THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
INTRODUCTION
There is no reason to doubt that this Gospel was written by Matthew. It presents the narrative of our Lord’s life from the standpoint of the pious Jew; and the evident design of the writer is to show how completely and continually our Lord fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. No other Gospel contains so many quotations from the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. In it the predominant aspect of our Lord’s character and work is the Messianic. He was great David’s Greater Son. The keyword of the book is “Behold your King.” As King, His line is traced through the kingly race. As King, He proclaims the kingdom of heaven. As King, He promulgates the laws, describes the subjects, and announces the rewards of the Kingdom. When describing His own action at the last, when He sits on His throne and all nations are gathered before Him, He speaks of Himself as King, Mat_25:40. It was on His avowal of kingship that He was condemned to die. From every viewpoint this Gospel is one of the most precious documents in the world.
By F.B.Meyer
{e-Sword Note: The following material was presented at the end of Matthew in the printed edition}
Find the outline of our Bible study on The Gospel of Matthew at the link below.
OUTLINE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
The King of the House of David
1. THE COMING OF THE KING.
Matthew 1:1 to Matthew 4: 11
1. His Genealogy
Mat_1:1-17
Today we will look at question one in the outline.
1. Why does this Gospel open with the genealogy of Jesus?
Matthew 1:1 to Matthew 1:17.
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
And Zorobabel 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 Matthan begat Jacob;
And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Matthew 1:1-17
THE LINE BY WHICH MESSIAH CAME
By F.B.Meyer
The enumeration of our Lord’s ancestors, with its threefold division into fourteen generations and evident gaps, was probably so arranged to aid the memory. Notice that, in unison with the general purpose of the writer, the line is traced to Abraham through David the king. Of course we know that Joseph was only the reputed father of Jesus, Mat_1:18; but in any case this genealogy conformed to Hebrew usage and explained how the birth took place in David’s city.In this list of names the patriarchs, Gentiles, women of doubtful character, good men and bad men, the wise, the illustrious, the unknown-all supply important links. It is as though to teach us that in the Son of man there is a blending of all classes, that He might be the representative and helper of all. Each of us may find some point of contact in this genealogy. Jesus Christ belongs to our race. He knew what was in man by that subtle and intimate knowledge which comes of kinship. In Him, therefore, is neither Jew nor Greek exclusively, but all are one in Him.
I. GENEALOGY AND BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH-KING (Chap. 1)
A. The Genealogy of Jesus Christ (1:1-17)
Believer’s Bible commentary
Book by William MacDonald
A casual reading of the NT may cause a person to wonder why it begins with something as seemingly dull as a family tree. One might conclude that there is little significance to be drawn from this catalog of names and, thus, skip over it to where the action begins.
However, the genealogy is indispensable. It lays the foundation for all that follows. Unless it can be shown that Jesus is a legal descendant of David through the royal line, it is impossible to prove that He is the Messiah-King of Israel. Matthew begins his account where he must—with the documentary evidence that Jesus inherited the legal right to the throne of David through His stepfather, Joseph.
This genealogy traces the legal descent of Jesus as King of Israel; the genealogy in Luke’s Gospel traces His lineal descent as Son of David. Matthew’s genealogy follows the royal line from David through his son, Solomon, the next king; Luke’s genealogy follows the blood line from David through another son, Nathan. This genealogy concludes with Joseph, of whom Jesus was the adopted Son; the genealogy in Luke 3 probably traces the ancestry of Mary, of whom Jesus was the real Son.
A millennium earlier, God had made an unconditional agreement with David, promising him a kingdom that would last forever and a perpetually ruling line (Psa_89:4, Psa_89:36-37). That covenant is now fulfilled in Christ: He is legal heir to the throne of David through Joseph and the actual seed of David through Mary. Because He lives forever, His kingdom will last forever and He will reign forever as David’s greater Son. Jesus united in His Person the only two bases for claims to the throne of Israel (the legal and the lineal); since He still lives, there can be no other claimant.
1:1-15 The formula the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham is similar to the expression in Gen_5:1 : “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam.” Genesis introduces the first Adam; Matthew, the last Adam. The first Adam was head of the first, or physical, creation. Christ, as the last Adam, is Head of the new, or spiritual, creation.
The subject of this Gospel is Jesus Christ. The name Jesus presents Him as Jehovah-Savior; the title Christ (“Anointed”), as the long awaited Messiah of Israel. The title Son of David is associated with the roles of both Messiah and King in the OT. The title Son of Abraham presents our Lord as the One who is the ultimate fulfillment of the promises made to the progenitor of the Hebrew people.
The genealogy is divided into three historical sections: from Abraham to Jesse, from David to Josiah, and from Jeconiah to Joseph. The first section leads up to David; the second covers the kingdom period; the third preserves the record of royal descent during the exile (586 b.c. and following).
There are many interesting features in this register. For example, in this paragraph, four women are mentioned: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba (her who had been the wife of Uriah). Since women are seldom mentioned in eastern genealogical tables, the inclusion of these women is all the more astonishing in that two of them were harlots (Tamar and Rahab), one had committed adultery (Bathsheba), and two were Gentiles (Rahab and Ruth). Their inclusion in Matthew’s introduction is perhaps a subtle suggestion that the coming of Christ would bring salvation to sinners, grace to Gentiles, and that in Him, barriers of race and sex would be torn down.
Of interest too is the mention of a king named Jeconiah. In Jer_22:30 God pronounced a curse on this man:
Thus says the Lord: “Write this man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.”
If Jesus had been the real son of Joseph, He would have come under this curse. Yet He had to be the legal son of Joseph in order to inherit the rights to the throne of David. The problem was solved by the miracle of the virgin birth: Jesus was the legal heir to the throne through Joseph. He was the real Son of David through Mary. The curse on Jeconiah did not fall on Mary or her children since she did not descend from Jeconiah.
1:16 Of whom in English could be construed as referring to both Joseph and Mary. However, in the original Greek, whom is singular and in the feminine gender, thus indicating that Jesus was born of Mary, but not of Joseph. But in addition to these interesting features of the genealogy, mention must also be made of the difficulties which it presents.
1:17 Matthew draws special attention to the fact that there are three sections of fourteen generations each. However, we know from the OT that certain names are missing from his list. For example, between Joram and Uzziah (v. 8), Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah reigned as kings (see 2Ki 8-14; 2 Chron 21-25).
The genealogies of Matthew and Luke seem to overlap in mentioning two names: Shealtiel and Zerubbabel (Mat_1:12-13; Luk_3:27). It is strange that the ancestry of Joseph and Mary should merge in these two men, and separate again. The difficulty is increased when we notice that both Gospels follow Ezr_3:2 in listing Zerubbabel as the son of Shealtiel, whereas in 1Ch_3:19 he is listed as the son of Pedaiah.
A third difficulty is that Matthew counts twenty-seven generations from David to Jesus, while Luke gives forty-two. Even though the evangelists are outlining different family trees, it still seems odd that there should be such a difference in the number of generations.
What attitude should the Bible student take toward these difficulties and seeming discrepancies? First, our foundational premise is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Therefore, it cannot contain errors. Second, it is infinite because it reflects the infinity of the Godhead. We can understand the fundamental truths of the Word, but we can never fully comprehend all there is in it.
So, our approach to these difficulties leads us to conclude that the problem lies in our lack of knowledge rather than in the Bible’s fallibility. Bible problems should challenge us to study and search for the answers. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Pro_25:2).
Careful research by historians and excavations by archaeologists have not been able to demonstrate that the statements of the Bible are false. What seem to us like difficulties and contradictions all have reasonable explanations, and these explanations are filled with spiritual significance and profit.
WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.
TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
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