THE BOOK OF MATTHEW
The New Testament book of Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah sent by God to fulfill Old Testament prophecy.
Overview
The Gospel of Matthew serves as a transition that connects the story of the Old Testament with the story of the New Testament, helping us understand how the life and teaching of Jesus built on what had come before. Although written to a Jewish audience and a Jewish-Christian readership, this Book has a universal outlook.
With these connections in mind, pay close attention as Matthew gives a clear picture and description of the reasons, mission and methods of Jesus.
We will hear Him as He Speaks The Word so the world may hear;
We will See His Works and the world may marvel at His Wonders; and
We will see Him send His Workers so the many will come’.
This Book gives us the blueprint to God’s method of perfecting His creation in preparation for the End of The Age; and it gives us His eternal plan by way of His Son; and points to the revelation of the mystery of Christ, Jesus.
Grouping: Gospels
Author: Matthew, also called Levi.
Timeline: Early church period after Christ’s resurrection; between AD 50 and 70.
Genre: Narrative
Original Language: Greek
Audience: Greek-speaking Jewish Christians.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study and commentary, first, is for us, as His disciples and followers, to learn to walk in the steps of Jesus. We, have been commissioned and sent into all the world, to make disciples. We are to tell people about Him. We are to teach them to obey His words, and to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and The Book of Matthew presents us with the model and methods of Jesus, which are to be our models and methods in order to accomplish our mission.
Secondly, the purpose of this study is to concurrently seek and find the prophetic words of Jesus, in order to pursue and apply them to our lives. This task and exercise will lead us to call on and to walk in the Holy Spirit with His guidance and power.
Finally, Jesus has told us we are to do the Works He has done and greater works than these, as He has gone to the Father,
If you are wondering about ‘these works’, you are not alone. The crowds that followed Jesus also asked, “What are we to do, so that we may habitually be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered, “This is the Work of God: that you believe, [adhere to, trust in, rely on, and have faith] in the One whom He has sent.” (See John 6:28 & 29).
It is by this method – walking by faith, in the prophetic – that we are prepared and empowered to allow God to do His Works and even greater works – though our mortal bodies and through our lives.
(Please note: The entire book of Matthew is the Breathed Word of God, and all of it is important. That said,
*Chapters 1 – 3 establish the lineage of Jesus the Christ, the birth of Jesus, the announcement of Jesus, and the baptism of Jesus. (This may seem tedious at times, but is the vital groundwork, not to just know about Him, but to actually know Him).
**Chapters 4 through 28 give us the model, the mission, the purpose and the plan of God, through His Son, Jesus, as the Anointed One, to bring the Good News of Hope and the Way of Salvation to the world. (This is the exciting teachings and demonstration of the power of God).
***Chapters 4 though 28 also give us our mission, purpose and plan. We, the Body of Christ, must be obedient and available for Him to do His Works though us, until the end of the age. This is where we intentionally intersect with the Person and the Power of Jesus.(This is where you and I get personally involved, following Jesus).
Please read the chapters and the commentaries carefully, study them diligently and pray and meditate on them deeply. This is The Way!
THE BOOK OF MATTHEW – Chapter 1
The Genealogy, The Conception
(Amplified version of the Bible)
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
Matthew1:1, The record of the genealogy of [footnote ‘a’] Jesus the [footnote ‘b’] Messiah, the son (and descendant) of [footnote ‘c’] David, the son (and descendant) of Abraham:
Verse 2. Abraham [footnote ‘d’] was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of [footnote ‘e’] Judah and his brothers [who became the twelve tribes of Israel]. Verse 3. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Verse 4. Ram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Verse 5. Salmon was the father of Boaz by [footnote ‘f’] Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Verse 6 Jesse was the father of [footnote ‘g’] David the king.
David was the father of Solomon by [footnote ‘h’] Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. Verse 7. Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa. Verse 8. Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah. Verse 9. Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. Verse 10. Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah. Verse 11. Josiah became the father of Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] and his brothers, at the time of the deportation (into exile) to Babylon.
Verse 12. After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel. Verse 13. Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor. Verse 14. Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud. Verse 15. Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob. Verse 16. Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by [footnote ‘i’] whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah (the Christ).
Verse 17. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen; from David to the Babylonian deportation (into exile), fourteen generations; and from the Babylonian deportation to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
(Commentary Break: You might wonder about the significance of the lineage of Jesus? You can find hundreds of commentaries on this matter. Some of which go into such academic detail as to lose their meaning.
However, the lineage of Jesus is important, if not helpful, to know. Rather than answer here, and in order to help answer this important question, I will offer an interesting and entertaining video presentation produced by the Bible Project on The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah. (click the foregoing link, then look on the left side of the web page and select #1, The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah; play the video. (End Commentary Break).
Conception and Birth of Jesus
Verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been [footnote ‘j’] betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by [the power of] the Holy Spirit. Verse 19. And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly. Verse 20. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been [footnote ‘k’] conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Verse 21. She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (meaning, The LORD is salvation), for He will [footnote ‘l’] save His people from their sins.” Verse 22. All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the [footnote ‘m’] prophet [Isaiah]: Verse 23. “BEHOLD, THE [footnote ‘n’] VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD AND GIVE BIRTH TO A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL”, which, when translated, means, “GOD WITH US.” Verse 24. Then Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and he took Mary [to his home] as his wife, verse 25, but he kept her a virgin until she had given birth to a Son [her firstborn child]; and he named Him Jesus (meaning, The LORD is salvation).
(Commentary Break: The account of this remarkable event has been told and re-told innumerable times; repeated so many times that it has perhaps become rote in many minds. But this is the central and pivotal event in messianic prophetic scriptures, and it has come to pass.
Isaiah 7:14 was written around 2,750 years ago and prophesied the virgin birth of Jesus as the coming Messiah. This is the one seminal event of the 450 prophecies written about Him, that have come to pass!
The odds are 1 to 10 to the 157th power. Written out, that is the numerical one hundred, followed by fifty two sets of zeros: 100, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000.
These are the odds against – yes, AGAINST – Jesus Christ having fulfilled just 48 of the over 450 prophecies written about Him.
In order to give you some perspective, electrons are very small objects. They’re smaller than atoms. It would take 2.5 TIMES 10 to the 15th power of them, laid side by side, to make one inch. Even if we counted 250 of these electrons each minute, and counted day and night, it would still take 19 million years just to count a line of electrons one-inch long. 19 MILLION YEARS!
Read that again, please. Why is that significant?
It is significant because it gives us evidence that the Bible is true and correct when it says that Christ Jesus came to earth and is the Savior of the world.
It gives YOU evidence, if you choose to pay attention, that your life can be eternal with the only LIFE source which gives eternal Peace, Safety, Security, Joy and fulfillment the universe has ever known or ever will know.
Just think about it: It is a scientific and a mathematical impossibility that HAS COME TO PASS! (And speaking of science.
Scientific theory
A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world and universe that can be repeatedly tested and corroborated in accordance with the scientific method, using accepted protocols of observation, measurement, and evaluation of results. Where possible, some theories are tested under controlled conditions in an experiment. In circumstances not amenable to experimental testing, theories are evaluated through principles of abductive reasoning. Established scientific theories have withstood rigorous scrutiny and embody scientific knowledge. However, some scientific theories are untested and unprovable by the foregoing definition, such as the theory of , to name just a few. Science and scientists have suspicion or ‘faith’ based on other observations that this ‘theory’ is valid or might be valid.
FAITH
According to Cambridge Dictionary, faith, as a noun is “great trust or confidence in something or someone”. This can be the type of faith as expressed by a scientist in a theory.
The Bible defines faith in Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This kind of faith is observable and measurable in the millions of live changed for the better. This faith is measurable in the countless lives it has motivated to build schools, hospitals, churches, and any number of other projects and endeavors, too numerable to list, which have improved the lives of billions of people.
Put more simply, the Biblical definition of faith is “trusting in something you cannot explicitly prove by mathematical formulae or by strict scientific standards.” However, it could safely be said that this is the type of faith employed by scientists when regarding theories of parallel universes, Dark Matter or Dark Energy.
Asking the obvious, “Why is this important”?
When it comes to this question, for the sake of time, space on this page, I will defer to an article on the Gospel Coalition we page, “Is Jesus Really the Virgin-Born Child in Isaiah 7:14?” (End Commentary Break).
Next, in chapter 2, we will look at the birth of Jesus and its immediate and dramatic effects as we work our way to His teachings about The Way, The Truth, the Life, and The End of The Age – and how we fit into His Plan and Purpose.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
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