Matthew is written principally, but not exclusively for a Jewish audience. This outline will focus on understanding the gospel as it relates to the original audience while retaining it's importance for us today.
Author: Nobody can say with certainty, but the universal testimony of the early Church is that The Gospel According to Matthew was indeed written by Matthew. The Apostle Matthew was a tax collector by vocation and through this experience and training, he was very acquainted with family lists and genealogies from public records. He knew the family history of the people who he was charged with collecting tax from.
Chapter One is split into two sections:
- Genealogy of Jesus (tracing him through David, all the way back to Abraham)
- Immaculate conception and Birth of Jesus
Genealogy (Part 1):
Ancestry, although by and large not very important to our own culture, was extremely important to the Jewish people. They kept meticulous records of each tribe and family (Numbers 1:2), which is why there are genealogies sprinkled all over the Old Testament, including a full nine chapters of genealogy in 1 Chronicles. These lists determined who you could marry, where you could live, what roles you were given (Priests —> sons of Aaron, Levi’s —> Tribe of Levi, Kings —> House of David), and what rights you could claim. Remember- there were no birth certificates, no SSN’s, no identification of any kind in the ancient world. Your lineage contained your entire legal identity and testified to historical reality. This is a perspective I do not share because I live in a society that values individuality and independence. But it's clear that ancient identity was communal and inherited. So while we, in the 21st century, may have a misplaced understanding of why origin matters, I don't believe we have lost the desire to attach our identity to our origin story. The recent popularity of ancestry DNA tests testifies to the fact that this desire has not departed from our heart.
Matthew’s account begins right off the bat by making known to the reader that he is writing about Jesus the Messiah, a claim on His identity. Christ is not a last name, it is a title. Jesus' formal name according to his circle of friends and family would've been Jesus bar Joseph or Jesus of Nazareth. Don't read past this claim. It's something Matthew's original audience would’ve understood immediately. The title of Christ by definition means “Jesus the Anointed One” or “Jesus the promised Messiah.”
Right after the display of the title of Christ, Matthew immediately moves onto displaying another title that would strike to the heart of a Jewish audience: The Son of David. Thereafter this genealogical record serves as a demonstration of Matthew’s claim of Jesus as King of the Jews. It traces Jesus’ legal father Joseph all the way back to Abraham, through the kingly line of David. Any 1st century Hebrew would’ve immediately searched for these verifications.
If this really is the Messiah, we must confirm he is related to the right people. We must know if he has a rightful claim to the Davidic throne.
Matthew continues to draw in the Jewish audience by immediately bringing into view two of the greatest covenants in Israel’s history, the Davidic Covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant. He ends the genealogy by framing and summarizing the lineage into blocks of 14 generations; 14 from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the exile to Babylon, and 14 from the deportation to Jesus. These are massive moments in the Israel’s history and the mentioning of every single one of them right away in the account of Jesus is by no means a coincidence.
Unique to this record is Matthew choosing to include 4 women along with some "unnecessary" details, such as the mention of Bathsheba's first husband, Uriah, who is not in the line of Jesus. The inclusion of women was not necessary when displaying lineage, because according to Jewish heritage, if your father was a Jew, you were considered Jewish, regardless of your mothers ethnic background.
So, why mention women? Especially these women?
These are women (along with most of the men mentioned), who had a questionable past. Rahab was a gentile prostitute. Tamar was also a prostitute and engaged in an incestuous relationship with her father-in-law. Ruth was a foreigner from Moab. And Bathsheba was an adulterer. Perhaps, Matthew is every so subtly (or not subtly) reminding his Jewish readers that they are not perfect. These sinful men and women women in the genealogy highlight just how gracious God has been to the Jewish nation while simultaneously exposing any prideful sentiments, preparing the reader for the following chapters when John the Baptist calls the entire nation to repent and be baptized in preparation for the coming messiah.
It's as if Matthew is carefully weaving into his account from the outset that his readers are in desperate need of redemption, like he is carefully signaling a message to them,
"Listen, you are sinful people. Don’t think just because you are children of Abraham that you will be saved. You are sinful now and you always have been. You need forgiveness for your sins. You need a royal, kingly, Redeemer. And repentance will be necessary in order to ender His kingdom."
This isn’t just a simple record of Joseph’s family tree; it’s a masterpiece of symbolic, theological messaging. Here is the legal proof Jesus is who he says he is, the rightful King of the Jews. And here is a reminder of your own fallenness.
Immaculate Conception and Birth of Jesus (Part 2):
Two stage Jewish marriage tradition (Betrothal and Marriage Proper):
Part One (Betrothal): Arranged by parents, contracts negotiated and agreed to, covenant relationship entered into, and legal marriage begins.
Although considered officially married and even referred to as husband and wife, the new couple did not live together. The woman continued to live with her parents and the man with his, for a period of approximately one year.
This waiting period was to demonstrate the faithfulness of the pledge of purity concerning the bride as well as allow the man to prepare a living space and for both to publicly declare the covenant. If the women was found to be with child during this period, the marriage could be annulled. One year was customary, but not mandatory by Torah
Part Two (Marriage Proper):
After the betrothal period was over, the husband goes to the house of the bride’s parents and in a grand processional march, leads the bride back to his own home where together they would physically consummate the marriage and begin their new life as one.
When the angel visits Joseph and tells him not to be afraid to take Mary home as his wife, he is essentially giving Joseph instructions to move from the first stage of marriage to the second - to take Marry home as his wife, ending the year long waiting period early (with the one clearly stated exception that the physical consummation did not happen in Joseph and Mary’s marriage until after the birth of Jesus - verse 25).
This entering into the second marriage stage early accomplished much. It protected Mary from public disgrace. It legitimized her pregnancy socially and silenced any accusations against her. And it made the child legally Joseph's - giving him adoptive rights and naming rights and legitimizing the genealogical thread Matthew includes in the beginning of the gospel.
Claim to loyalty was always paternal. Legal standing was always paternal. While Mary's role was essential for incarnation, Joseph's role was essential for covenant legitimacy.
While modern western readers might be tempted to think because Jesus was not Joseph’s biological son, this somehow softens from Jesus’ claim to the throne, the near-eastern mind of Jewish readers would’ve had no problem reconciling Jesus' royal standing. Legal sonship in the Torah is always real sonship. Moses was adopted. Ester was an adopted orphan. Israel itself is adopted and called “my firstborn son” by God Himself.
This radical demonstration of faith by Joseph put his righteousness and compassion on display. Even before the visit from the angel, Joseph plans to divorce Mary quietly, thereby protecting her as best he could from shame. But after the angelic visit he further demonstrates his compassion by forgoing any rigid, legalistic Jewish custom-keeping in exchange for covenant faithfulness and mercy.
What a beautiful picture of a husband covering his wife. A husband beginning his marriage by demonstrating faithful obedience to God, and compassion toward his new bride. Joseph is a real man's man and becomes the very first new covenant example of adoptive fatherhood — a man who has “Received the Spirit of adoption” Paul talks about in Romans 8:15. Joseph claimed and named Jesus as his own even though Jesus was not biologically his child. Because in the mind of God, adoption isn’t an alternate plan; it’s His perfectly designed path toward redemption.
In the message delivered by the angel, Joseph is also told the origin of the child. “For the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (v. 20). This is the same language used in the creation story of Genesis 1 when the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep until the Spirit came and hovered, or brooded, over the waters. This is also the same language used in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit comes upon the early disciples, filling them with the Holy Spirit, empowering them to speak in other tongues. Matthew reminds his readers - the genesis of life is always through the power of the Spirit of life.
The angel's message to Joseph is incredible - the same power that made the universe and all it contains, has now brought life to Mary's womb.