Mt_origins - Page: 1 of 1

The First Gospel begins with a genealogy that traces Jesus' lineage back through David to Abraham. For Mt, Jesus is a thoroughly Jewish figure who has descended from some of the greatest figures of Israel's history. Jesus is not only a "son of Abraham," he is also a "son of David." The latter title shows up ten times in Mt, while it shows up only three times in Mk and three times in Lk.

Interestingly, Mt's genealogy traces Jesus lineage through Joseph, to whom Jesus has only an adopted relationship. In Mt, Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit. Along with being a "son of Abraham" (a Jew) and a "son of David" (the Messiah), Jesus is literally the "son of God." While Mk leaves open the possibility of an adoptive Christology (i.e., a Christology in which Jesus is adopted by God at the baptism), Mt leaves room for no such option.

It's also significant that Mt includes four women in his genealogy: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and "the wife of Uriah" (whose name was Bathsheba). In the ancient world, it would have been unusual to include women in a genealogy, and Mt's reason for doing so is somewhat of a mystery. Each of these women is a gentile, and each of them gave birth as a result of unusual sexual unions. Yet even though these women are unusual in certain ways, they have all played important roles in the fulfillment of God's plan.

In the Christian canon, only in Mt and Lk do we find accounts of the birth of Jesus. According to Mt, Mary is found to be pregnant out of wedlock, and Joseph, not wanting to embarrass her, agrees to break off their engagement quietly. However, an angel comes to Joseph in a dream and tells him that Mary has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and that she will bear a son named Jesus, whose name ("Joshua" in Hebrew) means "he saves."

We also read of the visit of the magi, or the so-called "wise men." These were gentiles, neither Jewish nor Christian. No one is really sure exactly what Matthew meant by "magi," and so we're not really sure how to translate this word. It's the word from which we get our English word "magic." "Historically, 'magi' were of Persian origin, a priestly caste able to interpret dreams and portents" (Senior, 44). Magi also practiced astrology, which is what we see in Mt's depiction: they say to Herod (the Great), "[W]e have observed his star at its rising" (2.2), and they follow the star to Bethlehem, precisely to the place where Jesus lay.

In 2.13 ff, Joseph is told in a dream that he must take Jesus and Mary and go to Egypt, since Herod is trying to destroy Jesus. Herod was the Jewish client king who had been installed by the Romans. He was not a very well-liked individual, and he was known to be extremely ruthless. However, there is no independent historical record of the slaughter of the infants.

Joseph and his family left just before Herod ordered the death of all the children two-years-old and younger who lived in and around Bethlehem. This story brings to mind Pharaoh's action in Ex 1.15-22, as well as the narrow escape of Moses from slaughter in Ex 2.1-10. In several ways, Jesus is understood in Mt to be the new Moses, although, within the birth narrative, there are OT allusions linking Jesus to David and to the patriarch Joseph, as well.