Matthew

Believers Church Bible Commentary

Richard B. Gardner

• Publisher: Herald Press
• Year: 1991
• ISBN:
  9780836198218
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Richard B. Gardner invites readers to explore the dramatic story of Jesus which Matthew tells. He connects that story to the first-century world of its author and early readers. The commentary then shows how Matthew has shaped the church and still speaks to the life of the Christian community.

Gardner probes each section for its meaning in the wider biblical context and in the life of the church. Thus readers are prepared to wrestle with Jesus' gospel and mission, starting small, but for all nations. Ends with essays, an extensive bibliography, and a list of select resources.

Part 1

Jesus’ Origins and Calling

Matthew 1:1-17

Jesus’ Family History

PREVIEW

The Gospel of Matthew opens with a genealogy, a long list of names tracing Jesus’ ancestry through David back to Abraham. This strikes many modem readers as a rather tedious and uninspiring way to begin a narrative. For ancient peoples such as Israel, however, genealogies held great interest and functioned in a variety of ways. Some simply show the extent of kinship. Others support an individual’s claim to a hereditary political or religious office. Still others serve as the framework for relating the history of a particular group. Rarely, if ever, were genealogies compiled with the concern for biological precision and completeness that we look for in a family tree today.

Since Jesus was born into a world in which genealogies were important, it is not surprising that Matthew begins his work in the way he does. He wants the reader to know how Jesus belongs to the story of Israel—and how that story belongs to him! For the names in his genealogy, Matthew is indebted both to biblical genealogies (cf. 1 Chron. 1—3; Ruth 4:13-22) and to lists of descendants of David born after the time when the biblical records end. The genealogy which he constructs is intended to show how Jesus’ family is connected to the important forebears named in earlier lists. More specifically, Matthew attempts to make the following points:

(1) Jesus is a descendant of both David and Abraham, and so a legitimate heir to the promises of God associated with both.

(2) The number and pattern of the generations leading up to Jesus confirm that he is the Messiah, the one through whom God will fulfill the promises.

(3) There are certain irregularities in the origins of Jesus’ ancestors which anticipate an even greater irregularity in his own origins.

OUTLINE

Heading, 1:1

From Abraham to David, l:2-6a

From David to the Exile, 1:6b-11

From the Exile to Jesus, 1:12-16

Summary, 1:17

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Heading 1:1

The first verse of Matthew describes the contents to follow as an account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah. Some scholars interpret the underlying Greek phrase more freely as “a history of Jesus the Messiah” and regard the phrase as a title for the Gospel of Matthew as a whole. However, in two passages from the Septuagint (LXX) where we find similar phrases (Gen. 2:4a; 5:1), the words in question clearly refer to an account of origins. One of those passages includes a long genealogy, not unlike Matthew’s. The more likely meaning of the phrase in Matthew 1:1, therefore, is that of a record of Jesus’ ancestry or origins. The phrase serves as a heading for the genealogy—and perhaps for the entire opening section of the Gospel.

Verse 1 goes on to speak of Jesus as the son of David and the son of Abraham. Both phrases are significant. As an heir of Israel’s great king, David, Jesus is a candidate to fulfill all the royal promises associated with David. As an heir of Israel’s great patriarch, Abraham, Jesus is a candidate to fulfill the even wider promises made to Abraham. The latter speak of blessings which will extend beyond Israel and bring life to Gentile nations as well (Gen. 12:1-3). At the outset, then, Matthew introduces themes important to the larger story, the motifs of Jesus’ messianic rule and of a gospel for all nations (cf. 28:19).

From Abraham to David 1:2-6a

In verses 2-6a Matthew enumerates the generations from Abraham to David. The list of names follows closely the list we find in 1 Chronicles 1:34 and 2:1-15. Here and throughout the genealogy, Matthew uses the formula: “A was the father of B, B the father of C, etc.” A more literal translation would read: “A fathered (or begat) B, B fathered C, etc.”

One surprise in the list of names is the inclusion of several women, not the usual practice in Jewish genealogies. Nor are the women named some of the illustrious matriarchs of Israel’s history, such as Sarah, Rebekah, and Rachel. Instead, Matthew names such women as Tamar (who seduced her father-in-law), Rahab (the famed harlot of Jericho), and Ruth (who took unusual steps to pursue Boaz). In the next group of names, Matthew introduces yet another woman, Bathsheba, referring to her in a way that underscores her role as an adulteress (the wife of Uriah, v. 6b). How shall we explain the presence of these names in the genealogy of the Messiah?

Raymond Brown expresses the consensus of many interpreters in his analysis of the matter. With each of the four women mentioned, Brown observes, “there is something extraordinary or irregular in their union with their partners.” In spite of this, these women “played an important role in God’s plan and so came to be considered the instrument of God’s providence or of His Holy Spirit” (Brown, 1977:73). The role of the four women in the origins of some of Jesus’ ancestors, therefore, foreshadows the role of Mary in Jesus’ own extraordinary origins (cf. 1:18-25).

Further, the four women named by Matthew were either Gentiles or associated with Gentiles: Tamar and Rahab were Canaanites, Ruth a Moabite, and Bathsheba the wife of a Hittite. The inclusion of these women in Jesus’ genealogy, therefore, may foreshadow the inclusion of Gentiles in Jesus’ community later on. In several ways, then, the women named in the genealogy signify something important in the story of Jesus about to unfold.

From David to the Exile l:6b-l1

Verses 6b-11 enumerate the generations from the reign of David to the Babylonian exile. The names we find were likely drawn from the list in 1 Chronicles 3:1-16. Comparison of Matthew’s list with that of the Chronicler, however, discloses that Matthew’s account omits the names of several kings. In verse 11 Josiah is named as the father of Jechoniah, while in fact he was the father of Jehoiakim, and the latter the father of Jechoniah. A more major omission occurs in verse 8, where three generations are missing. Between the reigns of Joram and Uzziah (whom the Chronicler calls Azariah) were the reigns of Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah. All this confirms our earlier observation that ancient genealogists were guided by concerns other than precision and completeness (see Preview for 1:1-17, above).

The most important thing to note in the list of names in this section is that it is a list of kings. Unlike Luke (cf. Luke 3:23-38), Matthew traces Jesus’ descent from David through a line of royalty. The list begins with the greatest of Israel’s rulers and concludes with the last free king before the exile. Such a lineage serves to underscore the messianic role which Matthew ascribes to Jesus and invites the reader to think of Jesus as one destined for kingship.

From the Exile to Jesus 1:12-16

In verses 12-16 Matthew lists the generations from the exile in Babylon to the birth of Jesus. The first three names are found in the genealogies in 1 Chronicles (3:17-19), and the names of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were part of the tradition of the early church. For the names from Abiud to Jacob, however, we have no record apart from Matthew’s. They may derive from one or more popular lists of royal descendants of David which were circulating in the NT (New Testament) era.

The genealogy reaches its climax in verse 16 when it states that Jesus who is called the Messiah is the end product of all the preceding generations. Note how the language used to describe Jesus’ origins breaks with the formula used to describe the begetting of earlier generations: No longer does Matthew speak of a father begetting a son, but of a husband of a wife from whom a son is born. The very structure of the sentence hints at the irregular or extraordinary manner of Jesus’ origins. Since Joseph is Mary’s husband, Mary’s child is legally Joseph’s son, and thus heir to the long lineage recorded in the genealogy. Jesus’ ultimate identity, however, will not be determined by Joseph, but by a source which Matthew will reveal in an episode to follow.

Summary 1:17

In verse 17 Matthew summarizes the material in his genealogy, stressing the number and pattern of the generations leading up to Jesus. He indicates that there were three distinct periods between Abraham and Jesus, with fourteen generations in each era. Two questions arise in this connection.

First, do the three groups of names in the genealogy each contain the required number of fourteen generations? For the first and second groups of names, there are no major problems. The third group, however, appears to represent only thirteen generations. Among the solutions proposed is that somewhere along the way a name was accidentally dropped from the list, or that the names of Jesus and Christ are to be counted separately (Christ signifying the new generation of the exalted Messiah). A more likely suggestion is that Matthew intends us to count Joseph and Mary as separate generations. The structure of verse 16 points in this direction, emphasizing that Jesus is begotten from Mary (apart from Joseph), even though Joseph is reckoned as Jesus’ legal father. If this analysis is correct, then the group of names in verses 12-16 does represent fourteen generations.

A more major question is why Matthew attaches importance to the pattern of three periods of history with fourteen generations in each. Perhaps we find a clue in several Jewish writings which reflect on history in a similar fashion. So, for example, Daniel 9:24-27 refers to seventy weeks of years between the exile and the coming of God’s kingdom. And the pseudepigraphical work known as Second Baruch divides world history from Adam to the Messiah into twelve distinct periods (cf. 2 Bar. 53—74). Both works reflect the apocalyptic conviction that God is moving history toward a clearly defined goal according to a carefully structured plan. In the framework which he uses for his genealogy, Matthew shows that he shares that conviction.

We find a further clue to Matthew’s thinking in the symbolical meaning of the numbers he uses: Fourteen is a multiple of seven, and in Hebrew thought the numbers seven and three both signify completeness or perfection. Moreover, fourteen is the numerical value of the Hebrew letters for David, and Jesus is the son of David! Through his genealogy, therefore, Matthew is communicating his belief that when Jesus was born the time was right for God to fulfill the promises. Considered in the light of the Gospel as a whole, the number and pattern of the generations which lead up to Jesus confirm that he is the son of David who will rule history as the Messiah.

THE TEXT IN BIBLICAL CONTEXT

The genealogy which we find in Matthew 1:1-17 is one of a number of genealogies in the Bible. We have already alluded to the lists in the early chapters of 1 Chronicles and to the account of human origins in Genesis 5. Other OT lists include the record of the line from Shem to Abraham in Genesis 11:10-26, a list of Jacob’s offspring in Genesis 46:8-27, and an account of Ezra’s ancestry in Ezra 7:1-6. When we compare these and other genealogies, we see that they are addressing a variety of questions: Where did it all begin? Who is connected to whom? Who has the right credentials? Through whom does God fulfill the promise? The genealogy in Matthew 1:1-17 reflects an interest in all these questions.

The genealogy most directly related to Matthew 1:1-17 is the record of Jesus’ forebears in Luke 3:23-38. For some persons, the differences between the two lists are both puzzling and troubling. And in spite of some noble attempts to harmonize the two accounts, we probably never will know who was Jesus’ paternal grandfather. We need to remind ourselves again that compilers of genealogies in the ancient world were less concerned than we are about an exact and complete record of ancestry. Rather, they sought to make a particular statement about the roots and destiny of their subjects and used the data at their disposal to achieve that end.

Therefore, we study Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies not to determine who is correct, but to discover what each is saying about Jesus. The latter is quite clear: Matthew wishes to make the point that Jesus is heir to all the promises of God which shaped the story of Israel. Luke wishes to make the point that Jesus catches up the entire human story, beginning with God’s creation of the first ancestor. Both affirmations are important to NT faith—end to faith today.

One particular issue that Matthew’s genealogy raises which is important for the larger story is the issue of how God works in history. Are God’s ways orderly and predictable, or are they full of surprises? The genealogy in 1:1-17 suggests that both answers are partly right. On one hand, the scheme of three eras with fourteen generations in each, suggests that God pursues an orderly plan. Moreover, the underlying premise of the genealogy is that God will remain faithful to earlier promises to Abraham and David.

On the other hand, the genealogy speaks of irregularities in the family history, revealing that at times God worked through unlikely and unexpected relationships. In addition, Matthew identifies the exile in Babylon—a major disruption in Israel’s story—as the dividing line between two eras in the genealogy. All of this prepares the way for the story Matthew has yet to tell about Jesus and the church. That too will be an account marked by both expected and unexpected developments. Through Jesus and his community, Matthew will argue, God is acting on the basis of long-standing purposes and promises, but fulfilling them in a way which results in another major disruption in the story of Israel.

THE TEXT IN THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH

At first glance, ancient genealogies such as Matthew 1:1-17 seem to have little to say to us. But is this the case? It is clear that some cultures continue to prize the sense of connectedness reflected in a genealogy. It is equally clear that many persons in Western culture are seeking to recover that sense of belonging to a larger context. When author Alex Haley shared his research into the history of his black ancestry in the classic work, Roots, it encouraged countless others to reclaim their own family history. Not to have some sense of corporate belonging such as this is to experience life as orphans in the midst of history.

At this point the text in Matthew offers us something of the highest importance. As it unfolds the story of Jesus’ ancestry, it provides us with the possibility of finding roots for ourselves that we never knew about. Those who belong to Jesus’ community become heirs with him to all the promises of God to Abraham and David. And the family history which shaped his identity becomes our family history as well.

Another point at which the genealogy has something important to say is the issue of the way God moves in the life of the church. No less than the community of Israel, the community of Jesus wrestles with the question of how orderly or how disruptively God works in history. In the believers church tradition, we have good reason to affirm God’s freedom to move in new ways. We know that our own origins in church history involved a radical break with existing structures. What is not so clear is whether we remain open to God’s irregular and extraordinary activity in our story, and whether we can affirm those who (like the women in the genealogy) become God’s unconventional channels for fulfilling the promises. Matthew 1:1-17 challenges us to recognize a God who guides history in both orderly and disruptive ways.

Matthew 1:18—2:23

Jesus’ Birth and Infancy

PREVIEW

Matthew continues his account of Jesus’ origins with several stories related to Jesus’ birth and infancy. As we read the materials in 1:18—2:23, we find all kinds of connections with the story of Israel. Most obvious are the quotations from the OT which Matthew introduces...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Series Foreword
• Author’s Preface
• Entering the World of Matthew
• Jesus’ Origins and Calling, 1:1—4:16
• Jesus’ Messianic Mission, 4:17—10:42
• Israel Responds to Jesus, 11:1—16:20
• Jesus’ Final Journey, 16:21—20:34
• Jesus in Jerusalem, 21:1—25:46
• Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, 26:1—28:20
• Outline of Matthew
• Glossary and Essays
• Map of Palestine in New Testament Times
• Map of the New Testament World
• Bibliography
• Recommended Resources for Personal and Group Study
• The Author