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    Matthew, Mark, Luke: Volume One
    Matthew, Mark, Luke: Volume One
    Matthew, Mark, Luke: Volume One
    Ebook1,352 pages

    Matthew, Mark, Luke: Volume One

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    An image rich, passage-by-passage commentary that integrates relevant historical and cultural insights, providing a deeper dimension of perspective to the words of the New Testament

    Discoveries await you that will snap the world of the New Testament into new focus. Things that seem mystifying, puzzling, or obscure will take on tremendous meaning when you view them in their ancient context. With the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, you'll:

    • Deepen your understanding of the teachings of Jesus.
    • Discover the close interplay between God's kingdom and the practical affairs of the church.
    • Learn more about the real life setting of the Old Testament writings to help you identify with the people and circumstances described in Scripture.
    • Gain a deeper awareness of the Bible's relevance for your life.

    In this volume, detailed exegetical notes are combined with background information of the cultural settings that will help you interpret the writings of the first three synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

    THE ZONDERVAN ILLUSTRATED BIBLE BACKGROUNDS COMMENTARYSERIES

    Invites you to enter the world of the New Testament with a company of seasoned guides, experts who will help you understand or teach the biblical text more accurately. Features:

    • Commentary based on relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and studies of Judaism, Roman culture, Hellenism, and other features of the world of the New Testament.
    • Hundreds of full-color photographs, color illustrations, and line drawings.
    • Copious maps, charts, and timelines.
    • Sidebar articles and insights.
    • "Reflections" on the Bible's relevance for 21st-century living.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherZondervan
    Release dateMar 1, 2011
    ISBN9780310873167
    Matthew, Mark, Luke: Volume One

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      Matthew, Mark, Luke - Zondervan

      Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary

      Matthew

      Michael J. Wilkins

      Mark

      Mark L. Strauss

      Luke

      David E. Garland

      CONTENTS

      Title Page

      Cover

      MATTHEW

      MARK

      LUKE

      About the Publisher

      Share Your Thoughts

      Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary

      Matthew

      Michael J. Wilkins

      Clinton E. Arnold general editor

      CONTENTS

      INTRODUCTION

      LIST OF SIDEBARS

      LIST OF CHARTS

      INDEX OF PHOTOS AND MAPS

      ABBREVIATIONS

      MATTHEW by Michael J. Wilkins

      CREDITS FOR PHOTOS AND MAPS

      About The Authors

      Copyright

      INTRODUCTION

      All readers of the Bible have a tendency to view what it says it through their own culture and life circumstances. This can happen almost subconsiously as we read the pages of the text.

      When most people in the church read about the thief on the cross, for instance, they immediately think of a burglar that held up a store or broke into a home. They may be rather shocked to find out that the guy was actually a Jewish revolutionary figure who was part of a growing movement in Palestine eager to throw off Roman rule.

      It also comes as something of a surprise to contemporary Christians that cursing in the New Testament era had little or nothing to do with cussing somebody out. It had far more to do with the invocation of spirits to cause someone harm.

      No doubt there is a need in the church for learning more about the world of the New Testament to avoid erroneous interpretations of the text of Scripture. But relevant historical and cultural insights also provide an added dimension of perspective to the words of the Bible. This kind of information often functions in the same way as watching a movie in color rather than in black and white. Finding out, for instance, how Paul compared Christ’s victory on the cross to a joyous celebration parade in honor of a Roman general after winning an extraordinary battle brings does indeed magnify the profundity and implications of Jesus’ work on the cross. Discovering that the factions at Corinth (I follow Paul … I follow Apollos…) had plenty of precedent in the local cults (I follow Aphrodite; I follow Apollo…) helps us understand the why of a particular problem. Learning about the water supply from the springs of Hierapolis that flowed into Laodicea as lukewarm water enables us to appreciate the relevance of the metaphor Jesus used when he addressed the spiritual laxity of this church.

      My sense is that most Christians are eager to learn more about the real life setting of the New Testament. In the preaching and teaching of the Bible in the church, congregants are always grateful when they learn something of the background and historical context of the text. It not only helps them understand the text more accurately, but often enables them to identify with the people and circumstances of the Bible. I have been asked on countless occasions by Christians, Where can I get access to good historical background information about this passage? Earnest Christians are hungry for information that makes their Bibles come alive.

      The stimulus for this commentary came from the church and the aim is to serve the church. The contributors to this series have sought to provide illuminating and interesting historical/cultural background information. The intent was to draw upon relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and the numerous studies of Judaism, Roman culture, Hellenism, and other features of the world of the New Testament and to make the results accessible to people in the church. We recognize that some readers of the commentary will want to go further, and so the sources of the information have been carefully documented in endnotes.

      The written information has been supplemented with hundreds of photographs, maps, charts, artwork, and other graphics that help the reader better understand the world of the New Testament. Each of the writers was given an opportunity to dream up a wish list of illustrations that he thought would help to illustrate the passages in the New Testament book for which he was writing commentary. Although we were not able to obtain everything they were looking for, we came close.

      The team of commentators are writing for the benefit of the broad array of Christians who simply want to better understand their Bibles from the vantage point of the historical context. This is an installment in a new genre of Bible background commentaries that was kicked off by Craig Keener’s fine volume. Consequently, this is not an exegetical commentary that provides linguistic insight and background into Greek constructions and verb tenses. Neither is this work an expository commentary that provides a verse-by-verse exposition of the text; for in-depth philological or theological insight, readers will need to have other more specialized or comprehensive commentaries available. Nor is this an historical-critical commentary, although the contributors are all scholars and have already made substantial academic contributions on the New Testament books they are writing on for this set. The team intentionally does not engage all of the issues that are discussed in the scholarly guild.

      Rather, our goal is to offer a reading and interpretation of the text informed by what we regard as the most relevant historical information. For many in the church, this commentary will serve as an important entry point into the interpretation and appreciation of the text. For other more serious students of the Word, these volumes will provide an important supplement to many of the fine exegetical, expository, and critical available.

      The contributors represent a group of scholars who embrace the Bible as the Word of God and believe that the message of its pages has life-changing relevance for faith and practice today. Accordingly, we offer Reflections on the relevance of the Scripture to life for every chapter of the New Testament.

      I pray that this commentary brings you both delight and insight in digging deeper into the Word of God.

      Clinton E. Arnold

      General Editor

      LIST OF SIDEBARS

      Matthew

      Matthew: Important Facts

      Early Church Testimony to Matthean Authorship

      Jewish Marriage Customs: Betrothal and Wedding

      The Fulfillment of The Virgin Will Be With Child…

      The Christmas Star

      Herod, King of the Jews

      Modern Calendars and the Date of Jesus’ Birth

      Baptism in the Ancient World

      Pharisees and Sadducees

      The Sea of Galilee

      If the Salt Loses Its Saltiness

      Not the Smallest Letter, Not the Least Stroke of a Pen (5:18)

      Dogs and Pigs in the Ancient World

      The Golden Rule

      Military Units of the Roman Army

      Rabbi Hanina Ben Dosa and Healing From a Distance

      Excavating the House of Simon Peter

      Jesus as the Son of Man

      Flogging in the Synagogue

      The Fortress Machaerus

      Korazin and Bethsaida

      John the Baptist’s Execution by Herod Antipas as Recorded by Josephus

      Gennesaret

      Herod Philip the Tetrarch and Caesarea Philipi

      The High Mountain of Jesus’ Transfiguration

      Common Fish in the Sea of Galilee

      Jericho: Ancient and Herodian

      The Seat of Moses

      Phylacteries at Qumran

      The High Priest, Caiaphas

      The Ossuary of Caiaphas

      The Day of the Lord’s Supper and Crucifixion During the Passion Week

      The Trial of Jesus and the House of Caiaphas

      Pilate, the Governor

      Barabbas and the Thieves

      Golgotha

      The Women Followers of Jesus

      The Resurrection of the Dead in Judaism and in Jesus

      LIST OF CHARTS

      Equivalence Table of Weights and Coinage at the Time of Jesus

      Walking With Jesus Through the Holy (Passion) Week

      The Roman Emperors Called Caesar During New Testament

      Times and Later

      INDEX OF PHOTOS AND MAPS

      The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.

      Alexander the Great, 115

      altar, of burnt sacrifice (model), 39

      angel, appearing to Joseph (painting), 10

      Antonia, Fortress of, model, 176

      Antonia Pavement, 174

      Augustus (see Caesar Augustus)

      Banias, 101

      Bethany, 130

      Bethlehem, 15

      Bethsaida, 75

      boat, fishing

      found at Kinneret, 31

      mosaic at Beth Loya, 92

      mosaic at Bethsaida, 61

      bread, unleavened, 86

      Caesar Augustus, 135

      Caesarea Philippi, 101Caiaphas

      home of, 159, 168, 170

      ossuary of, 160

      Capernaum, house of Peter, 57

      synagogue at, 29, 57

      catacomb, painting in, 100

      Cenacle, 163

      Chorazin, 75

      Church of the Holy Sepluchre, 179, 185

      artistic perspective (cutaway), 186

      Church of St. Peter Gallicantu, 168, 170

      cloak, 41

      coins

      bronze, 47

      denarius, 115

      drachma, 162

      half-shekels, 109

      minted under Archelaus, 20

      minted under Bar-Kochba, 128, 132

      minted under Herod Antipas, 89

      minted under Herod the Great, 17

      quadrans, 39

      Selah, 132

      shekels (Tyrian), 109

      with image of Alexander the Great, 115

      with image of Caesar Augustus, 135

      cups, 144

      Dead Sea, 75

      denarius, 115

      dishes, 144

      donkey, 128

      dove, 26

      drachma, 162

      earthquake, 147

      emperors

      Caesar Augustus, 135

      farming implements, 84

      fig tree, 152

      fish

      from the Sea of Galilee, 111

      mosaic at Tabgha, 91

      fishermen, 31, 87

      fishing boat, 31, 61, 92

      flogging strap, 176

      frankincense, 17

      Galilee, Sea of, 31, 33, 58, 83, 87

      Garden of Gethsemane (see Gethsemane, Gar- den of)

      garden tomb, 182

      Gehenna (see Hinnom, Valley of)

      Genessaret, 93

      Gethsemane

      Garden of, 166

      goats, 157

      gods, Pan, 101

      grass, 49

      goatskins, 65

      Hakeldama, 172

      harvest, 66

      hoe, 84

      Herodium, 21, 131

      Hinnom, Valley of, 39, 172

      inscriptions

      Pontius Pilate, 171

      temple warning, 130

      jars, 95, 161

      JJericho, 126

      Herod’s palace at, 126, 189

      Jerusalem, 146

      artistic reconstruction of, 6

      Damascus Gate, 52

      temple (see temple, Jerusalem)

      Jonah, 100

      Jordan River, 24, 101, 205, 255, 353

      Judas Iscariot, home village of, 377

      Judea, wilderness, 23

      key, 103

      king’s game, 177

      Kinneret boat, 31

      lamps, oil, 36, 109, 155

      lance, 70

      leaven, 86

      Legio X Fretensis, 148

      lightning, 151

      lithostratos, 174

      locust, 23

      Mammon, 47

      Masada, 27

      menorah, 36, 43

      Miqveh, 189

      Moses, seat of, 140

      Mount Meron, 107

      Mount of Beatitudes, 3, 33

      Mount of Olives, 146, 166

      Mount Tabor, 107

      narrow gate, 52

      Nazareth, 88

      Church of the Annunciation, 22

      needles, 120

      net, fishing, 87

      ossuary, 144, 160

      palm branches, 128

      papyrus plants, 72

      papyri, p³⁷ (fragment of Matthew), 5

      pearl, 87

      penny, Roman, 39

      perfume jars, 161

      Peter’s house, 57

      Pontius Pilate, inscription, 171

      potter’s field, 172

      pottery, 144

      Prison of Christ, 117

      reeds, 72

      ring, 103, 120

      rock of agony, 166

      scales, 50

      scroll, Torah, 37

      Sea of Galilee (see Galilee, Sea of)

      seat of Moses (see Moses, seat of)

      Sepphoris, 88

      sheep, 113, 157

      shekels, 109

      shofar, 43, 44, 152

      sickle, 84

      Sidon, 75

      Sodom, 75

      standard, Roman, 148

      storeroom, 44

      sword, 70, 167

      synagogue

      at Capernaum, 29, 57

      at Chorazin, 75, 140

      at Delos, 140

      Tabgha, 91

      Tel Kinnereth, 93

      temple, Jerusalem

      altar of burnt sacrifice (model), 39

      artistic perspective of within Jerusalem, 6

      artistic reconstruction (cutaway), 78

      court of priests (model), 8

      depicted on a coin, 132

      East Gate (model), 129

      model of, 132

      warning inscription, 130

      tomb, 144

      artistic reconstruction of Jesus’, 186

      Garden, 182

      Maccabean era, 60

      Transfiguration, Mount of, 107

      trumpet (see shofar)

      Tyre, 75, 98

      utensils, eating, 95, 144

      unleavened bread, 86

      Upper Room, 163

      Via Dolorosa, 177

      vineyard, 122, 133

      watchtower, 133

      wheat, 66

      wilderness, Judean, 23, 27

      wildflowers, 49

      wineskins, 65

      winnowing fork, 26

      ABBREVIATIONS

      1. Books of the Bible and Apocrypha

      2. Old and New Testament Pseudepigrapha and Rabbinic Literature

      Individual tractates of rabbinic literature follow the abbreviations of the SBL Handbook of Style, pp. 79–80. Qumran documents follow standard Dead Sea Scroll conventions.

      3. Classical Historians

      For an extended list of classical historians and church fathers, see SBL Handbook of Style, pp. 84–87. For many works of classical antiquity, the abbreviations have been subjected to the author’s discretion; the names of these works should be obvious upon consulting entries of the classical writers in classical dictionaries or encyclopedias.

      Eusebius

      Josephus

      Philo

      Apostolic Fathers

      4. Modern Abbreviations

      5. General Abbreviations

      Zondervan Illustrated

      Bible

      Backgrounds

      Commentary

      MATTHEW

      by Michael J. Wilkins

      MOUNT OF BEATITUDES

      Overlooking the Sea of Galilee

      Introduction to The Gospel According to Matthew

      On the surface of the Mediterranean world lay the famed pax Romana, the peace of Rome, which the Roman historian Tacitus attributes almost solely to the immense powers of Caesar Augustus. But as Tacitus observes, the peace that Augustus inaugurated did not bring with it freedom for all of his subjects; many continued to hope for change.¹ Tides of revolution swirled just below the surface and periodically rose to disturb the so-called peace of the Roman empire.

      In one of the remote regions of the empire, where a variety of disturbances repeatedly surfaced, the hoped for freedom finally arrived in a most unexpected way. A rival to Augustus was born in Israel. But this rival did not appear with fanfare, nor would he challenge directly the military and political might of Rome. Even many of his own people would become disappointed with the revolution that he would bring, because it was a revolution of the heart, not of swords or chariots.

      Matthew IMPORTANT FACTS:

      AUTHOR: While technically anonymous, the first book of the New Testament canon was unanimously attributed by the early church to Matthew-Levi, one of the Twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.

      DATE: A.D. 60–61 (Paul imprisoned in Rome).

      OCCASION: Matthew addresses a church that is representative of the emerging Christian community of faith—it transcends ethnic, economic, and religious barriers to find oneness in its adherence to Jesus Messiah. His Gospel becomes a manual on discipleship to Jesus, as Jew and Gentile alike form a new community in an increasingly hostile world.

      PORTRAIT OF CHRIST: Jesus is the true Messiah, Immanuel, God-incarnate with his people.

      KEY THEMES:

      1. The bridge between Old and New Testaments.

      2. Salvation-historical particularism and universalism.

      3. The new community of faith.

      4. The church built and maintained by Jesus’ continuing presence.

      5. A great commission for evangelism and mission.

      6. The structure of five discourses contributes to a manual on discipleship.

      This is the story of the arrival of Jesus of Nazareth, recorded by the apostle Matthew as a compelling witness that Jesus was the long-anticipated Messiah, the prophesied fulfillment of God’s promise of true peace and deliverance for both Jew and Gentile.

      Author

      All of the four Gospels are technically anonymous, since the names of the authors are not stated explicitly. This is natural since the authors were not writing letters to which are attached the names of the addressees and senders. Rather, the evangelists were compiling stories of Jesus for churches of which they were active participants and leaders. They likely stood among the assembly and first read their Gospel account themselves. To attach their names as authors would have been unnecessary, because their audiences knew their identity, or perhaps even inappropriate, since the primary intention was not to assert their own leadership authority, but to record for their audiences the matchless story of the life and ministry of Jesus.

      Therefore we must look to the records of church history to find evidence for the authorship of the Gospels. The earliest church tradition unanimously ascribes the first Gospel to Matthew, the tax-collector who was called to be one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. The earliest and most important of these traditions come from Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor (c. 135), and from Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in Gaul (c. 175). These church leaders either knew the apostolic community directly or were taught by those associated with the apostles; thus, they were directly aware of the origins of the Gospels. While the full meaning of their statements is still open to discussion, no competing tradition assigning the first Gospel to any other author has survived, if any ever existed. False ascription to a relatively obscure apostle such as Matthew seems unlikely until a later date, when canonization of apostles was common.

      Early Church Testimony to Matthean Authorship

      Papias, bishop of Hierapolis in Asia Minor, lived approximately A.D. 60–130. It is claimed that Papias was a hearer of the apostle John and later was a companion of Polycarp.A-1 He was quoted and endorsed by the church historian Eusebius (c. A.D. 325) as saying: Matthew for his part compiled/collected the oracles in the Hebrew [Aramaic] dialect and every person translated/interpreted them as he was able (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.39.16).

      Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in Gaul, was born in Asia Minor in approximately A.D. 135, studied under Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, and according to tradition died as a martyr around A.D. 200. In one of his five monumental books against the Gnostic heresies, Irenaeus states, Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and laying the foundations of the Church.A-2

      Matthew, the Person

      The list of the twelve disciples in Matthew’s gospel refers to Matthew the tax collector (10:3), which harks back to the incident when Jesus called Matthew while he was sitting in the tax office (cf. 9:9). When recounting the call, the first Gospel refers to him as Matthew (9:9), while Mark’s Gospel refers to him as Levi son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14), and Luke’s Gospel refers to him as Levi (Luke 5:27). Speculation surrounds the reason for the variation, but most scholars suggest that this tax collector had two names, Matthew Levi, either from birth or from the time of his conversion.

      The name Levi may be an indication that he was from the tribe of Levi and therefore was familiar with Levitical practices. Mark’s record of the calling refers to him as the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14), which some have understood to mean that he was the brother of the apostle James son of Alphaeus (cf. Mark 3:18). But since the other pairs of brothers are specified as such and linked together, it is unlikely that Matthew-Levi and James were brothers.

      Matthew-Levi was called to follow Jesus while he was sitting in the tax collector’s booth. This booth was probably located on one of the main trade highways near Capernaum, collecting tolls for Herod Antipas from the commercial traffic traveling through this area. Matthew immediately followed Jesus and arranged a banquet for Jesus at his home, to which were invited a large crowd of tax collectors and sinners (9:10–11; Luke 5:29–30). Since tax collectors generally were fairly wealthy and were despised by the local populace (cf. Zacchaeus, Luke 19:1–10), Matthew’s calling and response were completely out of the ordinary and required nothing short of a miraculous turn-around in this tax collector’s life.

      Little else is known of Matthew-Levi, except for the widely attested tradition that he is the author of this Gospel that now bears his name. As a tax collector he would have been trained in secular scribal techniques, and as a Galilean Jewish Christian he would have been able to interpret the life of Jesus from the perspective of the Old Testament expectations. Eusebius said that Matthew first preached to Hebrews and then to others, including places such as Persia, Parthia, and Syria (Eusebius, Eccl. Hist. 3.24.6). The traditions are mixed regarding Matthew’s death, with some saying that he died a martyr’s death, while others saying that he died a natural death.

      PAPYRUS MANUSCRIPT OF MATTHEW 26:19–52

      This is a third-century A.D. fragment known as p3 now housed at the University of Michigan.

      Date and Destination

      No precise date for the writing of Matthew is known, although Jesus’ prophecy of the overthrow of Jerusalem (24:1–28), has recently been used to indicate that this Gospel must have been written after A.D. 70. However, such a conclusion is necessary only if one denies Jesus the ability to predict the future. Since the early church father Irenaeus (c. A.D. 175) indicates that Matthew wrote his Gospel while Paul and Peter were still alive,² the traditional dating has usually settled on the late 50s or early 60s.

      JERUSALEM DURING THE MINISTRY OF JESUS

      The highly influential church at Antioch in Syria, with its large Jewish-Christian and Gentile contingents (cf. Acts 11:19–26; 13:1–3), has often been recognized as the original recipients of this Gospel. This is confirmed in part because of its influence on Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, and on the Didache. But Matthew’s message was equally relevant for the fledgling church throughout the ancient world, and appears to have been disseminated fairly quickly.

      Purpose in Writing

      Matthew’s first verse gives the direction to his purpose for writing: It is a book that establishes Jesus’ identity as the Messiah, the heir to the promises of Israel’s throne through King David and to the promises of blessing to all the nations through the patriarch Abraham. Against the backdrop of a world increasingly hostile to Christianity, Matthew solidifies his church’s identity as God’s true people, who transcend ethnic, economic, and religious barriers to find oneness in their adherence to Jesus Messiah. His gospel becomes a manual on discipleship, as Jew and Gentile become disciples of Jesus who learn to obey all he commanded his original disciples.

      Matthew’s Story of Jesus Messiah

      Matthew’s Gospel, according to citations found in early Christian writers, was the most widely used and influential of any of the Gospels.³ It has retained its appeal throughout the centuries and has exerted a powerful influence on the church. Its popularity is explained at least in part because of the following distinctives that are found throughout this gospel.

      (1) The bridge between Old and New Testaments. From the opening lines of his story, Matthew provides a natural bridge between the Old Testament and New Testament. He demonstrates repeatedly that Old Testament hopes, prophecies, and promises have now been fulfilled in the person and ministry of Jesus, beginning with the fulfillment of the messianic genealogy (1:1), the fulfillment of various Old Testament prophecies and themes, and the fulfillment of the Old Testament law.⁴ The early church likely placed Matthew first in the New Testament canon precisely because of its value as a bridge between the Testaments.

      (2) Salvation-historical particularism and universalism. These terms emphasize that Matthew’s Gospel lays striking emphasis on both the fulfillment of the promises of salvation to a particular people, Israel, and also the fulfillment of the universal promise of salvation to all the peoples of the earth. Matthew’s Gospel alone points explicitly to Jesus’ intention to go first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (10:5–6; 15:24), showing historically how God’s promise of salvation to Israel was indeed fulfilled. Yet the promises made to Abraham that he would be a blessing to all the nations are also fulfilled as Jesus extends salvation to the Gentiles (cf. 21:44; 28:19). The church throughout the ages has found assurance in Matthew’s Gospel that God truly keeps his promises to his people.

      (3) The new community of faith. Facing the threat of gathering Roman persecution within a pagan world, Matthew addresses a church that is representative of the emerging community of faith. The community apparently has a large membership of Jewish Christians, familiar with temple activities and the Jewish religious system. But it also has a large contingent of Gentile Christians, who are discovering their heritage of faith in God’s universal promise of salvation. The church has consistently found in Matthew’s Gospel a call to a new community that transcends ethnic and religious barriers to find oneness in its adherence to Jesus Messiah.

      THE COURT OF THE PRIESTS IN HEROD’S TEMPLE

      This model shows the altar and the bronze laver.

      (4) The church is built and maintained by Jesus’ continuing presence. Matthew alone among the evangelists uses the term ekklesia, which later became the common term to designate the church. He emphasizes explicitly that God’s program of salvation-history will find its continuation in the present age as Jesus builds his church and maintains his presence within its assembly.⁵ Whoever responds to his invitation (22:10)—whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, rich or poor, slave or free—are brought within the church to enjoy his fellowship and demonstrate the true community of faith.

      (5) A great commission for evangelism and mission. The form of Jesus’ commission to make disciples of all the nations (28:19) is unique to Matthew’s Gospel, providing continuity between Jesus’ ministry of making disciples in his earthly ministry and the ongoing ministry of making disciples to which the church has been called. This great commission has been at the heart of evangelistic and missionary endeavor throughout church history.

      (6) The structure of five discourses contributes to a manual on discipleship. The concluding element of the commission, in which Jesus states that new disciples are to be taught to obey everything I have commanded you (28:20), gives a hint to one overall purpose for Matthew’s Gospel. The presentation of five of Jesus’ major discourses, all of which are addressed at least in part to Jesus’ disciples (chs. 5–7, 10, 13, 18, 24–25), forms the most comprehensive collection of Jesus’ earthly instructional ministry found in the Gospels. They provide a wholistic presentation on the kind of discipleship that was to be taught to disciples as the basis for full-orbed obedience to Christ and became the basis for Christian catechesis within the church throughout its history.

      The Geneaology of Jesus Messiah (1:1–17)

      This is the story of the arrival of Jesus of Nazareth, recorded as a compelling witness that Jesus was the long-anticipated Messiah, the prophesied fulfillment of God’s promise of deliverance for both Jew and Gentile.

      A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ (1:1). The Greek word translated genealogy in 1:1 is genesis, beginning, which is the title of the Greek translation (LXX) of Genesis, where it implies that it is a book of beginnings. Genesis gave the story of one beginning—God’s creation and covenant relations with Israel—while Matthew gives the story of a new beginning—the arrival of Jesus the Messiah and the kingdom of God.

      Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham (1:1). Matthew’s opening had special importance to a Jewish audience, which traced their ancestry through the covenants God made with Israel. Jesus (Iesous) was the name normally used in the Gospels,⁶ derived from the Hebrew Yeshua, Yahweh saves (Neh. 7:7), which is a shortened form of Joshua, Yahweh is salvation (Ex. 24:13). Christ is a title, the transliteration of the Greek Christos,⁷ which harks back to David as the anointed king of Israel. The term came to be associated with the promise of a Messiah or anointed one who would be the hope for the people of Israel. God had promised David through Nathan the prophet that the house and throne of David would be established forever (2 Sam.7:11b–16), a promise now fulfilled in Jesus as the son of David. But Jesus is also the son of Abraham. The covenant God made with Abraham established Israel as a chosen people, but it was also a promise that his line would be a blessing to all the nations (Gen. 12:1–3; 22:18).

      Abraham the father of Isaac (1:2). The Jews kept extensive genealogies, which served generally as a record of a family’s descendants, but which were also used for practical and legal purposes to establish a person’s heritage, inheritance, legitimacy, and rights.⁸

      Matthew most likely draws on some of the genealogies found in the Old Testament⁹ and uses similar wording (cf. 1:2 with 2 Chron. 1:34). For the listing of the individuals after Zerubbabel, when the Old Testament ceases, he probably uses records that have since been lost. Other sources indicate that extensive genealogical records were extant during the first century,¹⁰ with some of the more important political and priestly families’ records kept in the temple.¹¹ The official extrabiblical genealogies were lost with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in A.D. 70, yet private genealogies were retained elsewhere.

      REFLECTIONS

      THE GENUINENESS, AND UNlikeliness, of this genealogy must have stunned Matthew’s readers. Jesus’ ancestors were humans with all of the foibles, yet potentials, of everyday people. God worked through them to bring about his salvation. There is no pattern of righteousness in the lineage of Jesus. We find adulterers, harlots, heroes, and Gentiles. Wicked Rehoboam was the father of wicked Abijah, who was the father of good King Asa. Asa was the father of the good King Jehoshaphat (v. 8), who was the father of wicked King Joram. God was working throughout the generations, both good and evil, to bring about his purposes. Matthew shows that God can use anyone— however marginalized or despised—to bring about his purposes. These are the very types of people Jesus came to save.

      Matthew gives a descending genealogy of Jesus in the order of succession, with the earliest ancestor placed at the head and later generations placed in lines of descent. This is the more common form of genealogy in the Old Testament (e.g., Gen. 5:1–32). Luke gives an ascending form of genealogy that reverses the order, starting with Jesus and tracing it to Adam (Luke 3:23–38;cf. Ezra 7:1–5). This reverse order is found more commonly in Greco-Roman genealogies.

      Jesse [was] the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (1:6). David is not simply the son of Jesse (Luke 3:31–32), but King (Matt. 1:6). Matthew traces Jesus’ genealogy through David’s son Solomon, who had succeeded his father as king of Israel, while Luke traces the line through David’s son Nathan, who had not actually reigned as king.¹² David’s greater Son, the anticipated Davidic messianic king, has arrived with the birth of Jesus.¹³

      THE ANGEL APPEARING TO JOSEPH

      A painting in the Church of St. Joseph in Nazareth.

      Tamar … Rahab … Ruth … whose mother had been Uriah’s wife … Mary (1:3, 5, 6, 16). Women were not always included in Old Testament genealogies since descent was traced through men as the head of the family. When women were included, there was usually some particular reason.¹⁴ Matthew seems to emphasize that these women, some of whom were Gentiles, others disreputable, and others wrongfully treated because of their gender, each had a role to play in the line of Messiah. By including them in this genealogy Matthew shows that God is reversing the gender marginalization of women found in some circles in Judaism to bring about his purposes.

      Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ (1:16). While the genealogy establishes that Joseph is the legal father of Jesus, Matthew emphasizes that Mary is the biological parent of whom Jesus was born, preparing for the virgin birth by shifting attention from Joseph to Mary.

      Thus there were fourteen generations (1:17). Matthew skips some generations in Jesus’ family tree so that the structure can be made uniform for memorization, while other members are given prominence to make a particular point. The number fourteen may be a subtle reference to David, because the numerical value of the Hebrew consonants of his name is fourteen (d w d = 4+6+4). The Jewish practice of counting the numerical value for letters is called gematria. Some forms of Jewish mysticism took the practice to extremes,¹⁵ but its most basic form helped in memorization and for encoding theological meaning.

      The Angelic Announcement of the Conception of Jesus Messiah (1:18–25)

      Joseph her husband was a righteous man (1:19). Joseph first learns of Mary’s condition without knowing of the conception’s supernatural origin, and therefore, as a righteous man, it is appropriate to obtain a certificate of divorce because he thinks that she has committed adultery. Once Joseph discovers that Mary is pregnant, he experiences a personal dilemma. Divorce for adultery was not optional, but mandatory, among many groups in ancient Judaism, because adultery produced a state of impurity that, as a matter of legal fact, dissolved the marriage.

      He had in mind to divorce her quietly (1:19). Joseph cannot follow through and marry her, because that would condone what he thinks is her sin of adultery. Therefore Joseph has only two options open to him. He can make Mary’s condition known publicly—but then she will be subject to widespread disgrace as an adulteress, and it can make her liable to be stoned as an adulteress according to the demands of the law.¹⁶ Or he can divorce her quietly—the only option that allows him to retain his righteousness and yet save Mary from public disgrace and possible death. Since the law did not require the deed to be made public, it made allowance for a relatively private divorce (two to three witnesses).

      Jewish Marriage Customs: Betrothal and Wedding

      The marriage customs of Jewish culture at that time usually included two basic stages of the relationship, the betrothal and the wedding.A-3

      (1) Betrothal (or engagement). The first stage of betrothalA-4 was the choosing of a spouse. The family in ancient Near Eastern culture usually initiated the arrangements. Although we find in the Old Testament examples of young men and women making their preferences known (Ruth 2–4), customarily the parents of a young man chose a young woman to be engaged to their son (e.g., Gen. 21:21; 38:6). Young men and women were often pledged between twelve and thirteen years of age, although later rabbinic texts suggest that men in Jesus’ day often married around the age of eighteen.A-5

      The second stage of betrothal involved the official arrangements. In a formal prenuptial agreement before witnesses, the young man and woman entered into the state of betrothal or engagement. This was a legally binding contract, giving the man legal rights over the woman. It could only be broken by a formal process of divorce.A-6 The terminology husband and wife were now used to refer to the betrothed partners (see 1:16, 19, 20, 24). While there is some evidence in Judea of the betrothed couple being alone during this interval at the man’s father’s home,A-7 in Galilee sexual relations between the betrothed partners were not tolerated, and the girl did not leave her own family to live with the man. Sexual unfaithfulness during this stage was considered adultery, the penalty for which was death by stoning (cf. Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:23–24), although by New Testament times stoning was rare. If one of the partners died during the betrothal period, the one remaining alive was a widow or widower.A-8

      (2) Wedding. In a formal ceremony about a year after the betrothal, the marriage proper was initiated.A-9 Dressed in special wedding garments, the bridegroom and companions went in procession to the bride’s home and escorted the bride and bridesmaids back to the groom’s home, where a wedding supper was held (Matt. 22:1–14; Ps. 45:14–15). Parents and friends blessed the couple (Gen. 24:60; Tobit 7:13), and the father of the bride drew up a written marriage contract.A-10 Soon afterward in a specially prepared nuptial chamberA-11 the couple prayed and consummated sexually the marriage, after which a bloodstained cloth was exhibited as proof of the bride’s virginity (Deut. 22:13–21). The wedding festivities continued sometimes for a week or more (Gen. 29:27; Tobit 8:20). Afterward the couple established their own household, although they usually lived with the extended family.

      An angel of the Lord appeared to him (1:20). Sometimes in the Old Testament God himself is represented by the phrase angel of the Lord,¹⁷ but here the angel is one of God’s created spirit beings.¹⁸ The word angel (Gk. angelos; messenger) speaks of one of an angel’s primary roles as a messenger from God to humanity. Nothing is said of this angel’s appearance, but they sometimes took the form of humans (Gen. 18). Gabriel appears in the book of Daniel as an agent of eschatological revelation (Dan. 8:15–26;9:20–27), and in Luke’s Gospel he is the angel of the Lord, who announces both the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah and the birth of Jesus to Mary (Luke 1:11, 19, 26ff.). The unnamed angel of the Lord who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds (Luke 2:9) and here the conception of Jesus to Joseph may also be Gabriel, who seems to have a special role in announcements.¹⁹

      REFLECTIONS

      MATTHEW COMBINES THE REMARKABLE FACTS OF Jesus’ human nature in the genealogy and his divine nature in the conception narrative. Without giving details, the angelic announcement makes clear that the conception is not of ordinary human means, but by a totally unparalleled action of the Holy Spirit. Matthew does not theorize how such a conception can take place but merely presents it as historically authentic.

      There is something both natural and supernatural about Jesus in his conception, birth, and development. Matthew presents the virgin conception and birth of Jesus as an accepted reality, thus accounting for the astounding truth that God has taken on human nature and is now with his people. It is only this God-man who can atone for the sin of humanity, which should cause us to pause in unending gratitude and worship him as Jesus, God saves, and Immanuel, God with us.

      In a dream (1:20). Dreams were commonly believed in the Greco-Roman world not only to be of natural origin, but also to be a medium of divine communication.²⁰ In the Old Testament, dreams were believed to derive from natural, divine, and evil sources,²¹ but primarily point to a message from God about present activities or future events.²² The expression in a dream is more restricted in its New Testament use, found only in Matthew’s Gospel. In each case the dream is related to Jesus,²³ providing supernatural guidance.

      What is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit (1:20). The Old Testament writers repeatedly refer to the Spirit of God as the agency of God’s power (e.g., Gen. 1:2; Judg. 3:10), but it is not until here in the incarnation that the Spirit is clearly understood as a person distinct from the Father and Son.

      Give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (1:21). The name Jesus was popular in Judaism of the first century (see comments on 1:1), being given to sons as a symbolic hope for Yahweh’s anticipated sending of salvation. A highly popular expression of this salvation was the expectation of a Messiah who would save Israel from Roman oppression and purify his people (e.g., Pss. Sol. 17). But the angel draws on a less popular, although perhaps more important theme: Salvation from sin is the basic need of Israel.²⁴

      All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet (1:22). The events surrounding the conception of Jesus fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy made during the dark days of national threat under Ahaz, king of Judah. Isaiah declared that God would not allow an invasion to happen, reassuring the king that God would maintain his promise that a descendent of David would sit on his throne forever (2 Sam. 7:11–17).

      The virgin will be with child (1:23). There are two primary words for virgin in Hebrew. The term almah, which occurs in the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, means maiden, young girl and never refers to a married woman.²⁵ The other primary term is betulah, which can indicate a virgin (Gen. 24:16; Lev. 21:3), but also old widow (Joel 1:8). The Jewish translators of Isaiah 7:14 (LXX) rendered the Hebrew term almah with the Greek term parthenos, which almost without exception specifies a sexually mature, unmarried woman who is a virgin.

      They will call him Immanuel—which means, God with us (1:23). Earlier the angel instructs Joseph to name the child Jesus (1:21)—the name by which he was called through his earthly life and by the early church. We have no record of Jesus being called Immanuel by his family or followers. Instead, as Matthew translates it, the name indicates Jesus’ identity—God with us. The name Jesus specifies what he does (God saves), while the name Immanuel specifies who he is (God with us).

      But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son (1:25). Matthew’s phrase (lit., he was not knowing her) is a delicate way in both Hebrew and Greek to refer to sexual intercourse. Sexual abstinence during pregnancy was widely observed in Judaism of the first century; e.g., Do not lay your hand upon your wife when she is pregnant.²⁶ Josephus writes, For the same reason none who has intercourse with a woman who is with child can be considered pure.²⁷ Abstinence maintains Joseph and Mary’s ritual purification during the pregnancy as well as ensures that Jesus is virgin born. But this is not a hint of continued celibacy after Jesus’ birth. The expression until most naturally means that Mary and Joseph have normal marital sexual relations after Jesus’ birth (cf. 12:46; 13:55).

      The Fulfillment of The Virgin Will Be with Child…

      Isaiah prophesied that a woman who was a virgin at the time of Ahaz (734 B.C.) would bear a son named Immanuel. Since neither the queen nor Isaiah’s wife was a virgin, this most likely was some unmarried young woman within the royal house with whom Ahaz was familiar. The woman would soon marry and conceive a child, and when it was born give it the name Immanuel—perhaps as a symbolic hope of God’s presence in these dark times of national difficulty. Before the child was old enough to know the difference between right and wrong, Judah would be delivered from the threat of invasion from King Pekah of Israel and King Rezin of Aram (Isa. 7:14–17). The northern alliance was broken in 732 B.C., when Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria destroyed Damascus, conquered Aram, and put Rezin to death. All this was within the time-frame miraculously predicted as the sign to Ahaz, plenty of time for the virgin to be married and to carry the child for the nine months of pregnancy, and for the approximately two years it would take until the boy knew the difference between good and evil. Thus there was immediate fulfillment of a miraculous prediction.

      The sign given to Ahaz and the house of Judah was also a prediction of a future messianic figure who would provide spiritual salvation from sin. A future messianic age would honor Galilee of the Gentiles (Isa. 9:1–2), with a child born who would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (9:6). Of this one to whom Isaiah points, only Jesus can be the fulfillment.

      The Magi Visit the Infant Jesus (2:1–12)

      After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea (2:1). As chapter 2 opens, the time frame has jumped ahead upwards of two years (see comments on 2:16). The baby is now a child (2:8, 10), and the family lives in a house in Bethlehem in Judea (2:1), six miles south/southwest of Jerusalem.

      THE NEAR EAST

      Possible route of the Magi.

      ROUTE TO BETHLEHEM

      The Magi arrived at Jerusalem and travelled to Bethlehem.

      Magi (2:1). The term Magi (magoi) was originally used in early records to refer to a priestly caste in ancient Persia, perhaps followers of Zoroaster, the Persian teacher and prophet. Babylonian elements were also introduced. These Magi were leading figures in the religious court life of their country of origin, employing a variety of scientific (astrology), diplomatic (wisdom), and religious (magical incantations) means to try to understand present and future life. This is in distinction from a more common type of magician (e.g., Acts 13:6, 8).

      Magi from the east came to Jerusalem (2:1). Since a large colony of Jews remained in the east after the Exile, especially in Babylon, Parthia, and Arabia, these Magi apparently had been exposed to Judaism from those Jewish colonies. Pagan leaders, both political and religious, were well aware of Jewish religious distinctives, such as the Sabbath observance and marital restrictions.²⁸ If the Magi came from the environs of Babylon, they would have traveled approximately nine hundred miles. Since they would have had to make arrangements for the journey and gather a traveling party, it could have taken several months from the time they first saw the star until they arrived in Jerusalem (cf. Ezra and the returning exiles in Ezra 7:9).

      Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? (2:2). In the world of the first century an expectation circulated that a ruler would arise from Judea. Suetonius writes, Throughout the whole of the East there had spread an old and persistent belief: destiny had decreed that at that time men coming forth from Judea would seize power [and rule the world].²⁹ Israel’s prophets had long spoken of a period of world peace and prosperity that was to be instituted by a future Davidic deliverer (e.g., Ezek. 34:23–31).³⁰

      We saw his star in the east (2:2). Through the Jewish community in their homeland, the Magi may have become familiar with Balaam’s prophecy, A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel (Num. 24:17). In many quarters within Judaism this prophecy was understood to point to a messianic deliverer.³¹ In the book of Revelation Jesus refers to himself in similar language: I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.³²

      MODERN BETHLEHEM

      Have come to worship him (2:2). Suetonius describes the homage that the princely magos Tiridates of Armenia paid to Emperor Nero: As Tiridates approached along a sloping platform, the emperor first let him fall at his feet, but raised him with his right hand and kissed him.³³ Tiridates even addressed Nero as god. Similarly, the Magi in Matthew’s infancy narrative worship Jesus, but with their mixture of influence from paganism, astrology, and the Jewish Scriptures, it is doubtful that the Magi knowingly worshiped Jesus in recognition of his incarnate nature as God-man.

      When King Herod heard this he was disturbed (2:3). Herod had developed a profound fear of attack from the east, especially because of prior invasions of Parthinians and Trachonites. So he built a series of fortress/palaces all along the eastern border, including Masada, Hyrcanium, Machaerus, and the Herodium, to ensure safety from invading forces.³⁴ Since the Magi most likely travel with servants and possibly guards or a military escort to protect themselves and the gifts they are to present to the child, this sizeable company prompts Herod to think that invading forces from the east are joining forces within Israel to oust him.

      The people’s chief priests and teachers of the law (2:4). The chief priests were members of the Sanhedrin (cf. 26:57), joining the high priest in giving oversight to the temple activities, treasury, and priestly orders. The term teacher of the law (grammateus, scribe) was once most closely associated with reading, writing, and making copies of the Scriptures. But by New Testament times it came to signify an expert in interpreting the Law and was used interchangeably with the term lawyer or expert in the law.³⁵

      In Bethlehem in Judea (2:5). The prophet Micah had referred to Bethlehem as the birthplace of the future Messiah (Mic. 5:2), which had become a fairly widespread expectation (cf. John 7:42). Although a small and seemingly insignificant village, Bethlehem was noted as the home of Ruth and Boaz, the ancestors of King David, and the birthplace of David himself.³⁶

      On coming to the house (2:11). Houses built on level ground often formed a series of rooms built around a courtyard. Included in these rooms were living spaces, which doubled as sleeping quarters, cooking area, stables, and storage rooms. Houses built in hilly areas might find two-story homes. The lower floor had a courtyard surrounded by stables, while the upper floor had the living/sleeping rooms. In rocky cavernous areas, the lower floor might incorporate caves or grottos into the structure as underground stables.³⁷

      They opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh (2:11). When approaching royalty or persons of high religious, political, or social status, gifts were often brought to demonstrate obeisance.³⁸ Gold was valued throughout the ancient world as a medium of exchange as well as a precious metal for making jewelry, ornaments, and dining instruments for royalty. Incense or frankincense³⁹ is derived from an amber resin, which produced a sweet odor when burned. It was used as a perfume (Song 3:6; 4:6, 14), but in Israel it was used ceremonially for the only incense permitted on the altar (Ex. 30:9, 34–38).⁴⁰ Myrrh consists of a mixture of resin, gum, and the oil myrrhol and was used in incense (Ex. 30:23), as a perfume for garments or for a lover’s couch,⁴¹ as a stimulant (cf. Mark 15:23), and to pack in the wrappings of the clothing of a deceased person to stifle the smell of the body decaying (cf. John 19:39).⁴²

      The Christmas Star

      Several possibilities

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