the birth of chirst: matthew

The first Gospel presented in the New Testament of the Christian Bible is the Gospel of Matthew. Said to have been written in Syria during the last third of the first century, it is most likely the third of the four Gospels created (Brown: Messiah 45). Like that of Luke’s, Matthew’s Gospel draws its content from the Gospel of Mark, the elusive “Q” source, and from stories and other preexisting information from Pagan, Jewish and Christian sources (Wilkinson: 165). In Matthew’s description of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus, this diverse inclusion of sources is noticed.

Having been created in Syria, Matthew’s Gospel is centered around references to aspects of the religious beliefs of the people of his community. During the latter half of the first century in Syria, there was a mainly Jewish and Gentile population present there (Brown: Messiah 45). Because both these groups inhabited the Serian area, the author of Matthew constructed the material presented in the infancy narrative with details that favored many aspects present in the beliefs of the majority of the community. Intended for an audience of Jews and Gentile, Matthews Gospel was organized in a way that

it mirrored many important aspects of both group’s religions. This allowed the people of Matthew’s community to relate the text to certain beliefs and traditions that existed in either of their religions.

Piper, O. A. “The Virgin Birth: The Meaning of the Gospel Accounts,” Interpretation 18(#2, 1964): 132-148.

Residing in the introduction and five sections of the infancy narrative, are the important inclusions that the author of Matthew cleverly added to the general story of the birth of Jesus that was circulating during the time in which he wrote it. The introduction to the story is made up of Jesus’ genealogy. When the Gospel was written, a person’s family name, and those who exist in their family tree were a very important detail affecting that person’s position or status in society and privileges they may or may not receive as a result of this. The genealogy provided in the infancy narrative contains 14 generations of many famous and respected (also some despised) figures. Of those included in Jesus ancestry whom are most notable, are the great King David and Abraham (Prentice Hall: 634). These two hold major roles in the beliefs of the Jewish people and in the traditions they have. By including these two very important Jewish figures of the Jewish Bible (the Old Testament), the author of Matthew suggests that the birth of Christ is the “climax of Israelite history” (Harris: 148). The Jewish God, Yahweh, made a promise to both these men concerning the provision of a promised land and an “everlasting line of kings” that would bring with them the liberation of their people from suffering (Harris, p.148). This reference to Jesus being the son of Abraham and of David represents the ultimate method that the Matthean author uses to convince his community about the divinity of Jesus. He eludes to Jesus being the individual that will fulfill those promises, and because of this, he and his teachings should be embraced. The Gentile people of Matthew’s community are able to relate to Jesus’ ancestry as well. Included in the Genealogy are four women that are mentioned as the wives of particular men in the line of generations. These four women were all Gentiles and therefore provide the non-Jews of Matthew’s community with a direct relation to the Messiah (Brown: Messiah 68).

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