Hi there! This is the second assignment of mine I am posting this afternoon. This assignment is from my class called, “The Gospels.” I figure this class is rather self-explanatory as well. We are studying the Gospels, mainly focusing on Matthew and John’s accounts. Throughout our reading, we are asked to do reading assignments, which I will post as I complete them. This is the first one we have done for Matthew chapters 1-3. I know there are some typos and such, but get over it. :) Here you are:
————-
Summary of Matthew 1
The book of Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus Christ, starting with Abraham, and including David to ensure that the reader sees the kingship of Jesus. Following the genealogy of Jesus is Matthew’s take on the birth narrative. Matthew’s birth narrative is somewhat short, ranging from verses 1:18-1:25.
Key Verses:
1:1 “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
1:18-19 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
Question
How does Joseph’s idea of divorcing Mary quietly make Joseph a just or “righteous” man? Isn’t divorcing her bad?
Answer
Naturally, when Joseph found out Mary was pregnant and he knew it wasn’t with him, Joseph thought Mary had been unfaithful. Jewish customs of the time typically required men to publicly divorce and shame their adulterous wives. However, because Joseph was just, he would divorce her, and because he was a righteous man, he decided to do so quietly, or privately, without shaming Mary. (Blomberg, 58)
Application
Seeing the genealogy of Christ should always give us pause and remind us of the kingship of Jesus Christ. Everyone always skips over the genealogy, but I love it because it allows me to see exactly how God fulfilled His promise of sending a Savior to save His people. It’s so neat to trace Jesus’s line throughout history and see exactly where he came from, and most of all, to see His rightful kingship as a descendent of David.
—-
Summary of Matthew 2
In contrast to the rather short birth narrative of Jesus, there is much written regarding Herod’s reaction and the wise men’s participation. Chapter two of Matthew’s gospel tells us about how the wise men came to Jerusalem and asked Herod about the whereabouts of the Messiah, and how Herod said he wanted to worship this baby, yet most certainly wanted Him dead. The wise men are told of the danger, as is Joseph, both in dreams. Joseph takes his family to Egypt according to prophecy from Hosea. Herod then kills the children two years old and younger in Bethlehem in an effort to get the King, yet he fails. After Herod dies, Joseph takes his family to Nazareth, again fulfilling a prophecy.
Key Verses
2:8 “And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.”
2:11 “And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
2:15b “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
2:16 “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.”
2:23 “And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.”
Question
Did the star move? It first led the wise men to Jerusalem, and then to Bethlehem. Verse 9b says, “And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.”
Answer
The moving of the star was most certainly a supernatural event. It was probably not a shooting star or a comet or something of the like. The phenomena of a whole is somewhat irrelevant, but what the wise men saw as heavenly guidance fills them with a great joy, or more literally, “When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy” (v.10). (Blomberg, 65)
Application
I think the coolest thing to take away from reading the second chapter of Matthew’s gospel is simply knowing that Jesus was not some man, plopped down on earth at an unimportant time simply to die on the cross for all of our sins to be forgiven. While that is most certainly what He came for in the end, it is always refreshing for me to be reminded of the fact that God had a very intricate plan for His Son, and that men many years before He came told people of incredibly minute details that ultimately prove amazing and miraculous when Christ fulfills them in the flight to Egypt or settlement in Nazareth. Reading fulfillments of prophecies such as these always brings me great joy because it reminds me that God had a perfect plan all along to redeem His people and bring glory to Himself. As a result, my love for Christ grows and my desire to worship Him increases.
——–
Summary of Matthew 3
The third chapter of Matthew’s gospel has two major parts: John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, and the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist. By preparing the way for the Messiah, John the Baptist fulfills the prophecy found in Isaiah 40:3 which Matthew writes as saying, ““The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight’” (Matt. 3:3b). One of my favorite parts of Matthew 3 is in verse seven when John calls the Pharisees a “brood of vipers.” I just love that line. John makes it clear that he baptizes with water but the one who is coming does much more than that (with the Holy Spirit and with fire). The baptism of Jesus can be described as nothing less than epic as the heavens were opened up to Him (v. 16) and a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (v.17).
Key Verses
3:3 “For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”
3:7 “But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?’”
3:11 “‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’”
3:15-17 “But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’”
Question
When Jesus was baptized, did the Holy Spirit actually manifest Himself in the form of a bird, namely a dove? Why would He do so?
Answer
In the text, the Holy Spirit is described to have descended “like” a dove. Blomberg suggest that this means no physical dove actually appeared, rather, that some sort of visible manifestation of the Spirit led the witnesses to liken it to a dove. Personally, I don’t know why it could have been an actual dove, but I’ll take Blomberg’s word on this one, he’s much smarter than I.
Application
I think there are two main ways we can apply the third chapter of Matthew: one of these is seeing the humility of John the Baptist, the other is similar to the rest of my applications from the first three chapters of Matthew. First, I think it is important to take note of the humility of John the Baptist. While we should strive to be like Christ above all characters in the Bible, I think John’s humility displayed in Matthew 3 is a desirable trait. John, as important as he was to the gospel narrative, got out of the way and used his job to point to Christ, not to make much of himself—I believe we should do the same. Secondly, I think seeing the prophecy fulfillment and glory displayed in the baptism of the Messiah should create a love for Christ in us that overflows into praise. It is so awesome, literally awesome, to see how our Savior was baptized and confirmed, if you will, by the Holy Spirit and a booming voice from God the Father. Such a display of approval and power brings me to praise my Lord and Savior above all else.
—————–
I hope you learned something!
-Chris
Growing in Public 