Hunter Matthew

A 12-Week Study
1. Auflage 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4335-4021-9
Verlag: Crossway
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 96 Seiten

Reihe: Knowing the Bible

The book of Matthew paints a powerful portrait of Jesus as Israel's long-awaited Messiah, the one who would bring God's kingdom to earth and fulfill his promises to his people. Leading readers through this hope-filled book, this guide explains the biblical text with clarity and passion-inviting us to encounter God's one and only Son: Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Over the course of 12 weeks, these studies explore books of the Bible and: - Ask thoughtful questions to spur discussion - Show how each passage unveils the gospel - Tie the text in with the whole story of Scripture - Illuminate the doctrines taught in each passage - Invite you to discover practical implications - Help you better understand and apply God's Word

Drew Hunter (MA, Wheaton College) is the teaching pastor at Zionsville Fellowship in Zionsville, Indiana. He is the author of Made for Friendship and the Isaiah and Matthew volumes in the Knowing the Bible series. Drew and his wife, Christina, live in Zionsville, Indiana, and have four children.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hunter, Drew

Leseproben

WEEK 2: THE
ARRIVAL OF JESUS
THE MESSIAH

Matthew 1–2

The Place of the Passage

The opening two chapters of Matthew announce the arrival in world history of Jesus Christ. This was a long-anticipated moment in an ongoing story. Through various Old Testament references, allusions, and quotations Matthew shows us that Jesus came as the climax of the Old Testament storyline. He is the long awaited Messiah,1 the King who will bring to fulfillment God’s promises to rescue his people and restore this broken world.

The Big Picture

In Matthew 1–2 Jesus arrives as the long-awaited King who came to save his people from their sins.

Reflection and Discussion

Read through the complete passage for this study, Matthew 1–2. Then think through and write your own notes on the following questions. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 1820–1823, available online at www.esvbible.org.)

1. The Long-Awaited King Arrives (1:1–1:25)

From his titles (Matt. 1:1) to his genealogy (1:2–17), Matthew clearly situates Jesus within history in general and the Old Testament story in particular. How so?

By calling Jesus the “son of Abraham” and “son of David” (Matt. 1:1), Matthew gives us a concise yet thick description of Jesus’ identity. Reflect on the central promises God gave to Abraham (see Gen. 12:1–3; 22:18) and David (see 2 Sam. 7:11–16; Ps. 89:3–4). What light do these shed on what Jesus came to do?

Since ancient genealogies customarily traced lineage through men, the inclusion of five women—Tamar (Matt. 1:3), Rahab (v. 5), Ruth (v. 5), Bathsheba (“the wife of Uriah”; v. 6), and Mary (v. 16)—is unusual. Further, Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth were Gentiles (non-Jews), and Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba were women of questionable character. Why would Matthew draw attention to these aspects of Jesus’ lineage? How does this already anticipate what we learn of Jesus in 1:21?

What evidence is there that Matthew’s presentation of Jesus’ genealogy is very carefully structured? Identify the key moments or turning points in the ongoing story that is referenced through the genealogy.

When he heard that Mary was pregnant, Joseph naturally assumed that she had been unfaithful to him. Yet how did he respond (Matt. 1:18–19)? How did he change his actions after the angel visited him (vv. 20–24)? In what ways is Joseph portrayed as a model disciple (consider 9:13; 12:7)?

2. Initial Responses to the King (2:1–12)

The foreign wise men (or magi, i.e., magicians or astrologers) were likely familiar with Old Testament prophecies. How does Numbers 24:17 help us understand why they would follow a star to find a king? Additionally, read Psalm 72:8–11, 15, in the context of the whole psalm. How does this shed light on the wise men’s actions in Matthew 2:11?

Isaiah 60:1–5 tells us that when a “light” comes to Israel it will be the time of salvation for his people and renewal for the world. This should cause the people’s hearts to thrill and rejoice (Isa. 60:5). When this “light” finally comes, who ends up responding properly and who does not (note Matt. 2:3, 10)?

How do Herod’s disposition, plotting, and actions in Matthew 2:3–8 and verse 16 already set our expectations for what is to come (see Matt. 26:3–4; 27:1–2)?

3. Flight and Return (2:13–23)

Review Exodus 1:15–22 and 2:11–15, then consider in what ways Herod’s actions in Matthew 2:13–16 parallel those of the ancient king of Egypt.

Three times in Matthew 2:13–23 we hear that something happened to Jesus in order that the Old Testament might be “fulfilled” (2:15, 17–18, 23). What is Matthew trying to show us about the relationship between Old Testament expectations and the arrival of Jesus?

Read through the following three sections on Gospel Glimpses, Whole-Bible Connections, and Theological Soundings. Then take time to consider the Personal Implications these sections may have for you.

Gospel Glimpses

COUNTERCULTURAL GRACE. Matthew’s genealogy presses firmly against his day’s cultural impulses. First, while genealogies would typically include only men, Matthew mentions four women. Second, he doesn’t go out of his way to include the noblest women in Jesus’ line, such as Sarah, the great matriarch and wife of Abraham. Just the opposite. Tamar posed as a prostitute (Genesis 38), Rahab was a prostitute, and David made Bathsheba an adulterer. Third, Rahab and Ruth were Gentiles, and Bathsheba was married to a Gentile. Jesus’ lineage runs against the first century’s cultural instincts (by including women), moral instincts (by including these women), and religious instincts (by including non-Jews). Jesus didn’t come for a particular gender, race, or type of sinner (see Gal. 3:29). Woven into the very lineage of our Savior are the diverse kinds of people he came to save.

SAVED FROM SINS. “Jesus” is the Greek name for the Hebrew “Joshua,” which means, “Yahweh2 saves.” This name communicates what he came to do: “you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). “Salvation” is often a comprehensive term for all the ways that God saves his people through the work of Jesus. Here in Matthew the focus is on being saved from our sins, for this is our deepest problem and most basic need. Jesus’ name declares his commitment to rescue us from this root issue. And what is declared in his name was displayed in his death, for there he saves us by taking upon himself all our sins.

Whole-Bible Connections

A CONTINUING STORY. Like a book with chapters, the Old Testament is a singular epic story that progresses from one shorter story to the next. This story begins with the creation of the world (Genesis 1–2), plunges into the fall3 (Genesis 3), and rises with God’s promise to make all things right again (Gen. 3:15; 12:1–3). According to the contours of Matthew’s genealogy, the outworking of this promise begins with Abraham, progresses through kingship with David and exile into Babylon, and ends with an increased longing for the arrival of the Christ, or Messiah (Matt. 1:17). This opening to Matthew’s Gospel is more than a list of names; it is a genealogical story wherein the history of Israel is reviewed and brought to its proper climax with Jesus Christ.

THE PROMISED KING. God promised David that one from his own line would rule forever over an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12–13). While Israel’s kingdom crumbled, the prophets kept the promise alive (Isa. 9:6–7; Jer. 33:17; Ezek. 34:23–24). After centuries of waiting, Matthew announces that this “son of David” has arrived (Matt. 1:1). He traces Jesus’ lineage right through David, “the king” (1:6), and up to Joseph, another “son of David” (1:16, 20), who adopts Jesus into this royal line. As a consequence of his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus is already reigning as King, though we do not yet see the full manifestation of his rule that will occur when he returns.

NEW EXODUS. Matthew tells us Jesus’ flight to Egypt and subsequent return occurred in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken in Hosea 11:1: “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Matt. 2:15). This quotation from Hosea is not in itself, however, a future-looking prediction about Jesus, but a backward remembering of Israel when they, as God’s “son” (see Ex. 4:22–23), were brought out from Egypt at the exodus.4 If it’s not a promise, how can it be fulfilled? When we read the quotation in its context, we find that Hosea isn’t just thinking of the past exodus-event. He is looking forward to another exodus-like redemption for God’s people (Hos. 2:14–15; 11:8–12, especially v. 11). Jesus arrives as the true “Son” of God, the true Israel. The exodus story is reenacted in Jesus’ own life to show that he has come to fulfill Hosea’s promise of a new and greater deliverance for those he saves. Jesus came to bring us out of our slavery to sin and Satan in order to restore us to God.

Theological Soundings

INCARNATION. Mary “was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 1:18). This is a great mystery. We call it the incarnation, which literally means “en-fleshing.” In a singular moment of time, just over 2,000 years ago, the God who created all things entered into this creation and became a part of it. In Jesus Christ, God became a man. Jesus is not half-man and half-God, but he is truly man and truly God, and both, so to speak, in full. He is this human “child” inside of Mary, and yet he is also to be called “Immanuel,” which means, “God with us” (1:23).

ANGELS. Angels, messengers of God, serve an important role in the events surrounding the earliest days of Jesus’ life. As an angel (Gabriel) had announced Jesus’ forthcoming birth to Mary, so angels appeared to Joseph when he was planning to break off his...