The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (48 page)

Table 4.1: The Five Discourses in the Gospel of Matthew

OUTLINE

1. INTRODUCTION (1:1-4:11)
   
   1. The Ancestry, Birth, and Early Boyhood of Jesus (1:1-2:23)
      
      1. Genealogy of Jesus Christ (1:1-17)
         
      2. The Birth of Jesus (1:18-25)
         
      3. King Herod and the Visit of the Wise Men (2:1-12)
         
      4. Flight to Egypt, Bethlehem Massacre, Return to Nazareth (2:13-23)
         
   2. Prolegomena to Jesus' Ministry (3:1-4:11)
      
      1. The Ministry of John the Baptist (3:1-12)
         
      2. Jesus' Baptism (3:13-17)
         
      3. Jesus' Temptation (4:1-11)
         
2. JESUS' GALILEAN MINISTRY (4:12-18:35)
   
   1. First Part of Galilean Ministry (4:12-25)
      
      1. Jesus Begins to Preach (4:12-17)
         
      2. Call of Disciples (4:18-22)
         
      3. Summary (4:23-25)
         

      Discourse 1: Sermon on the Mount (5–7)
      

   2. Second Part of Galilean Ministry (8-9)
      
      1. Healing Ministry (8:1-17)
         
      2. Discipleship (8:18-27)
         
      3. Healing Ministry (8:28-9:8)
         
      4. Discipleship (9:9-17)
         
      5. Healing Ministry (9:18-34)
         
      6. Summary (9:35-38)
         

      Discourse 2: Instruction to the Twelve (10)
      

   3. Third Part of Galilean Ministry (11-12)
      
      1. Jesus and John the Baptist (11:1-19)
         
      2. Judgment and Discipleship (11:20-12:8)
         
      3. Healing Ministry (12:9–45)
         
      4. Discipleship (12:46-50)
         

      Discourse 3: Parables of the Kingdom (13:1–53)
      

   4. Galilean Ministry Extended to the North (13:54-17:27)
      
      1. Rejected in Hometown (13:54-58)
         
      2. John the Baptist Beheaded (14:1-12)
         
      3. Feeding of the Five Thousand (14:13-21)
         
      4. Walking on Water (14:22-36)
         
      5. Discipleship (15:1-20)
         
      6. Healing (15:21-28)
         
      7. Feeding of the Four Thousand (15:29-39)
         
      8. Warning Against Pharisees and Sadducees (16:1-12)
         
      9. Peter's Confession of Christ (16:13-28)
         
      10. Transfiguration (17:1-13)
          
      11. Healing (17:14-23)
          
      12. Temple Tax (17:24-27)
          

      Discourse 4: Parables of the Kingdom (18)
      

3. JESUS' JUDEAN MINISTRY AND HIS PASSION (19-28)
   
   1. Judean Ministry (19-20)
      
      1. Teaching on Divorce (19:1-12)
         
      2. Little Children (19:13-15)
         
      3. Discipleship and Parable of Workers (19:16-20:16)
         
      4. Second Passion Prediction (20:17-19)
         
      5. Greatness in the Kingdom (20:20-28)
         
      6. Healing (20:29-34)
         
   2. Final Ministry in Jerusalem (21-22)
      
      1. Triumphal Entry (21:1-11)
         
      2. Cleansing of the Temple (21:12-17)
         
      3. Withering of a Fig Tree (21:18-27)
         
      4. Parables of Two Sons, Wicked Tenants, Wedding Banquet (21:28-22:14)
         
      5. Controversial Questions (22:15–46)
         
   3. Jesus' Denunciation of the Pharisees (23)
      

      Discourse 5: Olivet Discourse, Kingdom Parables (24–25)
      

   4. The Passion (26-27)
      
      1. The Plot to Kill Jesus (26:1-5)
         
      2. The Anointing (26:6-16)
         
      3. The Passover (26:17-30)
         
      4. Prediction of Peter's Denials (26:31-35)
         
      5. Gethsemane, the Betrayal and Arrest (26:36-56)
         
      6. The Trial before the Sanhedrin and Peter's Denials (26:57–75)
         
      7. Judas' Suicide (27:1–10)
         
      8. The Trial before Pilate (27:11–26)
         
      9. Jesus Mocked and Crucified (27:27–56)
         
      10. Jesus' Burial (27:57–61) and Posting of the Guards (27:62–66)
          
   5. The Resurrection and the Great Commission (28)
      
      1. The Resurrection (28:1–10)
         
      2. The Guards' Report (28:11–15)
         
      3. The Great Commission (28:16–20)
         

UNIT-BY-UNIT DISCUSSION

I. Introduction (1:1–4:11)

A. The Ancestry, Birth, and Early Boyhood of Jesus (1:1–2:23)
Matthew begins his Gospel with a genealogy of Jesus (1:1–17).
⁵⁶
This genealogy does far more than merely satisfy curiosity about Jesus' family tree. It stresses Jesus' identity as the son of Abraham, the recipient of the divine promise that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen 12:1–3), and as the promised King from the line of David who will rule over God's people. It also underscores his supremacy over the OT patriarchs; and his redemptive mission first to Jews but also to Gentiles. The inclusion of four women besides Mary, all of whose lives were characterized by the appearance or reality of scandal, may be designed to show that the appearance of scandal attached to the virgin birth did not necessarily disprove its authenticity, since God in previous salvation history had repeatedly worked through apparent or actual scandal.
⁵⁷

The account of Jesus' conception and birth (1:18–25) portrays these events as absolutely unique. It demonstrates that Jesus was the fulfillment of God's promises given through the OT prophets. Even more importantly, the account emphasizes Jesus' identity as the virgin-born Immanuel, God living among human beings, and the Savior who would rescue his people from their sins. The reference to Isa 7:14 in Matt 1:22–23 is the first in a series of fulfillment quotations that document the fact, all-important for Matthew's Jewish audience, that virtually every major event in Jesus' life—including his birth, his identity as “God with us,” his miracles, his healing ministry, and the circumstances surrounding his death, burial, and resurrection—took place in order to fulfill, and in keeping with, OT Scripture.
⁵⁸

The visit of the wise men to worship the infant Jesus (2:1–12) demonstrates that, though Jesus' mission was first directed to the Jews, its scope transcended Israel and reached to Gentiles as well. Their time-consuming and difficult journey from the east to Bethlehem, their valuable gifts, and especially their worship of Jesus highlight his supremacy and imply his deity. The failure of the chief priests and scribes to travel to Bethlehem in search of Jesus betrays indifference toward the Messiah that later developed into animosity.

The flight from Herod and the slaughter of the innocents (2:13–18) are reminiscent of the murder of Hebrew children at the order of Pharaoh and the flight of Moses (Exodus 1–2). The account begins a portrayal of Jesus as the new Moses, the instructor and deliverer of God's people. Despite its tragic nature, the event is in keeping with OT prophecy (Jer 31:15 cited in Matt 2:18). Matthew's account is fully consistent with descriptions of Herod's character by ancient historians.
⁵⁹
The temporal relationship of Jesus' birth to Herod's death is the most significant factor in establishing a chronology of Jesus' early life.
⁶⁰

The account of Jesus' infancy ends with a description of the holy family settling in Nazareth (Matt 2:19–23). Matthew saw a connection between the name of the town and the similar-sounding Hebrew word for “branch” (Hb.
netser
). The connection portrayed Jesus as the fulfillment of the “Branch prophecies” of the OT (Isa 4:2; 11:1; Jer 23:5; 33:15).
⁶¹
These prophecies told of a righteous descendant of David whose wise and just rule would be empowered by the Spirit and who would bring salvation to Judah. Matthew thus saw Jesus' hometown as a clue to his identity as the Messiah, continuing the pattern of the fulfillment of OT passages in the life of Jesus.

B. Prolegomena to Jesus' Ministry and First Part of Galilean Ministry (3:1–4:25)
This section begins with a description of the ministry of John the Baptist, again in keeping with OT expectation (3:1–6). Matthew's application of Isa 40:3 to John the Baptist says as much about Jesus' identity as it does about John's role. John is a “voice of one crying out in the wilderness,” calling the Jewish people to repentance and thus preparing the way for God himself to come in the person of Jesus the Messiah. While Matthew uses the prophecy to describe John's preparation for the coming of Jesus, in its original context the prophecy spoke of one who prepared for the coming of Yahweh God. By using a text about the coming of Yahweh to describe the coming of Jesus, Matthew implies that Jesus is divine, the Immanuel, God with us.

John announced the coming kingdom and called his Jewish hearers to repentance (3:7–12). In particular, he urged them to abandon the assumption that physical descent from Abraham guaranteed salvation. He called on them to express their repentance by accepting his baptism and producing the fruit of good works. He also promised that another person
would come after him who was more powerful and vastly superior. This messianic figure would offer sinners a choice between two baptisms: either a baptism effected by the Spirit that would transform them or a baptism of fire that would burn them like fire burned wheat chaff .

Map 4.1: Jesus’ Travels

Matthew's description of Jesus' baptism (3:13–17) is packed with theological significance. When Jesus approached John requesting baptism, John identified Jesus as the one he had promised by arguing that it was more appropriate for Jesus to baptize John than for John to baptize Jesus. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus like a dove may indicate that Jesus possessed the power of new creation (Gen. 1:1–2; cf. Gen 8:8–12). The voice of the heavenly Father described Jesus using two OT texts that identified Jesus as the Messiah and the Suffering Servant who would provide forgiveness to sinners by becoming their sacrifice (Ps 2:7; Isa 42:1).

Jesus' 40 days of temptation (4:1–11) demonstrated that Jesus truly did come to “fulfill all righteousness” (3:15).
⁶²
The temptation experience also demonstrated Jesus' authority over Satan and his supremacy over the angels. While Mark includes only the tersest account of the temptation (1:12–13), Matthew, similar to Luke, provides a much more detailed presentation (though Luke's order of the second and third temptations is reversed). Jesus then established his ministry headquarters in Capernaum in “Galilee of the Gentiles” (4:12–16). This location confirmed God's intention to include Gentiles in his redemptive plan, a major theme of Matthew's Gospel. Jesus began to proclaim a message identical to John's: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near” (4:17; see 3:2).

II. Jesus' Galilean Ministry (4:12–18:35)

A. First Part of Galilean Ministry (4:11–25)
Jesus then began to call his first disciples, two pairs of brothers who were fishermen: Peter and Andrew, and James and John (4:18–22). Their willingness to abandon their occupation and leave their families to follow Jesus demonstrates that Jesus was worthy of any sacrifice that he called his followers to make. Jesus then commenced to preach the gospel of the kingdom throughout Galilee (4:23–25, a summary statement). Great crowds followed him in response to his powerful preaching and amazing healing miracles.

Table 4.2: Jesus' Twelve Disciples