birth.  What is highlighted is the Virgin Birth.  Joseph is a good man who sought to minimize any scandal for Mary and simply pay for her to live separately.  An angel reveals to him the true nature of Mary’s pregnancy.  He is told to name the baby Jesus, a variation of the name Joshua meaning “savior”.  For most other details concerning Christ’s birth, refer to Luke 2.

In this chapter Herod attempts to kill the infant Christ.

vs. 1-12 – Christ was born around the year 4 B.C. in the final months of the reign of Herod the Great.  Herod was a wily politician who somehow managed to rise to the top during the tumultuous times as Rome changed from republic to an empire.  He instituted many building programs in the region, including a major remodel of the Second Temple in order to make it on the level of the other famed temples of the ancient world.  His final days were marked by illness and paranoia.  When the wise men (magi), scholar-priests from old Babylonia, come seeking the newborn king, he devises a plot to kill the supposed threat to his power.  There is a lot of debate on what exactly occurred in the heavens to signal Christ’s birth, but the basis of its expectation is Numbers 24:17.  The wise men are directed to Bethlehem because of the prophecy of Micah 5:2.  They arrive not at an inn or stable, but a house.  Christ was likely a few months old at this time.  They present their kingly gifts to the family and depart across the desert to avoid encountering Herod’s men. I think the gifts were used to finance the family in their trip to Egypt.

vs. 13-18 – Herod’s paranoia leads him to send soldiers to kill all children in the vicinity of Bethlehem under two years old.  This is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Jeremiah 31:15.  Joseph is warned by God in a dream and the family escapes before this terrible crime is committed.  They flee for a short time into Egypt, fulfilling the prophecy of Hosea 11:1. 

vs. 19-23 – Hearing that Herod is dead, the family returns to Israel.  They decide to settle in Galilee to avoid the evil Archelaus.  He was one of Herod’s sons and ruled over Judah until he was deposed in A.D. 6.

In this chapter Christ is baptized by John the Baptist.

vs. 1-12 – This parallels Mark 1:1-8, Luke 3:1-18, and John 1:19-34.  We jump ahead to the year A.D. 26.  John the Baptist is six months older than Christ and has been preaching repentance for the remission of sins in anticipation of the realization of the Kingdom of God to arrive.  He stood out against the finery and luxury of the religious elite by wearing garments that were fit for a laborer in the wilderness.  His role is to prepare the hearts and create anticipation for the arrival of Christ.  He presses for immediate action because judgment was at hand.  It was not he who would deliver it, but the Messiah that was coming.  John baptized with water, but Christ would baptize with the Spirit (salvation) and fire (judgement). 

vs. 13-17 – This parallels Mark 1:9-11 and Luke 3:21-23.  Christ requests to be baptized by John the Baptist.  John protests but gives in to Christ’s command.  We have an appearance of the Trinity here: Christ in the water, the Spirit as a dove, and the Father speaking from heaven.  Why was Christ baptized?  It was not because of His sins or need for repentance.  It is Christ humbling Himself to even the ordinances that we mortals keep, consecrating Himself for the ministry to come, and leaving an example for us to follow.

In this chapter Christ is tempted by Satan before beginning His public ministry.

vs. 1-11 – This parallels Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13.  Christ is put to the test before He begins His public ministry.  He is weakened from fasting alone in the wilderness for 40 days when Satan comes to Him.  Satan appealed to the lust of the flesh in tempting Him to made bread out of stones, to the lust of the eyes in tempting Him with the kingdoms of the world, and to the pride of life by tempting Him to let angels dramatically rescue Him.  All three instances are countered by Christ quoting Scripture (Deuteronomy 8:3, Exodus 17:2, and Deuteronomy 6:13-14).

vs. 12 – This parallels Matthew 14:3-5; Mark 1:14, 6:17-20; Luke 3:14, 3:19-20; John 4:14, and 3:19-20.  John the Baptist was arrested by Herod Antipas because of his preaching against the sins of the monarch.  This Herod had divorced his first wife Pasaelis, daughter of Aretas IV of the nearby kingdom of Nabataea, in order to marry Herodias.  Herodias had divorced her husband Herod Philip I in order to marry Herod Antipas.  To make it all even stranger, Herod Antipas and Herod Philp I were half-brothers, and Herodias was also related to them both as a granddaughter of Herod the Great.  This was the hottest story of the day and John preached vehemently against their wickedness.  Herod Antipas had John arrested for fear of his preaching stirring a rebellion.  With all of this unrest, Christ retreats from Judea to Galilee.

vs. 13-16 – This parallels Luke 4:31.  Christ’s public ministry begins in earnest in Capernaum (“village of Nahum”), which sat on the northern shore of the sea of Galilee.  His preaching in this area is pointed out as a fulfillment of Isaiah 9:1. 

vs. 17-22 – This parallels Mark 1:16-20 and Luke 5:1-11.  Christ continues the theme of repentance before the coming judgment which John the Baptist had also preached.  He beings to call men to follow him as disciples (learners).  This was not uncommon for a rabbi to do.  The first four are fishermen:  Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John.  These forsook their work to become fishers of men.

vs. 23-25 – This parallels Mark 3-39 and Luke 4:42-44.  Christ’s fame spreads with this preaching and miracles.

You are perhaps relieved that after nine months we have finally reached the New Testament.  However, did you notice how many things we encountered today that were based on the foundation of the Old Testament?  Without it, we would not understand why Christ’s connection with David is so important, what John the Baptist’s role is, or where the fulfilled prophecies come from.  To really understand the New Testament, you need to understand the Old Testament.  Do not neglect the richness of every book, chapter, and verse in your Bible!

Our hymn today is “On Jordan’s Banks the Baptist’s Cry”, written originally in Latin by Charles Coffer and translated into English by John Chandler. 

On Jordan's banks the Baptist's cry
Announces that the Lord is nigh;
Awake, and hearken, for he brings
Glad tidings of the King of kings.

Then cleansed be every breast from sin;
Make straight the way for God within;
Prepare we in our hearts a home,
Where such a mighty Guest may come.

For Thou art our Salvation, Lord,
Our Refuge and our great Reward;
Without Thy grace we waste away,
Like flowers that wither and decay.

To heal the sick stretch out Thine hand,
And bid the fallen sinner stand;
Shine forth, and let Thy light restore
Earth's own true loveliness once more.

All praise, Eternal Son, to Thee,
Whose Advent doth Thy people free;
Whom with the Father we adore,
And Holy Ghost for evermore.