JESUS' BIRTH, INFANCY, AND BAPTISM

Matthew 1–3

DIMENSION ONE: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

Answer these questions by reading Matthew 1

1. With whom does the genealogy of Jesus begin? (1:2)

The genealogy begins with Abraham.

2. What five women are included? (1:3, 5, 6, 16)

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Uriah's wife (Bathsheba), and Mary are included.

3. Is the ancestry traced to Joseph or Mary? (1:16)

The ancestry is traced to Joseph.

4. How many generations are reported? (1:17)

Forty-two generations are reported, in three groups of fourteen each.

5. What are the major divisions in the ancestry? (1:17)

The ancestry is divided from Abraham to David, from David to the Babylonian Exile, from the Exile to the Messiah.

6. Why does Joseph first want to divorce Mary? (1:18)

Mary is pregnant before they come together.

7. What does the name Jesus signify? (1:21)

He will save his people from their sins.

Answer these questions by reading Matthew 2

8. Who is the king of Judea when Jesus is born? (2:1)

Herod is the king.

9. How do the Magi (wise men) know that Jesus is to be born in Bethlehem? (2:5-6)

It is written by the prophet (Micah).

10. Why don't the Magi return to Herod? (2:12)

They are warned in a dream not to go back to Herod.

11. Why does Joseph take the family to Egypt? (2:13)

Joseph is warned in a dream that Herod is about to search for the child and kill him.

12. Whom does Herod kill in Bethlehem? (2:16)

He kills all boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who are two years old and under.

13. Where does Joseph take Jesus and Mary when they return from Egypt? (2:21-23)

They go to Israel first, then to Nazareth, a town in Galilee.

Answer these questions by reading Matthew 3

14. What message does John the Baptist preach? (3:2)

John preaches for the people to "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

15. Who foretells that a preacher will "prepare the way for the Lord"? (3:3)

Isaiah foretells this (Isaiah 40:3).

16. Where do the people come from who want to be baptized by John? (3:5)

They come from Jerusalem, Judea, and the whole region of the Jordan.

17. Whom does John call a "brood of vipers"? (3:7)

John calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a brood of vipers.

18. What does John tell them to do? (3:8)

They are to "produce fruit in keeping with repentance"

19. Why does John first refuse to baptize Jesus? (3:14)

He says that Jesus should baptize him.

20. Why does Jesus say it is fitting for John to baptize him? (3:15)

Jesus says it is proper "to fulfill all righteousness"

21. What does Jesus see when he is baptized? (3:16)

Jesus sees the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.

22. What does the voice from heaven say? (3:17)

"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased"

DIMENSION TWO: WHAT DOES THE BIBLE MEAN?

A familiar saying is "Don't judge a book by its cover." We could sometimes say, "Don't judge a book by its title." The Gospel According to Matthew may be such a book. It would not be altogether accurate to describe this as a book by Matthew. He compiled it, he edited it, but he did not write it, as Thomas Carlyle wrote A History of the French Revolution. Matthew incorporated extended passages of earlier works in his book. But it would be equally misleading to say that Matthew merely compiled and edited more original work. Matthew brought all the material together in an original way to make a statement about Jesus that had not been made in this particular way. His Gospel is one of the most original books ever published.

Scholars have devoted lifetimes to identifying the sources of Matthew's Gospel. In a few bold strokes we can only suggest the outlines of scholars' work. Matthew contains almost the entire Gospel According to Mark (600 of the 661 verses) with remarkably few changes. Two hundred and thirty-five verses, out of the 1,068 in Matthew, come from a source known as "Q." This source is found in Luke but is seemingly unknown to Mark. The remaining 230 verses are peculiar to Matthew alone, coming from written and oral traditions. The importance of such source analysis for participants should be that Matthew's Gospel is a proclamation of the faith of the first-century Christian church, a gathering together of the common tradition concerning Jesus the Christ. The Gospels emerged from the church, not the other way around.

Matthew 1:16, 21, 23. Three names (Christ, Jesus, and Immanuel) are given to Jesus in Chapter 1. They are probably more important than anything else in the chapter. We shall discuss the titles Christ and Immanuel and the name Jesus later at points where the name and titles are associated with Jesus' activity (9:1-8; 16:13-20; 28:16-20).

The participant book does not go into a discussion of the names and titles at this time. This seems better left to the times when the meaning of the names can be seen in the activity of Jesus' life. In this first unit of study it is important for participants to recognize how revealing the names and titles are. They should focus their attention elsewhere, though. You may want to make sure everyone understands that Christ is not Jesus' last name. Christ means the "chosen or anointed one."

Matthew 1:1-17. These verses are the genealogy for Jesus. For centuries, the Jews had hoped that a messiah would come with salvation and deliverance for Israel. The Messiah was to be a "Son of David." In Jesus, one had come who promised salvation from sin, one whom God raised victorious even over death. The genealogy confirms the hope of many in Israel that Jesus is the Son of David. Again and again throughout the Gospel, Jesus is addressed as "Son of David" (12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9, 15).

The participants may want to compare the genealogies of Matthew and Luke (Luke 3:23-38). The main difference is that Luke goes all the way back to Adam, while Matthew stops with Abraham. Matthew concerns himself only with Jesus' descent in the line of the covenant with Israel. Luke sees Jesus as a universal Savior, tracing his line back to human beginnings.

You may want to discuss the four...