THE VICTOR BIBLE
BACKGROUND COMMENTARY
Matthew 1 & 2
By
Lawrence O. Richards
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The
Victor Bible Background Commentary, NT
Richards,
Lawrence O.
Matthew
1:1
The
Genealogy (1:1-17). See the parallel passage in Luke 3:23-38 for a
discussion of the differences between the two genealogical records.
Matthew
1:5
The
Genealogy’s Four Women (1:3, 5-6). One of the distinctive features
of Matthew’s genealogy is his specific inclusion of four women. The
critical question here is: Why?
Background.
Hebrew culture was patriarchal, and genealogies usually listed only men.
There were, however, two typical reasons in the east to include a woman
or two. (1) The woman was greatly admired, and her inclusion enhanced
the reputation of the family. (2) The husband had more than one wife, in
which case the name of the wife is typically given with the name of her
son. This practice is often followed in the OT when naming the kings of
Israel and Judah.
However,
we can appeal to neither of these practices to explain why Matthew
included the four women he chose to name. They were hardly admired. Nor
is there any confusion in the OT concerning whose children their sons
were. So we are led to seek another reason for Matthew’s decision to
name these particular four.
Interpretation.
The explanation must hinge on what we know of the four. Tamar, a
Canaanite woman, seduced the father-in-law who had wronged her, and bore
him two sons (Gen. 38). Rahab, also a Canaanite, made her living as a
prostitute before giving her allegiance to the Lord and helping
Israelite spies escape Jericho (Josh. 2, 6). Ruth, though morally pure,
was a Moabitess, a race whose origins were in incest (Gen. 19:30-37) and
which, according to Deut. 23:3, was banned from the Lord’s assembly.
Bathsheba is best known for her (forced?) adultery with David. Although
born into a Jewish family (1 Chron. 3:5), she may have been classified
as a Hittite because of her marriage to Uriah (2 Sam. 11:3; 23:39).
The
four women seem to have two things in common. They were flawed morally.
And they were outside the OT Covenant community, with no native right to
claim God or to expect Him to deal with them in grace. What then moved
Matthew to include these four women in the line of Jesus the Messiah?
One
possibility is that, as a tax collector, looked on with contempt by his
neighbors, Matthew knew what it meant to be a sinner and then redeemed.
Matthew identifies with these four women and includes them as
illustrations of the transforming power of God who has now sent the
Messiah to “save His people from their sins” (1:21).
Another
possibility, Matthew may be thinking of the universality of the mission
of Jesus. God’s covenant with Abraham included the promise, “all
peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen. 12:3). The four
women demonstrate God’s commitment to keep that promise, which
receives its ultimate fulfillment in the Christian Gospel’s invitation
to all to believe in Jesus and be saved.
A
third possibility is that Matthew is subtly reminding his readers, who
looked for a Messiah who would appear in glory and power, that history
shows God working in strange and mysterious ways. We cannot say how God
will or must act. All we can do is recognize His handiwork and worship
Him.
Application.
There is no reason to rule out any of the three interpretations above.
In fact, they blend together in a wonderful way. Our God is the God of
the unexpected. He remains concerned for those “outside,” as well as
for you and me. As each of the four women illustrates, God reaches out
in grace for the sinner and by His transforming power God cleanses
sinners and makes them vital, contributing members of the community of
faith.
Matthew
1:18
The
Birth of Jesus Christ (1:18-25).
Background.
Perhaps the first things a person should note in this passage are the
miraculous elements. The fathering of the child by the Holy Spirit. An
angelic visitation to announce the birth to Joseph. The promise of
ancient prophecies about to be fulfilled. These all support Matthew’s
thesis that Jesus truly is Israel’s Messiah and the Son of the Living
God.
Yet
we need to note something else. God carefully, graciously, guarded
Joseph’s love for Mary and prepared him to love her child.
Marriage
customs in Jewish culture were very unlike those in our day. The
marriage was negotiated by a girl’s parents and involved the payment
of a bride-price by the husband when an agreement was reached. At this
point the girl was “pledged” (1:18), betrothed, and was considered
the wife of her husband-to-be, even though she still lived in her
parents’ home and had no marital relations with him.
It
was not unusual for older men to arrange to marry girls of nine or ten,
often in order to protect property rights when a father died, or because
orphan girls in the ancient Middle East had no means of support. In such
cases a child bride would live in the home of her husband, but remain a
virgin till she reached marriageable age. Of course, if she were found
not to be a virgin when the marriage was consummated, the husband could
obtain an annulment and the bride-price would be returned.
Interpretation.
It is perhaps significant that an ancient tradition suggests Joseph was
an older man and Mary a very young girl. If this is the case it is
possible that, as a child bride, Mary had lived in Joseph’s home, and
that he had developed a deep affection for her. We can imagine his
dismay when Joseph discovered Mary was pregnant—a discovery he could
hardly have made if Mary still lived in her parents’ home. That
affection, and his own righteous character, led Joseph to contemplate a
self-sacrificial step. He would not “expose her to public disgrace.”
Instead he would divorce her quietly and suffer the loss of the
bride-price he had paid. We can only imagine the anger and hurt Joseph
must have felt. But we can surely admire this man of character and
compassion, who although seemingly betrayed, still put Mary’s needs
and reputation before his own.
It
was only then, the decision made, that God intervened. Only then did God
reveal the miracle of Mary’s pregnancy and what that miracle would
mean. The child had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. He would be
“God with us.” And He was the One God intended to use to “save His
people from their sins.” Joseph is not to hesitate consummating the
relationship when the child has been born.
Note:
The NIV translation seems to rule out examining this possibility by
translating paralabe in v. 20 as “take Mary home.”
But the word means simply to “take to oneself” and need not imply
that Mary was not already living with Joseph as a virgin child bride.
Application.
How fascinating that God’s angel appeared to Joseph only after he had
discovered Mary was pregnant. God could have spared Joseph much pain by
telling him beforehand—as He told Mary beforehand (Luke 1:26-31). But
the pain served a beautiful purpose. When tested, Joseph displayed his
“righteous” character. In that display of righteousness, Joseph
teaches us. It is important to do what is morally correct. But as we do,
it is just as important to act with compassion and concern.
The
incident also reminds us of something else. God was deeply concerned
with the relationship which was to exist between Mary and Joseph. This
was not only for their own sake, but also for the sake of Jesus and the
other children they would parent. The angel visitor removed any
suspicion which might have tainted the relationship and restored not
only the affection but also the trust so vital to growth in any
couple’s marriage.
Yes,
the miraculous in this story is a vital element. But nearly as wonderful
is that common touch which reminds us that God is concerned about our
ordinary lives—about preserving the love we have for others and
shaping a home where warmth and trust create that climate in which
children can grow.
Matthew
2:1
The
Visit of the Magi (2:1-12).
Background.
The Magi in OT times were a class of scholarly, priestly individuals who
served as advisers to Babylonian and Persian rulers. This class
persisted in Persia and was influential in the Parthian empire into NT
times. Little, however, is known of the specific role or background of
these Eastern visitors to little Judea.
Some
have suggested these men recognized the star because they were familiar
with Num. 24:17: “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise
out of Israel.” Certainly there was a significant Jewish population in
the East at this time, and the massive scholarly work known as the
Babylonian Talmud was located there. It is surely possible that the Magi
had access not only to the OT Scriptures but also to extensive Jewish
writings on them.
The
nature of the star reported by Matthew has been debated, and a variety
of natural explanations have been offered. But all of these miss the
point. The timing of the appearance of the star was supernatural.
The
other details are most natural. For instance, in desert countries of the
East nomads find their way over the sands by following stars. “Take
that star in your hand” is a common way of giving directions. It would
not be unusual at all for God to guide the Magi to the Christ Child by,
in essence, telling them “Take that star in your hand and follow it
until you come to the One born King of the Jews.”
What the Prophet Has Written (2:6ff).
Background.
Matthew’s “quote” does not follow either the Massoretic (Hebrew)
nor Septuagint (Greek) text of Micah 5:2. Despite the furor over this
fact, there is a simple explanation. Matthew, moved by God, gives us an
inspired interpretation of the original text, modified only slightly in
order to emphasize its original point. He also links the Micah quote
with 2 Sam. 5:2.
What is more significant is that this is
an example of Matthew’s great care in linking Jesus to OT prophecy. In
his Gospel, Matthew quotes the OT 53 times, drawing from 25 of the 39 OT
books, and alludes to many additional OT passages. Matthew is determined
to explain Jesus—His Person, His ministry, His destiny—within a
framework already established by the Jewish Scriptures.
It is particularly fascinating to explore
these quotes to see just what Matthew’s use implies. Strikingly, the
OT contexts emphasize the kingly role of the coming Messiah. Although
Jesus failed to meet the expectations of His generation, Jesus is the
promised Messiah King. The suffering Savior and the glorious Ruler of OT
prophecy are one and the same.
Observation. To
sense this emphasis, let us examine the context of two passages referred
to in Matthew 2:
'b7
Underlying Matt. 2:2, Jer. 23:5: “The days are
coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a
righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and
right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live
in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord Our
Righteousness.”
'b7
Underlying Matt. 2:6, Micah 5:2, 4: “But you, Bethlehem
Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you
will come for me One who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are
from of old, from ancient times....He will stand and shepherd His flock
in the strength of the Lord; in the majesty of the name of the Lord His
God. And they shall live securely, for then His greatness will reach to
the ends of the earth.”
Application. Matthew’s
use of quotes is undoubtedly evangelistic, in that his intent is to show
his own Jewish brothers and sisters that Jesus is the Christ. But that
use is a vital reminder to Christians today. Our understanding of who
Jesus is, of His mission, and of God’s intended future for Christ’s
rule on earth, must be formed only after a careful study of the OT, as
well of the NT.
Matthew
2:13
The
Escape to Egypt (2:13-23). Great attention has rightly been paid to
Herod’s character, so cruelly displayed in the pursuit of Jesus and
the murder of the innocent children of Bethlehem. But this need not be
the focus of our exposition.
Commentators
have also puzzled over the relevance of Matthew’s use of Jeremiah
31:15. The best answer is that Jeremiah’s message of the New Covenant
was given at the moment of Judah’s greatest suffering: the fall of
Jerusalem and deportation of the Jewish survivors to Babylon. Yet at
that same moment in history God’s word through Jeremiah gave birth to
hope. Similarly, the moment that the Bethlehem mothers experienced their
most anguishing loss, God’s intervention saved the Christ Child, who
is the fulfillment of the New Covenant and the true hope of the world.
These
themes are present in the text, and yet there is another theme that
overrides them all—the theme of providence.
The
Magi bring gifts—and so finance the travel of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
to Egypt at the very moment when they must escape. Herod dies, and
Joseph leads his family home, but at the last moment turns away from
Bethlehem to settle in Nazareth. Each happening is marked as the leading
of God: by the dream that directed it, and by a word from Scripture
which, unexpectedly, proves prophetic.
Thus
the entire sequence of events is evidently guided and directed by God,
and we are reminded that the Lord never removes His hand from His Son.
We
are encouraged.
We
are children of this same Lord. And He will not remove His hand from you
or me.