THE OPENING DECLARATION (MATTHEW 1:1). ‘The book of the generation of Jesus Messiah (Christ), the son of David, the son of Abraham.' This may be seen as the heading of the whole book, or as the heading of the genealogical introduction, or indeed as the heading of both. Compare for this Mark 1:1 whe... [ Continue Reading ]
SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION TO JESUS THE CHRIST (1:1-17). The introduction to the Gospel is in the form of a genealogy which indicates that Jesus is ‘the son of David' and ‘the son of Abraham'. This description reveals His descent from, and intimate connection with, two of the greatest figures in salva... [ Continue Reading ]
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers.' Matthew then begins his seemingly long and detailed genealogy, but before we switch off we should notice that for Israel each name, especially here and in the middle section, was pregnant with history. These were n... [ Continue Reading ]
THE PRE-HISTORY (GENEALOGY) OF JESUS THE MESSIAH (1:2-16). The genealogy of Jesus now follows being in reverse order to Matthew 1:1; Matthew 1:1 refers from Jesus the Messiah back to His sources in David and Abraham, while Matthew 1:2 are in chronological order, referring forward from Abraham and re... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Judah begat Perez and Zerah of Tamar; and Perez begat Hezron; and Hezron begat Ram; and Ram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon; and Nahshon begat Salmon; and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king. This next group... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 1:6 ‘And David begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Uriah; and Solomon begat Rehoboam; and Rehoboam begat Abijah; and Abijah begat Asa; and Asa begat Jehoshaphat; and Jehoshaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Uzziah; and Uzziah begat Jotham; and Jotham begat Ahaz; and Ahaz begat Hez... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And after the carrying away to Babylon, Jechoniah begat Shealtiel; and Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel; and Zerubbabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;and Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud; and Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and... [ Continue Reading ]
‘So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the carrying away to Babylon fourteen generations; and from the carrying away to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.' The pattern of ‘fourteen', deliberately brought about by omitting names, is now emph... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now the birth of Jesus Christ came about in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Spirit, and Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away pri... [ Continue Reading ]
SECTION 2. THE BIRTH AND RISE OF JESUS THE MESSIAH (THE CHRIST) (1:18-4:25). In this section, following the introduction, Matthew reveals the greatness of Jesus the Christ. He will now describe the unique birth of Jesus, the homage paid to Him by important Gentiles, His exile and protection in Egyp... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BIRTH OF JESUS THE CHRIST (1:18-25). Jesus the Messiah having been introduced as a fulfilment of history from Abraham onwards, the narrative now commences with His birth. Given what a remarkable event it was the account is soberly told, and this underlines its reliability. An invented story wou... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But when he thought on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, you son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” ' Joseph dropped off to sleep thinking over how he would go ab... [ Continue Reading ]
“And she will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS, for it is he who will save his people from their sins.” Mary is to bear a son and His name is to be called Ye-sus, ‘YHWH is salvation', for he will save His people from their sins. We can compare here Psalms 130:8, where it is said,... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Now all this is come about that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,' Here we have the first prophetic formula, and yet this one shares its uniqueness with one other, for it is only here and in Matthew 2:15 that it is said to be ‘spoken by the Lord'. Matth... [ Continue Reading ]
“Behold, the virgin will be with child, and will bring forth a son, and they will call his name Immanuel,” which is, being interpreted, God with us.' This quotation is taken from Isaiah 7:14. There the birth of an heir to the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6) was to be by a virgin (in LXX, translating ‘a... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took to himself his wife, and knew her not until she had brought forth a son, and he called his name JESUS.' Note how it is made clear that this was a genuine dream. There is no suggestion that the angel had actual... [ Continue Reading ]