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TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

Matthew 1

Before you read Matthew: who, when, why

BOOK 40 OF 66 · NEW TESTAMENT · GOSPELS

The King has arrived

AUTHOR
Matthew, also called Levi, a tax collector who left his booth to follow Jesus (9:9). The book does not name its author, but the early church, starting with Papias around AD 125, credited it to Matthew.
EVENTS TOOK PLACE
About 6 BC to AD 30, from the birth of Jesus to His resurrection.
DATE WRITTEN
Many conservative scholars say the AD 50s or 60s. Many others say AD 70 to 90.
WRITTEN TO
Mostly Jewish believers. Matthew quotes the Old Testament more than any other Gospel to prove Jesus is the promised King.
ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS
Matthew was the most quoted Gospel in the early church and survives in thousands of Greek manuscripts.
KEY VERSE
Matthew 5:17. I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them.
THE OLDEST PIECE OF MATTHEW

The Oldest Piece of Matthew

This scrap of papyrus is called Papyrus 104. It holds a few lines of Matthew 21 in Greek and was dug up in the trash heaps of the Egyptian town of Oxyrhynchus. Most experts date it to about AD 150 to 200, which makes it the oldest known copy of any part of Matthew. You can still read Greek words from the parable of the tenants in Matthew 21:34 to 37, like apekteinan, they killed, and palin apesteilen, again he sent. It shows Matthew was being copied and read far from Israel within about a hundred years of when it was written. Other early scraps, Papyrus 64 and Papyrus 67, from about AD 200, hold parts of Matthew 3, 5 and 26.

The Setting

Israel is under Roman occupation. King Herod runs things for Rome, taxes are crushing, and the people are waiting for the Messiah to show up and kick the Romans out. The religious leaders are split between Pharisees, who add rules on top of rules, and Sadducees, who run the temple and do not believe in the resurrection. Into all of this walks a carpenter from Nazareth who says the kingdom of heaven has come near.

What Was Going Wrong

  • Religion Without Heart. Leaders honored God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him (15:8).
  • Rules On Top of Rules. Traditions were treated like Scripture, and heavy loads were put on people's shoulders (23:4).
  • A Temple For Profit. The house of prayer had become a den of robbers (21:13).
  • Wrong Kind of Messiah. People wanted a warrior to beat Rome, not a Savior to die for sin (16:21 to 23).
  • Outsiders Pushed Out. Tax collectors, sinners and Gentiles were treated as beyond God's reach (9:10 to 13).

Where to Find Jesus

  • Matthew 1:23. Born of a virgin and called Immanuel, God with us. Fulfills Isaiah 7:14.
  • Matthew 2:6. Born in Bethlehem. Fulfills Micah 5:2.
  • Matthew 21:5. Enters Jerusalem on a donkey. Fulfills Zechariah 9:9.
  • Matthew 27:9 to 10. Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver. Fulfills Zechariah 11:12 to 13.

Cool Stuff Most People Miss

  • Fulfilled, Fulfilled, Fulfilled. Matthew uses the phrase to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet again and again. He is building a legal case, and this Bible marks every exhibit.
  • A Scandalous Family Tree. Jesus' genealogy names four women besides Mary: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and the wife of Uriah. Three were foreigners and at least two had messy stories. God put grace right in the family tree.
  • Five Sermons Like Five Books. Each of the five big sermons ends with the words When Jesus had finished. Many scholars think Matthew is echoing the five books of Moses.
  • A Tax Man Writes About Money. The former tax collector records more teaching about money, debts and treasure than you might expect, including the coin in the fish's mouth in 17:27.

Did Anybody Listen?

The disciples took the Great Commission seriously. Within a few decades the good news had spread across the Roman Empire, and today followers of Jesus live in nearly every nation on earth. The last words of the book are still in force: I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Chapter 1 in 30 seconds

Matthew opens with a family tree, which sounds boring until you notice who is in it: a con man, a widow who dressed up to trick her father in law, a foreign prostitute and a king who stole another man's wife. God's family has always had some explaining to do. Then a virgin is pregnant, and Joseph has the most confusing week of his life.

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The Genealogy of Jesus// Ruth 4:18–22; Luke 3:23–38

1This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

  • MT 1:1[FULFILLS]Messiah would be of David's lineage and 2 more ← 2SA 7:12; 1CH 17:11; PS 18:50
  • MT 1:1[NAME]Jesus is Yeshua in Hebrew. It is the same name as Joshua.

2Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers.

3Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

and Hezron the father of Ram.

4Ram was the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

and Nahshon the father of Salmon.

5Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6and Jesse the father of David the king.

Next:

David was the father of Solomon by Uriah’s wife,

7Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

and Abijah the father of Asa.

8Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Joram,

and Joram the father of Uzziah.

9Uzziah was the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

10Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers

at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

  • MT 1:12[FULFILLS]God would make Zerubbabel like His signet ring ← HAG 2:23MEDIUM

13Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,

Abiud the father of Eliakim,

and Eliakim the father of Azor.

14Azor was the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Achim,

and Achim the father of Eliud.

15Eliud was the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary,

of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17In all, then, there were fourteen generations from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.

The Birth of Jesus// Isaiah 7:10–16; Luke 2:1–7

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.

  • MT 1:18[FULFILLS]The Redeemer would be born of a woman (the seed of the woman) and 3 more ← GEN 3:15; IS 7:14; IS 49:1; JER 31:22
  • MT 1:18[MIRACLE]Virgin conception of Christ

20But after he had pondered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to embrace Mary as your wife, for the One conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”

  • MT 1:20[MIRACLE]Angel of Yahweh appears to Joseph in dreams (3 times)
  • MT 1:21[PROPHECY]Mary would bear a Son named Jesus who would save His people from their sins → MT 1:25; MT 26:28; ACTS 5:31
  • MT 1:21[FULFILLS]Called Yeshua ← IS 12:2MEDIUM
  • MT 1:21[FULFILLS]He would come and save His people ← IS 35:4
  • MT 1:21[NAME]Yeshua means Yahweh saves. That is why the angel says He will save His people from their sins.

22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:

23“Behold, the virgin will be with child

and will give birth to a son,

and they will call Him Immanuel”

(which means, “God with us”).

  • MT 1:23[FULFILLS]'The King is among them' ← NUM 23:21MEDIUM
  • MT 1:23[FULFILLS]Announced as 'Behold your God!' ← IS 40:9MEDIUM
  • MT 1:23[QUOTES]Direct ← IS 7:14

24When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a Son. And he gave Him the name Jesus.

  • MT 1:24[MIRACLE]Virgin conception of Christ
  • MT 1:25[FULFILLS]Mary would bear a Son named Jesus who would save His people from their sins ← MT 1:21

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