Matthew 1-2 (The Birth and Arrival of Jesus)

The first two chapters of Matthew deal with the arrival of Jesus. Through various Old Testament references, Matthew shares that Jesus' arrival is the climax of the Old Testament. The word, "messiah", is a translation of a Hebrew word for "anointed one", and the equivalent of the Greek word, "Christ".

Matthew places Jesus within history and the Old Testament by referring to Jesus' genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17). He announced that there were a total of fourteen generations between Abraham to David, fourteen generations from David to the deportation to Babylon, and from deportation to Babylon to the Christ were fourteen generations.

Promises from God to Abram

 "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.  And 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 him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”" (Genesis 12:1-3)

"...and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”" (Genesis 22:18) 

shed light on what Jesus came to do because God told Abram to go from his country and his kindred and to the land he will show him. By referring to making a great nation of Abram, it also foretells of the elect, the Church, who will be of every nation and tribe. By being in Jesus and obeying him, we too will be blessed.

Just as God made promises to David:

 "...from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house.  When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.  And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” (2 Samuel 7:11-16)

that he would give rest to him from his enemies, God promises us that he will give us rest from sin and broken heartedness when we turn to Christ. In Psalm 89:3-4, God says that the covenant was extended to David's descendants. The promise of the throne says that the throne will have to be a descendant of David. Jesus comes from this genealogy.

In the genealogy of Jesus, by including five women rather just men (as was customary at the time), and by including Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth (all Gentiles) is significant. In Matthew 1:21, it speaks of Jesus coming to save His people from their sins. This would include men and women, Jew and Gentile. Salvation was not just for the Jews, as was common thought at the time, but also for Gentiles.

When Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he first assumed that she had been unfaithful. He sought to divorce Mary quietly because he did not want to put her to shame. But when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, he changed his mind and stayed with her. It should also be noted that they did not have relations until after Mary gave birth to Jesus, putting aside any doubt that an Old Testament prophecy was being fulfilled:

 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14, which Matthew 1:23 quotes) 

By showing mercy on Mary, Joseph's behavior was ideal for a model disciple.

In Matthew 2, we see the introduction of the wise men, or the magi. Number 24:17 helps us to understand why the magi would follow a star to find a king because it talks about a star coming out of Jacob and a scepter rising out of Jacob:

 "I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
    and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
    and break down all the sons of Sheth."

In Matthew 2:11, the wise men saw Jesus and Mary and they fell to the floor and immediately began to worship him. Looking at Psalm 72:8-11, we can see the anticipation of the Messiah who was to come.

 "May he have dominion from sea to sea,
    and from the River to the ends of the earth! 

 May desert tribes bow down before him,
    and his enemies lick the dust! 

 May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands
    render him tribute;
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
    bring gifts! 

 May all kings fall down before him,
    all nations serve him!" (Psalm 72:8-11)

All kings will fall down before Him and every nation will serve Him. The wise men likely knew they were in the presence of the prophesied one here.

Isaiah 60:1-5 speaks of a "light" coming to Israel and that it is the time of salvation for His people.

"Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 

 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
    and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
    and his glory will be seen upon you. 

 And nations shall come to your light,
    and kings to the brightness of your rising.

 Lift up your eyes all around, and see;
    they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from afar,
    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip. 

 Then you shall see and be radiant;
    your heart shall thrill and exult,
because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
    the wealth of the nations shall come to you." (Isaiah 60:1-5)

When the light appears and the wise men see the star rest over the place that the child was (Matthew 2:9), they are over-joyed. They were so full of excitement they gave gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, Herod was very upset of this light and assembled a group of people to locate where the Christ was born to have him killed.

Herod's reaction in Matthew 2:3-8 and 16 in some ways foretells what was to come later in Jesus' life in Matthew 26:3-4 and 27:1-2. While later on it was the chief priests led by Caiaphas who plotted to kill Jesus and enlisted the help of Pilate, at this time it was Herod who had enlisted the help of the chief priests and scribes.

Herod's actions in Matthew 2:13-16:

 "Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.”  And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt  and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men."

parallel these of the ancient king of Egypt in Exodus 1:15-22

 "Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,  “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.”  But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.  So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?”  The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”  So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong.  And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.  Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

because the king of Egypt had ordered all sons be murdered just as Herod had all male children in Bethlehem murdered. The king ordered all sons to be murdered by subjects in Egypt because the mid-wives were fearful of God and obeyed Him. Similarly, after Herod realized he had been tricked by the wise men, he ordered the death of all male children under two years old.

Twice in Matthew 2:13-23, different things happen to Jesus in order that the Old Testament might be fulfilled.

 "...and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:15)

 

"And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene." (Matthew 2:23)

I believe Matthew is trying to show us the relationship between the Old Testament and the arrival of Jesus, in a broad sense, is that the history of God's redemption of Israel points to Jesus.