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24HourForums.com > The Top 10 Supported Forums > The Christian's Straight and Narrow Path > Bible Study > Bible Study: MATTHEW CH-1 |
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DesertRat Forum-Blogger© Pioneer100© Member 
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Matthew Chapter 1 Please read all of chapter one and have your Bible nearby to look up the cross-references of scripture related to this chapter. Chapter one of the book of Matthew deals with two primary areas. I – The faithful providence of God and the genealogy of Christ (1-17) II- The fulfilled promise of God (18-25) I. The Faithful Providence of God (1:1–17) Providence is God’s control of circumstances so that His will prevails and His purposes are fulfilled. Think of Satan’s attacks against Israel and how he sought to prevent Christ from coming! Because of Abraham’s disobedience, Sarah was almost lost and the promised seed ruined (Gen. 12:10–20). At one time, the royal seed was all slain, except for young Joash (2 Kings 11). This genealogy is not a dull list of names. It is a record of the faithfulness of God in preserving the children of Abraham as a channel through whom Christ could come into the world. Matthew’s genealogy is of Joseph, Jesus’ father in the eyes of the law. Luke gives Mary’s genealogy. Mary and Joseph were both descendants of David. You can see the grace of God in this list of names. Note the four women mentioned: Tamar (v. 3, see Gen. 38); Rahab (v. 5, see Josh. 2; Heb. 11:31); Ruth (v. 5, see the Book of Ruth); and Bathsheba (v. 6, see 2 Sam. 12). Mary is also mentioned. These women illustrate the grace of God. Tamar was guilty of whoredom, yet God permitted her to be listed in the ancestry of Christ. Rahab was both a harlot and a foreigner. She was saved by her faith. Ruth was a Moabitess; and according to Deut. 23:3–6, she was excluded from the nation of Israel. Bathsheba was partner to David’s awful sin, yet God forgave her and permitted her to be one of Christ’s ancestors through Solomon. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). Genealogy of Christ Genealogy is the first emphasis in the Gospel of Matthew. When we think of Jesus, we must realize that we are dealing with a Man. The Person who came from heaven (John 1:1–2) was also fully human, and it is His heritage as a human being that Matthew wants us to first understand. Sometimes we hesitate here. Somehow being human doesn’t seem all that special. We picture humankind as sinful, and recall the vast distortions that sin has swept into our individual and societal experience. We even find ourselves ashamed of our humanity at times. How far this attitude is from Scripture! At Creation, God made two striking affirmations. One, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness” (Gen. 1:26, kjv), tells us that our identity is not rooted in this world but in eternity. We bear the image-likeness of God: human nature can only be understood by reference to God, not to some supposed animal predecessor. Only man, of all creation, shares something of the likeness of God as a true Person. The second affirmation, “Let them have dominion” (Gen. 1:26, kjv), affirms that human beings were created to rule! We were born to be kings. Even the entry of sin, while it has warped our capacity to rule wisely over creation, and even to rule our own passions, has not changed this destiny. The Psalmist David caught a glimpse of our destiny and expressed his wonder in Psalm 8: When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of Your hands; You put everything under his feet. Psalm 8:3–6 God created human beings—for dominion. Probably the strongest emphasis on this truth in the New Testament is found in Hebrews 2. There the writer quotes Psalm 8, and notes “in putting everything under him [man], God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death” (Heb. 2:8–9). We may not be able to see the glory of that destiny to which God calls us. But we see Jesus glorified—and we realize that the pathway we too must take to dominion is marked by servanthood and suffering. In Jesus we see our destiny realized. Jesus, the Man of Galilee, fulfilled the destiny of humanity by becoming King, and in doing so was “bringing many sons to glory” (v. 10). Jesus in His death and resurrection was bringing you and me to the place where we could experience our destiny—where we can know the dominion God has always intended human beings to know. Jesus is King of kings. And we are the kings over whom, and with whom, He reigns. Just what the nature of that reign is, of His and of ours, is something we learn about in the Gospel of Matthew. Old Testament expectations. God’s Old Testament people had dimly realized that dominion was their destiny. But they tended to think of dominion in a national sense, as that prophesied time when the nation Israel, under the promised Jewish Messiah, would be exalted over all the nations on earth. Their sense of destiny was accurate. God did make such promises. But their sense of destiny was limited. God intended far more through the ministry of the Messiah than Israel expected. So it was very important that Matthew, who wrote primarily to the Jews, establish the right of Jesus to the throne promised the Messiah. (This word, Messiah, refers to the Hebrew practice of anointing kings and others to office with oil. Messiah means “anointed one.”) Two genealogical elements were critical if Matthew was to demonstrate Jesus’ right to reign. The first was a relationship with Abraham (Matt. 1:1). It was from Abraham that Israel’s awareness of her destiny sprang. God called this man from Ur of the Chaldees, and sent him to Palestine. There God gave Abraham great and special promises. These included the promise of possession of the land of Palestine forever, a great people to live in it, a special relationship with God for Abraham’s descendants, and ultimately a descendant (seed) through whom all the peoples of the earth would be blessed (see Gen. 12; 15; and 17). These promises were given in the form of a covenant (a contract, or oath). They would be fulfilled through one Man, who must come from Abraham’s line. The genealogy in Matthew proves that Jesus comes from the covenant line. The second significant genealogical element is the relationship to David. Later in Israel’s history God promised to David that the Messiah would come through his family line. The ultimate King would be born from the family of David, Israel’s greatest king. In tracing the genealogy of Jesus from Abraham and from David, Matthew was demonstrating Jesus’ right to rule. Jesus’ genealogy not only established Him as a true Man, but also was the foundation of His claim to the throne of Israel as the promised Seed of David. In this genealogical record, the focus of Matthew’s Gospel becomes even more clear. We are invited to look into this great book, to see Jesus as King. Through Matthew’s portrait of our Lord, you and I will learn what dominion involves—and how to realize in Jesus the destiny God holds out to humankind. [1] This genealogy is not complete, of course. Several names are left out. It was common among the Jews to leave out unimportant names to help the children remember the lists. Three sets of fourteen names would be easy to remember. In 1:8, Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah are omitted, probably because of their relationship to Ahab’s wicked daughter, Athaliah. No Jew today has his legal genealogy. All the records were destroyed in a.d. 70 when the temple was ruined. Jesus Christ is the only Jew alive today who can prove His rights to the throne of David. II. The Fulfilled Promise of God (1:18–25) “Betrothal” (engagement) among the Jews was as binding as marriage. When Joseph discovered Mary’s condition, he naturally assumed she had been unfaithful to him. Note his prudence: “While he thought on these things” (v. 20). How important it is to be “slow to wrath” and to consider matters thoughtfully! (see Prov. 21:5) According to Deut. 22:23–24, Mary could have been stoned. Indications are that the Jews did not obey this law but rather allowed the innocent party to divorce the unfaithful mate. It took great faith for Joseph to believe God’s message in the dream. His love for God and for Mary made him willing to “bear reproach” for Christ. Imagine how the neighbors must have talked! In John 8:41, there is a suggestion that the Jews slandered Christ’s birth, intimating that He was born of fornication. Satan has always attacked the truth of the Virgin Birth, for when he does, he denies the Person and work of Christ and the truth of the Bible. The name Jesus means “Savior” and is a Gk. version of the Heb. name “Joshua.” In the OT, there are two well-known Joshuas: the soldier who led Israel into Canaan (see the Book of Joshua), and the high priest mentioned in Zech. 3. Christ is our Captain of Salvation, leading us to victory. He is our Great High Priest, representing us before the throne of God. Christ’s birth fulfills the prophecy of Isa. 7:14. Read Isa. 7 very carefully. Ahaz was about to be attacked by Rezin, King of Syria, and Pekah, King of Israel. The Lord sent Isaiah to encourage Ahaz (7:1–9) and to give Ahaz a sign. Ahaz acted very pious and refused the sign. So, God gave the sign to the whole house of David, not just to Ahaz (see 7:13). The sign is the birth of Immanuel (“God with us”) to the virgin mother. This sign had nothing to do with Ahaz at that time. In Isa. 8, God gave Ahaz His sign, using the child of Isaiah to do this. (Note: the Heb. word in Isa. 7:14, and the Gk. word in Matt. 1:23, can only mean virgin.) We must admire Joseph’s immediate obedience (v. 24). He was careful to keep his relationship with Mary pure. In the Bible, only four ways are noted to get a body: (1) without a man or a woman—as Adam did, made from the dust of the earth; (2) with a man, but no woman—as Eve did, made from Adam’s side; (3) with a man and a woman—as all humans are born; or (4) with a woman, but no man—as Jesus was born, having an earthly mother but no biological father. It was important that Jesus be born of a virgin that He might have a sinless human nature, conceived by the Holy Spirit (see Luke 1). Since He existed before the creation of man, how could He ever be born of a human father and mother? Every new baby is a being that has never existed before. The modernist who denies Christ’s virgin birth denies His eternal Godhead and deity. Either He is God, or He is an imposter. “Fulfilled” (v. 22) is a favorite word of Matthew’s. He uses it at least twelve times to show that Jesus completed the prophecies given in the OT Scriptures. [2] Questions: There are several differences between the list of ancestors compiled by Matthew and the one compiled by Luke (3:23-38). Is Matthew tracing the ‘official’ succession to the throne, to show that Jesus is the true king of Israel? What other questions come to your mind when reading this chapter? Discuss! [1]Richards, L., & Richards, L. O. (1987). The teacher's commentary. Includes index. (525). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books. [2]Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (16). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
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1jester Pioneer100© Member  Pilgrim Sojourner
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I always am amazed by God's grace. He loves to exalt the humblest of us, as He did with the four women mentioned, and so many other times throughout the Scriptures. Jesus Himself was a living example of the Simple; He lived His life in the most humble way imaginable. Yet He was God. What an example for us to follow!
 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. -Matthew 22:37-39 |
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JustifiedByFaith Pioneer100© Member 
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1jester wrote: He lived His life in the most humble way imaginable. Yet He was God. What an example for us to follow! Amen! Plus, as He told Phillip, "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him." John 14:7 Jesus is also the revelation of God. He represents the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Jesus told Phillip He who has seen Me has seen the Father. It doesn't get better than that! 
Jesus said, "Take heed that no one deceives you." Matthew 24:4 |
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24HourForums.com > The Top 10 Supported Forums > The Christian's Straight and Narrow Path > Bible Study > Bible Study: MATTHEW CH-1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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