Matthew Calling Yet Again

by Hope, A. M. | Category: General | Nov 1993

Jesus met Matthew in Capernaum. The details are simply told in Matthew 9:9: Jesus passed by... He saw a man and said, "Follow me". Matthew rose up and followed Jesus. Being a tax collector he belonged to a despised and hated group. But Jesus chose him.

Matthew brought with him his pen. He was used to writing a cash book. Jesus saw he had potential to write another book, a Gospel. This Gospel is interspersed with about 65 quotations from the Old Testament.

In his first two chapters Matthew appeals to the Old Testament five times and he records four dreams. Joseph's first dream concerned the virgin birth. God's message to Joseph was confirmed by a verse from Isaiah 7, "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His Name Immanuel".

Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit. This was a miracle. Man was cut off from God and separated from Him by sin. Now God intervenes. Here is a new beginning. Jesus means "Jehovah is salvation". He is the promised Saviour. Matthew sets out, side by side, the Lord's humanity and deity - Jesus and Immanuel. We could call Matthew's Gospel the Gospel of Imnutnuel: God is with us in Matthew chapter 1, and the promise, "Lo I am with you alway", comes at the end of chapter 28.

The second Old Testament quotation is about Bethlehem. The chief priests and scribes were asked by King Herod to find out where the Christ was (o be born. They selected Micah 5:2; "And thou, Bethlehem, land of Judah out of thee shall come forth a Governor, which shall be Shepherd of My people Israel" (2:6). Herod also asked the wise men about the star. 0 little town of Bethlehem! Only six miles from Jerusalem, it had a long history. Rachel was buried near there and Ruth lived there. It became the city of David. Bethlehem means "the house of bread".

Many thoughts of Christ converge at Bethlehem. The Son of David has come to the city of David: the bread of God to the house of bread. But the prophet identifies the Child as a King and a Shepherd. What a vision is opened up!

The wise men were guided to the house. They had come to worship. The gifts they gave serve to enlarge our vision of ChrisL Gold for a King, frankincense for a Priest, and mynrh for a suffering Saviour.

Herod was a wicked ruler involved in mass murder and atrocities against innocent people. Joseph was warned by God 'in a'dream about this evil man and the family escaped by night into Egypt. To go against a man like Herod would bring terrible revenge. The wise men did not return to Herod and the consequence was the wholesale slaughter of innocent children. Matthew sees in this the fulfilment of a verse in Jeremiah 31: "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children: and she would not be comforted because they are not".

Do you find it difficult to see the connection? Jeremiah was picturing God's people being carried away as slaves into exile. He describes Rachel weeping for the fate which had befallen that people. Yet out of tragedy God over-ruled to preserve His people. His promise of hope did not fail. Just as God's people were preserved; just as Moses was preserved when Pharaoh slaughtered the Jewish children; here again, amid the weeping in Bethlehem, the Child is preserved.

The death of Herod was a turning point. In another dream to Joseph it was revealed that the time had come to return in order to fulfil the verse: "Out of Egypt did I call My Son" (Hosea 11:1). Remember, Moses came out of Egypt to lead God's people to Canaan. Egypt was a place of bondage.

Mter Herod's death his kingdom was split among his three sons. Archelaus in Judea was a bad king. Mter yet another dream Joseph brings the Child to Galilee under Herad Antipas. The Holy Spirit has given us this detail. Joseph settled in Nazareth. Jesus was brought up in Nazareth to fulfil another Old Testament prophecy. This time the words are spoken by the prophets (note the plural). "He should be called a Naaarene". There is, strange to say, no such text. Perhaps we are meant to understand it as a general impression rather than a specific passage. Could the answer, as some think, be in Isaiah 11:1 where the prophet depicts "a branch coming from the rnot of Jesse"? The Hebrew word for branch is Nezer. Maybe a play on the word Nazareth is intended. We might prefer to think of the Lord shown in the Old Testament writings as one despised and rejected. Nazareth was associated with shame and reproach. "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Yes. One came who carries the name "Jesus of Nazareth".

Many Old Testament quotations give a fresh dimension to Matthew's Gospel. We have looked at five of them; they enrich the narrative of the Lord's early childhood days. Did Joseph and Mary grasp the meaning of so many and varied tifles which belonged to the Child? Were they ashamed that He was called a Nazarene? Did they see the hand of Satan seeking to destroy Him? Do we appreciate these things too?

Perhaps Paul's word, "The weakness of God is stronger than men" comes through powerfully. As for the attitude of the wise men who came to worship - is that not what Matthew is asking us to share from the message he has so faithfully written?

Hope, A. M. | Nov 1993
General