Exalting Jesus in Matthew

David Platt

• Publisher: Holman Reference
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781433681301
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Commentaire biblique

Edited by David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, this new commentary series, projected to be 48 volumes, takes a Christcentered approach to expositing each book of the Bible. Rather than a verse-by-verse approach, the authors have crafted chapters that explain and apply key passages in their assigned Bible books. Readers will learn to see Christ in all aspects of Scripture, and they will be encouraged by the devotional nature of each exposition. Exalting Jesus in Matthew is the second volume in the series and is solely authored by Platt (best-selling author of Radical ). Other projected contributors to the series include notable authors such as Russell D. Moore, Al Mohler, Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, Mark Dever, and others.

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The Gospel Of The Kingdom

Matthew 1:1-17

Main Idea: The Gospel of Matthew is an account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and King predicted by the Old Testament.

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1. I. The Gospel of the Kingdom
   1. A. The book of Matthew is a Gospel (an account of good news).
   2. B. The book of Matthew is one of four Gospels.
      1. 1. John: Jesus is the Son of God.
      2. 2. Luke: Jesus is the Son of Man.
      3. 3. Mark: Jesus is the Suffering Servant.
      4. 4. Matthew: Jesus is the Sovereign King.
2. II. Introduction of the King
   1. A. He is the Savior.
   2. B. He is the Messiah.
   3. C. He is the son of David.
   4. D. He is the son of Abraham.
3. III. Overview of the Kingdom
   1. A. Gospel: The message of the kingdom
   2. B. Disciples: The citizens of the kingdom
   3. C. Discipleship: The demands of the kingdom
   4. D. Church: The outpost of the kingdom
   5. E. Mission: The spread of the kingdom
   6. F. Demons: The enemies of the kingdom
   7. G. Hope: The coming of the kingdom
4. IV. Salvation through the King
   1. A. God saves only by His sovereign grace.
   2. B. God saves ultimately for His global purpose.
5. V. The Bottom Line
   1. A. Like the leaders, will you completely reject Jesus?
   2. B. Like the crowds, will you casually observe Jesus?
   3. C. Like the disciples, will you unconditionally follow Jesus?

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The book of Matthew is a Gospel, an account of good news. That point may sound obvious, but we can't overlook it as we consider this first book of the New Testament. "Gospel" literally means "good news," and Matthew's purpose in this book is to write an account of the good news of Jesus Christ—how Jesus came, what Jesus did, what Jesus said, and what Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection. These truths are intended to change our lives and the entire world.

In order for us to rightly interpret Matthew's Gospel, we need to understand what it is and what it is not. First, as we consider this Gospel, we need to remember that it is not a congregational letter. Matthew is not like 1 Timothy, a letter written by Paul sent to Timothy and the church at Ephesus. This Gospel is not primarily addressing a certain congregation in a certain situation; rather, it is presenting Jesus Christ—who He is and what He has done—to all people. Second, as you read through Matthew you will also notice that it is not a comprehensive biography. Matthew was not trying to include every minute detail of Jesus' life. There are many things that have been left out. Matthew chose various stories and abbreviated teachings from Jesus' life in order to accomplish a specific purpose. This Gospel includes what it does because the author wants to say something specific about the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Finally, concerning the purpose of Matthew's Gospel, we see that it is not a chronological history. Obviously, time plays a role in Matthew's arrangement, since he begins with Jesus' birth and ends with Jesus' death and resurrection. However, within this broad framework, Matthew has intentionally arranged his material around specific emphases. In particular, Matthew organizes his Gospel around five distinct teaching sections, and in between sections he tells us different stories, or narrative accounts. After the first four chapters of narrative in Matthew, we come upon the first teaching section in chapters 5–7, a section we know as the Sermon on the Mount. Immediately following Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew says, "When Jesus had finished this sermon . . ." (7:28). We might think of these summary statements to be the "seams" stitching together the major teaching sections. Consider the following five seams:

1. 1. 7:28-29 — "When Jesus had finished this sermon . . ."
2. 2. 11:1 — "When Jesus had finished giving orders to His 12 disciples . . ."
3. 3. 13:53 — "When Jesus had finished these parables . . ."
4. 4. 19:1 — "When Jesus had finished this instruction . . ."
5. 5. 26:1 — "When Jesus had finished saying all this . . ."

Matthew's structure is not accidental. It is intentional—even beautiful. After each of the five key teaching sections, he gives us one of these summary statements. By this organization, Matthew gives us a beautiful portrait of Jesus' words and deeds. In considering this structure, we need to remember the main point of this Gospel, namely, to give us an account of the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Next we'll consider Matthew's portrait of Jesus in relation to the other Gospels.

The book of Matthew is one of four Gospels. Each Gospel writer gives us an account of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. Now there are certainly similarities among all four Gospels, but each one uses different stories at different times and in different ways in order to emphasize different truths about Jesus. It's as if the good news about Christ is a multi-colored diamond that you can look at from a variety of different angles, with each angle giving you a unique and glorious glimpse of the Lord Jesus. Still, at the end of the day, it's the same diamond. While Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are composed by different writers and written with different emphases, each Gospel is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16).

The following is admittedly an oversimplification, but it may help us to see some of the different emphases of the four Gospels. These emphases are even evident in the way that the Gospels begin:

• • John: Jesus is the Son of God. Instead of including a genealogy like Matthew, John begins by saying, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (1:1). John is showing us Jesus' divinity from the start. He even gives us a purpose statement toward the close of the book: "But these [signs] are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name" (20:31).
• • Luke: Jesus is the Son of Man. Jesus' significance for all humanity is emphasized from the very beginning of Luke's Gospel. His genealogy in chapter 3, for instance, is framed differently from Matthew's. In ascending order, Luke traces the physical lineage of Jesus to Adam, whereas Matthew begins with Abraham and moves forward to Jesus.
• • Mark: Jesus is the Suffering Servant. Mark doesn't give us a genealogy. Instead, from the very start, there is a clear emphasis on Jesus coming, not to be served, but to "serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many" (10:45). Mark also highlights the suffering that will come to all who follow Jesus.
• • Matthew: Jesus is the Sovereign King. From the very beginning, Matthew makes clear that Jesus is the King, coming from the line of King David (1:1), and He is the Messiah, the promised One from the line of Abraham (1:1). In descending order, Matthew traces the legal lineage of Jesus from Abraham. Matthew shows us that Jesus came not simply from Adam, but more specifically from the line of the kings in Israel. He is the promised King!

A few more points regarding Matthew's genealogy may be helpful. First, he is not giving us a comprehensive genealogy, that is, not every descendant in the family tree is included in this list. This genealogy is specifically arranged in groups of 14, as Matthew himself tells us in 1:17: "So all the generations from Abraham to David were 14 generations; and from David until the exile to Babylon, 14 generations; and from the exile to Babylon until the Messiah, 14 generations." Matthew has arranged his genealogy this way for a reason that goes all the way back to the Hebrew name for King David. The Hebrews recognized something called gematria, a system of assigning numerical values to certain words based on the corresponding letters of the Hebrew alphabet. When you add up the numerical values of the Hebrew consonants in David's name, you get a total of 14 (Blomberg, Matthew, 53). In addition, David's name is the fourteenth in Matthew's list (Blomberg, 53)! Clearly, Matthew intended to connect Jesus to King David.

Once we see some of these pieces put together, it should be clear that Matthew's genealogy should not be skipped over in order to get to the "good stuff." These opening verses help clue us in to the purpose of Matthew's Gospel.

Introduction of the King

Matthew 1:1-17

As we consider Matthew's genealogy in verses 1-17, it may be helpful to highlight several significant names along the way. This list is saturated with Old Testament history. Consider the following: David (1), the first name mentioned, is the king whose line God promised to establish for all time (2 Sam 7). Abraham (v. 1) was the one through whom God's promised blessing would come to the whole world (Gen 12:1-3; 15:1-6). Isaac (v. 2), Abraham's son, was a miracle-baby born to a mom named Sarah, who was shocked to find out that she would have a child. This supernatural birth would set the stage for Mary (v. 16), who was also pretty shocked (though for different reasons) to find out that she was going to have a child. Tamar is the first woman mentioned (v. 3). According to Genesis 38, Tamar was Judah's daughter-in-law, and it was sinful incest that led to the birth of the twins mentioned in verse 3, Perez and Zerah. The second woman mentioned is Rahab (v. 5), a prostitute who was spared when the people of God came into the promised land (Josh 2). Ruth is the third woman mentioned (v. 5). She was a Moabite (Ruth 1:4), a people known for their sexual immorality, and who at one time were forbidden to come into the assembly of God's people. These 14 genera...