HE BIRTH OF ESUS

ATTHEW 1:1--2:23

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

". . . and to Jacob was born Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ . . . ." (1:1--2:23).

In the fall of 1988, the movie The Last Temptation of Christ had created such a sensation that the cover of one issue of Time magazine asked, "Who Is Jesus Christ?" No other figure in the history of the world has had the impact that this one man from Nazareth has had, even though it has now been almost two thousand years since He came to earth. Remarkably, however, the majority of the world now does not know who He is any more than people did then.

The New Testament begins with four "Gospels"--four accounts of the life of Jesus which are designed to tell us who Jesus is. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John do not simply tell about Him; they proclaim Him. The goal of these inspired writers is to convince us to believe in Jesus, to follow Him, and to love Him.

Among the four Gospels, Matthew has always been the most popular. It was the most quoted Gospel by writers in the ancient church and probably continues to be the best known of the four today. It recounts for us such muchloved events as Jesus' birth, the Sermon on the Mount, the memorable "Kingdom Parables," His all-important death and resurrection, and ends with the stirring Great Commission, which has been regarded as the "marching orders" of the church ever since Jesus spoke these words.

Matthew's unique purpose in his Gospel is to portray Jesus as the King and to tell what it means to be in His kingdom. Chapters 1 and 2 give information about Jesus' birth and the events surrounding it. From the very beginning of his

Gospel, Matthew reveals through the story of Jesus' birth who He is.

JESUS WAS BORN Matthew 1:1-17 contains the genealogy of Jesus. This may seem an odd beginning, but the question of Jesus' ancestry was extremely important to the predominantly Jewish audience for whom Matthew originally wrote. His genealogy should be important to us as well because it reminds us that He was fully human. He had parents, grandparents, and a host of other ancestors. He lived and died at a certain point in history. Jesus Christ is not a "myth" or merely a symbol of goodness and hope. He lived and died as a man. Matthew's concern is not just to show that Jesus was "a" man, but that He is "the" Man-- the one through whom all of God's promises to Abraham and to David were fulfilled.1 The first verse of Matthew identified Him as "Jesus Christ," that is, Jesus the Messiah, the one sent from God to bring about His kingdom. He is also the "Son of David" and the "Son of Abraham," the two most important characters in the genealogical list. God had promised Abraham that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Matthew will show that this promise is now fulfilled in Christ. Likewise, God had promised David that he would have a descendant upon the throne of Israel forever. Matthew will show that this descendant is none other than Jesus of Nazareth, the King of kings. Everything God has ever done or promised to do is brought to fulfill-

1Jack D. Kingsbury, Matthew as Story, 2d ed. (Philadelphia, Pa.: Fortress Press, 1988), 52.

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ment in this one man--Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.

JESUS WAS BORN DIVINE Having established Jesus' humanity in 1:117, Matthew now proclaims in 1:18-25 that He was not "just" a man. Many people could claim to be physically descended from Abraham and David. Only Jesus was begotten by the Holy Spirit. Actually, Jesus was not physically descended from David. He was a legal descendant by virtue of His adoption by Joseph, who was not His physical father.2 The story of Jesus' conception and birth is a beautiful one, but it is more than just a beautiful story. It shows the perfect blending of His humanity and His divinity. The result is unforgettably stated in 1:23--Jesus is "Emmanuel," "God with us." Jesus was God walking on earth, God in human form, fully human yet fully divine. That is why all that people in His own day said about His identity was inadequate. They might call Him "the carpenter," a "prophet," "Elijah," or "John the Baptist" reincarnated. But no matter how well-intentioned these descriptions might have been, they all fell short--until people also came to recognize Jesus as God's own Son.

JESUS WAS BORN, LOVED, HATED, AND IGNORED

Matthew 2:1-23 tells the familiar story of the "wise men" who came from afar to worship Jesus. It also tells of Herod, the megalomaniac who so feared the prophecy of the birth of a new king that he insanely ordered the slaughter of baby boys in an attempt to eradicate any possible successor to the throne of Israel. It tells of Joseph's desperate flight into Egypt to save the life of his little son. While these accounts are fascinating in their own right, they also have a symbolic quality. They foreshadow how it would always be. Jesus would always be loved, hated, and ignored.

The "wise men" were most likely astrologers. God used their preoccupation with the stars to reveal the birth of His Son. As a result, "the wise men" sought Jesus in order to worship and adore Him and to bring Him gifts. There

2R. V. G. Tasker, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1961), 32.

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always has been and always will be a significant minority who love and worship Jesus for who He is.

Herod was evil, cruel, and jealous. When he saw in Jesus nothing but a threat to his own power, he tried to destroy Him from birth. Even when Herod was dead, Joseph was afraid to return to Judea, because as 2:22 relates, Herod was succeeded on the throne by his equally evil son Archelaus. Jesus has always had His enemies; He always will. The Last Temptation of Christ was a shameful distortion of His life, and it naturally aroused storms of protest from believers. But the world cannot be stopped from being the world. Rather, whatever the world says about Jesus can be used as an opportunity to tell who He really is, just as Matthew does.

In addition to the hatred of Herod at the birth of Jesus was the shocking indifference of "all the chief priests and scribes of the people" (2:4). Herod assembled this august body of religious leaders to ascertain from them where the Messiah was to be born. Verses 5 and 6 show that they knew the Scriptures well, for they immediately were able to pinpoint from the prophecy of Micah 5:2 the place of His birth--Bethlehem, only five miles from Jerusalem. Yet the record indicates that not one of these knowledgeable theologians went to worship Him! As J. C. Ryle wrote, these men "had the knowledge of Scripture in the head, but no grace in the heart."3 Their indifference to Jesus is amazing, given their knowledge that the Messiah was coming and knowing exactly where, but they merely foreshadow the millions today who know about Jesus but refuse to serve Him.

JESUS WAS BORN ACCORDING TO PROPHECY

Five times in chapters 1 and 2, Matthew quotes Old Testament prophecies to show that Jesus is their fulfillment:

Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which translated means, "God with us" (1:22, 23).

3J. C. Ryle, Expository Thought on the Gospels, vol. 1, Matthew-Mark (reprint, Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1977), 11.

And they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet, `And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah; for out of you shall come forth a Ruler, who will shepherd My people Israel" (2:5, 6).

And he arose and took the Child and His mother by night, and departed for Egypt; and was there until the death of Herod, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, "Out of Egypt did I call My Son" (2:14, 15).

Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be comforted, because they were no more" (2:17, 18).

And came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He shall be called a Nazarene" (2:23).

In addition to these direct prophecies of events surrounding the birth of Jesus, numerous indications of divine guidance of the various events are in these two chapters:

And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way (2:12).

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him" (2:13).

But when Herod was dead, behold, and angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise and take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel for those who sought the Child's life are dead" (2:19, 20).

But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee (2:22).

of prophecy, and the coming of Israel's Messiah. In this Gospel, more than in the other three, the Messiahship of Jesus is a prominent theme.

Even from the beginning of this distinctly "Jewish" Gospel, Matthew shows that Jesus is more than just the Messiah of Israel--He is the Savior of both Jews and Gentiles. Note the following facts which demonstrate this:

1. Of the three women listed in this genealogy of Jesus (Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth), two of them (Rahab and Ruth) are Gentiles.

2. The "wise men" are Gentiles, yet they come to worship Jesus. R. H. Gundry has called them "a vanguard of Gentiles who come to worship."4 Their worship as Gentiles anticipates all of us who worship the Savior and are not physically of Israel.

3. Among those listed in the genealogy, not all are pure and pious. Tamar was an adulteress (Genesis 38), Rahab was a harlot (Joshua 6), Isaac, Jacob, and David all committed their share of sins. Yet Jesus came to save them too! He is not just the Messiah of Israel--He is everybody's Messiah!

CONCLUSION When the angel told Joseph not to fear to take Mary for his wife, he assured him that the child she was carrying was "conceived . . . of the Holy Spirit." Then he added, "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). That is why God sent His Son into the world to save us from our sins. That is who he is--your Savior. But not all will allow Him to save them, even though He wants to. Will you?

--Tommy South

4R. H. Gundry, Matthew: A Commentary on His Literary and Theological Art (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982), 26.

The point of all this is clear: God was fully in control of the events surrounding the birth of His Son, to bring about His will. The fulfillment of prophecies and the constant divine intervention demonstrate further that Jesus is indeed the Messiah promised to Israel.

JESUS WAS BORN THE SAVIOR OF ALL Matthew is often described as a distinctly

"Jewish" Gospel. He assumes a knowledge of and interest in the Old Testament, the fulfillment

God's Son or a Fraud?

If Jesus Christ was not everything He claimed to be, then Jesus Christ was the biggest liar the world has ever known. If He was not God and Mary's Son, then Jesus Christ sold the world the greatest gold brick; he has fooled more people, and is the author of more false hope than any man who ever lived in the world.

Reuel Lemmons

?Copyright, 1990, 2004 by Truth for Today

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