Matthew’s Gospel Bible Study | Part 1 | Mike Prah

Apr 3, 2024 | by Mike Prah

Matthew’s Gospel Bible Study Pt 1 | Mike Prah

MATTHEW 1:1-25: The Faithful Providence & Fulfilled Promise of God

Introductory to the Gospel According to Matthew

I. The Relationship to the Other Gospels

A. Matthew is primarily Jewish and presents Christ as the King (Matthew 1:1: “the Son of David”).

B. Mark is primarily Roman and presents Christ as the Servant.

C. Luke is primarily for the Greeks and presents Christ as the perfect Son of Man.

D. John is universal in appeal and presents Christ as the eternal Son of God.

II. The Jewish Character of Matthew’s Gospel

A. It was written by a Jewish tax collector named Levi (Matt. 9:9–13; Luke 5:27–32; Mark 2:13–17).

B. Because of its position, it is the bridge between the OT and the NT.

C. It abounds in OT quotations and references.

According to W. Graham Scroggie’s Guide to the Gospels there are 53 quotations from the OT and 76 references to OT passages, a total of 129 references or allusions. Matthew refers to 25 of the 39 OT books. The word “fulfilled” is used at least 12 times (see 1:22; 2:15, 17, 23, etc.).

D. Christ is spoken of often as the Son of David (Matthew 1:1; 9:27; 12:23, etc.)

E. It is filled with references to “the kingdom heaven,” basically a Jewish concept, and can rightly be termed “The Kingdom Gospel.”

F. The content exclusive to Matthew's Gospel reflects its Jewish identity.

This includes Christ’s genealogy to Abraham (Matthew 1:1–17); the information about Joseph (Matthew 1:18–25); the mission of the disciples to the lost sheep of the Children of Israel (Matthew 10); Christ’s denunciation of the Pharisees (Matthew 23); and several parables in Matthew chapters 20–22 and 25.

III. The Basic Theme of Matthew

A. Matthew is not chronological, as are Mark and Luke.

Matthew has selected material from Christ’s life and arranged it to convey one specific truth: Christ is the King of the Jews, rejected by His people, crucified for the whole world, and now alive in heaven.

B. In chapters 1–10, Christ reveals Himself as the long-awaited King of the Jews.

Jesus was born as predicted, announced by the messenger God promised, and proved His messiahship by doing the very works the prophets said He would do.

In chapters 11–13, the Jewish leaders rebel against Him and claim Christ’s works are of the devil. They insisted on their man-made traditions and religious customs instead of His principles. Though He did many mighty works, the nation rejected Him; and the result was that Jesus turned to the Gentiles (“Come unto Me all you that labor,” Matthew 11:28) and gave the parables of the kingdom (chap. 13). He described in these parables what the kingdom would be like on earth during this present age.

C. In chapters 14–20 Christ retires with His disciples to prepare them for the events of the Cross.

Of course, He is still carrying on a public ministry, but during this time He is specifically teaching the disciples new truths concerning His death and resurrection. Here we have Peter’s great confession of faith, the first prediction of Christ’s death, and the first mention of the church.

D. In Matthew 21–27, the King is openly rejected.

What began as rebellion now becomes open hostility and leads to His crucifixion. During this time He is in open conflict with the religious leaders. He teaches His disciples what the future will be like (chaps. 24–25) and willingly dies on the cross as “the King of the Jews” (27:29).

E. The final chapter gives His resurrection and ascension as a King with all authority over all things.

IV. The Kingdom of Heaven

A. The kingdom of heaven refers to the rule of God on the earth.

It takes different forms at different times.

In the beginning, God ruled on earth through Adam, whom He appointed to have dominion.
During the days of Israel, He ruled through judges and kings.
When Israel went into captivity, God even ruled through Gentile monarchs (Dan. 2:37). Christ offered Himself to the Jews when He came (see Matt. 4:17), but they did not receive Him. “He came unto His own [world], and His own [people] received Him not” (John 1:11). The Jews rejected the kingdom when they rejected the King.
In Matt. 13, He described the kingdom of heaven in this age. It is a mixture of good and bad, true and false. At the end of the age, the good will be separated from the evil, and the kingdom will be established on the earth in purity and righteousness. The church is in the kingdom of heaven, but it is not the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps the best equivalent for “the kingdom of heaven” in today’s vocabulary is the word “Christendom,” the “professed church” as seen in the world, a mixture of the true and the false.

MATTHEW 1:1-25 - The Faithful Providence & Fulfilled Promise of God

In the first ten chapters of Matthew, we have “The Revelation of the King.” He reveals Himself to the Jews as to His Person (1–4), His principles (5–7), and His power (8–10).

Remember that Matthew is seeking to prove that Jesus Christ is the King, “the Son of David.” In this first chapter, he gives the human ancestry of Christ (vv. 1–17), then describes the birth of Christ (vv. 18–25). Thus, Jesus is the “root and the offspring of David” (Rev. 22:16). He is “the root” in that He is eternal God and brought David into being; He is the “offspring” in that His humanity is linked to David in His birth (Rom. 1:1–4).

1. The Faithful Providence of God (Matthew 1:1–17)

Providence is God’s control of circumstances so that His will prevails and His purposes are fulfilled.

Think of Satan’s attacks against Israel and how he sought to prevent Christ from coming! Because of Abraham’s disobedience, Sarah was almost lost and the promised seed ruined (Gen. 12:10–20). At one time, the royal seed of David was all slain, except for young Joash (2 Kings 11).
Jesus’ genealogy is not a dull list of names. It is a record of the faithfulness of God in preserving the children of Abraham as a channel through whom Christ could come into the world.
Matthew’s genealogy is of Joseph, Jesus’ father in the eyes of the law. Luke gives Mary’s genealogy. Mary and Joseph were both descendants of David.
You can see the grace of God in this list of names. Note the four women mentioned who illustrate the grace of God.

Tamar (Matthew 1:3 see Gen. 38)
Rahab (Matthew 1:3, see Josh. 2; Heb. 11:31)
Ruth (Matthew 1:5, see the Book of Ruth)
Bathsheba (Matthew 1:6, see 2 Sam. 12).
Mary is also mentioned.

Tamar was guilty of whoredom, yet God permitted her to be listed in the ancestry of Christ.

Rahab was both a harlot and a foreigner. She was saved by her faith.

Ruth was a Moabitess; and according to Deuteronomy 23:3–6, she was excluded from the nation of Israel.

Bathsheba was partner to David’s awful sin, yet God forgave her and permitted her to be one of Christ’s ancestors through Solomon.

“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, not even in the tenth generation. For they did not come to meet you with bread and water on your way when you came out of Egypt, and they hired Balaam son of Beor to pronounce a curse on you. However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them as long as you live.” Deuteronomy 23:3–6 (NIV)

“God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.” Romans 5:20 (NLT)

2. The Fulfilled Promise of God (Matthew 1:18–25)

“18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quickly.

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus” Matthew 1:18–25 (NLT)

“Betrothal” (engagement) among the Jews was as binding as marriage. When Joseph discovered Mary’s condition, he naturally assumed she had been unfaithful to him. Note his prudence: “While he thought on these things” (v. 20). How important it is to be “slow to become angry” and to consider matters thoughtfully! (see Prov. 21:5)

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:19-20 (NIV)

According to Deut. 22:23–24, Mary could have been stoned. Indications are that the Jews did not obey this law but rather allowed the innocent party to divorce the unfaithful mate. It took great faith for Joseph to believe God’s message in the dream. His love for God and for Mary made him willing to “bear reproach” for Christ. Imagine how the neighbors must have talked!

In John 8:41, there is a suggestion that the Jews slandered Christ’s birth, intimating that He was born of fornication. Satan has always attacked the truth of the Virgin Birth, for when he does, he denies the Person and work of Christ and the truth of the Bible.

“You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” John 8:41 (NKJV)

The name Jesus (Matthew 1:16) means “Savior” and is a Greek version of the Hebrew name “Joshua.” In the OT, there are two well-known Joshuas: the soldier who led Israel into Canaan (see the Book of Joshua), and the high priest mentioned in Zech. 3. Christ is our Captain of Salvation, leading us to victory. He is our Great High Priest, representing us before the throne of God.

Christ’s birth fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14.

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you[a] a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” Isaiah 7:14 (Matthew 1:23)

In Isaiah 7 Ahaz was about to be attacked by Rezin, King of Syria, and Pekah, King of Israel. The Lord sent Isaiah to encourage Ahaz (Isaiah 7:1–9) and to give Ahaz a sign. Ahaz acted very pious and refused the sign. So, God gave the sign to the whole house of David, not just to Ahaz (see Isaiah 7:13). The sign is the birth of Immanuel (“God with us”) to the virgin mother. This sign had nothing to do with Ahaz at that time.

The Hebrew word in Isaiah 7:14 and the Gk. word in Matt. 1:23, can only mean virgin

We must admire Joseph’s immediate obedience (Matthew 1:24). He was careful to keep his relationship with Mary pure.

“Fulfilled” (Matthew 1:22) is a favorite word of Matthew’s. He uses it at least twelve times to show that Jesus completed the prophecies given in the OT Scriptures.