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Alert!
The Christmas message begins at Matthew 1:1, not 1:18!
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{Author}
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has become common in Advent and over Christmas for churches to pass
by Matthew 1 verses 1-17 and begin reading from v.18, “now the
birth of Jesus Christ…” This makes sense in terms of brevity
and direct appeal to modern people but, as we shall see, it does not
make sense in terms of biblical theology and insights. After all verses
1-17 are as much the word of God written as are verses 18ff..
We may note that in Matthew 1:16 we read of Joseph, Mary & the birth of Jesus, “…Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Christ.” Then Matthew 1:1 can be translated, “The Story of the Origins of Jesus Christ…”or “The Story of the new Genesis produced by Jesus Christ…”
So let us take a look at Matthew 1:1-17, which on first appearance is merely a genealogy and genealogies we have assumed or learned are boring.
Yes it is a genealogy but through its content and structure we learn important truths about the identity of the child who was born of Mary and named “Jesus.”
First, let us note that unlike the genealogies in Genesis 5, 10,& 11, this one begins with the same name as it concludes – Jesus the Christ. Other genealogies record first the great ancestor and then take us through his descendants until we reach the person being portrayed. Matthew names first of all the One in whom all the descendants of Abraham find their climax and fulfillment. And then he ends with him as well. So the structure teaches us that Jesus the Christ does not bear the same relation to Abraham as say king David or the prophet Jeremiah. Although Jesus belongs to history he is also above history.
In the second place, let us note that special emphasis is given in the genealogy both to Abraham and to David. Why? Because the LORD God promised through Abraham to bless all the families of the world (Genesis 12:3), not Jews only but Gentiles as well, the whole world. Jesus the Christ is the way in which God the Father achieves this blessing of all mankind. And because the LORD God promised that his chosen One, the Messiah or the Christ, would be a King and a descendant of king David. So the emphasis upon these two names establishes the connection of Jesus as the Christ with Abraham, God ‘s covenant with Abraham & king David and God’s covenant with David. Thus he is the Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the world and throughout this Gospel of Matthew the connections with both these men are often made.
In the third place, let us note that the genealogy is in 3 sets of 14 names. There are several explanations for this. For example, in Hebrew, letters have a numerical value and the value of the letters in the name David is 14 – thus Jesus is the new David, the descendant of David who is greater than David. Then, also, the number 14 is the days it takes for the moon to rise and also for it to wane (and the Jewish calendar was based on lunar months). So the three units of 14 point to the arrival of David and his glorious kingship, the waning of that kingship under his descendants and then the rise again to the most glorious kingship of Jesus the Christ, the King of kings. And this moon, as it were, will never wane!
In the fourth place, let us note the presence of the names of four women in the genealogy -- Tamar (v.3); Rahab & Ruth (v.5), Bathsheba (v.6). The first three are Gentile women by birth and the fourth was married to a Gentile, Uriah. So here we have emphasis upon the Gentile element in the physical lineage of Jesus and this points to the fact that he is the Saviour of the whole world and not only the Messiah of the Jews. And there is a further important point here. These four women, as women of faith/faithfulness prepare the way as participants in God’s historical providence for the place accorded to Mary, who was chosen by God the Father himself to be the human mother of his Incarnate Son, Jesus who is the Christ.
Finally, there is a major switch in the form of the verb, “to be born”, when we get to the birth of Jesus in the genealogy. There is a decided move from the active to the passive voice, from “he [e.g., David, Josiah etc.] bore” or “he was the father of” to “he was born” [in Greek from “egennesen” to “egennethe”]. This emphasizes that the conception and birth of Jesus belong to a new, indeed a unique, order, for he had no human father (except by adoption). He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary.
By beginning at verse 18 we miss all this and more!
The Rev’d Dr. Peter Toon Peter@toon662.fsnet.co.uk & www.pbsusa.org
Dec 19th 2001
The
Revd. Dr. Peter Toon |
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