Bible Study led by Leila Hirtler

The Bible Study is conducted via email. Anyone wishing to join can contact Leila at lhirtler@yahoo.com

Our current Bible Study is the Gospel of Matthew

Study 2026: Matthew 3

2.12.26

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’ ”

4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, 9 and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw God’s Spirit descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from the heavens said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

The first four chapters of Matthew stand as an introduction with the purpose of identifying who Jesus is, filling in his background, describing his connections, and setting the stage for his public ministry. The time between the end of chapter two and the beginning of chapter three is about thirty years, but the time does not seem to matter, and the readers move easily over the gap.

Matthew’s meditation on the names of Jesus, Son of Abraham, son of David, Jesus, Emmanuel, culminates in this chapter with a heavenly voice that names him “my beloved son”, a name that is questioned by the evil one in chapter 4.

John the Baptizer bursts into the scene unannounced. When we first see him, he is preaching, and people are responding by confessing their sins. John’s first words are “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” These words could serve as a summary of everything John says. Between “repent” and the confession of sins, Matthew examines John’s credentials, and his effect on his audience. Matthew focuses more attention on John’s proclamation, and less on Baptism, nothing on forgiveness, and everything on repentance.

Perhaps Matthew’s audience was finding security before God in the rite of baptism, and somehow lost the connection of baptism to the call to repentance from the deadly power of sin, and the demand to respond with righteous living. In contrast, Matthew describes baptism as confirming repentance, and energizing people to walk the way of righteousness (21:32, 28:18-20).

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him, and even after you saw it you did not change your minds and believe him.” (21:31-32)

As we just read in 21:31-32, John’s words are very much a call to rethink and reorder one’s life: baptism confirms repentance, and energizes people to walk the way of righteousness. Without repentance, and the commitment to righteous, baptism becomes little more than a bath. While baptism is much more than this, these were the concepts that John wanted to impress on his hearers, as he prepared the people to meet their God.

2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

Repent: change your mind; change the way you think; change the way you act; implying a feeling of regret and sorrow; turn away from sin and toward God.

Kingdom of heaven: literally, “the kingdom of the heavens”. The phrase occurs no where else in the New Testament, but is used 33 times in Matthew. It means the “Kingdom of God,” but avoids saying the name of God out of reverence and respect, although the phrase “Kingdom of God” is used 4 times (12:28, 19:24, 21:31, 43). This phrase can also be written as “thy kingdom” (6:10, 13, 20:21), “The kingdom of their (my) Father” (13:43, 26:29), or as just “kingdom” (6:33, 25:34).

“To say that this kingdom or sovereign rule is “of heaven” or “of God” is not to locate it in the heavens above but to assert that it has its source in heaven or in God, that it comes as a gift from above, and that it is something wholly different from earthly kingdoms and sovereignties. Secular empires rest uneasily on the bones of slaughtered enemies and are sustained by violence and threat of violence (cf4:1-11; 22:41-45; 26:52-53). The kingdom of heaven proclaimed by John (3:2) and Jesus (4:17) and the disciples(10:7) surpasses earthly imagining and earthly deserving. … more than any other New Testament writer, Matthew stresses the vital connection between the kingdom and righteousness (cf 6:10, 33).” (Smith, Robert H. Augsburg Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew, p.48.)

The long awaited kingdom is finally at hand. John knows that he is standing at the edge of that coming kingdom, or perhaps at the gate, and like a trumpet must sound the call for all to prepare.

John is certain of the coming kingdom. He demands God’s own people repent. He summons insiders to radical change (not outsiders). He especially demands religious authorities stop thinking they know best about what God demands, and instead calls them to stop resisting God. John shouts that repentance is not an option, but a requirement: the price of salvation is unconditional surrender to God.

John is a prophet in a long line of prophets. He not only speaks prophetically, he fulfills prophecy. The prophet Isaiah envisioned a road through the desert, designed by God, to bring the captives home from Babylon. Isaiah heard a voice crying out in the wilderness, inviting people to prepare the way of the Lord, and make his path straight. Matthew interprets John as not just one more prophet in the long line of prophets, but as the fulfillment of this cry at the end of the ages, as the herald of the coming kingdom.

4 “Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.” (3:4)

Now Matthew turns to what John wore and what he ate. Why would this be important? In 2 Kings 1:7, 8, we read: ‘He (the king) said to them, “What sort of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?”  They answered him, “A hairy man with a leather belt around his waist.” He said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”’

To anyone who saw John, they would remember how the king recognized the prophet Elijah: He was a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist. The people would not only recognize the physical description of Elijah, they would remember he didn’t die, but was taken up in a chariot of fire, pulled by horses of fire. If he didn’t die, that would mean he was still alive and could return some day, maybe even now. John’s clothing indicated a self identification with the prophet Elijah, and the people recognized this immediately. By wearing these clothes, John signaled that he was not just a prophet, but he was the expected prophet and these were the expected times.

Locusts and wild honey: food provided by the grace of God with no human intervention. It might also indicate he was a holy man who renounced meat and wine (Luke 1:15). 5 -- The Baptizer’s cry calls to the hearts of all who hear him, and they flock to him from Jerusalem, Judea, and all the regions around the Jordan. The regions around the Jordan may refer to the area across the Jordan, on the east side of the river; this could also refer to the wilderness area east and southeast of Jerusalem; or it could refer to the Jordan plain that stretched from the Dead Sea to the Sea of Galilee; or all of the above. These regions were ruled by Herod Antipas, one of the sons of Herod the Great (the Herod who attempted to kill the infant Jesus); Antipas hated John, and later killed him. Obviously, not everyone who heard his proclamation chose to repent.

6 – John lives with God in the wilderness, in a place of incredible beauty, in a place of brutal possibilities. The wilderness is devoid of life giving necessities; it is filled with hungry creatures, poisonous snakes, thorns and long expanses of nothing; the weather is extreme; it is not an easy place to live. The wilderness is also where Israel became a nation, where they became the people of God.

John’s voice moves them to confess their sin. Sin is not some small infraction of ancient rituals, or community rules, or forgetting a task. The crowd began to realize they had broken their covenant with God, they had broken faith with God, they had broken the ties that bound them to God. The people confessed their sin, and then they sign their repentance by submitted to being baptized in the river, to wash away their sin. The penitent does not wash themselves. John administers the water, and so earns the nickname, “Baptist”, or “Baptizer”. John’s goal, with word and baptism, is to call the people back to God, back to living a life of righteousness, to prepare for the day of the Lord’s appearing.

7 – “Many Pharisees and Sadducees also came.” So, who are these people? The Pharisees and the Sadducees were 2 of the 4 primary groups in Judaism during the second temple period, the other two groups were the Essenes and the Zealots.

The Pharisees were in influential group of legal experts and lay teachers known for strict adherence to the Torah, and the oral traditions. They were often common people, scribes, and synagogue leaders. They focused on personal piety and ritual purity. They believed in the resurrection of the dead, angels, and the afterlife. Later they formed the basis for Rabbinic Judaism.

The Sadducees were a wealthy, aristocratic, politically powerful group, closely associated with the temple in Jerusalem, and the high priesthood. They were conservative leaders who controlled the Sanhedrin, they rejected the oral law and afterlife beliefs of the Pharisees, accepting only the written Torah. They also rejected the existance of angels or demons, and the immortality of the soul, believing this life is all there is. They played a major role in the trial of Jesus, they worked closely with the Romans to maintain peace and their own status, and faded from history following the destruction of the temple in 70 CE.

The Essenes were s devout, mystical group, known for their strict adherence to purity laws, ascetic lifestyle and communal living. They are often associated with the Qumran community and the Dead Sea Scrolls. They often wore white linen, shared belongings, and in some communities, practiced celibacy. They separated themselves from mainstream society, living in small communities, typically in the Judean wilderness. They focused on studying the Torah, anticipated the imminent Messianic era, and considered themselves “Sons of Light.” Daily ritual baths were a central practice.

The Zealots were a religious movement dedicated to overthrowing the Romans through armed revolt. They were formed by Judas the Galilean around 6CE following the Roman census. They were extremely “Zealous” for the Torah, believing in an absolute theocracy, and viewed Roman taxation and pagan influence as blasphemy. Their rebellion is credited with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70CE by Rome. They were active until the fall of Masada in 73CE.

So why did the Pharisees and Sadducees go out into the wilderness to see John? Were they there with the rest of the people to repent? Did they come just to see what was happening? Were they sent by the Romans to ensure there was no rebellion fermenting? We don’t know. John was certain he knew: he called them poisonous snakes.

Lets look at desert vipers a bit more closely. The Saharan horned viper is a venomous snake from the deserts of Africa and the Middle East. It is a nocturnal ambush predator that buries itself in the sand. Its venom causes severe swelling and tissue damage, but is rarely fatal to humans if they receive immediate medical care. John says these respected religious leaders were no more than a brood of snakes, because instead of caring for, nurturing and guiding the people, they were stinging and poisoning the people in their care.

This paragraph lifts up a tension between baptism and the fruit of repentance. No tension should exist here. Repentance is not casual, nor undertaken on a whim. John’s demands are deeply personal, and moral, and touch the foundation of ones relationship with God and neighbor. John calls for a radical reorientation of life. If it is real, it will naturally produce fruit. Fruit is not works done to impress God or neighbors, it can not be forced, threats will not result in fruit, neither will pleading or coercion produce fruit. There is no way to force fruit from a dead tree, and fruit is an infallible sign of a healthy tree. (7:16-20; 12:33; 13:8; 21:19, 34, 41, 43; James 3:12, 17-18.)

9 – “We have Abraham as our father”: The religious leaders claim privilege: we have the right stuff, we are the people of God, we are doing the right things, we are above reproach, take your criticisms to outsiders, to pagans, to those who are not chosen and perfect in God’s sight. People frequently believe they are better than others due to color, or gender, or wealth, or place of birth, or social class, or citizenship, of religious affiliation, or even on certificate of baptism. John said these religious leaders were no different than any other person who depended on their own righteousness, and not on God. They also needed to repent.

“God is able to raise up from these stones children to Abraham.” In Hebrew and Aramaic, the words for sons and stones are nearly identical. Perhaps John is continuing to comment on the environment of the desert, snakes, dead trees, stones and using these objects as lessons for his hearers. Maybe John is thinking of how Abraham and Sarah were so old, they could be considered almost dead, but God had brought life out of them, and Issac was born; a living child out of dead flesh. Only God can create life, and was doing it here among people the world considered of no more worth than the rocks in the desert: the poor, harlots, outcasts, tax collectors, and gentiles were responding with faith and obedience while the religious leaders stood around debating what was happening, doubting, and condemning what they saw.

10 – John emphases the urgency of his proclamation: God is farmer, and stands next to the unfruitful tree with axe in hand, sharp edge against the roots, ready to chop it down, then chop it into kindling. The religious leaders believed wrath was against the heathen, against the Romans, against those outside God’s chosen people, or even against thieves and harlots and tax collectors. John did not say that. Instead he said, ‘Every tree that does not bear good fruit is worthless.’

John now compares his own work with that of the Coming one.

11-- John says his baptism is water for repentance. The whole point of his baptism is to prepare the people for the One Coming after him. This One will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. And how are we to see these two forces? Are these two positive forces working together for the final cleansing and refining of God’s people? (Zech 13:9; Mal 3:2-3). Are these two negative forces, the wind and fire of God’s wrath, blowing the chaff away and burning it? (Is 29:6; 30:27-28; Ez 1:4). Or should we see them as alternatives set before each person, either be renewed by the creative Holy Spirit, or turn from God and at God’s returning, experience God as a consuming fire? (Joel 2:28-32).

The last option seems to fit with Matthew’s gospel. Fire in this gospel is not associated with the Pentecostal outpouring, but in each case is a symbol of judgment. (3:10, 12; 5:22; 7:19; 13:40,42, 50; 18:8-9; 25:41). And baptism of the Holy Spirit never suggests a wind that blows chaff away. Additionally, at the end of this gospel, the Holy Spirit is associated with the Father and the Son in the work of gathering God’s people into the family of God.

13 – John had just spoken about an axe threatening the roots of dead trees, now he uses another farm image, that of a wheat harvest. John speaks about the end of harvest, when the stocks are cut, and the heads have been beaten, or cut to release them from the stock. The stocks have been bundled and laid aside to be use for fuel. Now the farmer grabs the winnowing fork and tosses the heads of grain into the wind. The wind catches the light chaff and deposits it a few feet away, while the heavier grain falls back on the ground where the farmer can gather it into his granary. This is John’s picture of the fate of those who repent, and those who refuse to repent.

We have been talking for 5 pages, and have only worked through the first 13 verses of chapter 3. I do not expect the next 4 verses to be short, and they lead very naturally into the next chapter, so I am going to leave them for next week.

2.9.2026

Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1

Matthew 1:18-25

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to divorce her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

23 “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son, and he named him Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25)

We are immediately introduced to two extraordinary people. First, we meet a young woman, who is engaged to be married. We have some expectations here. We expect her to be giddy in love, and think about her soon to be husband a lot. We expect her to be preparing for her wedding day. We expect her family, and his, to be preparing the house where they will live. We expect both families to be planning for this couple to have a long, happy, fruitful life ahead of them, and are working to prepare for this. We do not expect her to be pregnant. Women at this time, in this culture, did not get pregnant before they got married. She did. And this is not her soon to be husband’s child: God caused this child.

In the gospel of Luke, we meet a bright, vivacious young lady, who is deeply spiritual, who is well versed in the Tanakh (Old Testament), who is visited by an angel, and who responds in immediate and complete obedience to God’s will, and sings in spectacular poetry about God’s coming kingdom breaking down tyranny, and favoring the oppressed. She is our hero from the moment we meet her. Luke is writing to a gentile audience and wants to make a good first impression to ensure his audience will immediately know she is a woman of integrity, and worth, who loves God and obeys God’s will, and we should pattern our response to God after her response. She is not like the women in Greek and Roman mythology they have heard about, but is fresh and admirable, she loves God, and looks forward to God’s coming kingdom of justice and mercy for all.

Matthew does not present Mary in this way. He doesn’t have to. As his readers read through the list of patriarchs, and remembered their deeds of faith, they could not help but remember the matriarchs at the same time. They would remember the matriarchs courage and faithfulness, their own unique relationships with God, and their determination to live out that relationship in an often difficult world. When Matthew included four gentile women in the genealogy, he emphasized their love of God, and their willingness to give up everything to be part of God’s people, much like the matriarchs did. In doing this, Matthew has gently reminded them/us what a woman of God looks like, and so when we meet Mary, we already know who she is and what she is like. We already know she is a woman of faith and integrity, and strength, who loves and obeys God, even when the circumstances of life are problematic and scary. Matthew does not need to say more than he had already said, because we already know all of this.

The next person we meet is the soon to be husband, Joseph. He has been presented with a problem: his bride to be is pregnant. He is not the father. Joseph ponders this, and in this pondering we see his true character: he is just, and he is compassionate; he can not marry her, he will not allow her to be put to shame. When he has come to an uneasy resolution to this problem, an angel of God comes to speak to him: Joseph’s immediate response is obedience to God’s word. Throughout the Tanakh, God’s people are called to be just, and compassionate, and walk humbly before God. Joseph is a man of God; justice and compassion, and listening to God’s word is how he responds to life; this is how he lives; this is who he is. Like Mary, Joseph is a person of faith and integrity, and strength, who loves and obeys God, even when the circumstances of life are problematic and scary.

The third person we meet is an angel. True to its nature, it greets Joseph with the words “Fear Not.” We have 365 instances in the bible where an angel interacts with a human, or group of humans, and greets them with the words, “fear not.” The angel then follows with instructions about what the human(s) should do instead of fearing, in this case, Joseph was instructed to marry Mary, and name the child Jesus. In naming the child, Joseph was claiming the child as his own, and taking responsibility for his care, including his education; reading and writing; learning a trade to support himself, and his family; and his spiritual development. Additionally, since Joseph claimed the child, the child would be given Joseph’s lineage. Joseph was instructed to name the child “Jesus” (Yeshua, or Yehoshua, meaning God, the One who makes covenants and keeps them, is salvation). The angel then reminds Joseph of a time in Israel’s history when everything seemed hopeless, and God sent a child named Emmanuel (God with us) to encourage the people that God was still with them. That promise of God’s presence did not end when that child died. That promise has continued throughout time, and comes to greatest fruition in this One whose name is “God is salvation.”

The time gap between chapter 1 and chapter 2 is between 1 and 2 ½ years. Luke’s gospel fills this space with stories of Mary traveling to visit her cousin Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph’s travel to Bethlehem to pay taxes, sleeping in someone’s animal area to give birth, angels, shepherds, Jesus’ circumcision, Mary’s purification, the words of Simeon, and the witness of the prophet Anna. (Luke 1:39-2:38) Luke is a gentile convert, speaking to a largely gentile audience. He presents a social gospel where God is on the side of the poor, disadvantaged and marginalized to the point that God becomes poor, disadvantaged and marginalized, and emphasizes that the kingdom of God has come for these people, more than for the rich and powerful.

Matthew’s audience has studied the Torah and Tanakh (Old Testament), and already know God’s commands regarding caring for the poor, disadvantaged and marginalized. Compassion and justice are their way of living. Instead, Matthew wants to show Jesus is the promised Messiah, son of Abraham and son of David, and fulfillment of scriptures. Teaching about, and living a life of justice and compassion showed that Jesus was a good Jew: Matthew wanted to prove to his readers that he was much more than a good Jew, he was the promised Messiah.

Matthew 2:1-15

Matthew doesn’t talk about shepherds. He talks about visitors from the East. We have no idea how many visitors came, we just know what gifts were brought. We do know these people were astronomers, people who read the sky, and they noticed a strange conjunction that told them a king had been born in Judea. Then there was a comet which led the way to Judea, confirming what they already knew. They didn’t know the king was to be born in Bethlehem, so logically, they went to congratulate the king in Jerusalem, the capital city. Except the king had not been blessed with a child recently, and was terrified that this newborn king would attempt to steal his throne, and Immediately decided to kill the baby as soon as the visitors told him about the child.

Mary and Joseph, of course, have no idea what’s going on. The words in Luke talk about the child being swaddled and laid in a manger after birth. By the time the eastern visitors reach Bethlehem, Joseph and Mary and the child are living in a house. Was work so good this family was able to buy, borrow, or rent a house to live in? Or were they still living in the house belonging to family members who took them in just before Mary gave birth? Whatever the answer, Mary, Joseph and child were able to receive these guests in a house. Life has calmed down for this little family. Living in a house, instead of a stable, is definitely a step up.

Things rarely stay calm for long. The king in Jerusalem was Herod the Great. His father was an Edomite, and his mother was a Jew. Herod was appointed king by the Romans because he came from a good family, meaning a wealthy family, and he was part Jewish. The Romans thought he would be accepted by this frequently contentious population of Judea because of his Jewish mother. Herod had some excellent characteristics: he built many fortresses, aqueducts, theaters, and other public buildings. He rebuilt the temple, which the Babylonians had destroyed about 400 years earlier. He generally raised the prosperity of the area. He was well respected by the Romans, and he was close friends with some of the great names of that time period, Mark Anthony, and Octavian, (who rewarded his fidelity with massive land grants), and other famous people, including the emperor, who invited him to visit them in Italy, and who came on state visits to Jerusalem. It should have worked! And, for a while, it did. However, as Herod grew older, his mental and physical health deteriorated. He had a cruel streak in his character that showed itself more and more often as he got older, and his mental instability was fed by intrigue and deception in his own family. He murdered his second wife, and 2 of her sons, and her brother, and her parents.

Only a few months before the guests from the east came to visit, he murdered his eldest son and heir. The joke around Jerusalem, (actually started by the emperor!) was that it was better to be a pig than Herod’s son, … because Jews don’t eat pork. When Herod heard of the birth of a new king, he was filled with rage and determined to murder this usurper to his throne. He sent his solders to kill every boy baby 2 years and younger in Bethlehem and the surrounding area, because that was when the eastern visitors said the star (constellation/ comet/ nova) had first appeared, and this is where the ancient prophets said the Messiah would be born.

“‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,

for from you shall come a ruler

    who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ” (Matthew 2:6, Micah 5:2)

(Recorded by Chinese and possibly Korean observers, a comet or nova occurred in 5BCE and 4BCE. Chinese records noted an apparent lack of movement of the “star” possibly caused by being in a “temporary geosynchronous” orbit. It was described as “hanging over” a place, which sounds a lot like “When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east, until it stopped over the place where the child was.” Matthew 2:9. This object was seen for over 70 days. The scarcity of records during this time period makes these events especially significant. This phenomena is a leading astrological explanation for the “Star of Bethlehem.”

webspace.science.uu.nl ui.adsabs.harvard.edu)

Part of the blessing to Abraham was that all the world would be blessed through him. Here we see “wise men” from the East come to pay homage to the new born Messiah. (2:10-11) Abraham’s blessing is happening: Wise people from outside of Israel were coming to worship Israel’s Messiah. We have no idea how long these astronomers stayed to worship, but before they left, an angel warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, (2:12). Just like Joseph, they obeyed the word of God, and went home another way. Joseph had a dream where an angel spoke to him, and now the Eastern visitors experienced the same thing; Joseph immediately obeyed the word of God given to him by an angel, the visitors did the same thing; obedience to God was life giving, first for Mary, and now for the entire family.

After the Eastern visitors left, an angel came to Joseph in a dream, a second time, and told him to get up, take Mary, and the child, and flee, because Herod wanted to destroy the child. Joseph got up immediately, and took Mary and Jesus south to Egypt, where they would be safe. Our Christmas cards show us pictures of Joseph leading a donkey, which is carrying Mary and her newborn baby, through a serene blue countryside, lit by a huge star. It’s pretty, but deceptive. Given Herod’s command, based on the Eastern visitors’ observation of when the star first appeared, Jesus is probably 1-2 years old. Mary and Joseph were desperately poor when they became betrothed, then left their home, and all their support system to move to a different town. Although extremely valuable, carpenters were only slightly higher on the socio economic scale than shepherds, so it would be highly unlikely they would be able to acquire a house, and a donkey, in the 1-2 years they had lived in Bethlehem. If they had a donkey, it would carry Joseph’s tools, Mary’s kneading bowl with their breakfast rising inside, and their sleeping toddler. When Mary and Joseph walked the 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, they had to watch our for bandits along the way, so would have had to choose their route carefully.

With Mary very near her time to give birth, she could not have walked very far each day, so the journey very likely took 10 days or more. They would not have been able to carry enough food for 10 days with them, so would have had to stop and buy food, or forage along the way. Now after living about 1-2 years in Bethlehem, they were traveling again. Since Jesus is probably about between 1 and 2, we might wonder if Mary was pregnant again? Again, they had to be very careful about their route because of the risk of bandits and soldiers. If the soldiers saw them leaving that night, the soldiers would know this was the child they were sent to kill, and all their lives would have been in danger. I wonder how many miles they walked that night? How many days were they out of Bethlehem before they dared walk during daylight? I suspect the gold the astrologers gave Jesus came in very handy to purchase food and water, and places to stay as they fled, and later as they lived in Egypt.

I expect many of us mourn for all those children the soldiers killed the next morning, and wonder why an angel didn’t warn their parents too. I feel certain the same angel who warned Joseph to gather up his small family and flee, also warned every other family in Bethlehem to rise, gather their families and flee. They didn’t. Maybe they thought it was a weird dream and ignored it. Maybe they thought there would be time to gather up everything in the morning. There wasn’t.

In comparison, an angel has now spoken to Joseph in a dream twice, and each time Joseph obeyed immediately, and each time, someone’s life was saved, first Mary’s, and then Jesus’. This reminds us of the patriarch Joseph, son of Jacob, whose story is told in Genesis, who had dreams and saved his family. Apparently, listening to God, and saving one’s family is a family characteristic. Then what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

    wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

(2:17-18, quoted from Jeremiah 31:15 )

Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife. She was completely obsessed about having children, but much to her grief, was only able to have two children. She died in childbirth giving birth to her second son Benjamin, (Genesis 35:16-20) and was buried near Bethlehem. In 722BCE, the Assyrians conquered Samaria, then rounded up the entire population of the Northern Kingdom and herded them to the area of Ramah, Gilead, on the East side of the Jordan. Here the Assyrians slaughtered half of the people, led one quarter of the people across the desert to slavery in Assyria, then let the remaining quarter of the population go free, and repopulated the area with people from other subjected nations. Rachel’s son Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh were a major part of the northern kingdom: Frequently the Northern kingdom was referred to as Ephraim: Now her descendants are dead, and she is devastated. (Victor H Matthews, Don C. Benjamin, Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East, “The Annals of Sargon II” p.127- 129. Also, lectures from Dr. Victor Gold, PLTS, Sept 1994.) Apparently, since her children from the northern kingdom were dead, Rachel adopted the southern kingdom also, because she is now seen weeping for the murdered children of Bethlehem.

We do not know how long the family lived in Egypt, but we do know Herod the Great died before Passover, in Jericho, most likely in 4BCE. In Egypt, Joseph received a third dream from the angle of the Lord: When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” 21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. (2:19-21).

The angel of the Lord is involved in everything that happens to this family. Joseph listens, and obeys. Joseph is the ultimate follower of God: he is not only just and compassionate, he listens, he obeys, he protects the child and his mother. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene.” (2:22-23)

After Herod’s death, the area Herod ruled was divided among his three remaining sons. Archelaus, who was every bit as cruel and ruthless as his father, and could be expected to know that a child had escaped from his father a year or two earlier, got Judea, Samaria, and Idumea. He reigned from 4BCE to 6CE, when Rome exiled him to Gaul for his violence. Rome appointed Pontius Pilot as his successor. Antipas got Galilee and Perea. This is the one famous for executing John the Baptizer. Philip got the northern areas, like Golan. (drivethruhistory.com) Again, an angel warned Joseph away from trouble. Joseph and family decided to return to the town they had grown up in, and become engaged in, and had built their home in. I expect it was nice to finally be going home after all the adventures of the past couple years. (Luke 1:26)

23 ‘There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazarene.” ‘(2:23) No, there is no where in the Tanahk (Old Testament) that says the Messiah will be a Nazarene. The word “Nazarene” might be confused with the word “Nazarite”, a term meaning “separated” or “consecrated”, which refers to people who took a vow to abstain from wine, and products of the grape, and dead bodies, and from cutting their hair, as a sign of dedication to God. Jesus was not a Nazarite.

In order to get a better handle on what Matthew is saying, we need to know that the word “Nazareth” means “branch”, “shoot”, or “sprout”. Nazareth and the surrounding hills was an area famous for it’s vineyards. This connects directly with the Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 11:1;

“A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

    and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”

Jesus was from Nazareth, therefore he was a Nazarine: a shoot or a branch. Since he was from the lineage of David, son of Jesse, he was a shoot from the tree of Jesse, even though that tree had been cut down back in 595BCE. He was the branch growing out of the roots of that tree that had been destroyed, but which still had life in its stump, and its roots. Even though King David had been dead for over 1,000 years, and his lineage had appeared to die out over 600 years earlier, God does not forget promises, and this promise was fulfilled in a person who grew up in a little town called branch. More than anyone else in the Apostolic Writings (New Testament), maybe more than anyone in the entire bible, Matthew loves puns and word plays. We will see a lot of these. If something does not appear to add up, look a little deeper. Matthew is an amazing story teller, and an amazing writer. His words are vivid, and well thought out. And even after 2000 years, his witness is fresh and compelling. We are in for an amazing journey!

Jan 28: Matthew 1:1-17

Study Material for this passage:

Matthew 1:1-17

1.28.26

Matthew was one of the original disciples Jesus called. His Greek name is Matthew: His Hebrew name is Levi: he was a tax collector. His calling is recorded in Matthew 9:9–13, Mark 2:13–17, and Luke 5:27–28. As a tax collector, he had to be very intelligent, and highly trained, and the pay was good. However, his friends and neighbors would label him a traitor to his own people, spurn him, and even despise him. This is not a job a smart, young man would take, if he had a choice. As we read his writing, we see he pays attention to details, and that words matter to him. Additionally, given the clarity of what he wrote, we have to believe he wrote things down as they were happening. Why would he do this? Did he already know that the world would need his view point and witness to the Messiah? The gospel of Matthew was written about 70-90CE. This is 40-60 years after the resurrection. In order to share this clearly what happened all those years ago, he had to have something to assist his memory. One of those helps was the gospel of Mark. However, there is material that is not in the gospel of Mark: some of that material Matthew shares with Luke (this material is referred to as “Q”), and some of that material is purely Matthew.

Matthew’s audience is primarily Jewish people who lived outside of Israel, referred to as the “diaspora”. These were Jews who left Israel for various reasons, such as wars, or deportations, and stayed in that other land. These people are still very much Jewish, they loved their homeland, they cared about what is happening in Israel, however, after being away for an extended period of time, they are not as fluent in the language or customs, and some explanations are in order. These people still believed in the God who spoke to Abraham, and are looking for the promised Messiah, who is the promised son of David. These people continue to know the Torah and the rest of the Tanakh (Old Testament). Matthew wants these people to know the longed for Messiah has come, and to introduce them to their Messiah in terms they can understand. Most likely, these people have heard of Jesus, and believe he is their Messiah, and Matthew wants to support and encourage their belief with his writing.

Matthew 1:1-17:

I’m betting most of us just skip over these verses. There are a lot of names, most of which we don’t recognize. However, Matthew felt this list was important, so let's look at it a bit more closely. Matthew begins his gospel with the words: “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (1:1) This is Matthew’s topic sentence. I don’t know if Matthew is referring to the entire gospel, or just these 17 verses. Maybe both. “1:2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Aram, 4 and Aram the father of Aminadab, and Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David, and David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah.” (Matthew 1:2-6, NRSV)

The first person named is Abraham, the one who was called from Ur of the Chaldeans to leave his country, his family, his father’s house, to go to a land which God would show him. God made a covenant with Abraham, and promised to make of him a great nation, to bless him, and to make him a blessing to all the families of the earth, (Genesis 11:31-25:19).  Abraham was the father of the Jewish people. This is the beginning of Israel’s identity. By starting his genealogy with Abraham, Matthew was emphasizing Jesus was a Jew, a descendant of Abraham, someone whom God had blessed and whom God would use to bless all the people of the earth.

The second person listed is Isaac, the child of promise. And since Isaac was the child of promise, all of his descendants are children of promise as well. We remember Isaac as someone who got along with his neighbors; We remember Isaac as someone who dug a lot of wells; Most of all, we remember Isaac as someone who trusted God and his father so much, he allowed himself to be bound and placed on an altar to be sacrificed. He was a young man: his father was 100 years older than he was. If he had wanted to escape, it would have been easy, but he trusted God and his father so much, even being bound and placed on an altar did not change the love and trust he felt for them. And then, God told Abraham not to harm him, and sent a ram in his place. (Genesis 25:19-28:9, 35:27-29).

The third person on the list was Jacob, the twin of Esau; Jacob was the man who stole his brother’s birthright, and his blessing, and then ran for his life and went to live with his Uncle Laban. While working for Laban, Jacob married 2 sisters, and with the help of his wives 2 maids, fathered 12 sons. We remember that Jacob made a lot of poor decisions, which caused him a lot of grief, but God never gave up on him. God continued to love him, and care for him regardless of circumstances, (25:19-34, 27:1-37:36).

Next on the list is Judah, Jacob and Leah’s 4 th son. When thinking about Jacob’s sons, our minds leap to the story of when the brothers sold Joseph into slavery. That story is not what this list of names wants us to remember. Instead, we are reminded of the years after Joseph was sold, when Judah left the family unit, married, had 3 sons, found a wife for his eldest son, that son died, so Judah gave the woman (Tamar) to his second son, who also died, and then Judah decided the deaths were Tamar’s fault and sent her back to her parents, effectively throwing her out of the family.

Let's look at Tamar for a few minutes. She was probably married at a young age. Her husband would have been several years older than she was. We have no idea how long they were married, but they had no children. Then he died. She was given to the second son. No children this time either, but this was by the second son’s choice. He died. Given what comes next, Tamar was part of the family long enough to learn about God’s promise to Abraham, decided that Abraham’s God was her God, and yes, she very much wanted to be part of these blessings, and she wanted her children to be part of these blessings also. When her second husband died, and she was sent back to her parents, she could have married someone else. Very likely, her parents tried to find another husband for her. However, she had a choice, and she chose to not be married to someone outside Judah’s household, because she wanted to be part of the blessing. When she saw that the third son was old enough and she had not been given to him in marriage, she had to find another way to be a part of the blessing. By this time, Judah’s wife had also died, and he was very open to having sex with some random woman on the side of the road. However, this random woman was Tamar, who became pregnant with twins. Judah was outraged that “his property” had sex with someone without his permission, but she was able to prove the children were his, and her eldest son is the one listed as Judah’s heir.  (Genesis 38:1-30).  

Tamar is very important. Women are not usually included in genealogies. She made sure she was included. Abraham was promised “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3) Tamar was a Canaanite. She is the first person we see outside of Abraham’s descendants who claimed Abraham’s God as her own God, of her own free will, and claimed God’s blessings for herself and her children.

Tamar’s son Perez is listed as Judah’s heir. Perez, Hezron, Aram, Aminadab, Nahshon, Salmon: this is a list of names we know little or nothing about. What we do know is that Judah/ Perez/ Hezron are all listed as family members who accompanied Jacob when he took his family to Egypt. We also know that between Hezron and Salmon is the whole history of the Exodus, and the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. “And Salmon (became) the father of Boaz by Rahab”: We have another woman in Jesus’ genealogy. This story is shared with us in Joshua 2: Joshua sent two spies to check out Jericho and area before Israel attacked. (You remember the story of Joshua and the people walking around the walls of Jericho, and blowing trumpets.) The spies went into Jericho and a “harlot” named Rahab hid them on the roof under some straw she was drying. 

The king came and asked her if she had seen the men, and she said yes, and suggested the king send soldiers to look for them outside the walls. He did. After the king and soldiers left, she talked with the spies, let them down outside the wall in a basket from her window, and instructed them where and how long to hide, and asked them to save her life and the lives of her family.  English translations say Rahab was a “prostitute/ harlot.” The word used is “zonah”and it has more than one meaning: “The ancient Jewish Targum (an ancient Aramaic translation or paraphrase of the Hebrew Bible) renders the Hebrew word for harlot “zanah” by an alternative expression meaning “innkeeper” and the two were considered rather openly synonymous in those days.” (encyclopedia.adventist.org,https://dafaleph.com/home/2016/6/1/a-guide-to-the-term-zonah)

Chapter Seventeen

1 Based on the Oral Tradition, we learned that the term “zonah” used by the Torah refers to one who is not a native born Jewess, a Jewish woman who engaged in relations with a man she was forbidden to marry, violating a prohibition that is universally applicable, or a woman who engaged in relations with a challal even though she is permitted to marry him. (Also https://outorah.org/p/87478/) (“challal” is a person, typically a priest, whose status has been “invalidated” due to forbidden relationships, baring them from priestly duties. Shulchanaruchharav.com)

As we look at Rahab, she is obviously someone who is respected: the king asks her for advice, and does what he is told; her family trusts and depends on her. Yes, she admits strange men into her house. According to archaeological evidence, there was only one inn in the area that became Israel. This inn existed in Jericho. An inn would only be used by rich travelers, because poor people would sleep on the ground in the village square, or with family. It would make sense for the king to ask the innkeeper if she had seen the strangers. It is doubtful a king would go looking for a prostitute, to ask her a question, and then follow her directions. This would suggest Rahab was an innkeeper, and probably as rich as her guests. Her status is also shown in the statement that she lived in the wall, as only one who has great status and wealth would be trusted to live in a section of the wall and keep it in good repair. What is very interesting about Rahab is that she already knew who the spies were, and already worshiped their God. We are not expecting this. And then, according to Matthew, she married Salmon, whom we presume is one of the two spies Joshua sent to check out the city, but we have no way of knowing for certain. We do know she was a Canaanite.

We know that Israel was not allowed to marry Canaanites. We also know Israelites were not allowed to marry prostitutes. But here we have a woman who risked her life to shelter Israel, and left her city and her culture to become one of the people of God, and became an ancestor of King David, and therefore an ancestor of Jesus. Salmon and Rahab were the parents of Boaz, (Matthew 1:5). We know Boaz from the book of Ruth. Ruth was another foreigner: this time a Moabite. She was also a widow. You might want to reread that book. Boaz was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David the shepherd boy who grew up to be king of Israel. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, 7 and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, 8 and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon, (Matthew 1:6-11).

We start this section remembering that God’s chosen king raped the wife of another man, then had that man killed to cover up his deed. David was not perfect. But David repented, and then took care of the woman he had violated. Apparently he was able to repair what started out as a very nasty relationship, as we are told that he and Bathsheba had 4 sons, and Solomon was #4, (1 Chronicles 3:5). Bathsheba was a Hittite, another foreigner.  The king after David was his son Soloman, who is known for his great wisdom, and having 1000 wives. Solomon’s son Rehoboam ruled after him, and caused the kingdom to divide due to his arrogance and inability to listen to his people. We have the stories of each of these kings in 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles. Some of the kings were good, some were bad, none of them were perfect. There were some kings that Matthew left out of this genealogy! Perhaps Matthew thought these kings were so bad they should be erased from history?

12 And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Salathiel, andSalathiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, 15 and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, who bore Jesus, who is called the Messiah. We don’t know much about most of these people. They were descendants of the people who returned to the land after the Babylonian exile. They were no longer kings. They were regular people who had to earn their living in normal ways, like farming, or being shepherds, or maybe building things. By the time of Joseph, David had been dead for about 1000 years, and Abraham had been dead for about 2000 years. Somehow, even after all this time, the promises to Abraham and David were still remembered, and the people still hoped their Messiah would come. 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, who bore Jesus, who is called the Messiah.” Matthew gives us the legal lineage. 

Joseph can trace his lineage all the way back to Abraham, the one with whom God made a covenant, the one who established Israel’s identity, the one who received the promise. Joseph’s lineage goes through King David who received the royal Messianic hope of the everlasting covenant. Joseph’s lineage goes through Solomon, and every king of David’s line. When Joseph married Mary, Mary became Jacob’s daughter legally. When Joseph named her son, her son became his son legally. This is the legal genealogy of Jesus, the promised Messiah. 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations. (Matthew 1:17).

To explain this sentence we need to look at Hebrew numerology. First, the number 14 is made up of 2 numbers, 10+4, these are represented by the letters Yod (10) and Dalet (4). Yod and Dalet spell yad, which means hand, and refers to the hand of God, and God’s active role in history and redemption. Fourteen is the number of divine action and profound blessing, pointing to God’s powerful hand at work throughout Israel’s history, making covenants, and keeping them, making promises, and keeping them, redeeming people from bondage, and making new beginnings.

The first readers/ listeners of the Gospel of Matthew would have known all these things, and much more. Knowing Jesus’ genealogy would have been important to them, to assure them that Jesus really was a descendant of Abraham, and a descendant of David, because if he was not a descendant of both these people, he could not be the promised Messiah. Now that Jesus’ credentials were established, Matthew’s readers could take the time to listen to what he had to say, and watch to see what kind of person he was. We are invited to join those who listen and watch, to hear and see who this Jesus really is.

Homework:

A: What is going on in your life right now?

B: Where do you see God at work?

C: Choose a person in this list and put yourself in their place: What do you see? How do

you feel? Where do you see God?

D: How do you see God doing the same thing in your life right now?

Repeat with different people/ one a day, like vitamins.

Let us pray:

Lord God, you have called your servants

to ventures of which we cannot see the ending,

by paths as yet untrodden,

through perils unknown.

Give us faith to go out with good courage,

not knowing where we go,

but only that your hand is leading us

and your love supporting us;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

(LBW)