Matthew Gospel
Matthew is the author of this gospel which is understood to be Levi of the same book, who from the early church fathers, until modern disputations, has been unquestionably the author the this gospel.[1] One commenter notes that early manuscripts identified it in the title, (though
His audience is Jewish, but extends beyond the Jewish appeal and is by no means flattering to the Jewish mind.
Interpretation , requires the authorial intent under the direction of the Spirit of God. John Macarthur Jr.notes that there is but one “Gospel” , the Gospel of the Grace of God, and the various authors show the excellencies of the subject of the Gospel Jesus Christ, the Lord!
Palestine
The earliest quotation of Matthew is found in Ignatius who died around 115 A.D. Therefore, Matthew was in circulation well before Ignatius came on the scene. The various dates most widely held as possible writing dates of the Gospel are between A.D. 40 - 140. But Ignatius died around 115 A.D. and he quoted Matthew. Therefore Matthew had to be written before he died. Nevertheless, it is generally believed that Matthew was written before A.D. 70 and as early as A.D. 50.[2]
Why
How
Ch 1:1-17 Geneology of Jesus Christ
Ch 1:18 Birth of Christ
NASB
1 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:
The text opens with the statement of the geneology of Jesus with the positive assertion of the Messianic claims of Christ, his connection to both the Davidic Kingship and the connection to Abarham , the father of the nation. It is the book or the record of the geneology[3] of Jesus Christ, it is showing the LEGAL claim that Christ has on the throne of David, and yet it is written in a way that does not give any room for the heart of Jewish pride to boast. The verse opens with “record of” gk is Biblos or book , geneology is “genesis”.
The text gives 3 divisions
14 generations from Abraham to David
14 generations from David to Babylon deportation
14 generations from deportation to Babylon to Messiah
The importance of the ability of Christ to come according to the lineal heritage of the royal family is too often glossed over in the minds and thoughts of God’s people. Including the curse on the decendents of Jeconiah! (Jerimiah 22)
2 Abraham[4](Father of a multitude) was the father of Isaac(Laughter)[5], Isaac the father of Jacob(Supplanter), and Jacob the father of Judah (Praise) and his brothers.
Abraham is the beginning of the line of promise, although Luke traces the history all the way back to Adam. But the legal claims to the throne of David and the fulfiller of the promises of Jehovah begin with the root and fatness of the olive tree. There is that which is replete with the Grace of God, and yet all the tragic and unfortunate activities of the flesh are not spared, “that no flesh should glory in his sight”
3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
We have the first of the 4 women recorded in the history of the Messiah, and it is a bawdry one @ best. , Genesis 38 tellls the very sad history of the moral failures of Judah. Not willing to honor God in the support of his son’s widow, he fails as a father in the line of Jewish faith, and ultimately commits the sin of incest! Incest in the line of the Messiah, but the claims of purity and perfection are only found in Christ and not in the lineal line of David! How humbling to the religious pride of the Jew! Of all mankind! And she bears twins, such a sign of the approbation of the Lord,Following the abandonment of Joseph, who bears tremendous typical similarity to Christ. Judah has been connected to the nations state , as Hosea 3:4-5
For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the latter days.
He finds however in his life the work of the restoring grace of God, and the perfections that are in that heart of perfect grace and love, as Genesis 44 would evidence, in his restored love for his Father even if it meant his reduction to slavery in Egypt!
4 Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.
5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab,
Again the grace of God is the truly marvelous path to blessing, nothing to boast in , save the grace of God!
Here we have the next of the women in the geneology, Ruth a Moabite, who was to be excluded from the number of the people of Israel unto the 10th generation; or in perpetuity, i beleive is the point. However God working in the life of Ruth and in Naomi, showing grace to those that left the land of promise in times of testing; restoration, and this accursed Moabite becomes part of the line of the King of Israel! Such is the true Grace of God!
Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth,
and Obed the father of Jesse. 6 Jesse was the father of David the king.
This is the first of the 14 generations of the geneology as we are told just further down the page.
David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. 8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.[6]
12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. 14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. 15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. 16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.[7]
Chapter 2
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the time of King Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem
2 saying, “Where is the one who is born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 After assembling all the chief priests and experts in the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they said, “for it is written this way by the prophet:
The ignorance of the leaders the people to the stupendously event. Of the coming of their Messiah , they could causally give the citation from the o.T. without conscience being stirred l Such a word of exhortation , and warning about the casual handling of the word of God!
6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are in no way least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Michael 5:2 is quoted how often is the same scriptural quoted without conscience. The dangers of the handling the word of God intellectually , without the concience and heart being engaged is a very compelling point
7 Then Herod privately summoned the wise men and determined from them when the star had appeared.
JND Translation always impressed me on the expression here "accurately" the only person who was concerned with the precision of the birth of Christ , was the Satan powered Ruler in Idumea! ( Compare Revelation 12 , for God's commentary on the animating power behind Herod)
8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well.”
9 After listening to the king they left, and once again the star they saw when it rose led them until it stopped above the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star they shouted joyfully.
11 As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 After being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back by another route to their own country.
The Escape to Egypt
13 After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to look for the child to kill him.”
14 Then he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and went to Egypt.
15 He stayed there until Herod died. In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled: “I called my Son out of Egypt.”
16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.
17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud wailing, Rachel weeping for her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because they were gone.”
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod had died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20 saying, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.”
21 So he got up and took the child and his mother and returned to the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. After being warned in a dream, he went to the regions of Galilee.
23 He came to a town called Nazareth and lived there. Then what had been spoken by the prophets was fulfilled, that Jesus would be called a Nazarene.
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[1] Although the first Gospel is anonymous, the early church fathers were unanimous in holding that Matthew, one of the 12 apostles, was its author. However, the results of modern critical studies—in particular those that stress Matthew’s alleged dependence on Mark for a substantial part of his Gospel—have caused some Biblical scholars to abandon Matthean authorship. Why, they ask, would Matthew, an eyewitness to the events of our Lord’s life, depend so heavily on Mark’s account? The best answer seems to be that he agreed with it and wanted to show that the apostolic testimony to Christ was not divided. http://www.biblica.com/niv/study-bible/matthew/
[3] Grk “the book of the genealogy.” The noun βίβλος (biblo"), though it is without the article, is to be translated as definite due to Apollonius’ corollary and the normal use of anarthrous nouns in titles.https://net.bible.org/#!bible/Matthew+1
[4] http://stempublishing.com/dictionary/001_028.html#a61
[5] http://www.stempublishing.com/dictionary/371_397.html#a2357
[6] http://bible.org/question/why-do-matthew-and-lukes-genealogies-contradict-one-another
Matthew and Luke actually give two different genealogies. Matthew give the genealogy of Jesus through Joseph, the legal, though not the physical father of Jesus. Luke, on the other hand, gives the ancestry of Jesus through Mary from whom Jesus was descended physically as to his humanity. This is a beautiful fulfillment of prophecy and actually testifies to the accuracy of the Bible. Through Joseph, Jesus became the legal heir to the throne while at the same time bypassed the curse of Coniah as prophesied in Jeremiah 22:24-30. Both, of course, were in the line of David so that Jesus had a legal right to the throne as the adopted son of Joseph and was at the same time a physical descendent of David through Mary.
The Ryrie Study Bible gives an excellent summary of the issues here:
Although Coniah had seven sons (perhaps adopted; cf. 1 Chron. 3:17), none occupied the throne. So, as far as a continuing dynasty was concerned, Coniah was to be considered “childless.” Although his line of descendants retained the legal throne rights, no physical descendant (no man of his descendants) would ever prosperously reign on the Davidic throne. The genealogy of Matthew traces the descent of Jesus through Solomon and Jeconiah (Heb., Coniah; Matt. 1:12); this is the genealogy of Jesus’ legal father, Joseph. Luke traces Jesus’ physical descent back through Mary and Nathan to David, bypassing Jeconiah’s line and showing accurately the fulfillment of this prophecy of Jeremiah. If Jesus had been born only in the line of Joseph (and thus of Jeconiah), He would not have been qualified to reign on the throne of David in the Millennium. See note on Matt. 1:11.
[7] The first is, that Matthew was under manifest mistake in inserting fourteen names instead of eighteen, and in saying that there were only fourteen generations. This is a poor objection in presence of the moral power of the gospels; it shows a mind descended on low ground: but we will consider it. That Matthew has omitted three kings, none disputes; but this does not prove he made a mistake in doing so. The point he is showing is Christ's legal connection with the throne of David: this, the omission of the three names did not in the smallest degree affect. The descent and the proof of it remain identically the same. Matthew and every one else knew of these three kings. What was his motive in omitting them may or may not be discoverable; but it does not affect the descent.http://bibletruthpublishers.com/genealogy-in-matthew/john-nelson-darby-jnd/collected-writings-of-j-n-darby-apologetic-1/la62426http://bibletruthpublishers.com/genealogy-in-matthew/john-nelson-darby-jnd/collected-writings-of-j-n-darby-apologetic-1/la62426
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
The text begins following the assertion of the legal claim of Christ to the Throne of David. Here we have the relationship , with the state of "betrothal" which is much more formal than that of the modern form of "engagement and to severe it was an egregious act. And the Holy Scripture makes it clear that there was purity in the conduct and relations of the couple. The importance of the statement has likely been under appreciated. But none could have expected that there would be the hatred toward Christ, the implications of impurity in his relationships, as has been observed in the modern era. "Found with the Child of the Holy Ghost" this is a fundamental doctrine of the New Testament, the Virginal Conception , and the action being that of the 3rd Person of the Trinity, in this marvelous conception.
Yet the text itself is one that is focused on the legal claims that Christ has as a son of Joseph, so the divine record reflects his thoughts and the purity of his character. This is one of the rare views that we are afforded in the Bible of the man who is the foster father of Jesus Christ
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
His character is what is emphasized here a just man , not willing to put his betrothed wife in public humiliation and shame. There is something here for our consideration, when there is evil or suspicion of evil , the desire to "glorify the Lord" , maintain the honor of the Lord..." may need to be superseded by, a judicious character of patience to ensure that the mind of the Lord is fully known. Too often our own state of soul, is brought to light by the way in which we are moved to judge "evil".
20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, 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.
21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.