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Introduction to Matthew
Matthew 1:1

We all know what the word gospel means, dont we? It means good news. We know what the word
gospel means - but what is a gospel - as in the four of them that we have, in the New Testament? What
would you say they are?

Are the gospels letters - like what Paul wrote? No, theyre not letters; theyre not written to anyone
personally. Are the gospels revelation - like the apostle John received? No, although the gospels were
clearly writings inspired by the Holy Spirit, they were not a new revelation from God.

Are the gospels history? They are absolutely accurate, historically, but they couldnt be considered a
history - think of the gaps! And for the same reason, the gospels are not merely a biography of Jesus Christ
- although the gospels are all about Him.

What we could definitely call the gospels are testimonies - the testimonies of four men, concerning the life
of Jesus. Now, none of these men endeavored to provide a complete timeline of that life, did they? No.

Thats because their purpose was to show forth Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God (Jn 20:31) - and for that
purpose, their focus is on His birth, His public ministry, His sacrificial death - and His bodily resurrection.
These four men each recorded their unique perspective regarding the Redeemer of mankind.

Now we know that three of these testimonies have some striking similarities - the gospels of Matthew,
Mark, and Luke. Because of the similarities, these three gospels are sometimes known as the synoptic
gospels, which means literally together seeing. But there are also many, many differences between these
three gospels.

Theres a great deal of controversy over which of the three was written first, and the relationship between
the three. Fortunately, its not essential for us to know these things, in order to study one of them!

But considering the strong oral traditions of that time, its likely that the eyewitness accounts of the life of
Jesus were communicated widely within the church, and developed into an oral narrative form. Eventually,
the necessity of having a permanent written record became clear.

It would not be surprising if the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke were parallel developments based on
that oral narrative, a fluid process of mutual influence, shared as people traveled around the Roman Empire.
The most likely timing for this would have been in the early to mid 60s AD.

John is thought to have written his gospel much later - around AD 90, by which time the other three
accounts would have been circulated in the churches. This suggests that John felt compelled to write his
testimony for purposes other than that of the first three gospel writers.

At the time John wrote, the false doctrine of Gnosticism was coming into the assemblies, with its deceptive
teachings about Jesus. Because Gnostics held to the Greek philosophy of the body being evil and the spirit
good, they maintained that God could never have come to the earth in bodily form - and therefore Jesus
was not truly God, or not fully God.

So Johns gospel emphasizes the Deity of Jesus - the Word who became flesh, and dwelt among men - God
came, in the likeness of men - in a human body. Johns eyewitness account was written that all men
everywhere may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (Jn 20:31).
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Now, Johns gospel is chronological - and I for one am very thankful that John put the events in order
chronologically, because this is clearly not the case with the other three records. Chronology is helpful, at
times!

But this is not to say that the other gospels are disordered. Writers of biography in that day had complete
liberty to rearrange their material, for the purpose of presenting a life story in a certain way. And this is
true for the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke; they all adhere to a particular framework, different from
Johns chronological framework. Their framework is geographical.

Following the baptism of Jesus, the narrative is divided into three phases encompassing the public ministry
of Jesus: the first, in Galilee; then the journey from Galilee to Judea; and finally, in Jerusalem. Where
John makes it clear that Jesus came and went to Jerusalem many times throughout His public ministry, the
other three gospels merely hint at this, maintaining a geographical progression.

So why would these gospel writers have taken this unique perspective? It emphasizes first how Jesus came
out of obscurity. Then, by His words and His works, it was proven that Jesus is who He claimed to be - the
Messiah of Israel; the Savior of the world. But as He proceeds to the very center of the Jewish religious
world, He is then rejected - and put to death - by His own people, the nation Israel.

The geographical order which the three gospel writers adhere to stresses the rejection of Jesus as an
outsider - and outsider, to the religious establishment. Then, the gospel writers record of the resurrection
of Jesus from the dead presents Gods vindication of Jesus, confirming Him to be Israels Messiah.

Matthew will then conclude his gospel citing the reunion of the disciples with Jesus in Galilee, where Jesus
commissions them to take the gospel out to the Gentile nations (Matt 28:16-20). By this, Matthew is
conveying that the good news which was rejected by the religious establishment in Jerusalem was being
extended from Galilee - the place where Jesus ministry began - a new beginning of Jesus ministry, to the
outermost parts of the world.

Its likely that this structuring of the story may have originated with Mark. Mark seems to have come to the
faith through Peter, who affectionately referred to him as his son (1 Pet 5:13). The early church referred
to Mark as the interpreter of Peter, meaning that he was his assistant; we find him in the company of Peter
when wrote his first letter from Rome (1 Pet 5:13). It is thought that Marks gospel is based on Peters
personal witness.

Marks gospel was particularly intended for the residents of Rome, who were predominantly Gentiles.
Marks perspective on Jesus presents Him as a servant - the Servant of Jehovah, who came to do the will of
His Father. His narrative is short, the action fast-paced - which would especially appeal to the practical,
action-oriented Romans.

Luke was a Gentile believer from Philippi, who ministered with the apostle Paul. It was most likely while
Paul was imprisoned for the first time in Rome that Luke began to compile his gospel account, along with
the book of Acts. The precise length of these works tell us that Luke designed them for publication as a
two-volume set.

Lukes intention was to reach the Greek-speaking world of the Roman Empire - a wider and primarily
Gentile audience. His gospel follows the overall structure of Marks, but with an expanded travel narrative
and many additional details, which he would have acquired from the oral accounts related to him by
eyewitnesses.
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Luke emphasizes Jesus as the Son of Man - the Perfect Man, which would have had strong appeal to the
philosophical Greek mind.

Matthew also conformed to the general pattern of Marks gospel, but Matthew expands on it with a further
compilation of the teachings of Jesus. He organized these teachings within his gospel into five discourses.
He adds exclusive details to his account that he had learned or experienced first-hand, as an eyewitness to
the ministry of Jesus.

There is a distinctly Jewish flavor to Matthews gospel. The genealogy, which we encounter in the
beginning of the first chapter, is in the Hebrew style.

How far back does Matthew trace the genealogy of Jesus? In verse 1 - only to Abraham, who was regarded
as the father of the nation Israel. And there we see the term, Son of David - which Matthew will use to
refer to the Messiah in his gospel, regularly.

We also find more than 60 quotations from the OT - not to count many more allusions to it. Matthew
shows how Jesus fulfilled these prophecies, which concerned Israels Messiah. And Matthew cites Jewish
custom, without explaining it, whereas the other gospels do so.

This makes it fairly obvious who Matthew intended his testimony for - whom? It was for Jews. The
perspective of Matthews gospel is upon Jesus as Israels Messiah - their long-awaited Deliverer - their
King.

Now, we have Matthews gospel - and the other ones - tucked within the pages of our Bibles - between the
OT, and the remainder of the NT - Acts, the letters to the churches, and the Revelation.

But lets think back for a moment to the time just before the gospels were written. No one had a Bible,
right? Some of the letters had been written, but they would not have been in general circulation, among the
churches. Very few people would have had copies of even the OT Scriptures. Much was passed along, by
oral tradition - oral teaching - including the eyewitness accounts, of the life of Jesus.

At the time the gospels were written - the early to mid 60s AD - there would have been some persecution
against believers, and it was increasing. This would have begun to limit the ability of believers to pass
along the oral narrative concerning Jesus. In addition, the eyewitnesses themselves would not be forever
present - whether death came by natural, or other means.

The written record became a way in which to preserve the eyewitness accounts, and to facilitate the
transmission of the testimony to Jesus. The gospels would therefore have acted as a means to establish the
faith of those who already believe. In addition, they would have served as a tool of evangelism - a way of
sharing the good news, that others might believe.

To Matthew, the Lord had given the part of creating a record for the Jews - a detailed, firsthand account that
would strengthen the Jews who already believed, and that would also convince those Jews who had not yet
heard as to the truth concerning Jesus of Nazareth.

Matthews gospel would be particularly directed toward the Hellenist Jews throughout the Roman Empire -
as the religious establishment in Jerusalem had already made up their mind, concerning Jesus.

But Matthew undoubtedly had one more purpose, with his gospel - which is revealed most clearly by the
commissioning of the disciples by Jesus, in Galilee, following His death and resurrection.
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Matthew intended to underline the reality that Jesus was not just the Messiah of the Jewish people - He was
the Savior of the whole world. And as such, the mission of every Jewish believer was to include the
Gentiles - those strangers and foreigners, to the household of God (Eph 2:19). Matthews gospel was to
serve as inspiration for believing Jews to extend the gospel invitation to the Gentiles - to welcome them
into the family of God.

Matthew would have been well-acquainted with the Gentiles; he had worked for them. You remember
Matthews former occupation; what was it? He was a tax collector. Even today, nobody likes the tax man!
And in that day, the resentment was far greater - with reason.

The Romans used to appoint Jews to make the government collection of taxes from their own people. They
were supposed to make their collections, no matter what the circumstances.

Tax collectors were commonly oppressive in their exactions from the people, while at the same time it was
not unusual for them to take more that was officially necessary, to which the Romans turned a blind eye.
These illicit monies were frequently used to support a lavish, dissolute lifestyle, making the tax collector a
much hated figure by the Jews.

The routine pairing of tax collectors and sinners shows how society regarded them; they were not
respectable. Tax collectors were automatically held as unrighteous; as spiritually suspect.

Was this true, for Matthew? We have no way of knowing, for certain. But after Matthew meets Jesus, he
apparently invites Jesus to dinner at his house, along with many of Matthews presumed friends - other tax
collectors - and - sinners (Mt 9:10). Judging by his associates, it would seem Matthew fit the conventional
profile of a tax collector!

But it doesnt matter what Matthew was, does it? What matters is what Matthew became. What matters is
that, when Matthew was sitting at the tax office, Jesus called Matthew to follow him - and Matthew arose,
and followed Jesus.

In fact, Luke records that Matthew left all, rose up, and followed Jesus (Lk 5:28). Matthew left it all
behind - to gain Christ (Phil 3:8). He knew a treasure when he saw one.

Isnt it extraordinary to think that the Lord would select Matthew to tailor his testimony to a Jewish
audience - Matthew, who, in his conduct, was likely a marginal Jew, at best? But that just meant that
Matthew didnt have a great deal of religious thinking that needed to be changed.

On the other hand, it might seem surprising to us that a tax collector would have such a grasp of the OT
Scriptures, as is evident by his gospel. But we have to remember a few things.

Matthew wrote his gospel some thirty years after the death of Jesus; he had a great deal of time to gain such
understanding, as the Holy Spirit enlightened him to the truth. In addition, Matthew had had the best of
teachers - he had Jesus Himself, while He walked the earth. And that teaching didnt end, with the death of
Jesus.

Turn to Luke chapter 24. After Jesus rose from the dead, He came to His disciples on the night of His
resurrection. After He convinced them that it was indeed He, Jesus began to teach them.

[Luke 24:44-48] Luke records in Acts that this opening up of their understanding to the fulfillment of the
Scriptures continued over a period of 40 days (Acts 1:3).
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Matthews gospel in particular bears witness to this teaching of Jesus, as he shows throughout that Jesus is
the fulfillment of the OT pictures and prophecies concerning the Messiah of Israel.

Thats really a theme of Matthews gospel: fulfillment. So lets begin now, to see how Matthew presents
Jesus, as the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies.

[Return to Matthew]

As we get ready to begin at the beginning, what do we encounter, in Matthews gospel? A genealogy; a line
of descent. And what do you usually do, when you encounter a genealogy in your Bible? Do you skim it?
Or skip it altogether? Most people do. They think, just a bunch of names - and most of those names are
unfamiliar. Reading through them would be - tedious.

But Im here to tell you that a genealogy in the Bible is not tedious; its downright fascinating. And a
genealogy is powerful. How so? Because it is filled with real people, who lived real lives. It shows us
how someone came into being, and who is related to whom. And anyone who records a genealogy has a
purpose in it; a purpose which is realized through the chain of names, that he lists. He uses a genealogy to
establish the facts.

Matthew did this. Who was he writing to? To Jews; and some of these Jews may never have heard of
Jesus. So Matthew began by listing the ancestors of Jesus, to reveal to his Jewish audience who Jesus was -
and His credentials.

Matthew did this in the typical Hebrew style of a genealogy: this one begat that one, who begat that one,
etc. Well be exploring that language a little more, soon - but for now, lets take an overview of Matthews
genealogy.

Who does Matthew begin with - that is, what is the oldest ancestor, in this genealogy? Abraham. Abraham
was regarded as the father of the nation, Israel - of the Jews. And who does Matthew end this line with? In
verse 16 - with Jesus; but does it say that Jesus was begotten of Joseph? No; very clearly, it does not.

The whole genealogy uses the term, begot; but when it comes down to Jesus, it says instead that He was
born of Mary. The begotten line ends with whom? With Joseph. Matthew is making it clear from the
beginning that Joseph was not the natural father of Jesus; something that he will explain in detail, right after
completing the genealogy.

So this is Josephs line of descent. But since Joseph isnt the father of Jesus, how does it make this Jesus
line of descent? How would that be valid?

The key to understanding this is in recognizing exactly what line of descent is being traced. A man can
have many sons; a genealogy is the tracing of one particular line.

Notice that the line is traced through Judah to David. A study of the names which follow David reveals that
these were all kings who succeeded David to the throne - until the time of the Babylonian exile. After that,
the line continues through potential successors - since Israel was then ruled over by Gentiles.

So this is the royal line of descent; it is not the record of natural descent, but of a legal descent; the
successors to the throne of David.
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Jesus was not the natural son of Joseph, but he became the legal son of Joseph - by which He became heir
to the throne of David. Matthew is showing that Jesus had a legitimate claim to the throne of David - being
a lawful son of David.

Matthew will emphasize Joseph in his record of the birth of Jesus. Even the angel who appears to Joseph in
the dream will address him as Joseph, son of David (Matt 1:20) - a reference to his royal ancestry.

Luke records a different genealogy of Jesus in his gospel - which we can look at, and consider in light of
the one in Matthew. Turn to Luke chapter 3. The genealogy begins in verse 23.

[Luke 3:23-38, survey] So does Lukes genealogy begin with the oldest ancestor? No; it goes in the
opposite direction to Matthews - from youngest to oldest. This is a conventional way in which Greco-
Roman genealogies were recorded - which Luke adhered to, as he was writing to Gentiles.

So instead of the father begetting a son, Luke writes of sons, who are of fathers. In fact, the phrase the
son is in italics; for example, starting with Heli in verse 23, it literally reads, of Heli, of Matthat, of
Levi, etc.

Now, in verse 23, Luke begins with Jesus, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph - and the word
son is present in the Greek, here. The Greek phrase as was supposed actually means that Jesus was
regarded or reckoned, according to Jewish custom. According to Jewish custom and Law, Jesus was
regarded as Josephs son; He was Josephs legal heir.

But after that, the term son is dropped, and it just says that Jesus is of Heli, of Matthat, of Levi, etc. Luke
was showing that although Jesus was the legal son of Joseph, he was of others - almost certainly referring
to His biological descent, in being born of Mary.

Mary is not mentioned, since women were not conventionally written into a genealogical line - although
their relation to one in the line might be mentioned, as we will see, in Matthews record. So Heli is most
likely the father of Mary, and then the line proceeds back through the male line, in accordance with
conventional records.

Lukes emphasis in the birth record is on Mary. Luke may have considered Marys line important to record
since it shows that Jesus is a son of David also through natural descent - although through a different son of
David, through Nathan (v. 31).

How far back does Luke take his record (v. 38)? All the way back to Adam, and then to God. Adam was a
of God, not by birth, but by creation.

So Luke, writing to the Gentile world, was intent on establishing that Jesus was connected to Adam - from
whom both Jew and Gentile descend - through His natural birth from Marys body. This shows Jesus to be
a genuine man; the Second Man; the Last Adam (1 Cor 15:45-47).

Did you notice where Luke placed his genealogy? Is it at the beginning of his gospel, like Matthews? No.
What took place before it? The birth of Jesus - and then thirty years of Jesus life, a life lived in perfect
righteousness - the Perfect Man. And then directly before the genealogy, we have the account of Jesus
baptism, for His ministry.
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What follows the genealogy? The temptation of Jesus by the devil, in the wilderness. This was very
intentional by Luke, to show the Second Man, Jesus, to be the Perfect Man, who would succeed where the
first man failed - in His obedience to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And so
Luke presents Jesus to be relatable to his Greek audience - and to appeal to their Greek mindset,
concerning the Perfect Man.

Lets go back now to Matthew.

[Return to Matthew 1]

Are you a little bit more excited about genealogies, now? Can you begin to see their value? And theres so
much more that can be seen!

It turns out that Hebrew genealogical records were often selective; that is, the term begot is sometimes
being used in a wider sense than the father-son relation, to mean a more distant ancestor-descendant
relation.

This is true of many of the genealogies in the OT. And well see that this selective method was also used
by Matthew, according to Hebrew convention, to bring out certain points he wished to make.

But for now, lets begin with the first verse, where Matthew states in summary his genealogy of Jesus.

[Matthew 1:1]

The book of the genealogy. In the Greek, its literally book of genesis. Here we see Matthew
immediately signaling to his Jewish audience his theme of fulfillment, right from the beginning. His words
carry the suggestion that a new creation is taking place. Matthew will enlighten his listeners to this more
fully as he describes Gods creative act which will result in the birth of Jesus.

Now, there are lots of genealogies in Scripture; but there is only one other genealogy that begins with
exactly this same phrase, as found in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the OT). Do you know what it
is? Its Genesis 5:1; lets turn there.

[Genesis 5:1a] So in using the same phrase, Matthew has subtly tied Jesus, the Second Man, back to the
first man - Adam. Here are Gods two men; the only two He needed in order to fulfill His purpose - to have
sons of God, from His creation of mankind.

Through Adam, God obtains men by natural birth, which fits them for their existence on earth. But in
Adam, all die (1 Cor 15:22a). So Adams book is a book of death; and as we continue with the account in
Genesis chapter 5, thats what we find: and he died; and he died; and he died (Gen 5:5, etc). All die
because all sin, like Adam.

But those who believe into the Lord Jesus Christ are born again, born from above; a supernatural birth. In
Christ, all will be made alive (1 Cor 15:22b).

Believers are all in the Lambs book of Life (Rev 21:27) - they have been given a new life, for a new body -
which will fit them for forever-life, in heaven. From the genesis of this new creation - a perfect body, in
which God the Son would dwell - God would bring forth His ever-living sons.

[Return to Matthew 1]
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So Matthews genealogy is that of Jesus Christ. His name is Jesus - Jeshua, in the Hebrew. Do you
remember what it means? The LORD is salvation. It was one of the commonest Jewish names of the first
century. Thats why Jesus was often called Jesus of Nazareth - to distinguish Him from others.
The popularity of the name was a reflection of the earnest expectation of Israel, as they looked for their
long-awaited Deliverer to come. Matthew will let them know, here He is!

Christ is actually a title; what does it mean? Anointed. The Anointed One of Israel was her Messiah -
Christ is the equivalent to this, in the Greek. In the OT, anointing is spoken of for prophets, for priests, and
for kings. It marked their consecration to the LORD, for their particular work.

Jesus came as the Prophet of God - speaking forth the words of His Father. As Priest, Jesus would offer
Himself in the stead of sinful man, to mediate peace with God. Upon His return to heaven, Jesus was
anointed as King - to rule over His people, in heaven - and one day soon, on earth.

So Matthew is establishing that Jesus is of the line of Abraham and of the line of David. The line of
Abraham places Him in the nation, and the line of David puts Him on the throne - He is in that royal line.

What we will see next time is that this points to Jesus being Gods Anointed One, Israels Messiah, the
Christ - for this fulfills prophecies that were given concerning the seed of Abraham, and Davids son.

Reading: Matthew 1:1-17; Gen 12:1-3, 22:15-18, 49:8-10, 38:1-30; Joshua 2; Ruth 1-4;
2 Sam 7:1-16.