Exposition of Matthew Study Help
Introduction (Matthew 1:1-15 KJV)
(The Importance of Matthew and the study of the Bible)
Questions to be answered in this study
- Why is the study of the Bible so important?
- Why study Matthew?
- What is the key theme of the book of Matthew?
- What is the church?
- Why is the church not an organization?
- What is the kingdom of heaven?
- What is the kingdom of God?
- How did four Gentile women get into the genealogy of Jesus?
Introduction
Why Study Matthew? Or why study the Bible? The main reason is, God in His word commands it for all believers: 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV), “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” The study of the Bible is very important: God gave us the Bible to guide us and teach us how to live, and live abundantly, and even more importantly, how we may have eternal life. Also, from His Word, we receive mercy and comfort: In 2 Corinthians 1:3m(KJV), we read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.” God’s mercy is, he sent his only begotten Son to die in our place to atone for our sins that we might be saved and have the promise of eternal life. That is mercy to the uttermost. Added to His mercy, He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell each believer, to be our comforter every second, every day of our life, even in trying times such as these today.
Matthew is an excellent place to start an in-depth study of God’s Word. Some consider Matthew to be the most important book of the Bible and the most important book ever written. Some believe Matthew it is essential in understanding and interpreting the Bible. I tend to agree with those suppositions. Matthew logically is the first book of the New Testament. It is the transition from the Old Testament to the New. It goes back to the Old Testament and picks up verses relevant to the Message of the New Testament.
The key theme of the book of Matthew is The Kingdom of Heaven. The words the Kingdom of Heaven are found 32 times in Mathew and found only in Mathew. Other references such as “Thy Kingdom” and other similar terms that refer to the Kingdom of heaven are also mentioned in Mathew and the different accounts of the gospel. The Kingdom of God is found 72 times in the New Testament. We need to understand, the Church is not the same as the Kingdom of Heaven, although it is a part of it. For instance, it is like I live in Mt Juliet, which is in Wilson County, which is in the state of Tennessee. Even though Mt Juliet is in Wilson County, it is not Wilson County; neither is Wilson County, the state of Tennessee.
How the Church and the Kingdom of heaven are related:
First, what is the Church? The Greek word for Church is “Ecclesia.” Ecclesia is correctly defined: “The called-out.” Therefore, depending on the application, it can be used as a religious term or a secular term. More accurately, the Church is the body of Christ. “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it,” 1 Corinthians 12:27 (KJV).
The Church is sometimes incorrectly called an organization. It is correctly called the body because it is a living entity; it is called the body of Christ because Christ is its Head and Founder; it is called the mystical body because it is neither a purely physical nor a purely spiritual entity supernatural. The first called out ones concerning the Church were Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Peter was the first disciple. Peter also was prominent among the disciples: Matthew 16:18 (KJV), Jesus said, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates…” Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” The whole meaning of the passage, to paraphrase, is this: “I will make you the honored instrument of making known my gospel first to Jews and Gentiles, and I will make you a firm and distinguished preacher in building my church.”
Peter was not the foundation of the Church, nor the first Pope, as Rome would have us believe. Ephesians 2:19-22 (KJV) clarifies the foundation of the Church: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Jesus was the essence of the foundation, the cornerstone “being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together,” [or held together] and the apostles were part of the foundation. The Church was already formed by the time Jesus ascended into heaven and was formalized on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit indwelled the apostles and the remaining of the 120 that had gathered in the upper room.
Second, what is the Kingdom of Heaven? It Is the future Kingdom which Jesus will set up at his second coming. It will be an honest government by God with Jesus Christ as Ruler, Matthew 28:18; 1 Timothy 6:14,15 (KJV). Its mission is to accomplish God’s will in heaven and on earth, Matthew 6:10 (KJV). The Kingdom of heaven will accomplish what human world institutions have never achieved. All believers will be part of that Kingdom. “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years,” Revelation 29:6 (KJV). The thousand years refers to the millennial Kingdom, which will take place when Jesus returns to the earth after the tribulation period.
Third, what is the Kingdom of God? It is the universal Kingdom of God, which is God’s eternal rule and sovereignty over all the universe and includes all other Biblical kingdoms, the Church, the Kingdom of heaven, heaven, and all the angels. We, as believers and the Church, are also part of the Kingdom of God.
Matthew is the author of the first gospel.Matthew was an apostle and a Jew. He was also a publican before he became a follower of Jesus. Publicans were tax collectors appointed by the Roman Empire to make sure that all taxes were collected. Tax collectors were hated by the populace of that day.
The first chapter of Matthew includes three main topics:
1. Genealogy leading to the virgin birth of Jesus
2. The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ
3. Jesus called Emanuel
Matthew records the genealogy of Joseph’s side. When we get to the book of Luke, there is the genealogy of Mary’s side. Notice the wording here in verse one: “The book of the generation.” You can search the entire Scripture until you think there is not another reference like this until you suddenly run across the only other one, found, in Genesis 5:1 (KJV): “This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him.”
There are only two generations in the Bible:One is of Adam, and the other is of Jesus Christ. You got into the generation of Adam by birth. However, “All in Adam die,” Romans 5:12 (KJV). How do we get into the generation of Jesus? We cannot inherit the new birth. You are not a part of the generation of Christ just because your father or mother is. The Bible says that only those who are born again are part of the generation of Christ: “were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God,” John 1:13 (KJV). That is what puts us into the “Lambs Book of Life.”
Matthew says that Jesus is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham. That seems to be out of order, and it is chronologically. He is the Son of David first because He follows the kingship of David. He is the king, which sets up His Kingdom on earth. He is secondly the Son of Abraham because he is the promised seed to bless all nations, Genesis 28:18 (KJV). This is explained in Galatians 3:16 (KJV): “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
Genealogy leading to the virgin birth of Jesus
Matthew 1:1-6, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2“Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren; 3And Judah begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; (Gen 38) and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram; And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon; 5And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; (Josh 2) and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; (Ruth) and Obed begat Jesse; 6Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias.” Even though she is not named here, we know that Bathsheba was the wife of Urias, 2 Samuel 11:3.
There is something quite remarkable about this genealogy:
- Hebrew genealogies did not ordinarily include women.
- The genealogy of Jesus includes four women.
- They are not only women but also gentiles.
Also, God commanded Israel not to intermarry with gentiles of the promised land. Then why were these four included in the genealogy of Jesus? By the way, this genealogy is not the same as the one found in 1 Chronicles 3, where Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah were left out, and sometimes the names are spelled differently. Is that a contradiction? Actually, no, because names are sometimes spelled differently in Scripture as they are today. There are two ways to spell my first name and several ways to spell my last name. Also, ordinarily, all the names of genealogy are not included. That would be overwhelming.
This is how these four women got into the genealogy:Judah became one of the leading tribes of Israel and the tribe from which Jesus descended. Judah’s line continued through Thamar a gentile, who sinned with Judah, her father-in-law, and was pregnant as a result. Rachab the gentile was the harlot, who hid the spies from Israel, who were spying out Jericho. Because of her faith, she was spared when Israel destroyed Jericho. Ruth was the gentile daughter-in-law of Naomi, who married Boaz, and Bathsheba, possibly gentile, wife of David, formerly the wife of Urias.
Matthew 1:10-11 (KJV): “And Ezekias begat Manasses, and Manasses begat Amon, and Amon begat Josias; And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon.”
There is a textual problem that needs to be resolved here. In verse 11, King Jechonias was a wicked king. God said of him in Jeremiah 22:24,30 (KJV): “As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; 30Thus saith the Lord, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.” Remember, this is the genealogy of Joseph. Even though both Joseph and Mary needed to be in the linage of David, it was of the seed of Mary that Jesus would be born and become the successor of the throne of David, not Joseph’s or Jechonias’ seed. Joseph came through the royal line of Solomon while Mary came through Nathan, the Son of David. Therefore, there is no contradiction. Jechonias and his seed never would rule again in Judah.”