Grace Institute: The Gospels & Acts: Matthew: Preparation of the King

Matthew Survey of the New Testament: The Gospels & Acts Winter 2005

[Previous: Introduction] [Next: Proclamation of the King]

Preparation of the King (1:1 – 4:16)

Genealogy of the King (1:1 – 1:17)

Matthew begins the book by establishing Jesus ' royal heritage. Matthew emphasizes that Jesus is a descendent of Abraham , establishing that he is indeed a Jew, and also a descendent of David , and therefore of the Davidic kingly line. Interesting features of the genealogy:

• The genealogy is through Joseph , Jesus ' stepfather, because the royal line is passed through the male.
• The genealogy is divided into three groups of 14 generations: Abraham to David ; David to the exile; the exile to the birth of the Messiah. The use of 14 emphasizes the fullness of the genealogy, 14 being a multiple of 7, the number of completion.
• The genealogy includes 4 women: Tamar , Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba . All of these women had were involved in sex scandals and three of the four were Gentiles. Yet they are especially mentioned in the genealogy of the King.

Birth of the King (1:18 – 2:23)

Joseph

Matthew presents the birth of the King from the perspective of Joseph , his father. We know very little about Joseph , and he drops out of the story after chapter 2, causing some to speculate that he died while Jesus was growing up. What is clear from the story is that he was a man of integrity, willing to divorce his betrothed quietly when he had the right to have her stoned, and that he was a man of faith, trusting in and acting on the words of the angel.

The Wise Men

The visit of the Wise Men is only mentioned in Matthew , for they establish the case of Jesus as the king. The wise men would have been rulers much like Daniel was. They were astrologers, philosophers, teachers, and politicians. These magi were like foreign diplomats visiting the birth of a new King. Matthew is showing that Jesus , even as a young child was considered a King by learned men.

The story of the Wise Men leads to the flight to Egypt by the young family (2:13-15) and to the slaughter of the innocent baby boys of Bethlehem at the hand of King Herod (2:16-23). Both these incidents are seen by Matthew as fulfillments of ancient prophecy (2:15, 18), thus furthering his case that Jesus is the predicted Messiah-king.

Baptism of the King (3:1 – 3:17)

John the Baptist

John the Baptist was well respected by the Jews as a prophet. Matthew is showing that the recognition of Jesus as messiah came from reputable people. John himself was a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (3:3), as the precursor to the coming of the Messiah.

John 's message was to announce the coming of the king: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This coming king would bring the baptism of the Holy Spirit and will bring judgment against those who reject him (4:12)

Jesus Baptism

As Jesus comes out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus like a dove, and the Father calls out from heaven, “You are my beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.”

What a great way to start His public ministry: to be baptized by John the Baptist, a very popular prophet, to have the Spirit of God come upon you and to hear the approval of God. This event serves as the inauguration of Jesus ministry, the kick off point before He goes out and begins to promote His kingdom to the world.

Temptation of the King (4:1-11)

Yet, before Jesus preaches His first sermon, before He performs His first miracle, Jesus must first undergo a time of trial and temptation. It is as if, before He can begin His ministry, Jesus must prepare for his mission. He must undergo temptation so that first he proves himself as King. The temptation of Christ shows the building of His character. It acts as a rite of passage. Jesus is passing into manhood, coming into his own as a King.

In all three of the temptations, Jesus was tempted to take short cuts. Satan is asking him to grab hold of the kingdom without going through the process which God the Father had for him.

• In the first temptation, Satan says “ if you are the Son of God, command that these stones to become bread.” Jesus had the power and authority to turn stones to bread. But Jesus only did the bidding of his father, and his authority was only from the Father. To turn the stones to bread would have been rejecting the process of fasting and disobeying the Father.
• For the second temptation, Jesus is told he would be given authority over all the kingdoms of the world. Satan , as ruler of this world, had this authority to give. All Jesus had to do was bow down to Satan and Jesus could obtain all the power and authority rightfully due him. It was God's plan to give Jesus all that authority, but only after He endured the cross.
• In the third temptation: the Jews held a belief from Malachi 3:1 that the Messiah would appear supernaturally by descending upon the temple [1]. If Jesus had jumped from the top of the temple to be rescued by angels, Jesus would have been revealing himself supernaturally as the Messiah. But God the Father wanted Jesus to be revealed through His death, resurrection and ascension. In other words, Satan was tempting Jesus to short-circuit the process to His revelation as Messiah and avoid the cross.

Jesus was entitled to all of these things offered in the temptation: comfort, glory, power, authority. As the King, he had authority to act on his own, to rule over all the nations and to receive recognition as Messiah. There will come a time when Jesus is granted this authority, glory and recognition by the Father. But to do so now would be to short-circuit the process God the father has for Him.

Footnotes

Barbieri, Louis A. Jr. “ Matthew .” Bible Knowledge Commentary . John F. Walvoord , Roy B. Zuck , ed. ( Victor Books, 1997. Electronic Edition STEP file)

[Previous: Introduction] [Next: Proclamation of the King]