Motley Crew Matthew Study
July 22, 2009
The Questions
Let’s read Matthew 1:18-24
1. What did “pledged to be married” mean to this couple and this community?
2. So what was left to make the marriage official?
3. Does anybody else besides me feel uneasy about how badly we have altered God’s plan for marriage?
4. What does Matthew mean that Joseph did not want to expose her to public disgrace?
5. What is the significance of being with child through the Holy Spirit?
6. What do we really know about Joseph?
7. True or False Jesus (’Iesou) is the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua (Jehosuah) which means the Lord saves.
8. To what is verse 22 and 23 referring?
9. The word “fulfill” is used 12 times in Matthew. What does this mean?
10. How did Matthew know about these dreams?
11. What do you think about verse 24?
12. Did Mary remain a virgin forever?
13. There Bible critics today who would deny the virgin birth of Jesus. Some would say this places them outside the boundaries of Christianity. What do you think?
Motley Crew Matthew Study
July 22, 2009
Some Answers
Let’s read Matthew 1:18-24
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins."
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[d]—which means, "God with us."
24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Footnotes:
c. Matthew 1:21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.
d. Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14
1. What did “pledged to be married” mean to this couple and this community?
No sexual relations; the pledge was only broken by divorce. Deut. 22:24 called the woman “wife” and Matt. 1:19 called the man “husband.”
This is significantly more than a modern engagement. Betrothal, according to the law (Deut. 22:23-24), made him her husband before marriage, and made her his wife. To break a pledge to be married requires a divorce decree (Deut. 24:1).
Deut. 22:23-24. “If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.”
Deut. 24:1. “If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house,”
Matt. 1:19. “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.” [Emphasis added.]
2. So what was left to make the marriage official?
A big party and the consummation.
3. Does anybody else besides me feel uneasy about how badly we have altered God’s plan for marriage?
Now we have the big party and the consummation first, then cohabitation, then an engagement, then a marriage.
4. What does Matthew mean that Joseph did not want to expose her to public disgrace?
Public disgrace could lead to trial and death by stoning.
Joseph's desire to avoid bringing public disgrace to Mary is considered by many to be a measure of the goodness of this man.
Lev. 20:10: “If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”
Deut. 22:20-21. “If, however, the charge is true [that a man married a woman who was not a virgin] and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you.
Deut. 22:23-24. “If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you.”
5. What is the significance of being with child through the Holy Spirit?
Original sin is a big issue. See Psalm 51:5 and Romans 5:12. Faithfulness to Joseph was an important factor.
Psalm
51:5: “Surely
I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother
conceived me.”
Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned -- ”
In addition, this had never happened before.
6. What do we really know about Joseph?
A righteous man, a man who followed God, a carpenter, descended from Abraham.
Mark 6:3. “Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.”
Also notice how promptly Joseph responded when the angel of the Lord came to him in the three dreams recorded in Matthew: Matt. 1:24 (taking Mary home as his wife); Matt. 2:14 (escape to Egypt); Matt. 2:21 (return to Israel). Commentators have also noticed that Joseph was open to his God to the extent that the Angel of the Lord could come to him in a dream, and that Joseph would understand and obey.
7. True or False Jesus (’Iesou) is the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua (Jehosuah) which means the Lord saves.
True! (I think this is so cool!)
Here are two footnotes to the NIV Translation (above):
c. Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the LORD saves.
d. "The Christ" (Greek) and "the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean "the Anointed One."
8. To what is verse 22 and 23 referring?
Isaiah 7:14 (I love it when the Old Testament and the New Testament come together so clearly.)
Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Matthew 1:22-23: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, 'God with us.' ”
9. The word “fulfill” is used 12 times in Matthew. What does this mean?
God keeps His promises.
Matthew's purpose was to show the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah promised by the Old Testament. By citing these Old Testament passages, Matthew shows the fulfillment of God's promise of a Messiah.
10. How did Matthew know about these dreams?
The Holy Spirit.
11. What do you think about verse 24 (“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”)?
Always good to do what the Lord tells us.
John 14:15. "If you love me, you will obey what I command.”
12. Did Mary remain a virgin forever?
Until eginosken. Mark 6:3.
Mark 6:3. “Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.”
Matthew 1:25. “But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”
In Matthew 1:25, the statement "he kept her a virgin" is literally "he knew her not" (eginosken). This word is related to the Greek gnosis, and has a counterpart in the Hebrew word yada. The Hebrew term refers to knowing with experience or intimacy. For example, it is used of sexual union in Genesis 4:1, 19:8.
13. There Bible critics today who would deny the virgin birth of Jesus. Some would say this places them outside the boundaries of Christianity. What do you think?
God will judge who believes and who does not.
Many are reluctant to attempt to build a fence around God; His love and compassion certainly exceeds our possible comprehension.