the gospel of matthew -...

Matthew’s Position Among the Gospels

A s a Gospel, Matthew is an ancient biography, and the information treated in the introduction to the Gospels in general also applies to Matthew. But just as other ancient biographies differed from one another even when they described the same person, so do the four Gospels. Of the four Gospels, Matthew is the most

carefully arranged by topic and therefore lends itself most easily to a hierarchical outline. Along with John, Matthew is also an emphatically Jewish Gospel; Matthew moves in a thought world resembling that of the emerging rabbinic movement (the circle of Jewish sages and law-teachers) more than do the other Synoptic Gospels. (Our sources for rabbinic Judaism are later than the NT, but later rabbis avoided early Christian writings, so the frequent parallels — sometimes even in sayings and expressions, for which see, e.g., Matt. 7:2; 18:20; 19:3, 24; 21:21; 22:2; 23:25 — presumably stem from concepts, customs and figures of speech already circulating among sages in the first century.)

Authorship

As noted above, the traditions of the Gospels’ authorship are very early. Works as large as Matthew’s Gospel were major literary undertakings. As suggested for the Gospels gener-ally, in a work this size, authorship would be one of the last matters forgotten. That observation would surely be particularly relevant for Matthew’s Gospel, which seems to have enjoyed popularity right from the start. Matthew was the early second-century church’s favorite and most-cited Gospel.

Some raise questions about the ancient tradition in the case of Matthew. One reason for these questions is that the earliest tradition about Matthew’s Gospel (from a very early second-century church father named Papias) is that he wrote in Hebrew and that other Gospels, probably including Mark, drew on this work. Most scholars agree that our current Gospel of Matthew was not written in Hebrew, nor does it appear to be mostly translated from Hebrew. Most scholars, moreover, believe that our current Gospel of Matthew makes use of Mark’s Gospel, casting doubt on Papias’s apparent suggestion that Matthew wrote first (although it is possible to interpret Papias differently).

the gospel of

Matthew

AUTHOR:Matthew, also called Levi

AUDIENCE:Greek-speaking Jewish Christians

DATE:Between AD 50 and 90, perhaps in the 70s

THEME:Matthew presents Jesus as the Jewish Messiah sent by God to fulfill OT prophecy.

quick glance

9780310003557_int_05a_mt_mk_NKJV_cultural_bkgnd_FINAL.indd 1664 2/10/17 3:21 PM

Introduction to Matthew | 1665

If Papias was wrong about some details, why should we trust him on others? This is a legitimate concern. Nevertheless, some other factors may mitigate the concern. First, some scholars believe that even if Papias does not properly describe our current Gospel of Matthew, he preserves some genuine information; possibly Matthew wrote a collection of Jesus’ sayings (fitting the meaning of Papias’s word here) in Hebrew or Aramaic, on which others (including Matthew’s later Gospel in Greek) drew. Second, people are usually more apt to be correct about the simple fact of a document’s authorship than about the circum-stances of its writing. So even if Papias was partly or largely wrong, if he knew anything at all about these works written just a generation before him, he likely knew about their authorship.

Another objection that some raise against the traditional belief that Matthew wrote this Gospel is that Matthew, who was one of Jesus’ disciples (9:9; 10:3; Mark 3:18), would not need to depend on Mark’s Gospel, since Matthew was an eyewitness of most of Jesus’ public ministry. Ancient approaches to eyewitness sources differed somewhat from modern approaches, however. Thus when the historian Xenophon writes an account of events in which he participated, he nevertheless depends heavily on an earlier-published work by another author, because the other work was already in wide circulation. By the same token, Matthew could have been an eyewitness and nevertheless used Mark because its wide circulation (or its association with Peter) made it a standard work. None of this proves that Matthew wrote this Gospel. It does, however, call into question the conviction with which some scholars dismiss that early tradition.

Provenance and Date

There is no consensus and no certain means of resolving Matthew’s precise setting or date. Some general considerations may be relevant. Because Matthew, more than any other NT document, addresses Jewish concepts closely paralleled in the emerging rabbinic move-ment, the common scholarly view that he wrote from the Roman province of Syria (which included Judea and Galilee) makes good sense. Some scholars also find similarities between Matthew and other documents from early Syrian Christianity.

Because Matthew wrote in Greek, which dominated in Syria’s urban centers, rather than Aramaic, which dominated in rural areas, Matthew’s core audience might have been located in an urban setting. Many scholars thus suggest that Matthew writes especially for Antioch in Syria. Antioch had a large Jewish community, one of the few Jewish communities not devastated by the Judean war; it also was an early Christian center of mission to Gentiles (Acts 11:20; 13:1 – 3; Gal. 2:11 – 12).

Ultimately, what we can be sure of is that Matthew wrote especially to Jewish believers in Jesus in the eastern Mediterranean world. Whatever specific “core” audience he may have envisioned, as the author of a major literary work Matthew probably hoped that his Gospel would circulate as widely as possible.

Matthew’s date is also a matter of much debate. If Matthew was the first Gospel writer, he probably wrote before Jerusalem’s destruction in AD 70. A larger number of scholars, however, believe that Matthew made use of Mark’s Gospel, and many thus date Matthew after 70. On this view, it is not surprising that Matthew must urge his Jewish Christian audi-ence to bring the message of the kingdom to Gentiles — many Jewish followers of Jesus at that time would have felt little love for the people who destroyed their holy city and enslaved many of their people. Nevertheless, even before 70, tensions were building toward that climax, so a similar background could be relevant on either dating.

A majority of scholars think that Matthew writes after 70 also because of allusions to the


1666 | Introduction to Matthew

destruction of the temple and the holy city. In possible contrast to Mark’s more ambiguous relationship between Jesus’ warning of the temple’s destruction and the promise of his return, Matthew seems to distinguish the two events (compare 24:2 – 3 with Mark 13:2 – 4). (Some also point to Matt. 22:7.) Such features could well suggest a post-70 date. Neverthe-less, it seems clear from the earliest sources (including some shared by and thus earlier than Matthew and Luke) that Jesus himself did predict impending judgment on the temple (23:38; Mark 13:2,14; Luke 13:35; cf. Mark 11:15 – 17).

In the end, the specific question of date may be a moot point. (Indeed, some scholars think that Matthew and/or his assistants expanded the Gospel in subsequent editions at different times.) Because the Gospels are primarily concerned with events that have already occurred in the past, the time they describe is more crucial than the time in which they wrote, although the latter is helpful for considering why the different writers emphasized some particular themes.

Background

Only rarely can scholars studying ancient documents pinpoint precise dates for those documents. One does not need to know exact dates or locations to reconstruct the general setting of such works, however.

As will be clear from the following study notes on Matthew’s Gospel, Matthew addresses an audience comfortable with traditional Jewish forms of speech. For example, one need only compare Mark’s pervasive “kingdom of God” with Matthew’s usual “kingdom of heaven” to see that Matthew prefers traditional (and emphatically) Jewish formulations.

Because Jewish thinking took many forms in different parts of the ancient world, it is valu-able to be more precise in this case. Whereas Jewish people who liked apocalyptic literature would particularly appreciate Revelation, Jews in the Diaspora would appreciate Hebrews, and groups such as the Essenes might appreciate John’s Gospel, Matthew often moves in a more “rabbinic” world. That is, the views and arguments of teachers and interpreters of the law, who came to be called rabbis, are very relevant to Matthew’s Gospel. Most of the sources from which we know rabbinic thought are later, but they offer numerous parallels to Matthew’s ways of handling Scripture and intimate understanding of Pharisaic debates with Jesus (e.g., see notes on 19:3; 23:25 – 26). Because Jesus was Himself a sage and engaged in discussion, and often debate, with Pharisaic teachers, Matthew continues to engage a world within which Jesus Himself moved. ◆


Matthew 1:17 | 1667

1:1 a Luke 3:23 b 2 Sam. 7:12– 16; Ps. 132:11; Is. 9:6; 11:1; Jer. 23:5; (Matt. 1:18; Luke 3:23, 31); John 7:42; Acts 2:30; (Rom. 1:3); Rev. 22:16 c Gen. 12:3; 22:18; (Gal. 3:16)1:2 d Gen. 21:2, 12 e Gen. 25:26; 28:14 f Gen. 29:351:3 g Gen. 38:27; 49:10 h Ruth 4:18– 22; 1 Chr. 2:1– 15; Matt. 1:3– 61:5 i Ruth 2:1; 4:1– 131:6 j 1 Sam. 16:1; Is. 11:1, 10 k 2 Sam. 7:12; 12:24; Is. 9:71:7 l 1 Kin. 11:43; 1 Chr. 3:10 m 2 Chr. 11:201:8 n 1 Chr. 3:10 o 2 Kin. 15:131:9 p 2 Kin. 15:381:10 q 2 Kin. 20:21

r 1 Kin. 13:21:11 s 1 Chr. 3:15, 16 t 2 Kin. 24:14– 16; Jer. 27:20; Matt. 1:171:12 u 1 Chr. 3:17 v Ezra 3:2; Neh. 12:1; Hag. 1:11:16 w Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3

1:1 genealogy of Jesus. “The book of the genealogy” here uses the exact Greek phrase found in the Greek translation of Gen. 5:1, including the Greek word from which we get our name for the book “Genesis.” Similar phrases appear with other genealogies in Genesis. The phrase in Matthew functions differently, however. In Genesis, the phrase is followed by a list of the person’s descendants, who depend on their ancestor for their meaning. Matthew, by contrast, lists not Jesus’ descen-dants but His ancestors. Jesus is so pivotal for Israel’s history that even His ancestors depend on Him for their purpose and meaning.

When Jewish people spoke of the “Son of David” they usually thought of David’s descendant par excel-lence, the Messiah (i.e., the Davidic king; cf. 22:42). Jesus is thus the fulfillment of God’s promise to raise up a king from David’s line. Although Ishmaelites and oth-ers also claimed descent from Abraham, Jewish people customarily applied the title “children of Abraham” to Jewish people in particular. Matthew presents Jesus as both Israel’s rightful ruler and as one identified fully with His people. Many scholars find this identification with Jesus’ people’s heritage also in 2:15,18; 4:1 – 11 (see applicable notes there).1:2 Abraham … Isaac … Jacob. For the births of Isaac, Jacob, and Jacob’s sons, see Gen. 21 – 30; 35:18.1:3 Tamar. Ancient genealogies often omitted women. Jewish hearers would have expected that if Matthew included any women, he would have chosen some of the famous matriarchs: Sarah, Rebekah, Leah, and (out-side Judah’s line here) Rachel. Instead he includes four women with Gentile associations. In Gen. 38, Tamar was likely a Canaanite; she had married into Judah’s fam-ily but tragedy prevented her from bearing an heir in Judah’s line. Unable to secure a brother-in-law to fulfill the levirate custom of providing her husband an heir through her, she deceived Judah himself into doing it. Judah, who had helped sell his brother Joseph into slavery (Gen. 37:26 – 27), is confronted with his own sin-fulness (Gen. 38:26) and changes (Gen. 44:33 – 34).1:5 Rahab. Because Rahab joined Israel, it was natu-ral for her to marry into Israel. Though not an Israel-

ite, she hid Israel’s spies on her roof, betrayed Jericho and saved her family; she contrasts with Achan of Judah, who hid loot under his tent, betrayed Israel and destroyed his family (Josh. 2:1 – 21; 6:23 – 25; 7:1 – 26). Already in the book of Joshua, then, God used Rahab to show that He valued loyalty to His covenant more than ethnic background. Ruth. Normally Moabites were not allowed to become Israelites (Deut. 23:3), but God welcomed Ruth because she followed him (Ruth 1:16), and she became an ancestor of King David.1:6 who had been the wife of Uriah. Matthew calls Sol-omon’s mother not by her name (Bathsheba) but the woman who “had been the wife of Uriah,” his widow. Bathsheba may have been from Judah (compare her father’s name in 2 Sam. 11:3 with 2 Sam. 23:34), but she had married into a Hittite family (2 Sam. 11:3). Thus each of the four women in Matthew’s genealogy (vv. 3 – 6) is somehow closely associated with Gentiles.1:7 – 11 The list of David’s royal descendants sum-marizes the history of Judah until the exile (the mate-rial covered in 1 – 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles). By slight changes in orthography (used by other Jewish teach-ers to make theological points), Matthew evokes other elements of Israel’s history as well (the Psalms and the Prophets). In his Greek text, “Asa” (vv. 7 – 8) is liter-ally “Asaph,” the name of a leader of Israel’s worship (1 Chr. 16:5,7,37; 25:1 – 6; the superscriptions of Ps. 50; 73 – 83). Likewise, in the Greek, Matthew changes the name of the wicked king Amon to the name of the prophet Amos (v. 10, see NKJV text note there).1:12 Jeconiah. Although God judged Jeconiah (Jer. 22:24,28; 24:1), God restored his descendant Zerub-babel to leadership (e.g., Ezra 3:8; Hag. 2:2,23).1:13 – 16 Israelite genealogies could skip generations; thus Matthew lists only 11 generations from the exile before Joseph, whereas Luke lists about 20.1:17 fourteen generations. Even though Matthew skips some generations, the three sets of names he has listed in this verse do not come out to exactly the same number each. Matthew is giving a rounded num-ber, showing that at roughly equivalent intervals in Israel’s history, something dramatic happened. These

The Genealogy of Jesus ChristRuth 4:18– 22; 1 Chr. 2:1– 15; Luke 3:23– 38

1 The book of the agenealogya of Jesus Christ, bthe Son of David, cthe Son of

Abraham:2dAbraham begot Isaac, eIsaac begot

Jacob, and Jacob begot fJudah and his brothers. 3gJudah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, hPerez begot Hezron, and Hez-ron begot Ram. 4Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nah-shon begot Salmon. 5Salmon begot iBoaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6and jJesse begot David the king.

kDavid the king begot Solomon by her awho had been the wife of Uriah. 7lSolo-mon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot mAbijah, and Abijah begot aAsa. 8Asa be-got nJehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Jo-ram, and Joram begot oUzziah. 9Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot pAhaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah. 10qHezekiah begot

Manasseh, Manasseh begot aAmon, and Amon begot rJosiah. 11sJosiah begot aJeco-niah and his brothers about the time they were tcarried away to Babylon.

12And after they were brought to Bab-ylon, uJeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Sheal-tiel begot vZerubbabel. 13Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14Azor begot Zadok, Zadok be-got Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of wMary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captiv-ity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

1:1 a Lit. generation 1:6 a Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Greek. 1:7 a NU Asaph 1:10 a NU Amos 1:11 a Or Coniah or Jehoiachin


1668 | Matthew 1

MATTHEW 1:1 – 17

Matthew’s Genealogy

People often preserved genealogies, especially if they included some important or prominent ancestors. In Egypt, e.g., genealogies were important for determin-ing tax status, so there were sometimes financial implications of not preserving

the list of one’s ancestors correctly! Among the Jewish people, priests and Levites could perform their duties only if they could demonstrate their ancestry. But no Jew-ish family ancestry could be more prominent than the Davidic royal line. Although Matthew’s and Luke’s genealogies trace Jesus’ royal ancestry on Joseph’s side of the family through somewhat different paths (which some attribute to levirate marriage adoptions), both emphasize that, many centuries earlier, Jesus’ line proceeded from King David (cf. Rom. 1:3; Rev. 5:5).

Ancient Jewish genealogies had several purposes. One was often to highlight the purity of one’s Israelite (or Levite, etc.) ancestry. It is thus striking that Matthew includes in his genealogy four women who had clear associations with Gentiles (see notes on Matt. 1:3,5,6). These women include three ancestors of King David and the mother of King Solomon; Matthew thus highlights God’s welcome for God-fearing Gentiles already in his opening paragraph, based on Israel’s history.

Another purpose of Biblical genealogies was to provide a connection between significant generations. Genesis does not narrate the activities of every generation between Adam and Noah or between Noah and Abraham. Rather, Genesis focuses on those major figures and summarizes the time between them by listing others (see note on Matt. 1:1). In the same way, Matthew lists many generations, here in schematic groups of roughly 14 each, connecting the most momentous occasions in Israel’s history: Abraham, David, the exile and now the Messiah (see note on Matt. 1:17).

Jewish teachers observed that one’s ancestry showed God’s faithfulness; some remarked that arranging all the marriages in people’s ancestry was a greater miracle than the parting of the sea in Moses’ day. Matthew’s genealogy sets the tone of this Gospel by evoking the Biblical history of Israel. Jewish recipients familiar with Scripture would hear the names of most of these ancestors with rich nuances of how God had guided His people’s history. Far from being foreign to their heritage, Jesus was its climax.

Although the genealogy does not quote Scripture, it evokes the entire Biblical nar-rative of Israel’s history. Ancient rabbis sometimes developed wordplays by chang-ing a letter here or there, and some scholars find such wordplays in Matthew’s genealogy. In addition to Jesus being the direct heir of the royal line of David, He is the spiritual heir to the Psalms and the Prophets. Thus, these scholars note, the Greek text of Matthew’s genealogy speaks of not precisely “Asa” but the psalmist Asaph (Matt. 1:8) and not precisely the wicked king “Amon” but the prophet Amos (Matt. 1:10). ◆


Matthew 1:24 | 1669

1:18 x Matt. 12:46; Luke 1:27 y Is. 7:14; 49:5; Luke 1:351:19 z Deut. 24:1; John 8:4, 51:20 a Luke 1:35

1:21 b (Is. 7:14; 9:6, 7); Luke 1:31; 2:21 c Luke 2:11; John 1:29; (Acts 4:12; 5:31; 13:23, 38; Rom. 5:18, 19; Col. 1:20– 23)1:23 d Is. 7:14

focal times of conspicuous divine activity surround Abraham, David, the exile, and now the coming of the Messiah, son of David (see note on v. 1). Some scholars point out that when “David” is spelled in Hebrew let-ters and calculated as numbers (Hebrew used letters also as numbers), it comes out to 14. Some other schol-ars attribute this to coincidence.1:18 before they came together. Whenever possible, biographers of important figures reported the figures’ honorable ancestry, honorable behavior of their par-ents, or special circumstances surrounding their birth. Those who compare Jesus’ virgin birth to Greek stories about gods impregnating women, however, appeal to a milieu quite foreign to this account. In the Greek sto-ries, the gods are many, are immoral, and impregnate women who are thus not virgins. Much more relevant are Biblical accounts of God empowering supernatural births in the OT (Gen. 21:1 – 2; 25:21; 30:22; Judg. 13:3). Even among miraculous births, however, God does something new: Jesus is born not merely from some-one previously unable to bear, but from a virgin.

Greek men, on average, were more than ten years older than their brides, because Greeks had a short-age of marriageable women (sources suggest that girl babies were discarded more often than boys). Jewish men, however, were usually only a few years older than their wives; both genders assumed some adult responsibilities at puberty, but men would often work a few years so they could provide financial stability for marriage. Betrothal involved a financial agreement between families. It often lasted about a year; in con-servative Galilean families the couple could not be together alone before the wedding, so Joseph may not have known Mary very well.1:19 put her away secretly. More binding than modern Western engagements, betrothal could be ended only by divorce or by the death of one of the partners. Sex-ual unfaithfulness was grounds for divorce throughout the ancient world; both law and custom in fact required a man to divorce an unfaithful wife or fiancée. (Romans did not allow subject peoples to execute convicted persons without Roman permission in this period; although some lynchings may have occurred in secret, they were rare, so Mary likely faced divorce rather than death [see Lev. 20:10].) A Jewish man who divorced a faithful wife had to refund the money she brought into the marriage (normally a gift from her father). In the case of an unfaithful wife, however, the husband could keep this money, plus he was entitled to a refund of any money he may have paid the father as a bride price. (Paying the father was the traditional Israelite custom;

the father giving his daughter a monetary gift was a more recent but now widespread custom.) Joseph might thus have profited financially by divorcing Mary in front of elders, in a court setting. Instead, sensitive to her shame, he prefers a private divorce. A private divorce meant giving her a certificate of divorce, which would specify her freedom to marry someone else, in front of two or three witnesses.1:20 angel. The angel of the Lord sometimes announced births (Gen. 16:10; Judg. 13:3) and other events (e.g., Gen. 22:15 – 18). This angel appears to Joseph especially in dreams (here; 2:13,19), a com-mon way that God speaks in Scripture (e.g., Gen. 20:3; 31:24; 1 Kin. 3:5), sometimes by His angel (Gen. 31:11; cf. Gen. 28:12). The first Joseph heard God through dreams (Gen. 37:5,9). As here, divine messages often encour-aged people not to fear (e.g., Gen. 15:1; 21:17; 26:24; 46:3). Greeks often reported dreams about deceased persons, but in Biblical dreams God or angels are the most common speakers.1:21 Biblical birth announcements sometimes included these elements: a woman “will bring forth a son” (Gen. 16:11; 17:19,21; Judg. 13:3,5) “and you shall call his name” (Gen. 16:11; 17:19; Is. 7:14; 8:3). Jesus is the same name in Greek as Joshua, which in its earliest form (Yehoshua) means “God is salvation” (eventually contracted to Yeshua).1:22 – 23 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child … and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated “God with us”. In context, the son of Is. 7:14 was a sign to King Ahaz, and was probably Isaiah’s own son (Is. 7:10 – 17; 8:3 – 4). Isaiah’s children’s names were for “signs” to Israel (Is. 8:18). Nevertheless, Isaiah’s son signified not only immediate deliverance in their own time, but pointed to the ultimate deliverance with the future birth of the ultimate Davidic ruler (Is. 9:6 – 7; cf. Is. 11:1 – 5). That would be the ultimate fulfillment of the promise of “Immanuel” (Is. 7:14), “God with us”: the king would Himself be the “Mighty God” (Is. 9:6), a title for God elsewhere in Isaiah (Is. 10:21). Matthew has in mind the context of the entire section of Isaiah, which he again cites soon afterward (see Is. 9:1 – 2 in Matt. 4:15 – 16).1:24 took to him his wife. If Mary’s pregnancy was known, Joseph could repudiate responsibility and perhaps evade suspicion by divorcing her. By instead marrying her, Joseph assumes responsibility for the pregnancy, embracing her shame. The couple could long be a matter of village gossip. Joseph valued God’s direct calling through a dream more than what others thought of him.

is of the Holy Spirit. 21bAnd she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name aJesus, cfor He will save His people from their sins.”

22So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23d“Behold,a the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Imman-uel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

24Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord com-manded him and took to him his wife,

Christ Born of MaryLuke 2:1– 7

18Now the xbirth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came to-gether, she was found with child yof the Holy Spirit. 19Then Joseph her husband, being aa just man, and not wanting zto make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, afor that which is aconceived in her

1:19 a an upright 1:20 a Lit. begotten 1:21 a Lit. Savior 1:23 a Words in oblique type in the New Testament are quoted from the Old Testament.


1670 | Matthew 1:25

1:25 e Ex. 13:2; Luke 2:7, 212:1 a Mic. 5:2; Luke 2:4– 7 b Gen. 25:6; 1 Kin. 4:302:2 c Luke 2:11 d (Num. 24:17; Is. 60:3)2:4 e 2 Chr. 36:14 f 2 Chr. 34:13 g Mal. 2:72:6 h Mic. 5:2; John 7:42

i Gen. 49:10; (Rev. 2:27)2:7 j Num. 24:172:11 k Ps. 72:10; Is. 60:6

1:25 did not know her. Joseph and Mary could not avoid physical closeness; often newly married couples lived together in a small room on top of the home of the groom’s parents. Most people in antiquity sup-posed that a man and woman together alone for even a short time (less than an hour) would give way to sexual temptation. This would be all the more the case with those who were young; young men were considered particularly prone to passion. On average Jewish men married when about 18 to 20, with their brides in their mid-teens (sometimes even as young as 12 to 14). Yet Joseph and Mary abstained from intercourse before Jesus’ birth. On the first night of a wedding feast, inter-course would normally rupture the bride’s hymen, and the bloody sheet could be displayed as proof that she had entered marriage as a virgin. By making love on the first night of their wedding, Joseph and Mary could have proven that she had a virgin conception. Yet God’s plan was not merely a virgin conception, but a virgin birth (v. 23). Joseph and Mary chose God’s honor above their own.2:1 – 2 wise men from the East came to Jerusalem. It was common for dignitaries to come and congratulate a new ruler. Magi undoubtedly came with a significant caravan. wise men. These were a famous class of astrol-ogers and dream-interpreters who served the Persian king. Their title appears in the most common Greek version of the OT only in Daniel, where it applies to Daniel’s enemies; this is not surprising, since astrology, as a form of divination, was forbidden in Scripture. Yet these wise men come to worship the new king (vv. 2,11); as Matthew often emphasizes, God calls followers from unexpected places (cf. 3:9; 8:10 – 12; 12:41 – 42; 21:31).2:2 star. Some scholars think this is a conjunction of the heavenly sign that Persians associated with Judea together with the one they associated with kingship. Others associate it with other reported celestial anom-alies about this time.2:3 he was troubled. Although Scripture forbade astrol-ogy, most of the ancient world had come to believe in astrology from the east, considered the “science” of its

day. Jewish people generally doubted that the stars controlled Israel’s future, but they granted that the stars predicted the Gentiles’ future. It was also widely believed that comets and other heavenly signs pre-dicted the demise of rulers; for this reason some rulers reportedly executed other members of the elite, so that the other deaths, rather than their own, could fulfill the predicted demise. Herod undoubtedly respected for-eign ideas. Besides honoring Israel’s God, Herod built temples for Caesar in Gentile cities.2:4 – 6 where the Christ was to be born … in Bethlehem of Judea. If the star specified a king born in Judea, the wise men naturally expected to find him in Jerusalem’s palace. But it is Scripture that specifies the new king’s exact birthplace, and for this Herod consults his own wise men. (There is a parallel to this in one Jewish tra-dition, in which a scribe warned Pharaoh about the birth of Moses, Israel’s deliverer.) Probably most of the “chief priests and scribes” (v. 4) Herod gathered were members of the Sanhedrin, Jerusalem’s municipal aris-tocracy. Herod had reportedly killed members of the Sanhedrin that opposed him and replaced them with his own political supporters. These Bible experts know precisely where the expected king should be born: in David’s hometown of Bethlehem, as prophesied in Mic. 5:2. Although everyone knows the Magi’s mission (vv. 2 – 3), there is no indication that the Bible experts join them in their quest. Knowing the Bible is not always the same thing as obeying it.2:8 Bethlehem. It is perhaps six miles (nine kilometers) from Jerusalem, perhaps not much more than a three-hour journey for the caravan.2:11 fell down. Prostration was a way that Persians venerated rulers as well as deities. Magi could be Zoro-astrian dualists, but in this period may have still been polytheists (worshipers of multiple gods). gold, frankin-cense, and myrrh. Frankincense and myrrh mostly came from southern Arabia and Somaliland, and thus were very expensive. People often used these spices in royal courts and other lavish settings (cf. Ps. 72:10; Is. 60:6).

For out of you shall come a RuleriWho will shepherd My people

Israel.’ ”7Then Herod, when he had secretly

called the awise men, determined from them what time the jstar appeared. 8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.”

9When they heard the king, they de-parted; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His moth-er, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, kthey presented gifts to Him: gold, frank-incense, and myrrh.

25and adid not know her till she had brought forth eherb firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

Wise Men From the East

2 Now after aJesus was born in Bethle-hem of Judea in the days of Herod the

king, behold, awise men bfrom the East came to Jerusalem, 2saying, c“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen dHis star in the East and have come to worship Him.”

3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4And when he had gathered all ethe chief priests and fscribes of the people together, ghe inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:6 ‘But h you, Bethlehem, in the land of

Judah,Are not the least among the rulers of

Judah;1:25 a Kept her a virgin b NU a Son 2:1 a Gr. magoi 2:7 a Gr. magoi


Matthew 2:15 | 1671

2:12 l (Job 33:15, 16); Matt. 1:20

2:15 m Num. 24:8; Hos. 11:1

2:12 warned in a dream. Magi were known for their reported ability to interpret dreams. Because their large caravan could have been visible during the day from Herod’s nearby fortress Herodium, they presum-ably left under cover of night. Herod would expect them to return to Jerusalem, and from there to follow a road that would take them to the north and the east. Instead, they travel southward toward Hebron, then north along a coastal road or east along a caravan route.2:13 appeared to Joseph in a dream. In one Jewish tra-dition, a dream warned Moses’ father to protect him

from Pharaoh. flee to Egypt. A large Jewish community already lived in Egypt. Alexandria, a Greek-founded city in the northern delta region of Egypt, included perhaps the largest Jewish community outside Judea and Gali-lee. Perhaps one-third of Alexandria was Jewish, so the family could easily find refuge there. Further, if they had means to transport safely even some of the gold and spices (v. 11) they would have means to support themselves for a long period of time.2:15 which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet. In context, Hos. 11:1 describes God bringing Israel as His “son” from Egypt. The context, however, also goes

and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”

14When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and de-parted for Egypt, 15and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, m“Out of Egypt I called My Son.”

12Then, being divinely warned lin a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own coun-try another way.

The Flight Into Egypt13Now when they had departed, be-

hold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Jo-seph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt,

MATTHEW 2:1

Herod the Great

Herod the Great achieved power in Judea with Roman backing; he brutally sup-pressed all opposition. Herod was a friend of Marc Antony but, unfortunately, an enemy of Antony’s mistress Cleopatra. When Octavian (Augustus) Caesar

defeated Antony and Cleopatra, Herod submitted to him. Noting that he had been a loyal friend to Antony until the end, Herod promised that he would now be no less loyal to Caesar, and Caesar accepted this promise. Herod named cities for Caesar and built temples in his honor.

Ethnically Herod was an Idumean (an Edomite); his ancestors had been forcibly converted to Judaism, and he built for Jerusalem’s God the ancient world’s largest and most magnificent temple. Politically astute, however, Herod also built temples honor-ing the divine emperor Augustus and made lavish contributions to Gentile cities in or near his territory. Among his other reported politically savvy acts was the execution of members of the old Sanhedrin who opposed him; he replaced those council members instead with his own political supporters. He did not usually tolerate dissent. When some young disciples of religious teachers took down the golden eagle that Herod had erected on the temple, he had them executed.

Most of our sources about Herod focus on his acts in Jerusalem, but the character of Herod that they reveal fits what Matthew says about him. So protective was Herod of his power and so jealous of potential rivals that his more popular brother-in-law, a very young high priest, had a drowning “accident” — in a pool that archaeology shows was very shallow. When his favorite wife Mariamne, a Maccabean princess, was falsely accused of adultery he had her strangled, though he later named a tower in his palace in her honor. He executed two of his sons who were falsely accused of plotting against him. Five days before he died he executed another son (the one who had falsely framed the other two).

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1672 | Matthew 2:16

2:18 n Jer. 31:15

on to speak of a new exodus, when God would save His people from captivity (Hos. 11:5,11; on the new exo-dus, see also note on Matt. 3:3). Because Jesus identi-fies with and recapitulates the history of His people (see note on 1:1), the principles in passages about the exodus, captivity (v. 18) and testing in the wilderness (4:1 – 11) apply also to him.2:16 put to death all the male children. Herod acts here in keeping with what we know of his character from other sources (see the article “Herod the Great,” p. 1671). The actual size of ancient Bethlehem is unclear, but some estimate perhaps 20 boys under the age of two were killed. Jewish people considered abandoning or killing babies a pagan practice, conspicuously asso-

ciated with evil kings such as Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The most widely known example, however, was Pha-raoh in the OT (Ex. 1:16,22). In this narrative, the pagan wise men worship the true king, whereas the Jewish ruler acts like a pagan one. (For Matthew’s interest in Gentiles, see the Introduction to Matthew: Provenance and Date; see also 28:19.)2:17 – 18 Matthew quotes from Jer. 31:15; Matthew undoubtedly knew that the context calls Israel God’s “son” (Jer. 31:20) and goes on to promise a new cov-enant (Jer. 31:31 – 34). Jer. 31:15 depicts Rachel weep-ing as her descendants are carried into captivity in the exile. Matthew would have known that Rachel’s tomb was near Bethlehem (Gen. 35:19); like Israel’s exile, the

wise men. 17Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:18 “A nvoice was heard in Ramah,

Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children,Refusing to be comforted,Because they are no more.”

Massacre of the Innocents16Then Herod, when he saw that he

was deceived by the wise men, was ex-ceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the

So much did Herod crave honor it is said that when he was on his deathbed he ordered many nobles arrested. He thought that if many people were executed on the day that he died, he could ensure that there would be mourning rather than celebra-tion at the time of his death. When he died, however, the nobles were released and the people celebrated. ◆

A model of Herod’s palace in Jerusalem. The towers were named after important people in Herod’s life: Hippicus (a friend), Phasael (Herod’s brother), and Mariamne (Herod’s wife).© 1995 by Phoenix Data Systems


Matthew 3:10 | 1673

2:20 o Luke 2:39 p Matt. 2:162:22 q Matt. 2:12, 13, 19 r Matt. 3:13; Luke 2:392:23 s Luke 1:26; 2:39; John 1:45, 46 t Judg. 13:53:1 a Matt. 3:1– 12; Mark 1:3– 8; Luke 3:2– 17; John 1:6– 8, 19– 28 b Josh. 14:103:2 c Dan. 2:44; Mal. 4:6; Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15; Luke 1:17; 10:9; 11:20; 21:31

3:3 d Is. 40:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23 e Luke 1:763:4 f 2 Kin. 1:8; Zech. 13:4; Matt. 11:8; Mark 1:6 g Lev. 11:22 h 1 Sam. 14:25, 263:5 i Mark 1:53:6 j Acts 19:4, 183:7 k Matt. 12:34; Luke 3:7– 9 l (Rom. 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10)3:9 m John 8:33; Acts 13:26; (Rom. 4:1, 11, 16; Gal. 3:29)3:10 n (Ps. 92:12– 14); Matt. 7:19; Luke 13:7, 9; (John 15:6)

slaughter of Bethlehem’s infants is a tragedy, but one that could not prevent the ultimate promise of God’s restoration in the new covenant.2:20 go to the land of Israel … those who sought the young Child’s life are dead. The angel’s promise here evokes Ex. 4:19: Moses can return to Egypt because those who sought his life have died. Jesus here is thus like Moses, Israel’s deliverer — and, ominously, Judea has become like Egypt in Moses’ day.2:22 Archelaus was reigning. A few days before Herod died in 4 BC, Archelaus, his son by a Samaritan wife, became ruler. Scholars often observe that Archelaus shared his father’s vices while lacking his administrative competence. Archelaus made many enemies, and his inability to keep peace during the turbulence of AD 6 led to Rome removing him and banishing him to Gaul.2:23 Nazareth. Population estimates for Nazareth vary; the village proper may have contained perhaps 500 residents (smaller than Bethlehem). Nazareth was a traditional and religiously conservative Galilean town; pottery suggests that many of its residents had migrated from Judea. Ancients sometimes built argu-ments on wordplays, and Jewish teachers often inter-preted the OT this way. Some think that Matthew plays on Judg. 13:5: he “shall be a Nazirite.” Others, probably more commonly, believe that Matthew plays on Is. 11:1, which depicts the Messiah as a “Branch,” in Hebrew, nezer. Other Biblical passages depict the Messiah as a Branch (Is. 4:2; Jer. 23:5; 33:15; Zech. 3:8; 6:12), as do the Dead Sea Scrolls.3:1 – 2 A first-century Jewish historian, Josephus, also reports that John baptized people in the wilderness, inviting them to spiritual transformation. Josephus, however, adapts his description of John to appeal to Greek readers, as he depicts the “sects” of Judea — Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes — along the lines of Greek philosophic sects. The Gospels, however, portray John in a way more in keeping with authentic Judean

prophets: a preacher of the imminent new era of God’s reign. “Kingdom of heaven” was an accepted Jewish way of speaking about God’s reign (cf. Dan. 2:44; 4:26). The wilderness was one of the few places where pro-phetic figures could safely draw crowds, but of course it lacked the amenities of civilization.3:3 Matthew quotes Is. 40:3. Some Biblical proph-ets, including Isaiah, had prophesied a new exodus, by which God would gather His people from exile (Is. 11:16; Jer. 23:7 – 8; Hos. 2:14 – 15). He would establish a way through the wilderness, as he had led His people through the wilderness of old. John was a herald pre-paring the people for this event, and for the coming of “the Lord” — by which the Hebrew text of Isaiah referred to God Himself.3:4 leather belt. It evokes Elijah (2 Kin. 1:8), who was to prepare the way for God’s coming (Mal. 4:5 – 6). See note on Mark 1:6.3:7 Brood of vipers. Many people in antiquity thought that vipers were born by hatching inside their mother, then gnawing their way through their mothers’ wombs — killing their mothers in the process. Compar-ing people to a “brood of vipers,” then, was analogous to calling them “parent-murderers” — one of the most reprehensible offenses conceivable.3:9 Abraham as our father. Many Jewish people believed that Israel as a whole would be saved because God chose Israel in Abraham. Prophets, however, some-times challenged Israel’s dependence on their chosen-ness (Amos 3:2; 9:7). children … stones. Sometimes in the OT stones were used to symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel (Ex. 28:21; Josh. 4:8; 1 Kin. 18:31). In Hebrew and Aramaic, “children” and “stones” sound very similar; prophets often made wordplays (note examples in the Hebrew texts of Jer. 1:11 – 12; Amos 8:1 – 2; Mic. 1:10 – 15).3:10 ax is laid to the root of the trees. Cutting down or burning a tree could symbolize a nation’s judgment (Ps. 80:14 – 16; Jer. 11:16; Ezek. 31:10 – 18; Dan. 4:23). The

was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, say-ing:

d“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

e‘Prepare the way of the Lord;Make His paths straight.’ ”

4Now fJohn himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was glocusts and hwild honey. 5iThen Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6jand were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

7But when he saw many of the Phari-sees and Sadducees coming to his bap-tism, he said to them, k“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from lthe wrath to come? 8Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9and do not think to say to yourselves, m‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. nTherefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

The Home in NazarethLuke 2:39

19Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, 20osaying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who psought the young Child’s life are dead.” 21Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a qdream, he turned aside rinto the region of Galilee. 23And he came and dwelt in a city called sNazareth, that it might be fulfilled twhich was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

John the Baptist Prepares the WayMark 1:2– 8; Luke 3:1– 20

3 In those days aJohn the Baptist came preaching bin the wilderness of Judea,

2and saying, “Repent, for cthe kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3For this is he who


1674 | Matthew 3:11

3:11 o Mark 1:4, 8; Luke 3:16; John 1:26; Acts 1:5 p (Is. 4:4; John 20:22; Acts 2:3, 4; 1 Cor. 12:13)3:12 q Mal. 3:3 r Mal. 4:1; Matt. 13:303:13 s Matt. 3:13– 17; Mark 1:9– 11; Luke 3:21, 22; John 1:31– 34 t Matt. 2:22

image here probably involves dead trees or small trees, the kind that could be felled easily by most farmers’ axes. Fruit trees that yielded no fruit typically served best as firewood.3:11 baptize you with water. Many people, including Jewish people, had ritual washings; some Jewish sects required ritual immersion to purify those entering their sect, and Gentiles converting to Judaism were immersed to cleanse them from the impurity of idola-try (see the article “Baptism,” p. 1750). sandals … to carry. Handling sandals was the sort of servile task that only a servant would normally perform; the prophets were “servants of God” (2 Kin. 9:7; Jer. 7:25; 26:5; 29:19; 35:15; 44:4), but John considers himself unworthy even for this role. Clearly he envisions himself as preparing for the coming of God Himself (see notes on vv. 3,4). baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Biblically only God could pour out His own Spirit, as He promised to do at the time of the coming restoration (Is. 32:15; 44:3; Ezek. 39:29; Joel 2:28). In contrast to the Spirit, the “fire”

here presumably signals end-time judgment (see notes on vv. 10,12).3:12 gather His wheat … burn up the chaff. After har-vest farmers had to separate the edible wheat from the inedible chaff. They would toss the grain into the air so that the wind could blow out the chaff, which was lighter. Scripture often used “chaff” (or “stubble”) as an image for the worthless that God would destroy (e.g., Ex. 15:7; Ps. 1:4; Is. 17:13; 29:5; Hos. 13:3). Indeed, “Elijah’s” mission (see note on 3:4) was to prevent the nation from becoming like burned chaff (Mal. 4:1,5). Real chaff burns too quickly to be good fuel; the chaff here, however, burns with “unquenchable” fire (cf. Is. 66:24). Jewish people had various views of Gehin-nom (or Gehenna), or hell: the wicked would burn up instantly; they would be tortured for a year and then either released or destroyed; or they would burn for-ever. In his message to the religious elite (v. 7) John sides with the harshest option articulated by his con-temporaries.

11oI indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. pHe will baptize you with the Holy Spirit aand fire. 12qHis winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn;

but He will rburn up the chaff with un-quenchable fire.”

John Baptizes JesusMark 1:9– 11; Luke 3:21, 22; John 1:29– 34

13sThen Jesus came tfrom Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him.

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Return of Mary, Joseph and Jesus from Egypt on their way to Nazareth

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JESUS’ EARLY LIFE

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