The Gospel of Matthew: A Bible Study

By Carol Walker

The Gospel of Matthew is the first book in the New Testament. It truly is a teaching Gospel. It serves as an important resource for learning about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The Apostles needed this teaching so that they could effectively form the foundation upon which the future Christian church would be built. They needed this teaching to obey the commandment which Jesus gave them: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. (Matt.28:19-20)

Using an easy-to-understand format, The Gospel of Matthew offers an in-depth study that reveals why Christs presence forever changed the world. Author Carol Walker explores the true nature of Jesus, his mission on Earth, and his ministry. From his birth to his death and resurrection, Walker recounts Jesus life and, in so doing, reveals how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecy.

Walker presents thirty-four lessons that cover the twenty-eight chapters of Matthew. Each chapter is summarized to provide historical and cultural background information and a question and answer section presents an opportunity for further discussion. Lessons include the important work of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of John the Baptist, the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus interpretation of the Ten Commandments, and much more.

The Gospel of Matthew presents a comprehensive study for individuals or groups. If youre seeking to expand your knowledge of Jesus life and teachings and want to deepen your faith, let this be your guide.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781490898773

Carol Walker

Carol Walker is a retired lawyer. After practicing law in St. Paul, Minnesota, for a number of years, she retired in 1998. Over a lifetime, Walker has studied the Bible individually and in her church Bible classes. She has two adult children and six grandchildren and lives in Luverne, Minnesota.

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LESSON 1

READ: CHAPTER 1, VERSES 1-17

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

Matthew is a Hebrew name which means gift of the Lord.(NIV)¹ In the gospels of Mark and Luke he is referred to as Levi. (Mark 2:13)(Luke 5:27). Matthew was a Jewish tax collector for the Roman government until he became a follower of Jesus. According to the early (Second Century) church historian, Eusebius (commenting on writings by Papias), Matthew carefully compiled an organized account of each of the teachings of Jesus in the Hebrew (or Aramaic) language.² Nevertheless, Bible scholars are not united as to whether or not Matthew himself entirely wrote the gospel which is the first book in our Christian canon for the New Testament. The gospel of Matthew has been called a teaching book because it includes so many sayings (teachings) of Jesus. There are five blocks of verses sometimes called the five discourses of Jesus which contain major portions of his teaching. Chapter 4:12 introduces us to the first of these discourses which start at Matthew 5:1. Each discourse ends using similar wording such as when Jesus had finished saying these things. (Matt. 7:28, 11:1, 13:53; 19:1; and 26:1)

In the study verses for this lesson, we see that Matthew had two main emphases: (1) he wanted to prove the royalty of Jesus and (2) he wanted to prove that the coming of Jesus was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The gospel of Matthew emphasizes the Jewishness of Jesus. Matthew knew that in order to persuade Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah, he would have to show that the genealogy of Jesus could be traced to Abraham. The Jewish people are keenly interested in genealogy. During the time of Jesus the Sanhedrin (group of high level Jewish religious leaders) was the keeper of genealogy records because those records were so important. Herod the Great had all of the official records regarding him destroyed because they showed that he was half-Edomite and he didn't want anyone with a purer blood line to try to take over his position as the king of Judea. The Edomites who were thought to be descended from Esau had an ancient hostility against the descendants of Esau's brother Jacob. The people in Judea were descended from Jacob. Knowing that lineage was so important, we can understand why Matthew started his writings with the genealogy of Jesus. If a person was not of pure Jewish lineage, he or she lost their right to even be called a Jew and was not considered a member of the assembly of the Lord.(Deuteronomy 23:3) In this first chapter of his book, Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus to Abraham.

The book of Luke also includes a genealogy for Jesus, but it is different in some respects. (Luke 3:23-38) Luke traces the ancestry of Jesus back to Adam, and he lists names in the reverse order of Matthew's genealogy. Luke's genealogy does not include women, thus illustrating the way a typical Jewish genealogy would be written. Luke's genealogy is thought by some Bible scholars to be the genealogy for Mary, and therefore in support of the idea of the virgin birth. It is unusual that Matthew includes the names of some women in the genealogy because women did not hold a position of value in Jewish culture. Women had no legal rights and were considered to be merely a possession of their husband. However, in order to demonstrate continuity in the connection between Abraham and Joseph (Mary's husband), it was necessary to include the name of Ruth in the genealogy. This inclusion is doubly odd because Ruth was not Jewish. She was a Moabitess. But, because Ruth saved the Davidic blood line of her Jewish mother-in-law, Naomi, by marrying a Jewish man named Boaz (a relative of Naomi) and because she bore his children, Ruth was considered worthy.(NIV)³ Some Bible scholars believe that the other women listed in Matthew's genealogy were not Jewish either, including Bathsheba whose name is not given except as the mother of Solomon and the wife of Uriah. Jesus' mother, Mary, is the only Jewish woman listed in the genealogy.⁴

Matthew wanted to emphasize the idea of Jesus as king. We see in the genealogy that King David was included. The kingship of Jesus was reinforced through his descending from King David whom the Jews revered. The Jewish people had long believed that their Messiah would be a descendant and thus the son of David. In our future lessons, we see this claim regarding the kingship of Jesus repeated over and over again: Jesus healed a blind and dumb man and the people exclaimed, Can this be the Son of David? (Matt. 12:23); Jesus helped the daughter of the woman of Tyre and Sidon and she called him Son of David. (Matt. 15:22); Blind men pleading for healing called out to Jesus as the Son of David. (Matt. 20:30-31); and Jesus rode into Jerusalem and the crowds lining the street waved palm branches and shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matt. 21:9) Hosanna means save us.⁵ Bethlehem where Jesus was born is known as the City of David. The Jewish people had long believed that their Messiah would be a son of King David. In fact, saying the words Son of David literally means the one who saves his people. So, the crowds welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem were, in effect, shouting Save us Messiah!

Matthew claimed that the coming of Jesus was fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. He repeated this claim sixteen times throughout his gospel. Even in his organizing of the genealogy, Matthew seems to want to link the coming of Jesus to its being a fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. Matthew seems to want to show the Jewish people that something important happens every fourteen generations, starting with the covenant between God and Abraham, then moving on to the rule of King David (whose lineage would produce a Messiah), culminating in the liberation of the Jewish people from exile in Babylon. Therefore, Matthew wanted to persuade the people that the birth of Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, was simply a logical progression in the fourteen generation cycle. Fourteen is also the numerical equivalent of the spelling of David (DWD) in Hebrew: (4+6+4). There are no vowels in Hebrew, so if you assign a Hebrew number to each of the consonants the total is fourteen. It has been suggested that this is another possible reason for Matthew's attempt to use fourteen names in each of the three sections.

Matthew grouped the names of Jewish ancestors into three sections. According to verse 17 each section should have fourteen direct ancestors in it. The attempt to separate the sections in this way would have served two purposes: 1) having three sections made it easier for the people to memorize because they had few books available and most people were not able to read; 2) the number three reminded the Jewish listeners of the three stages in Jewish history -- history from Abraham to King David, history from King David to the exile of the Jewish people in Babylon, and history from the end of exile in Babylon to the coming of Jesus. For Jewish readers, the lists of names in Matthew's genealogy bring to mind the history of their development as a covenant people. Thus Matthew's genealogy of Jesus helped him to link Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah to Jesus. The genealogy also helped Matthew explain to his Jewish listeners that the salvation of humans came through the sending of Jesus, God's Messiah, who saved humans from their sins.

Matthew's pattern of threes continued later in this book in the three messages to Joseph, three denials of Peter, and three questions of Pilate. Matthew's attempt to use a pattern of sevens (fourteen names in each of three sections) also continued later in this book in the seven parables of the Kingdom (Chapter 13) and the seven woes to the scribes and Pharisees (Chapter 23). Unfortunately, the text of the genealogy as it exists for us today does not deliver the fourteen names for each section as promised in verse 17. Also, a review of the Hebrew Bible reveals that Matthew left out the names of Joash, Amaziah and Azariah (3 generations) between Uzziah (Ahaziah) and Jotham in his second section. (1 Chron. 3:11-12)

REVIEW QUESTIONS

FILL IN THE BLANKS

1. The book of Matthew has been referred to as a 39160.png book.

2. Matthew focused his efforts on converting 39162.png to Christianity.

3. Matthew wanted to prove the 39164.png of Jesus.

4. 39166.png was very important for establishing credibility among the Jewish people.

5. 39168.png had very little status in the Jewish culture.

6. Matthew wanted to prove that Jesus was the 39170.png of

Old Testament prophecy.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Matthew worked as a:

a.   Fisherman

b.   Carpenter

c.   Pharisee

d.   Tax collector

2. The book of Matthew was written to convince whom that Jesus was the Messiah?

a.   Greeks

b.   Gentiles

c.   Jews

d.   Egyptians

3. Among the women mentioned in Matthew's genealogy, which of these saved the Jewish bloodline, although she was not herself Jewish?

a.   Mary

b.   Ruth

c.   Tamar

d.   Bathsheba

4. Matthew groups information in Chapter 1 into what numbers?

a.   Threes and sevens

b.   Twos and fours

c.   Fives and nines

d.   Sixes and sevens

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. What was the purpose of setting forth the genealogy of Jesus?

2. Referring only to the Scripture for this study state how Matthew organized his information and why he did it in that way.

3. How do you think the rulers of Israel reacted to Matthew's claim that Jesus was royalty?

4. Does the fact that Ruth was a Moabite have any importance for Christians?

5. Does the genealogy of Joseph (Mary's husband) matter to Christians? Why or why not?

6. How important are the prophecies of the Old Testament to Christians?

ANSWERS TO FILL IN THE BLANKS

ANSWERS TO MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. (d) 2. (c) 3. (b) 4. (a)

MY ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Matthew wanted to persuade the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. In the verses for this lesson, Matthew attempted to offer his proof through genealogy. The genealogy sought to prove that Jesus was in the lineage between Abraham and Joseph (Mary's husband). Matthew wanted to persuade the Jews that Jesus was the fulfillment of prophecy. Matthew's strategy seemed to be that by reminding his Jewish listeners of their history in this genealogy, Matthew would provide a catalyst of sorts for Jews to remember the Old Testament prophecies about a promised Messiah. In our lessons to follow, we will see how Matthew further linked the coming of Jesus to the prophecies of the Old Testament: Matt. 1:22-23 linked to Isa. 7:14; Matt. 2:15 linked to Hos. 11:1; Matt. 2:17-18 linked to Jer. 31:15; Matt. 2:23 linked to Isa. 11:1; Matt. 8:17 linked to Isa. 53:4; Matt. 12:17-21 linked to Isa. 42:1-4; Matt. 13:35 linked to Ps. 78:2; and Matt. 27:9-10 linked to both Zech. 11:12-13 & Jer. 19:10-13. Matthew wanted to prove the kingship of Jesus. King David is included in the genealogy. The kingship of Jesus seemed to be reinforced through his descending from King David whom the Jews adore. In our future lessons on the Book of Matthew, we will see this repeated many times: e.g., Jesus healed a blind and dumb man and the people exclaimed, Can this be the Son of David? (Matt. 12:23); When Jesus helped the daughter of the woman of Tyre and Sidon, she called him Son of David. (Matt. 15:22); Blind men called out to Jesus as Son of David. (Matt. 20:30-31); and as Jesus rode into Jerusalem the crowds lining the street waved palm branches and shouted to him, Hosanna to the Son of David! (Matt. 21:9)

2. Matthew organized the names of Jewish ancestors into three groups. Each group was supposed to have fourteen direct ancestors in it. Grouping in this way had several purposes: 1) having three sections made it easier for the people to remember because they had few books available and most people were not able to read; 2) three was the number for the three stages in Jewish history -- history from Abraham to King David, history from King David to the exile of the Jewish people in Babylon, and history from the end of exile in Babylon to the coming of Christ; 3) Matthew wanted to show that something important happened in Jewish history every 14 years. The birth of Jesus as the Messiah was a logical progression of this 14 year cycle.

3. They would have been hostile and want to kill Jesus.

4. No. For Christians the bloodline set forth in Matthew has little importance. Matthew's genealogy set forth the bloodline for Joseph (Mary's husband), but Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God -- not Joseph. As Christians we believe that we are heirs of the promise given by God to Abraham. We are adopted by faith in God and not through any bloodline from Abraham.

5. No. For Christians, Jesus is the Son of God and not the son of Joseph (Mary's husband).

6. What is important to Christians is that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. We are saved by grace through belief in Jesus Christ. We accept that the coming of a Messiah is foretold in the Hebrew Bible -- the Old Testament. And, Christians believe that the anticipated Messiah told of in the Old Testament did come to earth and walk among us as our Lord Jesus Christ. Our beliefs in this regard are set forth in the Apostle's Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed.

LESSON 2

READ: CHAPTER 1, VERSES 18-25

SUMMARY AND COMMENT

In this lesson Matthew told of the birth of Jesus. He began his account by telling a story about a carpenter named Joseph and his fiancée named Mary. The couple were engaged (pledged or betrothed) to be married. It is important to understand the Jewish culture of that time in order to understand the relationship between Joseph and Mary as the narrative begins. The betrothal period was supposed to last for one year. During this time there were to be no sexual relations between the couple. They were not considered married and did not live together, but in order to break off the relationship, it would be necessary to have a divorce. If a woman's fiancée would die during the engagement year, she would be referred to as a virgin who is a widow.⁶ During some point in the first year of the engagement, Mary was found to be pregnant. Joseph was a righteous man and very compassionate, too. He did not want to expose Mary to public disgrace, so he decided to divorce her quietly even though they were not yet married. One night Joseph had a dream and an angel appeared to him. The angel told Joseph not to be afraid and that the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel said the baby was a son and that he was to be named Jesus because he would save his people from their sins. Jesus is the Greek form of the name Joshua.⁷ The name Joshua is Hebrew and means the one who will save his people from their sins.(cf. Psalm 130:8) The angel also told Joseph not to be afraid and to marry Mary. At this point in his narrative Matthew made his claim that this whole situation took place to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah had foretold. (Isaiah 7:14) The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel -- which means 'God with us.' After Joseph woke up he obeyed the words of the angel. He took Mary into his home as his wife. But, Matthew said, the couple did not have any marital relations until after the baby was born and after they had named him Jesus.

It is interesting to compare Matthew's account of the details of the relationship between Joseph and Mary, the pregnancy of Mary, and the messages from angels to each person with Luke's account of the same situation. (Luke 1:26-38) If we only had Luke to read, we would know that an angel named Gabriel visited a young woman named Mary in Nazareth and told her that she soon would be with child. Not only that, but the child was the Son of God! Joseph was only mentioned in passing as someone Mary was pledged to marry. In Luke's account we learned how the angel's visit and the messages affected Mary. In Matthew's account a quiet divorce was something that Joseph considered. That might have happened if the angel hadn't intervened to tell Joseph in a dream that the child conceived in her was of the Holy Spirit. In Matthew's account we learned how each new revelation affected Joseph as the facts became known to him. I think this difference in perspective of Matthew and Luke illustrates how we are very blessed to have events such as these told through the eyes of the different Apostles.

As we read this text it is important to keep in mind the important work of the Holy Spirit. We know that our God is a creator God. In Genesis 1:2 we read Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Holy Spirit was there at the beginning of creation on the earth. The angel told Joseph that the child within Mary was conceived through the Holy Spirit. Remember that we recite in our Apostle's Creed, He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to keep in mind how Joseph would have heard this message. The Jewish people believed the Holy Spirit brought God's truth to men and women. The Holy Spirit also enabled people to recognize truth when they saw it.⁸ When Joseph heard from the angel that the baby Jesus was conceived through the Holy Spirit he was confident that it was true. Therefore, the Holy Spirit was at work in two ways: first, so that Jesus would come into our world and second, to enable Joseph to believe what the angel was telling him.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

FILL IN THE BLANKS

1. The relationship between Joseph and Mary was governed by 39311.png law and culture.

2. The engagement was to last 39313.png before Joseph and Mary would be married.

3. Joseph considered 39315.png Mary because she was found to be pregnant during their engagement.

4. Matthew tells us that Mary's pregnancy was the work of 39317.png .

5. Because he would save his people from their sins, the angel directed Joseph to name the baby 39319.png .

6. Matthew tells us that everything set forth in verses 1:18-25 was to fulfill what the prophet 39321.png had foretold in the Old Testament.

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Joseph and Mary got married:

a.   One year after they were engaged

b.   At a time arranged by their parents

c.   During their betrothal period

d.   In June of that year

2. When Joseph first learned that Mary was pregnant he:

a.   Was very proud and happy

b.   Wanted to expose Mary to public disgrace

c.   Was concerned about his parent's reaction to the news

d.   Decided to quietly get a divorce from her

3. An angel came to Joseph in a dream and said:

a.   Do not be afraid because this is the work of the Holy Spirit

b.   Go ahead and marry Mary

c.   Name the baby Jesus

d.   All of the above

4. The birth of Jesus was foretold by:

a.   Isaiah

b.   Moses

c.   Jeremiah

d.   Ezekiel

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Why does Scripture tell us that Joseph considered quietly divorcing Mary when they weren't even married yet?

2. How could Joseph possibly believe what the angel said to him in his dream?

3. How is the birth of Jesus a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, according to Matthew?

4. What further evidence do we have that the coming of Jesus is referred to in the Old Testament prophecy?

5. When Matthew tries to make the connection between the birth of Jesus and Old Testament prophecy, does it matter (a) that an angel told Joseph to name the baby Jesus when the quote from Isaiah refers to Immanuel, or (b) that there is no name mentioned in Psalm 130:8? Why or why not?

6. Is there a connection between the birth of Christ and creation of the world? If so, what is it?

ANSWERS TO FILL IN THE BLANKS

ANSWERS TO MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (d) 4. (a)

ANSWERS TO DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Scripture says that the couple was engaged, but not yet living together. According to Jewish law and culture, the engagement (pledge or betrothal) period was supposed to last for one year. During this time there were to be no sexual relations between the couple. They were not considered married and did not live together, but in order to break off the relationship, it would be necessary to have a divorce.

2. In Jewish thought, the Holy Spirit was the person who brought God's truth to men and women. The angel told Joseph that Mary's pregnancy was the work of the Holy Spirit. Knowing this, Joseph would have believed the angel. He could also have believed that Jesus would grow up to bring God's truth to men and women. The Jews also believed that the Holy Spirit enabled people to recognize truth when they saw it.

3. Matthew provided his evidence in a quote from Isaiah, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel." In Hebrew the name Immanuel meant God with us.(Isa. 7:14) Mary was a young woman and she did bear a child and he was God's word made incarnate. At his birth he was God with us and he was the one who came to save his people -- Joshua (Jesus).

4. Matthew connects Old Testament prophecy to the baby Jesus on two levels: the meaning of his name and being born of a virgin to be God with us. The angel, who visited Joseph to tell him that Mary would bear a son conceived by the Holy Spirit, also told him to name the child Jesus because he would save his people from their sins. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua. The name Joshua in Hebrew means the one who will save his people from their sins. The one who will save his people from their sins is referred to in Psalm 130:8 therefore we may understand that the