As we approach
our study of the New Testament this year, we are like the inquisitive
Theophilus of Luke searching for the certain witness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. To satisfy such spiritual desires, faithful early
Christians, such as Luke, composed lengthy expositions called
“Gospels” filled with narratives, homilies, hymnodies, miracles,
parables, sayings, doings, doctrines, and, most importantly, the
sure witness of Jesus as the promised Christ.
We have four
such Gospels in our canonical New Testament that share this testimony
of Christ. But just as four master painters use various styles
to represent the same landscape, so too the four Gospel writers
have unique approaches to sharing their certain witness that Jesus
is indeed the Christ.[i] Additionally, each
of our Gospel witnesses includes unique perspectives and valuable
information as they describe life models of worthy and God-fearing
individuals who populate the stage of Christ’s life such as Mary,
Joseph and John the Baptist.
Availing ourselves
of the first chapter of both Matthew and Luke, we will highlight
their unique expressions of Christ centered testimony and then
we will discuss the individual characters found in those chapters.
Matthew’s Testimony
Like the other
Gospel writers, Matthew approaches his task with a desire to testify
of Jesus. His focus, however, has some unique aspects, some of
which we will discuss here.
First, Matthew
delights in testifying that Jesus is the covenant Messiah. Matthew’s
genealogical account begins with Jesus as a son of David and a
son of Abraham. These two individuals are the most notable for
the covenants God made with them, covenants that also apply to
their descendants and their people the Israelites. To Abraham,
God covenanted property, posterity and priesthood (see Genesis
15 & 18), all of which are promises of eternal life guaranteed
by Christ unto the faithful. To David, God covenanted to establish
his throne forever, a covenantal promise fulfilled by David’s
true heir to the throne, Jesus Christ.
Second, Matthew
stresses that Jesus is the covenant Messiah by means of the numbered
generations which he employs. In some circles of Jewish thought,
numbers held symbolic significance. For example, the number 3
represented “covenant” and the number 14 represented “Messiah.”
We notice that in the genealogical list that there are several
individuals who are of the 14th generation and thus
are a messiah figure. David is one of these. Matthew is careful
to note that Jesus is the third of fourteen generations. Not
only is Jesus a messiah figure (since he is of the 14th
generation) but indeed Jesus is the covenant Messiah because
he is the third fourteenth generation.
Matthew also
shows that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Again we turn to Matthew’s
genealogical introduction for evidence of this testimony. Notice
that Matthew highlights some of the most honorable and noteworthy
individuals of the Israelite/Jewish family. The same two heroes
mentioned above, Abraham and David, are the first to begin the
list, highlighting Jesus’ connection to the greatest Israelite
heroes. Other honorable Jews are also found in the list such
as Zerubbabel, builder of the second temple after the Babylonian
exile, and Boaz, who married Moabite Ruth. What is interesting
about the inclusion of Ruth is that she was a gentile woman.
Matthew also lists the union of Judas and Tamar (a union of infidelity).
What does this tell us? Matthew indicates with his genealogy
that Jesus truly is the Jewish Messiah but He is also the Messiah
for all peoples in whatever circumstance that they may be.
Fourth, Matthew
testifies of Jesus as the royal Messiah. This again is linked
to the covenants of an everlasting throne that God promised unto
King David. Additionally, a carefully reading of Matthew will
reveal that Jesus is indeed heir to the throne of David through
direct father to son lineage.
One final aspect
of Matthew’s style that we should mention here is his knowledge
of the Old Testament and his predilection to draw upon those scriptures
to establish that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah of the
Old Testament, fulfilling specific prophecies. As you read through
the Gospel of Matthew over the next several months, keep these
Matthean characteristics in mind and perhaps record the ways that
these characteristics are expressed in later chapters.
Luke’s Testimony
Luke most likely
was writing his testimony of Christ for an audience that had not
grown up with the Jewish faith. He was careful to portray Jesus
as the Messiah of all people, but more than the other gospel writers,
Luke focused on the humility of the Savior and His special mission
to the meek, lowly, oppressed and down-trodden. I will step outside
of the assigned reading for a moment to share an example of this.
We see in Luke 2 his version of the Christmas story, complete
with humble shepherds and a humble birth in a lowly stable. Contrast
this to Matthew’s Christmas (in Matt. 2) story which focuses on
the royal characteristics of Christ birth (i.e. kingly men give
Him the gifts normally accorded a king). These two views of the
same event so richly enhance our understanding of Christ and his
attributes.[ii]
Another way
that Luke testifies of Christ is by appealing to beautiful psalms
and hymns expressed by faithful saints such as Mary and Zacharias.
In fact, nearly half of the first chapter of Luke is devoted to
the psalms sung by Mary and Zacharias (respectively Luke 1:46-55
& 69-80). For an introduction and scriptural exposition of
Mary’s psalm, read the Meridian article titled “The
Psalm of Mary.”[iii]
Saints of New Testament Times
Matthew and
Luke introduce us in their opening chapters to several New Testament
characters, individuals who stand as models of righteousness (Mary,
Joseph, Elizabeth, Zacharias and John the Baptist). Let us take
a few moments to learn about the work of God from these individuals.
Mary—The
Mother of God
The name “Mary”
derives from the Hebrew name “Miriam,” which means “bitter.”
At first glance we may consider that the name for the mother of
God is inappropriate given the sweet and beautiful role she played
in the Plan of Salvation. Yet, with a little more reflection
we remember that Miriam was the sister of Moses, who likely received
the name “bitter” to reflect the awful reality of Israelite bondage
to the Egyptians. But it was Miriam who led the women of Israel
in praise, song and mighty rejoicing after the Lord delivered
them through the Red Sea. Indeed, Miriam is even called a prophetess
in Israel (cf. Exodus 15:20-21). In this light, Mary the mother
of God has a worthy namesake.
Joseph—Surrogate
Father
We know precious
little of the man named Joseph. Based on Matthew’s genealogy,
Joseph was heir to the throne of David, yet from what we can surmise
he spent his life in the trade of carpentry. We also can guess
at the integrity and good heart of such a man who discovered that
his fiancé was expecting a child but not wanting to shame her
did not publicly expose her. However, we hear nothing else of
Joseph after the young family returns to Palestine
from Egypt, except for the temple episode when Jesus was a mere
lad of twelve years. Perhaps Joseph passed away before Jesus’
formal ministry began. We do not know, and though speculation
may be interesting, it generally offers few rewards.
The name Joseph
is of promise to us, for in Hebrew it means “God will increase.”
This is both a worthy and fitting name for the role that Joseph
played for Jesus. Indeed, God did bring increase through Jesus
– increase of love, meekness, righteousness, power, light, truth
and knowledge. We may also find fruitful parallels between Joseph
of Egypt and Joseph the carpenter. Both went into Egypt
under dire circumstances and in both situations the sojourn in
Egypt proved to be an act of salvation for Israel.
Zacharias—Father
of John the Baptist
Zacharias is
the Greek version of the Hebrew name Zechariah, which means “Jehovah
remembers.” After many years of silence, when no prophet was
found in Israel,
Jehovah would indeed remember His covenants unto the children
of Israel and raise up again a new prophet that would sound the
warning voice.
It is interesting
to note that Zacharias’ namesake was a prophet of the Old Testament,
who prophesied of the coming Messiah of Zacharias’ own kin. Let
us consider a few of the words of Old Testament Zechariah and
then remember how they began to be fulfilled in Zacharias’ own
day:
“Rejoice greatly,
O daughter of Zion;
shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee:
he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass,
and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” (Zechariah 9:9)
This prophetic
statement of Zechariah is like the clarion call of Zacharias’
son John for Israel
to behold their King and make His paths straight. Also compare
the above passage to Jesus’ triumphal entry to Jerusalem described
in Matthew 21.
Here are additional
messianic prophesies from Zechariah and how they relate to the
New Testament:
|
Zechariah |
New
Testament |
| “As
for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have sent
forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.”
(Zechariah 9:11) |
“For
Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might begin us to God, being put to death
in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit; by which also
he went and preached unto the spirits in prison…for for
this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are
dead, that they might be judged according to men in the
flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1 Peter
3:18-19; 4:6) |
| “So
they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.” (Zechariah
11:12) |
“Then
Judas…brought again the thirty pieces of silver…and he cast
the pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying,
I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood.”
(Matthew 27:3-4) |
| “What
are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer,
Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”
(Zechariah 13:6) |
“He
shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the
disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.” (John 20:20) |
Elisabeth—Mother
of Israel’s New Prophet
Elisabeth is
a beautiful Hebrew name that means “consecrated to God”, a name
entirely worthy of a woman who consecrated her greatest desire
unto God, the desire to have a child. In this regard, Elisabeth
is in league with many of our most revered matriarchs from the
Old Testament such as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Hannah, who all
struggled with barrenness.
We remember
that Hannah covenanted to consecrate her child unto the Lord if
He would grant her the blessing of bearing a child. The vow that
Hannah made to the Lord is called the Nazarite vow, which includes
promises that a razor would never come to the head of the child
and that the mother would abstain from strong drink and any unclean
thing as she carries the child. Hannah’s prayer was answered
and several years later she presented the young boy Samuel to
Eli, the High Priest over Israel
in that day. Samuel later became one of the greatest prophets
Israel had known, anointing King David who inaugurated Israel’s
“Golden Age.”
This episode
is similar to another Old Testament story in which a barren woman
invoked the Nazarite vow as she pleaded with the Lord to bless
her with a son. An angel appeared unto the woman with a promise
that God would indeed bless her according to her desires. The
son that she bore, upon whom a razor never was to fall, was the
famed and mighty Samson who delivered Israel
out of the hands of its Philistine enemies.
Thus we find
that barren Elisabeth is like so many other faithful Old Testament
women, who heard the voice of angels promising a child of much
hope. In Elisabeth’s case her child was one of the greatest prophets
ever to raise a voice in Israel.
John
the Baptist
Like other mighty
men born of promises to barren women, John, whose name means “God
is gracious/God is merciful,” lived a life much along the lines
of a Nazarite vow (such as Samuel and Samson). He lived in the
wilderness, feeding off of locusts and honey, wearing a camel’s
hair and being generally perceived as a wild man from the desert.
But he came to prepare the way of the Lord and to make His paths
straight. Significantly, John’s birth, 180 days before that of
Jesus, did symbolize making the pathways straight, for 180 degrees
is a straight line. Just as Samuel the prophet prepared the way
for David to be king over Israel by anointing him for that end,
John the Baptist was a mighty prophet, preparing the way for the
true King of Israel, baptizing Him for that purpose. And just
as Samson was a judge and deliverer of Israel
from her enemies, John the Baptist prepared the way for New Testament
Israel to be saved from her most pressing enemies, namely Lucifer.
Search the Scriptures
What we have
covered here is but a small sampling of the many marvelous treasures
packed into the scriptures. These treasures are available to
each of us, it simply requires a portion of God’s spirit and the
effort on our part to open the scriptures and experience for ourselves
the magnificent blessings of God’s word. As we carefully read
and ponder the scriptures, we discover the amazing richness of
individuality of expression among the various writers. Each unique
voice offers tantalizing ways for us to ponder the scriptures;
each approach can bring a wealth of understanding. Thus, when
we know the authors as individuals, when we understand their authorial
nuances and characteristics, our scriptural experience can be
enhanced. And when we combine these unique voices, a veritable
harmony emerges inviting us to “believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that believing [we] might have life through
his name.” (John 20:31)
