Session 2: Matthew’s Understanding of Jesus
This morning we examined the witness of Mark about Jesus.
Mark tried to understand this mysterious person, Jesus. And he tried to solve the mystery of his identity, seeing all his life. Yes, he was the Son of God but his understanding of the Son of God was radically different from the understanding of the Son of God in his time.
Mark understood the messianic secret. Jesus was the Son of God and displayed all the power but the world did not change by that power. The world killed the Son of God. The secret of God’s salvation is hidden in the ministry of this mysterious man. Through his servanthood, Jesus released the true power of God.
He saw the real purpose of why the Son of God came to the world.
For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
Not the raw power will save this world. But humble and suffering servanthood will bring salvation because it will release the power of God. Jesus showed that.
The way we live should be radically different from the way of the world. That is what it means to follow the cross. That is what will bring the resurrection. The world doesn’t know the power of the cross. The world doesn’t know the power of the resurrection.
A few weeks ago, I preached on “Love one another.” Jesus’ understanding of love is based on “Love your enemies.” The world will never understand this love. So, Christian understanding of life is radically different from that of this world. In the same way, the world will never understand the power of the servanthood that Jesus showed and taught.
Let us examine another witness of Jesus. Let’s see what Matthew experienced about Jesus. What was his understanding of Jesus and his message? Matthew also had a conclusion of this mysterious person, Jesus. But a little different from Mark.
Matthew is a longer book.
Matthew = 18,300 words
Mark = 11,300 words
Matthew’s beginning is very different from Mark.
He started with this.
An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)
He starts with a genealogy. Mark doesn’t record Jesus’ genealogy. For Mark, Jesus was a servant and the servant doesn’t have a genealogy.
But Matthew begins with the Genealogy. This already tells us that Matthew is very different from Mark.
Through this genealogy, he described Jesus as the son of David, the son of Abraham.
What is Matthew doing by saying that?
Jesus’ life is connected with David, connected with Abraham. Jesus was an extraordinary man, but he did not come out of nowhere. He was connected with the history. The particular history of God’s salvation plan.
Who was Abraham? He was the beginning of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The story of salvation. We studied that.
After Noah’s flood, this man appeared and he was Abraham. God wanted to bring salvation through this man. God was creating a new history with this one man. So Abraham was the beginning of salvation story.
Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘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)
God blessed Abraham and so he could be the source of God’s blessings. This world was filled with curses, darkness, and struggles.
Genesis 1-11— we think about creation. But that’s only two chapters. The rest of it is disobedience, rebellion, and human greed. The first death came by murder. Even though God wiped the world to begin anew by the flood, people didn’t change. They built the Babel tower.
So God chose Abraham. God wanted Abraham to be the source of God’s blessings. God wanted Abraham to carry on this life of blessings from one generation to another.
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Joseph
Moses
Finally David
In Matthew’s mind, the epitome of God’s vision given to Abraham was David. In David, God’s vision given to Abraham was fulfilled partially. So Jewish people believed that the Messiah, the Saviour, would come from David’s descendants. Matthew is saying that Jesus came from David’s line.
Matthew summarizes his genealogy in this way.
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 fit this number, he took out two kings. Why? Because 14 was David’s number. Messiah would come from the line of David. So, genealogy is to do with David.
So when Matthew said, Jesus was the son of Abraham, and the son of David, what did he want to say?
Jesus is the true fulfillment of what God started with Abraham. What was partially realized in David is fully realized in Jesus. So this word fulfillment is very important to Matthew.
The key word for Matthew was the FULFILLMENT. Jesus was the fulfillment of what God started. God’s promise was fulfilled in Jesus.
This idea of fulfilment is very important in life. Your life is not random. Your future is not arbitrary. Your life is the fulfillment of God’s plan. Your future is the fulfillment of what God started.
This is what St. Paul discovered about his life.
I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)
That was what Matthew tried to get across.
Let us look at a few places.
All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ (Matthew 1:22, 23)
and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’ (Matthew 2:15)
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 Nazorean.’ (Matthew 2:23)
…so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: … the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light,
and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death
light has dawned. (Matthew 4:14, 16)
That evening they brought to him many who were possessed by demons; and he cast out the spirits with a word, and cured all who were sick. This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases.’ (Matthew 8:16, 17)
This took place to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
‘Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ (Matthew 21:4, 5)
Nothing happens randomly. Everything happens in God’s plan.
Our life too – life: not random events but there is a flow. It is hard to read the flow. We just react to what’s happening right now.
When everything goes well, we feel good. But when everything goes bad, we feel anxious. We feel anxious because we have no control over our life. It is to do with a luck. I work hard but no guarantee.
But we Christians have a word for our life. Not luck, not random, not just your hard work but PROVIDENCE. We have to believe that there is a big picture in life. The big picture is God’s picture for us.
Eg) Hiking – Trees and Forest. There is a map.
LIFE: Not a whole bunch of dots but there is a shape that connects these dots.
Everything that happens to us is a part of a big picture of God. Yes, of course, there are ups and downs, peaks and valleys. When you hike, there are times you have to climb to the top but also there are times you have to go down to the valleys. But they are all in the big picture.
When your life is up and down, don’t get frustrated or discouraged. They will all be a part of God’s plan for you.
We worry about our future. We get anxious when our future is not clear. But Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow. Your life is in God’s hands. God will work out everything for good for you.
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promises for you. When you are in Jesus, you are in God’s big picture of his salvation.
Discussion Questions:
- Share your understanding of Matthew’s belief about Jesus.
- Do you see your life events as isolated events or a part of God’s plan? When you see your life as a part of God’s plan, how do you feel? What kind of attitude you should have about life?
- Go around and share certain events in your life that showed God’s greater plan.
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