Matthews Gospel

Matthews Gospel Purpose for the Jews

To present Jesus as God 1:1 and 1:23

To present Jesus as promised Messiah/Savior 1:1 and 1:21

To present Jesus as promised King 1:1

To present Jesus as fulfillment of the Old Testament 1:23-23 to 27:9-10 “fulfillments”.

To present Kingdom Life 5:1-7:27 to 8:1-9:38

A. Purposes Revealed in V.1

The book of the geneology of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Throughout the Gospel, Matthew will give us information for the purpose of us, the reader, arriving at the conclusions he has arrived at and communicated in this first verse.

1. Present Jesus as God

Geneology-record or study of descent involving a tracing backward or forward of the ancestry of a nation, tribe, family, or individual. Also, lineage, birth, origin, source, and beginning. In the Greek it is the word is same as genesis.

So what was Matthews intention with using the word “geneology”? An immediate connection to the O.T. and of course the book of Genesis or beginnings. Also, God was the active agent in Genesis, the Holy Spirit as well (see , )

2. Present Jesus as Promised Messiah/Savior

The book of the geneology of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Christ or the Messiah. Right out of the gate Matthew calls Jesus the Messiah, and this is His story.

3. Present Jesus as Promised King

3. Present Jesus as Promised King

The book of the geneology of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. David was Israel’s great king, a man after God’s own heart, and God promises a descendent of David would sit on the throne forever and into eternity (see ).

4. Present Jesus as True People of God

The book of the geneology of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. The Jews cared about lineage, father Abraham was the patriarch who started it all, called by God to leave and go and become the genesis of their people, the chosen people of God, and Jesus is a direct descendent too.

The book of the geneology of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

B. Jesus is God

In verse 1 we talked about Matthews use of the word geneology or genesis or beginning as connector to the Old Testament and obviously to Genesis.

In verse 18 Matthew details, not as descriptively as Luke, the birth story of Jesus. He writes, “When His (Jesus’) mother had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together (before they had sexually relations) she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” This from the Holy Spirit is repeated in verse 20 to Joseph from an angel (Gabriel see ).

Here the Holy Spirit usage is a connection to where the Holy Spirit is found hovering over the earth. In it reads, “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Hovering—non-linear flying motion of an object which is stationary above a surface.

Come upon you or upon location on the surface and overshadow you or cast a shadow upon and envelope with a cloud.

Interesting, what was the form of the presence of God to the nation of Israel in the daytime when they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years? A cloud, God’s presence was in the form of a cloud.