Originally posted December 2019
I fear that it is necessary to have read Matthew 1-2 before you read my notes. They may turn out to be not just Greek, but double Greek, if you have not refreshed your memory of the story beforehand. I use the YouVersion Bible app which serves multiple purposes when studying the Bible – you can have the app read for you the biblical material – in the ESV or NIV translation if you want. I find this good, if I don´t want to do the reading myself.
THE GENEALOGY: 1,1-16
I remember as a teacher having my pupils read this genealogy at Christmastime. It was always such a high point! The names, the names! Some of them hard to pronounce. “Karl, are you going to give us a test on this?!” they would cry. There would be 3 readers. One to take us through the first fourteen generations, one for the next fourteen, and one for the last fourteen generations! “Of course!”, I would answer tongue in cheek. About half the class would understand that this was a joke, the other half not. The pupils would look at each other. Eventually, everyone knew that their leg was being pulled. The tension melted away – there was a great atmosphere in class – which I fondly remember, and highly valued!
However, one has to ask what literary or other purpose this list of names has? Why would you include such a feature, if you wanted your story to be read?
Unless one reads through the whole genealogy, it is hard to get the point:
First, it establishes a strong continuity with the past!
Matthew writing to Jewish Christians, traces Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham (the great Jewish patriarch) and to David, from whence the Messiah, the Christ, was expected.
Second, it establishes Jesus’ solidarity with humanity per se!
In more general terms: The genealogy anchors the birth of Christ in history!
And, as does the rest of the prologue to this Gospel (chs 1-2); it prepares the way for the sequel – the ministry of Christ – and the death and the resurrection.
Matthew includes 5 women in his genealogy of Jesus. This is interesting because it is something of a break with convention; mostly genealogies are about tracing male ancestors. The women are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba (not mentioned by name) and Mary. It is not easy to find any common denominator between them, except that they were all, with the exception of Mary, outsiders (non-isrealites). They were certainly remarkable women. Though not directly related to Christmas, I find it worthwhile reading about the first 3. That is because each has a gripping story to tell about expediency and fortitude, under life conditions so different from our own.
(Tamar: Genesis 38; Rahab: Joshua 2; Ruth: The Book of Ruth, 4 chapters – Bathsheba would take you through 2 Samuel 11-1 Kings 2!)
Remarkable also that they are in this genealogy! Is Matthew proclaiming here Jesus’ solidarity WITH ALL HUMANITY– regardless of who we are?! I think so!
Jesus came for the outsider and the prostitute as well!
Particularly when reading about Tamar, it is important to remember that different strata of Israelite history will have different (and with respect to the New Testament – primitive) notions of who God is.
JOSEPH´S DREAM: 1,18-24
Matthew´s story from ch. 1,18 is told from Joseph´s perspective, whereas Luke´s story of Jesus’ birth is told from Mary´s. These stories different as they are in almost all respects had an independent existence before the time of writing. Matthew´s source may have been Joseph´s family. Luke´s source, Mary´s family.
THE VIRGIN BIRTH
But that Jesus was born of a virgin – here they both agree. It is therefore likely that this derives from a very early tradition about Jesus, and for that reason is not likely to be a literary fiction.
It is easy from this to draw the conclusion that instead of a man, God was Jesus Father. Yes, God is in a unique way the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – but NOT through having sex with Mary! The virgin birth is not to be confused with pagan myths of gods mating with humans.
The point about the virgin birth is that Jesus was conceived apart from the will of Man, and without the participation of Joseph. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit.
The virgin birth affirms the supernatural nature of Jesus’ conception – it was by the Holy Spirit!
This does not prove the deity of Christ, but points to it! Other parts of Scripture on the other hand do witness to the deity of Christ, e.g. John 1,1; Col. 1,15ff; Heb. 1,3.
Furthermore, Jesus relation to humanity involves both continuity and discontinuity: Continuity, in that the Gospels affirm that he was truly human, discontinuity in precisely this – that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Some Christians, e.g. Augustine, have taught that Jesus’ sinless nature was due to the virgin birth. Their belief was that normal sexual relations involved lust, and that the sinful nature of the rest of humanity derived from this lust. But this thought is not biblical. The Bible affirms sexual relations within marriage as God given, NOT sinful. Our sinful nature does not derive from the way we were conceived!
The virgin birth was by the power of the Holy Spirit. Just that! We are not told how this could be. Only that the will of Man/Joseph was not involved (cp. also John 1,12). Neither Matthew nor Luke develops this any further in their Gospels, and it cannot be said that the virgin birth plays a great big role in the doctrine of Christ – it simply points to his divine origin (and is thus consistent with other scriptures).
GOD WITH US
It was important for the writers of the New Testament to show that Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy; that is to say that God had beforehand through the mouth of the prophets foretold the advent of the Christ. This is not least true of Matthew, who at this point in his narrative introduces his first so-called “fulfilment prophecy”:
All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” which means, God with us. Mt. 1,22-23
The prophet is Isaiah! This is Isaiah 7,14. In fact, the “son” mentioned here is the same “son” as is mentioned just 2 chapters on in Isaiah, in 9,6.
They shall call his name Immanuel, God with us, says the prophet! We need to notice here that Matthew´s Gospel ends on the same note, with Jesus saying: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” Mt. 28,20
This is a literary device known as inclusio. It is a way of bracketing, of marking off, a section of narrative, which the author intends should be read under the same heading, or which has the same theme running through it– the theme being the text of the inclusio – in this case GOD WITH US.
(Another example of inclusio in the Gospel of Matthew is 4,23 – 9,35, where the theme is Jesus teaching, preaching and healing ministry)
In other words, the whole of the Gospel of Matthew is in a sense about ´GOD WITH US´!
This can be seen as through a veil as it were, in the teaching, preaching and healing ministry of Jesus.
But more directly where the veil is lifted, and we see his divinity revealed; where JESUS DOES WHAT GOD DOES in the Old Testament:
The calming of the storm (Mt. 8,23-27)
O.T. references: Job 38,8-11; Ps. 65,5-8; Ps. 89,8-9. The stormy sea, in the mind of the ancients represented the forces of chaos. God, the Lord, is Lord over them.
The feeding of the 5 thousand in the lonely place (Mt. 14.13-21)
O.T. references: Exodus 16. God is present with his people in the desert, feeding them. Read also Ps. 78,19; Ps. 23. The DESERT is a powerful motif in the Bible. The place where demons live (Lev. 16,21-26). The place of testing!
Jesus walks on the water Mt. 14,22-33
NB! Jesus says to the disciples: “Take heart, it is I”. This is egō eimi (εγώ ειμι) in Greek – I AM, which translates YHWH (the tetragrammaton) or YAHWEH (with vowels) in Hebrew, the name of the God of Israel – see Exodus 3,14. The name was so holy, that Jews would not pronounce it.
O.T. references: Job 9,8; Exodus. 14,13-31; Ps. 77,20; Isa. 43,16; 51,10; Hab. 3,15
And also:
At the Mount of Transfiguration
Mt. 17,1-9: Here Jesus is transfigured before them (Peter, James and John), and is clearly shown to be superior to Moses and Elijah (who appear with him), representing the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament.
Finally, we note:
At Mt. 18,20, when Jesus promises: For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.
And at Mt. 25,31-46: The final Judgement
Verse 35: «For I was hungry and you gave me food……»
Verse 40: «Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.»
All this suggests that in Matthew, Jesus abides with his people, in much the same way as God abode with Israel in earlier times!
The Gospel of Matthew is about the presence of God with us!
A NOTE ON THE WORD “VIRGIN” IN MT. 1,23
The Hebrew text of Isaiah 7,14, has the word almâ – young woman, but the Greek translation of this text, which Matthew uses, has parthenos (παρθένος), Greek for virgin.
Without going into too much detail: It would have been more natural for Isaiah to have used another word, had he meant a married woman here. The fact that he uses almâ, young woman, indicates that he meant an unmarried woman, i.e. a virgin, which is probably why the translators of the Septuagint (the mid 3rd century B.C. Greek translation) use parthenos – virgin.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO TAKE MARY AS YOUR WIFE
One can imagine the dilemma that Joseph is in! The girl he is engaged to, is found to be pregnant. Even today, that would have been a bad situation, the man knowing he was not the father. In those days, this could have led to Mary being stoned, as she could have been accused of adultery (being engaged was sufficient for the law to apply)! Joseph, however, is a decent man, and doesn´t want this to happen. He decides to put her away quietly.
If ever there was a need for a word from God! The angel´s words to Joseph in a dream are just that! Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
Joseph obeys the angel, and thus takes Jesus legally as his child – thereby making Jesus according to Matthew´s genealogy, a descendant of David and Abraham.
A WORD ON ANGELS
The word for angel, is the Greek word angelos (αγγελος), meaning messenger. In Matthew´s Gospel, they appear at Jesus’ birth (1,20-23; 2,13 and 2,19), testing in the wilderness (4,11), the resurrection (28,2 and 5); and in Luke’s Gospel, in the Garden of Gethsemane and at Luke 22,43. In other words, they are present at pivotal times in Jesus´ life. On occasion, they are God´s mouthpiece, on occasion, sent forth to minister; to bring help.
The letter to the Hebrews calls them ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation. (Heb. 1,14)
