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INTRODUCTION TO THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

SYNOPTIC GOSPELS

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke are usually called Synoptic Gospels. Synoptic comes from two Greek words that mean see together. Therefore, the above-mentioned Gospels received this name because they describe the same events in the life of Jesus. In each of them, however, there are some additions, or something is omitted, but, in general, they are based on the same material, and this material is also arranged in the same way. Therefore, they can be written in parallel columns and compared with each other.

After this, it becomes very obvious that they are very close to each other. If, for example, we compare the story of the feeding of the five thousand (Matthew 14:12-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 5:17-26), then this is the same story, told in almost the same words.

Or take, for example, another story about the healing of a paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26). These three stories are so similar to each other that even the introductory words, “said to the paralytic,” appear in all three stories in the same form in the same place. The correspondence between all three Gospels is so close that one must either conclude that all three took material from the same source, or two were based on a third.

THE FIRST GOSPEL

Examining the matter more carefully, one can imagine that the Gospel of Mark was written first, and the other two - the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke - are based on it.

The Gospel of Mark can be divided into 105 passages, of which 93 are found in the Gospel of Matthew and 81 in the Gospel of Luke. Only four of the 105 passages in the Gospel of Mark are not found in either the Gospel of Matthew or the Gospel of Luke. There are 661 verses in the Gospel of Mark, 1068 verses in the Gospel of Matthew, and 1149 in the Gospel of Luke. There are no less than 606 verses from Mark in the Gospel of Matthew, and 320 in the Gospel of Luke. Of the 55 verses in the Gospel of Mark, which not reproduced in Matthew, 31 yet reproduced in Luke; thus, only 24 verses from Mark are not reproduced in either Matthew or Luke.

But not only the meaning of the verses is conveyed: Matthew uses 51%, and Luke uses 53% of the words of the Gospel of Mark. Both Matthew and Luke follow, as a rule, the arrangement of material and events adopted in the Gospel of Mark. Sometimes Matthew or Luke have differences from the Gospel of Mark, but it is never the case that they both were different from him. One of them always follows the order that Mark follows.

REVISION OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK

Due to the fact that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are much larger in volume than the Gospel of Mark, one might think that the Gospel of Mark is a brief transcription of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. But one fact indicates that the Gospel of Mark is the earliest of them all: so to speak, the authors of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke improve the Gospel of Mark. Let's take a few examples.

Here are three descriptions of the same event:

Map. 1.34:"And He healed many, suffering from various diseases; expelled many demons."

Mat. 8.16:"He cast out the spirits with a word and healed everyone sick."

Onion. 4.40:"He, laying on everyone of them hands, healed

Or let's take another example:

Map. 3:10: “For He healed many.”

Mat. 12:15: “He healed them all.”

Onion. 6:19: "... power came from Him and healed everyone."

Approximately the same change is noted in the description of Jesus' visit to Nazareth. Let's compare this description in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark:

Map. 6.5.6: “And he could not perform any miracle there... and he marveled at their unbelief.”

Mat. 13:58: “And he did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief.”

The author of the Gospel of Matthew does not have the heart to say that Jesus couldn't perform miracles, and he changes the phrase. Sometimes the authors of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke leave out little hints from the Gospel of Mark that may somehow detract from the greatness of Jesus. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke omit three remarks found in the Gospel of Mark:

Map. 3.5:“And he looked upon them with anger, grieving because of the hardness of their hearts...”

Map. 3.21:“And when his neighbors heard, they went to take him, for they said that he had lost his temper.”

Map. 10.14:"Jesus was indignant..."

All this clearly shows that the Gospel of Mark was written earlier than the others. It gives a simple, lively and direct account, and the authors of Matthew and Luke were already beginning to be influenced by dogmatic and theological considerations, and therefore they chose their words more carefully.

TEACHINGS OF JESUS

We have already seen that the Gospel of Matthew has 1068 verses and the Gospel of Luke 1149 verses, and that 582 of these are repetitions of verses from the Gospel of Mark. This means that there is much more material in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke than in the Gospel of Mark. A study of this material shows that more than 200 verses from it are almost identical among the authors of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke; for example, passages such as Onion. 6.41.42 And Mat. 7.3.5; Onion. 10.21.22 And Mat. 11.25-27; Onion. 3.7-9 And Mat. 3, 7-10 almost exactly the same. But here's where we see the difference: the material that the authors of Matthew and Luke took from the Gospel of Mark deals almost exclusively with events in the life of Jesus, and these additional 200 verses shared by the Gospels of Matthew and Luke deal with something other than that. that Jesus did, but what He spoke. It is quite obvious that in this part the authors of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke drew information from the same source - from the book of sayings of Jesus.

This book no longer exists, but theologians called it KB, what does Quelle mean in German - source. This book must have been extremely important in those days because it was the first textbook on the teachings of Jesus.

THE PLACE OF THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW IN THE GOSPEL TRADITION

Here we come to the problem of Matthew the Apostle. Theologians agree that the first Gospel is not the fruit of Matthew's hands. To the person former witness life of Christ, there would be no need to turn to the Gospel of Mark as a source of information about the life of Jesus, as the author of the Gospel of Matthew does. But one of the first church historians named Papias, Bishop of Hierapolis, left us the following extremely important news: “Matthew collected the sayings of Jesus in the Hebrew language.”

Thus, we can consider that it was Matthew who wrote the book from which all people should draw as a source who want to know what Jesus taught. It was because so much of this source book was included in the first Gospel that it was given the name Matthew. We should be eternally grateful to Matthew when we remember that we owe to him the Sermon on the Mount and almost everything we know about the teaching of Jesus. In other words, it is to the author of the Gospel of Mark that we owe our knowledge of life events Jesus, and Matthew - knowledge of the essence teachings Jesus.

MATTHEW THE TANKER

We know very little about Matthew himself. IN Mat. 9.9 we read about his calling. We know that he was a publican - a tax collector - and therefore everyone should have hated him terribly, because the Jews hated their fellow tribesmen who served the victors. Matthew must have been a traitor in their eyes.

But Matthew had one gift. Most of Jesus' disciples were fishermen and did not have the talent to put words on paper, but Matthew was supposed to be an expert in this matter. When Jesus called Matthew, who was sitting at the toll booth, he stood up and, leaving everything but his pen, followed Him. Matthew nobly used his literary talent and became the first person to describe the teachings of Jesus.

GOSPEL OF THE JEWS

Let us now look at the main features of the Gospel of Matthew, so that when reading it we will pay attention to this.

First, and above all, the Gospel of Matthew - this is the gospel written for the Jews. It was written by a Jew to convert the Jews.

One of the main purposes of Matthew's Gospel was to show that in Jesus all the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled and therefore He must be the Messiah. One phrase, a recurring theme, runs throughout the book: “It came to pass that God spoke by the prophet.” This phrase is repeated in the Gospel of Matthew no less than 16 times. The Birth of Jesus and His Name - Fulfillment of Prophecy (1, 21-23); as well as flight to Egypt (2,14.15); massacre of the innocents (2,16-18); Joseph's settlement in Nazareth and the raising of Jesus there (2,23); the very fact that Jesus spoke in parables (13,34.35); triumphal entry into Jerusalem (21,3-5); betrayal for thirty pieces of silver (27,9); and casting lots for Jesus' clothes as He hung on the Cross (27,35). The author of the Gospel of Matthew set his main goal to show that the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus, that every detail of Jesus' life was foretold by the prophets, and thereby convince the Jews and force them to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

The interest of the author of the Gospel of Matthew is directed primarily to the Jews. Their appeal is closest and dearest to his heart. To the Canaanite woman who turned to Him for help, Jesus first answered: “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (15,24). Sending the twelve apostles to proclaim the good news, Jesus told them: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles and do not enter the city of the Samaritans, but go especially to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (10, 5.6). But don’t think that this is the Gospel for everyone possible ways excludes pagans. Many will come from the east and west and lie down with Abraham in the Kingdom of Heaven (8,11). "And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world" (24,14). And it is in the Gospel of Matthew that the order was given to the Church to set out on a campaign: “Go therefore and teach all nations.” (28,19). It is, of course, obvious that the author of Matthew's Gospel is primarily interested in the Jews, but he foresees the day when all nations will be gathered together.

The Jewish origin and Jewish orientation of the Gospel of Matthew is also evident in its attitude towards the law. Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. Not even the smallest part of the law will pass. There is no need to teach people to break the law. The righteousness of a Christian must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (5, 17-20). The Gospel of Matthew was written by a man who knew and loved the law, and saw that in Christian teaching he has a place. In addition, we should note the obvious paradox in the attitude of the author of the Gospel of Matthew to the scribes and Pharisees. He recognizes their special powers: “The scribes and Pharisees sat in the seat of Moses; therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do.” (23,2.3). But in no other Gospel are they condemned as strictly and consistently as in Matthew.

Already at the very beginning we see the merciless exposure of the Sadducees and Pharisees by John the Baptist, who called them "born of vipers" (3, 7-12). They complain that Jesus eats and drinks with publicans and sinners (9,11); they declared that Jesus casts out demons not by the power of God, but by the power of the prince of demons (12,24). They are plotting to destroy Him (12,14); Jesus warns the disciples to beware not of the leaven of bread, but of the teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees (16,12); they are like plants that will be uprooted (15,13); they cannot discern the signs of the times (16,3); they are killers of prophets (21,41). There is no other chapter in the entire New Testament like Mat. 23, in which it is not what the scribes and Pharisees teach that is condemned, but their behavior and way of life. The author condemns them for the fact that they do not at all correspond to the teaching they preach, and do not at all achieve the ideal established by them and for them.

The author of Matthew's Gospel is also very interested in the Church. From all the Synoptic Gospels the word Church found only in the Gospel of Matthew. Only the Gospel of Matthew includes a passage about the Church after Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi (Matthew 16:13-23; cf. Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-22). Only Matthew says that disputes should be resolved by the Church (18,17). By the time the Gospel of Matthew was written, the Church had become a large organization and truly a major factor in the lives of Christians.

The Gospel of Matthew especially reflects an interest in the apocalyptic; in other words, to what Jesus spoke about His Second Coming, the end of the world and the Day of Judgment. IN Mat. 24 provides a much more complete account of Jesus' apocalyptic reasoning than any other Gospel. Only in the Gospel of Matthew is there a parable of the talents. (25,14-30); about wise and foolish virgins (25, 1-13); about sheep and goats (25,31-46). Matthew had a special interest in the end times and the Day of Judgment.

But this is not the most important feature of the Gospel of Matthew. This is an eminently meaningful gospel.

We have already seen that it was the Apostle Matthew who gathered the first meeting and compiled an anthology of Jesus’ teaching. Matthew was a great systematizer. He collected in one place everything he knew about the teaching of Jesus on this or that issue, and therefore we find in the Gospel of Matthew five large complexes in which the teaching of Christ is collected and systematized. All these five complexes are associated with the Kingdom of God. Here they are:

a) Sermon on the Mount or Law of the Kingdom (5-7)

b) Duty of Kingdom Leaders (10)

c) Parables about the Kingdom (13)

d) Greatness and Forgiveness in the Kingdom (18)

e) The Coming of the King (24,25)

But Matthew not only collected and systematized. We must remember that he wrote in an era when there was no printing yet, when books were few and far between because they had to be copied by hand. At such a time, comparatively few people had books, and so if they wanted to know and use the story of Jesus, they had to memorize it.

Therefore, Matthew always arranges the material in such a way that it is easy for the reader to remember it. He arranges the material in threes and sevens: three messages of Joseph, three denials of Peter, three questions of Pontius Pilate, seven parables about the Kingdom in chapter 13, sevenfold "woe to you" to the Pharisees and scribes in Chapter 23.

A good example of this is the genealogy of Jesus, with which the Gospel opens. The purpose of a genealogy is to prove that Jesus is the son of David. There are no numbers in Hebrew, they are symbolized by letters; In addition, Hebrew does not have signs (letters) for vowel sounds. David in Hebrew it will be accordingly DVD; if these are taken as numbers rather than letters, their sum would be 14, and the genealogy of Jesus consists of three groups of names, each containing fourteen names. Matthew does his best to arrange Jesus' teachings in a way that people can understand and remember.

Every teacher should be grateful to Matthew, because what he wrote is, first of all, the Gospel for teaching people.

The Gospel of Matthew has one more feature: the dominant thought in it is the thought of Jesus the King. The author writes this Gospel to show the kingship and royal origin of Jesus.

The genealogy must prove from the very beginning that Jesus is the son of King David (1,1-17). This title Son of David is used more often in the Gospel of Matthew than in any other Gospel. (15,22; 21,9.15). The Magi came to see the King of the Jews (2,2); Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem is a deliberately dramatized declaration by Jesus of His rights as King (21,1-11). Before Pontius Pilate, Jesus consciously accepts the title of king (27,11). Even on the Cross above His head stands, albeit mockingly, the royal title (27,37). IN Sermon on the Mount Jesus quotes the law and then refutes it with the royal words: “But I say to you...” (5,22. 28.34.39.44). Jesus declares: "All authority has been given to me" (28,18).

In the Gospel of Matthew we see Jesus the Man born to be King. Jesus walks through its pages as if dressed in royal purple and gold.

FROM MATTHEW THE HOLY GOSPEL (Matthew 1:1-17)

It may seem to the modern reader that Matthew chose a very strange beginning for his Gospel, placing in the first chapter a long list of names through which the reader will have to wade. But for a Jew this was completely natural and, from his point of view, it was the most the right way start a story about a person's life.

The Jews were extremely interested in genealogies. Matthew calls it genealogy book - byblos geneseus- Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament we often find genealogies famous people (Gen. 5.1; 10.1; 11.10; 11.27). When the great Jewish historian Josephus wrote his biography, he began it with a genealogy that he said he found in the archives.

The interest in genealogies was explained by the fact that the Jews attached great importance to the purity of their origin. A person whose blood contained the slightest admixture of foreign blood was deprived of the right to be called a Jew and a member of God’s chosen people. So, for example, the priest had to present a complete list of his genealogy from Aaron himself, without any omissions, and if he got married, then his wife had to present her genealogy back at least five generations back. When Ezra made a change in worship after the return of Israel from exile and re-established the priesthood, the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz and the sons of Barzillai were excluded from the priesthood and were called unclean because “they sought their record of genealogy and it was not found.” (Ezra 2:62).

Genealogical archives were kept in the Sanhedrin. Pure-blooded Jews always despised King Herod the Great because he was half Edomite.

This passage in Matthew may seem uninteresting, but it was extremely important to the Jews that Jesus' lineage could be traced back to Abraham.

In addition, it should be noted that this pedigree is very carefully compiled into three groups of fourteen people each. This arrangement is called mnemonics, that is, arranged in such a way as to make it easier to remember. We must always remember that the Gospels were written hundreds of years before they appeared. printed books, and only a few people could have copies of them, and therefore, in order to own them, they had to be memorized. And so the pedigree is compiled so that it is easy to remember. It was intended to be proof that Jesus was the Son of David and was designed to be easy to carry in the mind.

THREE STAGES (Matthew 1:1-17 (continued))

The very location of the pedigree is very symbolic for the whole human life. The genealogy is divided into three parts, each corresponding to one of the great stages in the history of Israel.

The first part covers the history before King David. David united Israel into a people and made Israel a strong power to be reckoned with in the world. The first part covers the history of Israel until the rise of its greatest king.

The second part covers the period before the Babylonian captivity. This part talks about the shame of the people, about their tragedy and misfortune.

The third part covers history before Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ freed people from slavery, saved them from grief, and in Him tragedy turned into victory.

These three parts symbolize three stages in the spiritual history of mankind.

1. Man was born for greatness.“God created man in His own image and likeness, in the image of God He created him (Gen. 1:27). God said: "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness" (Gen. 1:26). Man was created in the image of God. Man was destined to be in friendship with God. He was created to be akin to God. As the great Roman thinker Cicero saw it: “The difference between man and God comes down only to time.” Man was essentially born to be a king.

2. Man has lost his greatness. Instead of being a servant of God, man became a slave of sin. As the English writer G.K. Chesterton: “What is true about man, however, is that he is not at all what he was meant to become.” Man has used his given free will to openly defy and disobey God rather than enter into friendship and fellowship with Him. Left to his own devices, man frustrated God's plan in His creation.

3. Man can regain his greatness. Even after this, God did not leave man to the mercy of fate and his vices. God did not allow man to destroy himself with his recklessness, did not allow it all to end in tragedy. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this world so that He could save man from the quagmire of sin in which he was mired, and free him from the chains of sin with which he bound himself, so that through Him man could find the friendship he had lost with God.

In the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Matthew shows us the royal greatness found, the tragedy of freedom lost, and the glory of freedom regained. And this, by the grace of God, is the story of humanity and of every person.

REALIZING THE HUMAN DREAM (Matt. 1.1-17 (continued))

This passage highlights two things about Jesus.

1. It is emphasized here that Jesus is the Son of David; the genealogy was compiled mainly to prove this.

Peter emphasizes this in the first recorded sermon of the Christian Church (Acts 2:29-36). Paul speaks of Jesus Christ being born of the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom. 1:3). The author of the Pastoral Epistles urges people to remember Jesus Christ of the seed of David, who rose from the dead (2 Tim. 2.8). The author of the revelation hears the Risen Christ say: “I am the root and descendant of David.” (Rev. 22:16).

This is how Jesus is addressed repeatedly in the gospel story. After the healing of the demon-possessed blind and dumb, the people said: “Is this the Christ, the Son of David?” (Matthew 12:23). A woman from Tire and Sidon, who sought Jesus’ help for her daughter, turns to Him: “Son of David!” (Matthew 15:22). The blind men shouted: “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!” (Matthew 20,30,31). And how the crowd greets the Son of David as he enters Jerusalem for the last time (Matthew 21.9.15).

It is very significant that Jesus was so welcomed by the crowd. The Jews were expecting something unusual; they never forgot and could never forget that they were God's chosen people. Although their entire history was a long chain of defeats and misfortunes, although they were a forced conquered people, they never forgot the plans of their destiny. And the common people dreamed that a descendant of King David would come to this world and lead them to glory, which they believed was rightfully theirs.

In other words, Jesus was the answer to the people's dream. People, however, only see answers to their dreams of power, wealth, material abundance and in the implementation of their cherished ambitious plans. But if man's dreams of peace and beauty, greatness and satisfaction are ever destined to come true, then they can only find fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ and the life He offers people is the answer to people's dreams. There is a passage in the story of Joseph that goes far beyond the scope of the story itself. Along with Joseph in prison were also the chief court cupbearer and the chief court baker. They saw dreams that disturbed them, and they cried out in horror: “We have seen dreams, but there is no one to interpret them” (Gen. 40:8). Just because a person is a person, he is always haunted by a dream, and its fulfillment lies in Jesus Christ.

2. This passage emphasizes that Jesus is the fulfillment of all prophecies: in Him the message of the prophets was fulfilled. Today we do not pay much attention to prophecy and, for the most part, do not want to look for sayings in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the New Testament. But there is a great and eternal truth in the prophecy: this universe has a purpose and God's providence for it, and God wants to carry out His specific purposes in it.

One play deals with a time of terrible famine in Ireland in the nineteenth century. Having found nothing better and knowing no other solution, the government sent people to dig roads that were not needed in a completely unknown direction. One of the heroes of the play, Michael, having learned about this, left his job and, returning home, told his father: “They are making a road leading to nowhere.”

A person who believes in prophecy would never say such a thing. History cannot be a road leading to nowhere. We may view prophecy differently than our ancestors, but behind prophecy is the enduring fact that life and peace are not a road to nowhere, but a path to God's goal.

NOT THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT SINNERS (Matthew 1:1-17 (continued))

The most striking thing about the genealogy is the names of the women. In general, they are extremely rare in Jewish genealogies. female names. The woman had no legal rights; they looked at her not as a person, but as a thing; she was only the property of her father or husband and they could do with her as they pleased. In everyday morning prayer the Jew thanked God for not making him a pagan, a slave or a woman. In general, the very existence of these names in the genealogy is an extremely amazing and unusual phenomenon.

But if you look at these women - who they were and what they did - you have to be even more surprised. Rahab, or Rahab as she is called in the Old Testament, was the harlot of Jericho (Joshua 2:1-7). Ruth was not even a Jew, but a Moabite (Ruth. 1:4), and does not the law say: “An Ammonite and a Moabite cannot enter into the congregation of the Lord, and the tenth generation of them cannot enter into the congregation of the Lord forever?” (Deut. 23:3). Ruth was from a hostile and hateful people. Tamar was a skilled seductress (Gen. 38). Bathsheba, Solomon's mother, was most cruelly taken by David from Uriah, her husband. (2 Kings 11 and 12). If Matthew had searched the Old Testament for improbable candidates, he could not have found four more impossible ancestors for Jesus Christ. But, of course, there is also something very remarkable about this. Here, at the very beginning, Matthew shows us in symbols the essence of the Gospel of God in Jesus Christ, because here he shows how the barriers are falling.

1. The barrier between Jew and Gentile has disappeared. Rahab, a woman from Jericho, and Ruth, a Moabite woman, found a place in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. This already reflects the truth that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. The universalism of the Gospel and the love of God is already visible here.

2. Barriers between women and men have disappeared. There were no female names in the normal genealogy, but there were female names in the genealogy of Jesus. The old contempt has passed; men and women are equally dear to God and equally important to His purposes.

3. The barriers between saints and sinners have disappeared. God can use for His purposes and fit into His plan even one who has sinned a lot. “I have not come,” says Jesus, “to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13).

Already here at the very beginning of the Gospel there are indications of the all-encompassing love of God. God may find His servants among those from whom respected orthodox Jews would shudder.

ENTRY OF THE SAVIOR INTO THE WORLD (Matthew 1:18-25)

Such relationships can confuse us. Firstly, it talks about engagement Mary, then about what Joseph wanted secretly let go her, and then she's named wife his. But this relationship reflects the usual Jewish marriage relationship and procedure, which consisted of several stages.

1. Firstly, matchmaking. It was often done in childhood; this was done by parents or professional matchmakers and matchmakers, and very often the future spouses did not even see each other. Marriage was considered too serious a matter to be left to the impulse of human hearts.

2. Secondly, engagement. Engagement can be called a confirmation of the matchmaking concluded between the couple earlier. At this moment, the matchmaking could be interrupted at the request of the girl. If the engagement took place, it lasted one year, during which the couple was known to everyone as husband and wife, although without marriage rights. The only way to end the relationship was through divorce. In Jewish law you can often find a phrase that seems strange to us: a girl whose fiancé died during this time was called a “virgin widow.” Joseph and Mary were betrothed, and if Joseph wanted to end the engagement, he could only do so by giving Mary a divorce.

3. And the third stage - marriage, after a year of engagement.

If we recall Jewish marriage customs, it becomes clear that this passage describes the most typical and normal relationship.

Thus, before the marriage, Joseph was told that the Virgin Mary would give birth to a Child by the Holy Spirit, who was to be named Jesus. Jesus - This Greek translation Jewish name Yeshua, and Yeshua means Yahweh will save. Even the psalmist David exclaimed: “He will deliver Israel from all their iniquities.” (Ps. 129.8). Joseph was also told that the Child would grow up to be a Savior who would save God's people from their sins. Jesus was born as a Savior rather than a King. He came into this world not for His own sake, but for the sake of people and for the sake of our salvation.

BORN OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Matthew 1:18-25 (continued))

This passage tells us that Jesus will be born of the Holy Spirit in the virgin birth. Fact immaculate conception difficult for us to understand. There are many theories trying to figure out the literal physical meaning of this phenomenon. We want to understand what is most important for us in this truth.

When we read this passage with fresh eyes, we see that it emphasizes not so much the fact that a virgin gave birth to Jesus, but that the birth of Jesus is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit. “It turned out that She (Virgin Mary) was pregnant with the Holy Spirit.” "That which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit." What then does it mean to say that the Holy Spirit took a special part in the birth of Jesus?

According to the Jewish worldview, the Holy Spirit had certain functions. We cannot put all of this into this passage. Christian ideas of the Holy Spirit, since Joseph could not yet know anything about it, and therefore we must interpret it in the light Jewish the idea of ​​the Holy Spirit, for Joseph would have put that idea into the passage because it was the only one he knew.

1. According to the Jewish worldview The Holy Spirit brought God's truth to the people. The Holy Spirit taught the prophets what they needed to say; The Holy Spirit taught God's people what they should do; Throughout all centuries and generations, the Holy Spirit has brought God's truth to people. And therefore Jesus is the One who brings God's truth to people.

Let's put it another way. Jesus alone can tell us what God is like and what God would like us to be. Only in Jesus do we see what God is like and what man should be like. Until Jesus came, people had only vague and unclear, and often completely wrong, ideas about God. They could, at best, guess and go by feel; and Jesus could say: “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9). In Jesus, as nowhere else in the world, we see love, compassion, mercy, a seeking heart and the purity of God. With the coming of Jesus, the time of guessing ended and the time of certainty came. Before Jesus came, people did not know at all what virtue was. Only in Jesus do we see what true virtue, true maturity, true obedience to the will of God is. Jesus came to tell us the truth about God and the truth about ourselves.

2. The Jews believed that the Holy Spirit not only brought God’s truth to people, but also gives them the ability to recognize this truth when they see it. In this way, Jesus opens people's eyes to the truth. People are blinded by their own ignorance. Their prejudices lead them astray; their eyes and minds are darkened by their sins and passions. Jesus can open our eyes so that we can see the truth. In one of the novels English writer William Locke has an image rich woman who spent half her life visiting the sights and art galleries of the world. Eventually, she was tired; Nothing could surprise or interest her anymore. But one day she meets a man who has few material goods of this world, but who truly knows and loves beauty. They start traveling together and everything changes for this woman. “I never knew what things looked like until you showed me how to look at them,” she told him.

Life becomes completely different when Jesus teaches us how to look at things. When Jesus comes into our hearts, He opens our eyes to see the world and things correctly.

CREATION AND RE-CREATION (Matthew 1:18-25 (continued))

3. In a special way the Jews connected the Holy Spirit with creation. God created the world by His Spirit. At the very beginning, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters and out of chaos the world became (Gen. 1,2).“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,” said the psalmist, “and by the breath of his mouth were all their hosts.” (Ps. 33:6).(As in Hebrew ruach, same in Greek pneuma, mean at the same time spirit And breath)."If you send your spirit, they will be created" (Ps. 103:30).“The Spirit of God created me,” says Job, “and the breath of the Almighty gave me life.” (Job 33:4).

Spirit is the Creator of the world and the Giver of life. Thus, in Jesus Christ the creative, life-giving and power of God came into the world. The power that brought order to the primordial chaos has now come to us to bring order to our disordered lives. The power that breathed life into that which had no life came to breathe life into our weakness and our vanity. It can be said this way: we are not truly alive until Jesus comes into our lives.

4. In particular, the Jews associated the Spirit not with creation and creation, but with recreation. Ezekiel has a grim picture of a field full of bones. He tells how these bones came to life, and then he hears the voice of God saying: “And I will put My Spirit in you, and you will live.” (Ezek. 37:1-14). The rabbis had this saying: “God said to Israel: ‘In this world My Spirit has given you wisdom, but in the hereafter My Spirit will give you life again.’ The Spirit of God can awaken to life people who are lost in sin and deafness.

Thus, through Jesus Christ, the power to recreate life came into this world. Jesus can revive again a soul lost in sin; He can revive dead ideals; He can once again give strength to the fallen to strive for virtue. It can renew life when people have lost everything that life means.

So this chapter not only says that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin. The essence of Matthew's account is that the Spirit of God was more involved in the birth of Jesus than ever before in the world. The Spirit Brings Truth God's people; The Spirit enables men to know the truth when they see it; The spirit is the mediator in the creation of the world; only the Spirit can regenerate human soul, when she lost the life she should have had.

Jesus gives us the ability to see what God is like and what man should be; Jesus opens the mind to understanding so that we can see God's truth for us; Jesus is the creative power that came to people; Jesus is a creative force capable of freeing human souls from sinful death.

Commentary (introduction) to the entire book of Matthew

Comments on Chapter 1

In the grandeur of the concept and the force with which the mass of material is subordinated to great ideas, no Scripture of the New or Old Testaments dealing with historical subjects can be compared with the Gospel of Matthew.

Theodore Zahn

Introduction

I. SPECIAL POSITION IN THE CANON

The Gospel of Matthew is an excellent bridge between the Old and New Testaments. From the very first words we return to the forefather of the Old Testament people of God Abraham and to the first great King David of Israel. Due to its emotionality, strong Jewish flavor, many quotations from the Jewish Scriptures and position at the head of all books of the New Testament. Matthew represents the logical place from which the Christian message to the world begins its journey.

That Matthew the Publican, also called Levi, wrote the first Gospel, is ancient and universal opinion.

Since he was not a regular member of the apostolic group, it would seem strange if the first Gospel was attributed to him when he had nothing to do with it.

Except for the ancient document known as the Didache ("Teaching of the Twelve Apostles"), Justin Martyr, Dionysius of Corinth, Theophilus of Antioch and Athenagoras the Athenian regard the Gospel as reliable. Eusebius, the church historian, quotes Papias, who stated that "Matthew wrote "Logic" in the Hebrew language, and each one interprets it as he can." Irenaeus, Pantaine and Origen generally agree on this. It is widely believed that "Hebrew" is a dialect of Aramaic used by the Jews in the time of our Lord, as this word occurs in the NT. But what is “logic”? Usually this Greek word means “revelations”, because in the OT there are. revelations God's. In Papias's statement it cannot have such a meaning. There are three main points of view on his statement: (1) it refers to Gospel from Matthew as such. That is, Matthew wrote the Aramaic version of his Gospel specifically in order to win Jews to Christ and instruct Jewish Christians, and only later did the Greek version appear; (2) it only applies to statements Jesus, which were later transferred to his Gospel; (3) it refers to "testimony", i.e. quotes from Old Testament Scriptures to show that Jesus is the Messiah. The first and second opinions are more likely.

Matthew's Greek does not read as an explicit translation; but such a widespread tradition (in the absence of early disagreements) must have a factual basis. Tradition says that Matthew preached in Palestine for fifteen years, and then went to evangelize foreign countries. It is possible that around 45 AD. he left to the Jews who accepted Jesus as their Messiah the first draft of his Gospel (or simply lectures about Christ) in Aramaic, and later made Greek final version for universal use. Joseph, a contemporary of Matthew, did the same. This Jewish historian made the first draft of his "Jewish War" in Aramaic , and then finalized the book in Greek.

Internal evidence The first Gospels are very suitable for a devout Jew who loved the OT and was a gifted writer and editor. As a civil servant of Rome, Matthew had to be fluent in both languages: his people (Aramaic) and those in power. (The Romans used Greek, not Latin, in the East.) Details regarding numbers, parables in which we're talking about about money, financial terms, as well as an expressive, correct style - all this was perfectly combined with his profession as a tax collector. The highly educated, non-conservative scholar accepts Matthew as the author of this Gospel in part and under the influence of his compelling internal evidence.

Despite such universal external and corresponding internal evidence, most scientists reject The traditional opinion is that this book was written by the publican Matthew. They justify this for two reasons.

First: if count, that Ev. Mark was the first written Gospel (referred to in many circles today as "gospel truth"), why would the apostle and eyewitness use so much of Mark's material? (93% of Mark's Gospels are also in the other Gospels.) In answer to this question, first of all we will say: not proven that Ev. Mark was written first. Ancient evidence says that the first was Ev. from Matthew, and since the first Christians were almost all Jews, this makes a lot of sense. But even if we agree with the so-called "Markian Majority" (and many conservatives do), Matthew might concede that much of Mark's work was influenced by the energetic Simon Peter, Matthew's co-apostle, as early church traditions claim (see "Introduction") "to Ev. from Mark).

The second argument against the book being written by Matthew (or another eyewitness) is the lack of vivid details. Mark, whom no one considers to be a witness to the ministry of Christ, has colorful details from which it can be assumed that he himself was present at this. How could an eyewitness write so dryly? Probably, the very characteristics of the publican’s character explain this very well. To give more space Levi should have given less space to unnecessary details to the speeches of our Lord. The same would have happened with Mark if he had written first, and Matthew had seen the traits inherent directly in Peter.

III. WRITING TIME

If the widespread belief that Matthew first wrote the Aramaic version of the Gospel (or at least the sayings of Jesus) is correct, then the date of writing is 45 AD. e., fifteen years after the ascension, completely coincides with ancient legends. He probably completed his more complete, canonical Gospel in Greek in 50-55, and perhaps later.

The view that the Gospel there must be written after the destruction of Jerusalem (70 AD), is based, rather, on disbelief in the ability of Christ to predict future events in detail and other rationalistic theories that ignore or reject inspiration.

IV. PURPOSE OF WRITING AND TOPIC

Matthew was a young man when Jesus called him. A Jew by birth and a publican by profession, he left everything in order to follow Christ. One of his many rewards was that he became one of the twelve apostles. Another is his election to be the author of the work that we know as the first Gospel. It is usually believed that Matthew and Levi are one person (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27).

In his Gospel, Matthew sets out to show that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, the only legitimate contender for the throne of David.

The book does not purport to be a complete account of the life of Christ. It begins with His genealogy and childhood, then moves on to the beginning of His public ministry, when He was about thirty years of age. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Matthew selects those aspects of the Savior's life and ministry that testify to Him as Anointed God (which is what the word “Messiah” or “Christ” means). The book takes us to the culmination of events: the suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus.

And in this culmination, of course, lies the basis for human salvation.

That is why the book is called "The Gospel" - not so much because it paves the way for sinners to receive salvation, but because it describes the sacrificial ministry of Christ that made this salvation possible.

Bible Commentaries for Christians does not aim to be exhaustive or technical, but rather to inspire personal reflection and study of the Word. And most of all, they are aimed at creating in the reader’s heart a strong desire for the return of the King.

"And even I, with my heart burning more and more,
And even I, nourishing sweet hope,
I sigh heavily, my Christ,
About the hour when you return,
Losing courage at the sight
The flaming steps of Your coming."

F. W. G. Mayer ("St. Paul")

Plan

GENEALOGY AND BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH-KING (CHAPTER 1)

THE EARLY YEARS OF THE MESSIAH KING (CHAPTER 2)

PREPARATION FOR THE MESSIANIC MINISTRY AND ITS BEGINNING (CHAP. 3-4)

ORDER OF THE KINGDOM (CHAP. 5-7)

MIRACLES OF GRACE AND POWERS CREATED BY THE MESSIAH AND DIFFERENT REACTIONS TO THEM (8.1 - 9.34)

GROWING OPPOSITION AND REJECTION OF THE MESSIAH (CHAP. 11-12)

THE KING REJECTED BY ISRAEL DECLARES A NEW, INTERMEDIATE FORM OF THE KINGDOM (CHAPTER 13)

THE MESSIAH'S TIRESLESS GRACE MEETS INCREASING HOSTILITY (14:1 - 16:12)

THE KING PREPARES HIS DISCIPLES (16.13 - 17.27)

THE KING GIVES INSTRUCTION TO HIS DISCIPLES (CHAP. 18-20)

INTRODUCTION AND REJECTION OF THE KING (CHAP. 21-23)

THE KING'S SPEECH ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES (CHAP. 24-25)

SUFFERING AND DEATH OF THE KING (CHAP. 26-27)

TRIUMPH OF THE KING (CHAPTER 28)

I. GENEALOGY AND BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH-KING (Ch. 1)

A. Genealogy of Jesus Christ (1:1-17)

From a casual reading of the NT, the reader may wonder why this book begins with such a boring topic as the family tree. Someone may decide that there is nothing terrible if they ignore this list of names and move past it to the place where the events began.

However, a pedigree is extremely necessary. It lays the foundation for everything that will be said next. If it cannot be shown that Jesus is a legitimate descendant of David in the royal line, then it will be impossible to prove that He is the Messiah, the King of Israel. Matthew begins his story exactly where he should have started: with documentary evidence that Jesus inherited the rightful right to the throne of David through His stepfather Joseph.

This genealogy shows Jesus' legal descent as King of Israel; in the genealogy of Ev. Luke shows His hereditary descent as the Son of David. Matthew's genealogy follows the royal line from David through his

son of Solomon, the next king; Luke's genealogy is based on consanguinity through another son, Nathan. This genealogy includes Joseph, who adopted Jesus; the genealogy in Luke 3 traces probably the ancestors of Mary, of whom Jesus was the natural son.

A thousand years earlier, God made an alliance with David, promising him a kingdom that would never end and an unbroken line of rulers (Ps. 89:4,36,37). That covenant is now fulfilled in Christ: He is the rightful heir of David through Joseph and the true seed of David through Mary. Since He is eternal, His kingdom will exist forever and He will reign forever, as great Son David. Jesus combined in His Person the two necessary conditions necessary to claim the throne of Israel (legal and hereditary). And since He is alive now, there can be no other contenders.

1,1 -15 Formulation "Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham" corresponds to the expression from Genesis 5:1: “This is the genealogy of Adam...” Genesis presents us with the first Adam, Matthew the last Adam.

The first Adam was the head of the first, or physical, creation. Christ, as the last Adam, is the Head of the new or spiritual creation.

The subject of this Gospel is Jesus Christ. The name "Jesus" represents Him as Jehovah the Savior1, the title "Christ" ("Anointed One") - as the long-awaited Messiah of Israel. The title "Son of David" is associated with the position of Messiah and King in the OT. ("Jehovah" is the Russian form of the Hebrew name "Yahweh", which is usually translated by the word "Lord". The same can be said of the name "Jesus", the Russian form of the Hebrew name "Yeshua".) The title "Son of Abraham" represents our Lord as The One who is the final fulfillment of the promise given to the first parent Jewish people.

The genealogy is divided into three historical segments: from Abraham to Jesse, from David to Josiah and from Jehoiachin to Joseph. The first segment leads to David, the second covers the period of the kingdom, the third period includes a list of people of royal descent during their stay in exile (586 BC onwards).

There are many interesting details in this list. For example, four women are mentioned here: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth And Bathsheba (who was behind Urieah). Since women are rarely mentioned in Eastern genealogical records, the inclusion of these women is all the more surprising since two of them were harlots (Tamar and Rahab), one committed adultery (Bathsheba), and two were pagans (Rahab and Ruth).

The fact that they are included in the introductory part of Ev. Matthew may be a subtle allusion to the fact that the coming of Christ will bring salvation to sinners, grace to the Gentiles, and that in Him all barriers of race and sex will be broken down.

It is also interesting to mention the king by name Jeconiah. In Jeremiah 22:30, God pronounced a curse on this man: “Thus says the Lord: Write down this man childless, an unfortunate man in his days, for no one from his seed will sit on the throne of David or rule in Judah.”

If Jesus had truly been the son of Joseph, He would have fallen under this curse. But He still had to legally be the son of Joseph in order to inherit the right to the throne of David.

This problem was resolved by the miracle of the virgin birth: through Joseph, Jesus became the legal heir to the throne. He was the true son of David through Mary. The curse of Jeconiah did not fall on Mary and her children because her lineage was not from Jeconiah.

1,16 "From which" in English can refer to both Joseph and Mary. However, in the Greek original this word appears in singular and in feminine, thus indicating that Jesus was born from Maria, not from Joseph. But, in addition to these interesting details of the genealogy, it is also worth mentioning the controversy contained in it.

1,17 Matthew converts special attention for the presence of three groups according to fourteen births in each. However, we know from the OT that there are some names missing from his list. For example, between Jehoram and Uzziah (v. 8) Ahaziah, Joash and Amaziah reigned (see 2 Kings 8 - 14; 2 Chron. 21 - 25). Both Matthew and Luke mention two same name: Salafiel and Zerubbabel (Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27). However, it is strange that the genealogies of Joseph and Mary should have a common point in these two individuals, and then diverge again. It becomes even more difficult to understand when we notice that both Gospels refer to Ezra 3:2, classifying Zerubbabel as the sons of Shealtiel, while in 1 Chronicles 3:19 he is recorded as the son of Pedaiah.

The third difficulty is that Matthew gives twenty-seven generations from David to Jesus, while Luke gives forty-two. Despite the fact that the evangelists give different family trees, such a difference in the number of generations still seems strange.

What position should the student of the Bible take in regard to these difficulties and apparent contradictions? First, our fundamental premise is that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and therefore cannot contain errors. Secondly, it is incomprehensible because it reflects the infinity of the Divine. We can understand the fundamental truths of the Word, but we will never understand everything.

Therefore, when faced with these difficulties, we come to the conclusion that the problem is more likely to be a lack of knowledge than a biblical error. Difficult passages should motivate us to study the Bible and seek answers. “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter” (Proverbs 25:2).

Careful research by historians and archaeological excavations have failed to prove that the biblical statements are erroneous. Everything that seems difficult and contradictory to us has a reasonable explanation, and this explanation is filled with spiritual meaning and benefit.

B. Jesus Christ born of Mary (1,18-25)

1,18 Birth of Jesus Christ was different from the birth of other people mentioned in the genealogy. There we found a repeated expression: “A” gave birth to “B”. But now we have a record of birth without an earthly father. The facts relating to this miraculous conception are stated simply and with dignity. Maria was engaged to Joseph, but the wedding has not yet taken place. In New Testament times, betrothal was a type of betrothal (but was greater degree responsibility than today), and it could only be terminated by divorce. Although the betrothed couple did not live together before the marriage ceremony, infidelity on the part of the betrothed was considered adultery and punishable by death.

While betrothed, the Virgin Mary miraculously became pregnant Holy Spirit. An angel announced this mysterious event to Mary in advance: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you...” (Luke 1:35). Clouds of suspicion and scandal hung over Maria. This has never happened before in the entire history of mankind, for a virgin to give birth. When people saw a pregnant unmarried woman, there was only one explanation for this.

1,19 Even Joseph I did not yet know the true explanation of Mary’s condition. He could be angry with his fiancée for two reasons: first, for her obvious infidelity to him; and, secondly, for the fact that he would certainly be accused of complicity, although it was not his fault. His love for Mary and his desire to do justice prompted him to try to break off the engagement by an unofficial divorce. He wanted to avoid the public shame that usually accompanied such an affair.

1,20 While this noble and prudent man was considering his strategy for the defense of Mary, The Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. Greetings "Joseph, son of David" was, no doubt, intended to awaken in him the consciousness of his royal origin and to prepare him for the unusual coming of the Israeli Messiah-King. He should have no doubts about marrying Maria. Any suspicions regarding her integrity were unfounded. Her pregnancy is a miracle, perfect By the Holy Spirit.

1,21 Then the angel revealed to him the gender, name and calling of the unborn Child. Maria will give birth Son. It will need to be named Jesus(which means “Jehovah is salvation” or “Jehovah is the Savior”). According to His Name He will save His people from their sins. This Child of Destiny was Jehovah Himself, who visited the earth to save people from the wages of sin, from the power of sin, and ultimately from all sin.

1,22 When Matthew described these events, he recognized that a new era had begun in the history of God's relationship with the human race. The words of the messianic prophecy, which had long remained dogma, now came to life. Isaiah's mysterious prophecy is now fulfilled in Mary's Child: “And all this happened, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled...” Matthew claims that the words of Isaiah, which the Lord spoke through him at least 700 years before Christ, were inspired from above.

1,23 The prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 predicted a unique birth (“Behold, the Virgin shall be with child”), gender (“and she shall bear a Son”), and the name of the Child (“and they shall call His name Immanuel”). Matthew adds the explanation that Emmanuel Means "God is with us." It is not recorded anywhere that during Christ’s life on earth He was ever called “Immanuel.” His name was always "Jesus". However, the essence of the name Jesus (see v. 21) implies the presence God is with us. Perhaps Emmanuel is a title of Christ that will be used primarily at His second coming.

1,24 Thanks to the intervention of an angel, Joseph abandoned his plan to divorce Mary. He acknowledged their engagement until the birth of Jesus, after which he married her.

1,25 The teaching that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life is refuted by the marriage mentioned in this verse. Other references indicating that Mary had children with Joseph are found in Matt. 12.46; 13.55-56; Mk. 6.3; In. 7:3.5; Acts 1.14; 1 Cor. 9.5 and Gal. 1.19. By marrying Mary, Joseph also accepted her Child as his Son. This is how Jesus became the legal heir to the throne of David. Having obeyed the angelic guest, Joseph gave Baby name Jesus.

Thus the Messiah-King was born. The Eternal has entered into time. The Almighty became a gentle Child. The Lord of glory covered that glory human body, and “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9).

The Bible (“book, composition”) is a collection of sacred texts of Christians, consisting of many parts, combined into the Old Testament and New Testament. The Bible has a clear division: before and after the birth of Jesus Christ. Before birth it is the Old Testament, after birth it is the New Testament. The New Testament is called the Gospel.

The Bible is a book containing the sacred writings of the Jewish and Christian religions. The Hebrew Bible, a collection of ancient Hebrew sacred texts, is also included in the Christian Bible, forming its first part - the Old Testament. Both Christians and Jews consider it to be a record of the agreement (covenant) made by God with man and revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai. Christians believe that Jesus Christ announced a new Covenant, which is the fulfillment of the Covenant given in Revelation to Moses, but at the same time replaces it. Therefore, the books that tell about the activities of Jesus and his disciples are called the New Testament. The New Testament constitutes the second part of the Christian Bible.

The word "bible" is of ancient Greek origin. In the language of the ancient Greeks, “byblos” meant “books”. In our time, we use this word to call one specific book, consisting of several dozen separate religious works. The Bible is a book of over a thousand pages. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament, which tells about God's participation in the life of the Jewish people before the coming of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament, giving information about the life and teachings of Christ in all His truth and beauty. God, through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, granted salvation to people - this is the main teaching of Christianity. Although only the first four books of the New Testament deal directly with the life of Jesus, each of the 27 books in its own way seeks to interpret the meaning of Jesus or show how his teachings apply to the lives of believers.
Gospel (Greek - “good news”) - a biography of Jesus Christ; books revered as sacred in Christianity that tell of the divine nature of Jesus Christ, his birth, life, miracles, death, resurrection and ascension. The Gospels are part of the books of the New Testament.

Bible. New Testament. Gospel.

Bible. Old Testament.

The texts of the Books of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments presented on this site are taken from the Synodal translation.

Prayer before reading the Holy Gospel

(prayer after the 11th kathisma)

Shine in our hearts, O Master of Mankind, the imperishable light of Your God-understanding, and open our mental eyes, in Your Gospel sermons, understanding, put in us the fear of Your blessed commandments, so that carnal lusts, all straightened up, let us pass through spiritual life, all even for Your good pleasure both wise and active. For You are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, O Christ God, and we send up glory to You, with Your Originless Father, and Your Most Holy and Good, and Your Life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages, Amen.

“There are three ways to read a book,” writes one wise man, “you can read it in order to subject it to critical evaluation; you can read it, looking for pleasure in it for your feelings and imagination, and, finally, you can read it with your conscience. The first read to judge, the second to have fun, the third to improve. The Gospel, which has no equal among books, must first be read only with a simple mind and conscience. Read this way, it will make your conscience tremble on every page before goodness, before high, beautiful morality.”

“When reading the Gospel,” the bishop inspires. Ignatius (Brianchaninov), - do not seek pleasure, do not seek delight, do not seek brilliant thoughts: seek to see the infallibly holy Truth.
Do not be content with one fruitless reading of the Gospel; try to fulfill his commandments, read his deeds. This is the book of life, and you must read it with your life.

Rule regarding reading the Word of God

The reader of the book must do the following:
1) You should not read many sheets and pages, because someone who has read a lot cannot understand everything and keep it in memory.
2) It is not enough to read and think a lot about what is read, for this way what is read is better understood and deepened in memory, and our mind is enlightened.
3) See what is clear or unclear from what you read in the book. When you understand what you're reading, it's good; and when you don’t understand, leave it and continue reading. What is unclear will either be clarified by the next reading, or will be clarified by repeating another reading, with God’s help.
4) What the book teaches you to avoid, what it teaches you to seek and do, try to do it in action. Avoid evil and do good.
5) When you only sharpen your mind from a book, but do not correct your will, then from reading the book you will become worse than you were; learned and intelligent fools are more evil than simple ignoramuses.
6) Remember that it is better to love in a Christian way than to have a high understanding; It is better to live beautifully than to say: “reason boasts, but love creates.”
7) Whatever you yourself learn with God’s help, lovingly teach it to others on occasion, so that the seed sown grows and produces fruit.”

Genealogy of Jesus Christ () and His birth ().

. Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham.

“Genealogy”: calculation of ancestors in succession descending, as here in Ev. Matthew, or ascending, as in Ev. Luke (and gave.), okay. It was the custom among Eastern writers in general, and in particular among Jewish ones, when describing the life of a famous person, to indicate his genealogical table, as can be seen from the books of Moses, Ruth, Kings and Chronicles. But the Evangelist Matthew, placing the genealogy of the Lord, without a doubt, had a particularly important goal - to show that he descended precisely from those persons to whom the promise was given in ancient times about the descent of the Messiah from them, as can be seen from the further words of the evangelist. And placed at the beginning of the first Gospel, and with it the whole composition of the New Testament books, the genealogy of the Lord constitutes a wonderful transition from Old Testament to the New.

- “Jesus Christ”: Jesus (in Greek Ἰησjῦς, in Hebrew - Yeshua, shortened from Yehoshua) means Savior or simply Savior (see Athan. V. 4, 513), - a name quite common among Jews. But here, in application to Christ, it had a special meaning, expressing the concepts of the salvation of the human race accomplished by Him (cf. note to). – Christ is a Greek word and means anointed – the same as the Jewish Mashiach – Messiah, which is why Jesus is called either Christ or Messiah, which makes no difference (cf.). Among the Jews, kings and high priests, and sometimes prophets, were anointed with oil, which is why they were called anointed (Mashiach - . . . (cf. ;). Anointing meant the same thing as the dedication of the chosen ones to a special service to God or the Church of God on earth. It was an external sign of the outpouring of the special gifts of God on the anointed one. In these meanings, the name of Christ - the Messiah - the Anointed One is appropriated primarily to the Lord Jesus, as a king, high priest and prophet, to whom the gifts of the spirit were given beyond measure, and even more so as a partaker of Him (. - "). Son of David": the word son among the Jews was used in different meanings: it meant a son in the proper sense (cf., etc.), then - an adopted person (.), then - a descendant in general (., etc.), and had other non-proper meanings. Here this word means descendant David, later member from the house of David. For the evangelist, who wrote his Gospel initially for the Jewish believers, it was very important to point to Jesus as a descendant Davidova, because, in accordance with the promise given to this prophet-king (and gave.; and gave.; and gave.; and gave.), it was from his family that the Messiah was to come; and this confidence was so strong in the Jews that they could not be convinced that Jesus is the Messiah if it had not been proven to them that He comes from the line of David (cf. . . . and others). – "Son of Abraham": even before David, God gave Abraham, the forefather of the Jewish people, a promise that from his descendants would come the Messiah (Christ) Savior (cf.), and for the evangelist, for the same reasons, it was very important to show that Christ comes from the line of his father believers - Abraham. Thus, Jesus, born in humiliation, the son of Mary and his supposed father Joseph, was, according to the promises, a descendant of the father of the believers Abraham and the greatest of the kings of the Jews, David. “But why didn’t the evangelist call him the son of Abraham first, and then the son of David? – Because David was especially famous among the Jews both for the fame of his deeds and for the time of his life, for he died long after Abraham. Although he made a promise to both, little was said about the promise given to Abraham, as old, and the promise given to David, as recent and new, was repeated by everyone (cf.). And no one called Christ the son of Abraham, but everyone called him the son of David. Therefore, the evangelist first mentions David as the most famous, and then turns to Abraham as the ancestor, and since he tells the Jews, he considers it unnecessary to begin genealogy with the most ancient clans" ( Zlat., Wed Feof.).

. Abraham gave birth to Isaac; Isaac gave birth to Jacob; Jacob begat Judah and his brothers;

The genealogy of Christ from Abraham is as follows: "Abraham begat Isaac"; this is narrated in the book of Genesis - and gave. The evangelist's genealogy includes only chapters clans from which the Messiah was to come, and not all members of the family. Therefore, the birth of Isaac only is spoken of here, and not of the other children of Abraham; further it speaks of the birth of only Jacob from Isaac; Of the children of Jacob, only Judah is named, etc. – "Isaac begat Jacob": . - “Jacob - Judas” and his brothers: , cf. etc. “Why does the evangelist, having mentioned Abraham and said that he gave birth to Isaac, and Isaac gave birth to Jacob, does not mention the latter’s brother, while after Jacob he mentions Judas and his brothers? Some blame Esau's evil behavior as the reason for this, and they say the same about some other ancestors. But I won’t say this: for if this were so, then why are evil wives mentioned a little later? The reason is that the Saracens and Ishmaelites, the Arabs and all who descended from those ancestors had nothing in common with the people of Israel. That’s why he kept silent about them, but turned directly to the ancestors of Jesus and the people of Judah” ( Zlat.).

. Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar; Perez begat Hezrom; Hezrom begat Aram; Aram gave birth to Abminadab; Amminadab begat Nahshon; Nahshon begat Salmon; Salmon fathered Boaz by Rahab; Boaz fathered Obed by Ruth; Obed begat Jesse;

"Judah - Perez and Zara from Tamar": . "Phares - Esroma": . "Esrom - Arama": . "Aram - Aminadab": . "Aminadab - Nahshon": . Between Perez (), who moved to Egypt with the family of Jacob, and Nahshon (), who, when the Jews left Egypt, after 430 years of their stay there, was the ancestor of the tribe of Judah (), only three members of the genealogy are named here; it seems – some are omitted, like . There are omissions below, as we will see, made for special purposes (see note to). "Nahshon - Salmona": . "Salmon - Boaz from Rahab": . . "Boaz - Obed from Ruth": . "Ovid - Jesse": .

. Jesse begat David king; David the king begot Solomon from Uriah;

"Jesse begot David king": . and d. "David - Solomon from the one who followed Urie": . In verses 3, 5 and 6, contrary to the custom of Eastern writers ( Euph. Zig.), are entered into the woman’s genealogical table, and, moreover, as St. puts it. Zlatoust, "malevolent". In explanation of this he, in the words of verse 3: “Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar.”, notes: “What are you doing, inspired husband, reminding us of the history of lawless incest? And why is he saying this? – If we began to list the genus of any an ordinary person, then it would be decent to keep silent about that matter. But in the genealogy of the incarnate God, not only should he not be silent, but he should also announce this loudly in order to show His providence and power. For He came not to avoid our shame, but to destroy it... Christ should be surprised not only because he took on flesh and became a man, but also because he deigned to be wicked people as his relatives, without being ashamed There are few of our vices; Moreover, He also wants to show that everyone, even the forefathers themselves, are guilty of sins. Thus, the patriarch, from whom the Jewish people received their very name, turns out to be no small sinner: for Tamar denounces him. And David begat Solomon from an adulterous wife. If these great men did not fulfill the law, much less those who were lower than them. And if they did not fulfill it, then everyone sinned, and the coming of Christ was necessary. Do you see that it was not for a few and unimportant reasons that the evangelist mentioned the whole story of Judas? For the same reason, Ruth and Rahab are mentioned, one of whom was a foreigner, and the other a harlot, i.e. in order to teach you that the Savior came to destroy all our sins, came as a doctor, and not as a judge... So, the evangelist compiled a genealogy and placed these wives in it in order to shame the Jews with such examples and teach them not to be arrogant” (cf. . Theophilus.).

. Solomon begat Rehoboam; Rehoboam gave birth to Abijah; Abijah begat Asa; Asa begat Jehoshaphat; Jehoshaphat begat Joram; Jehoram begat Uzziah; Uzziah begat Jotham; Jotham begat Ahaz; Ahaz begat Hezekiah; Hezekiah begat Manasseh; Manasseh begat Amun; Amon gave birth to Josiah;

"Solomon begat Rehoboam": . . "Rehoboam - Abijah": . "Avia - Asu": . "Asa gave birth to Jehoshaphat": . "Jehoshaphat - Jehoram": . “Joram - Uzziah”: . . . Actually, Joram gave birth to Ahaziah, Ahaziah to Joash, Joash to Amaziah, and Amaziah to Uzziah - the three kings are omitted (see note to). – "Uzziah begat Jotham": . "Jotham - Ahaz": . "Ahaz - Hezekiah": . . "Hezekiah begat Manasseh": . . "Manasseh - Amon": . . “Amon to Josiah”: .

. Josiah begat Joachim; Joachim gave birth to Jeconiah and his brothers before moving to Babylon.

"Josiah begat Jehoiachin and his brothers". Josiah gave birth to Joachim, Joachim to Jehoiachin: . ; again one member of the genealogy is omitted. However, in some ancient manuscripts it was not omitted and, on the basis of them, was included in our Slavic translation: (on the Brez) and in Russian (in the text). "Before Migration to Babylon": under the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar around 588 BC. (). Babylon, the capital city of the Babylonian kingdom, vast and powerful at that time, stood on the Euphrates, a river flowing into the Persian Gulf; Now they are looking for the ruins of this once magnificent and rich city. The Jews remained in captivity for 70 years, according to the prophecy of the prophet Jeremiah ().

. After moving to Babylon, Jeconiah gave birth to Salathiel; Shealtiel begat Zerubbabel;

"Jeconiah begat Shealtiel": . Jehoiachin had no children according to the flesh: for when he was taken into captivity in Babylon, he was childless (cf.), and during the captivity in prison and after the captivity in old age, he could not have children, and the word of God spoken through Jeremiah , should have come to fruition on it - and it did. Therefore, if several sons of Jeconiah are mentioned: then they were his children by adoption or law comradeship(from the word “uzhik”, which means relative). According to this law (... cf. and etc.), the brother or closest relative of the childless deceased had to marry his widow and restore his seed; the children born from this were considered the children of the deceased, although according to the flesh they belonged to the one who restored the seed, and thus had two fathers, one according to the flesh, the other (dead) according to the law. Such were the children of Jehoiachin, and, moreover, the restorer of the seed was a member not from the descendants of Solomon, but from the descendants of his maternal brother Nathan, since the brothers and closest relatives of Jehoiachin and Zedekiah - the last kings before the captivity - were killed. Thus, Neri (from the descendants of Nathan) is a member of the genealogy, because his son Salafiel is adopted by Jeconiah (cf. and). – "Salafiel begat Zerubbabel": Salafiel, according to the testimony of the 1st book, was childless, but his brother Pedaiah (according to the law of life), bore him children, of whom the eldest, Zerubbabel, was considered the legitimate son of Salafiel.

. Zerubbabel begat Abihu; Abihu begat Eliakim; Eliakim begat Azor; Azor begat Zadok; Zadok gave birth to Achim; Achim begat Eliud; Elihu begat Eleazar; Eleazar begat Matthan; Matthan gave birth to Jacob; Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, from whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

“Zerubbabel begat Abihu... Matthan begat Jacob.”: all names from history are unknown: probably all these members of the genealogy were preserved in family records or in legend, in any case, the genealogy in this part is, without a doubt, reliable. – "Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary": “From what is it clear that Christ comes from David? He was born not from a husband, but from one wife, and the evangelist does not have a virgin’s genealogy; So, why can we know that Christ was a descendant of David?.. Gabriel is commanded to go to a virgin betrothed to a husband named Joseph, from the house of David (). What do you want more clearly than this, when you hear that the virgin was from the house of David? From this it is clear that Joseph came from the same generation. For there was a law that commanded one to take a wife not from another, but from the same tribe... The Jews were not allowed to take a wife not only from another tribe, but from another clan or tribe. And therefore the words: from the house of David Whether we apply it to the virgin, what was said above will remain undoubted, or we apply it to Joseph, what was said about him will also apply to the virgin. If Joseph was from the house of David, then he took a wife not from another family, but from the same one from which he himself came" ( Zlat., Wed Theophilus.). - “Mary’s husband”: a husband who is still engaged (see note to). – "Born from": Wed .– "Jesus Called Christ": Wed approx. To .

. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the migration to Babylon to Christ there are fourteen generations.

"Fourteen Births": the evangelist divides the genealogy into three periods and in each of them names 2 * 7 = 14 genera. Although in some periods there were more than 14 births, the excess ones are omitted. This was probably done to facilitate memory, to make it easier to remember the pedigree table. According to the explanation of St. 3latousta, “the evangelist divided the entire genealogy into three parts, wanting to show that the Jews did not become better with the change of government, but during the time of the aristocracy, and under the kings, and during the oligarchy, they indulged in the same vices; under the rule of judges, priests and kings, they showed no particular success in virtue” (as some of the names in each part testify to this). Periods:

“The evangelist includes Christ himself among the generations, coupling Him with us everywhere” ( Zlat.).

. The Nativity of Jesus Christ was like this: after the betrothal of His Mother Mary to Joseph, before they were united, it turned out that She was pregnant with the Holy Spirit.

“By betrothal”: betrothal among the Jews consisted of an agreement concluded between the father of the bride and the father of the groom or, for their fathers, the closest relatives of the bride and groom, and the price of the bride or gifts were also given. - “With Joseph”: he was from the family of David (), at that time humiliated; craft - carpenter (cf.). According to legend, at that time he was already elderly and widowed. A distant relative of Mary, he became engaged to her only in order to be the guardian of her vow of virginity (Chet Min March 25, and December 25–27). – "Before we were combined": between the day of betrothal and the day of marriage, some time passed, sometimes several months, during which the bride, remaining in the house of relatives, was already considered the wife of the betrothed; however (“it seems” Zlat.) it also happened that the engaged lived together, but did not have marital communication. Tradition, in accordance with the instructions of Ev. Luke, says that the betrothed Mary lived in Joseph's house in Nazareth. - After Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they were united, it turned out that She was with child "from the Holy Spirit". “The evangelist said very expressively: “it turned out that she was pregnant”, - as is usually said about special incidents that happen beyond all expectations and unexpected” ( Zlat., Wed Euph. Zig.: said - it turned out due to surprise). “So, do not extend further, do not demand anything more than what has been said and do not ask how the Spirit formed the child in the virgin. For if during natural action it is impossible to explain the method of this formation, then how can this be explained when the Spirit worked miraculously?” ( Zlat.).

. Joseph, Her husband, being righteous and not wanting to make Her public, wanted to secretly let Her go.

“Her husband”: only still engaged. – "Being Righteous": δι’χαιος, 1) fair, a person who gives everyone their due; 2) kind (), loving, who softens the severity of the law with mercy, love, kindness. Joseph showed his justice in the fact that, suspecting his betrothed of infidelity, he did not want to marry her, contrary to the law, but intended to let her go; his kindness lies in the fact that he wanted to secretly let her go without disclosing it publicly. – “Not wanting to make it public”: according to the Law of Moses, a betrothed woman who violated fidelity before the time of marriage was stoned before the gates of the city (), i.e. suffered the most shameful and painful death. Then the law gave the husband the right to release his wife by giving her a letter of divorce (). There was a custom in this letter of divorce to indicate the reasons for the divorce, and there had to be witnesses, which was, in any case, shameful for the wife. Joseph, out of his kindness, not only did not want to subject his betrothed to legal execution, but did not even want to disgrace her by giving her a letter of divorce with the formalities prescribed by the law, but thought, without disclosing the reasons for the divorce, to secretly, without dishonoring, let her go Push. Until now, Joseph, apparently, did not know at all about the Annunciation and the seedless conception of the baby in Mary’s womb.

. But when he thought this, behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: Joseph, son of David! Do not be afraid to accept Mary your wife, for what is born in Her is from the Holy Spirit; She will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

"When he thought of it": “Why didn’t the Angel tell Joseph before he was embarrassed? So that Joseph would not discover his unbelief, and the same thing would happen to him as to Zechariah. It is not difficult to believe a thing when it is already before your eyes; and when there is no beginning of it, then the words will not be accepted so easily... For the same reason, the maiden was silent. For she thought that she would not convince the groom by telling him about an unusual deed, but on the contrary, she would upset him by giving him the idea that she was covering up the crime that had been committed. If she herself, hearing about the great grace bestowed upon her, judges humanly and says: how “This will happen when I don’t know my husband”(); then Joseph would have doubted much more, especially having heard about this from the suspected wife" ( Zlat.). – Angel of the Lord: Angel means messenger; This name in the Holy Scriptures refers to the spiritually intelligent beings who persevered in goodness when the devils fell; they live in heaven and are sent by God to proclaim and fulfill His will, and they use various means, appearing in a dream, in a vision, in reality, taking on human form. - “In a dream”: a frequent way of revealing the will of God in the Old Testament: . and gave. . and others - “Son of David”: The angel calls Joseph a descendant of David, reminding him of him, arousing faith in his words about his descendant promised to David - the Messiah. - “Do not be afraid” that by accepting your non-idle betrothed, you will break the law and offend God; “do not be afraid”, do not doubt her purity and innocence. – “Accept”: to keep her in her house, since in his mind Joseph had already let her go. – “What is born in Her is of the Holy Spirit”: Wed .– “She will give birth to a son”: eliminating Joseph’s doubts and revealing the secret that confused him, the Angel assures that Mary will give birth to a son and predicts his name; from the explanation of this name, as well as from the Angel’s instructions on the conception of a son from the Holy Spirit, Joseph could notice that we were talking about the Messiah. – “He will save”: the name Jesus means Savior, and He, according to this name, really saved people with His redemptive power. - “His people”: all those whom the Father gave Him (). The Jews themselves were called the people or people of God, because He especially chose them and favored them as His especially beloved people, and sent the Messiah Jesus to them for the redemption of all people through Him. All who turn to Christ from all nations and at all times are people of God and Christ (cf. Zlat.). – “From their sins”: is the cause of the separation between God and man and the cause of all evil; therefore, to save from sins means to reconcile people with God and to grant them the blissful unity with God lost through sin, in which those who truly believe in Christ and stand in spiritual communion with Him find themselves.

. And all this happened, that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying: Behold, a virgin is with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel, which means: God is with us.

“And all this happened, that what was spoken might be fulfilled” etc.: the evangelist Matthew, designating his Gospel initially for the Jewish believers, therefore has the habit, especially before other evangelists, in the events of the life of Christ to indicate the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah, which was especially important for the Jews (see and many others. ). So here, in the birth of Christ from a virgin, the fulfillment is indicated ancient prophecy about this (St. Zlat., Theophilus. And Euph. Zig. the words of verses 22 and 23 are considered a continuation of the Angel’s speech). – May it come true: to be fulfilled. These words (as well as others like them) must be understood not so that the Messiah was born in order for the prophecy to be fulfilled, but so that the prophecy was given because the Messiah had to be born, and therefore it came to fulfillment, came true.

“Through the Prophet”: Isaiah - more than 700 years before the birth of Christ. It was spoken on the occasion of the invasion then under Ahaz of the united armies of the kings of Israel and Syria on Judea with the aim of depriving the throne of the House of David, with which the promises of the Messiah were connected. The prophet assures that the plans of these kings will not come true, and in confirmation of this the following sign is given: “Behold, a virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son” etc. (). The meaning of the prophecy is this: the house of David will not lose the kingdom, for from it in due time the Messiah must be born from a virgin; Until then, the reigning line of David will not end, but the enemies threatening him now will not have time to do anything. The prophet presents a distant future event as a sign or proof of the near future, just as Moses pointed out the future worship of the people on the mountain, as proof that the people will indeed soon leave Egypt ().

"Immanuel - God with us": appeared on earth and lives among people in human form, uniting deity with humanity (). “Why was His name called not Immanuel, but Jesus? Because it's not said you will name, But - will be called, i.e. peoples and the event itself. Here the name is borrowed from an incident, as is typical of Scripture to use incidents instead of names. So the words: “They will call His name Immanuel” mean the very thing that they will see God with people. For although he was always with people, he was never so obvious" ( Zlat., Wed Theophilus.).

. Rising from sleep, Joseph did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him, and received his wife, and did not know Her, when at last She gave birth to Her firstborn Son, and he called His name Jesus.

"He received his wife": only the one who was betrothed to him, he accepted as his wife into his house, or left her to live in his house (cf. note to); The Jews called the bride a wife. – “I didn’t know her. How I finally gave birth": actually – until she gave birth: the doctrine of ever-virginity of the Most Holy Theotokos. The evangelist used his how long, but do not suspect that Joseph later knew her. The Evangelist only lets them know that the virgin was completely inviolable before birth; what happened after birth is left to you to judge for yourself. What you need to know from him, he said, i.e. that the virgin was inviolable before birth, and what is self-evident from what has been said as a sure consequence, is left to your own reflection, i.e., that such a righteous man (like Joseph) did not want to know the virgin after she so miraculously became a mother and was worthy to give birth in an unheard of way and to produce extraordinary fruit" ( Zlat. God commands that every firstborn be sanctified to himself, regardless of whether there will be children after him or not, and the only begotten was the firstborn. “She calls him firstborn, not because she had another son, but simply because he was the first born, and, moreover, the only one: for Christ is both the firstborn, as being born first, and the only begotten, as having no brother” ( Theophilus.). If the Gospels mention the brothers of Jesus Christ (., etc.) and they are even called by name (; . - James, Josiah, Simon and Judas): then they were not relatives, but His named brothers - the children of Joseph the betrothed from the first his marriage ( Grieg. B., Epiph., Kiril. Alexander., Hilary, Eusebius, Theophilus. etc. Wed. Thu Min Dec 26). Less likely is the opinion that the persons mentioned were cousins ​​of Jesus Christ - the children of Cleopas, brother Joseph, and Mary, sister of the Mother of God, although they adhere to this opinion bl. Jerome, Theodoret And Augustine.

I. Presentation of the King (1:1 - 4:11)

A. His genealogy (1:1-17) (Luke 3:23-28)

Matt. 1:1. From the first words of his Gospel, Matthew declares its central theme and main character. This is Jesus Christ, and already at the beginning of the narrative the evangelist traces His direct connection with the two main covenants concluded by God with Israel: His covenant with David (2 Sam. 7) and the covenant with Abraham (Gen. 12:15). Were these covenants fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, and is He the promised “seed?” These questions should have arisen among the Jews first of all, and that is why Matthew examines His genealogy in such detail.

Matt. 1:2-17. Matthew gives the genealogy of Jesus according to His official father, that is, according to Joseph (verse 16). It determines His right to the throne of King David through Solomon and his descendants (verse 6). Of particular interest is the inclusion in the genealogy of King Jehoiachin (verse 11), about whom Jeremiah says: “Record this man as having no children” (Jer. 22:30). Jeremiah's prophecy, however, referred to Jehoiachin's occupation of the throne (and God's blessing upon his reign) in his day. Although Jehoiachin's sons never took the throne, the "royal line" continued through them.

However, if Jesus had been a physical descendant of Jehoiachin, He could not have taken the throne of David. But from the genealogy given by Luke, it follows that physically Jesus descended from another son of David, namely from Nathan (Luke 3:31). Again, since Joseph, the official father of Jesus, was a descendant of Solomon, Jesus was entitled to the throne of David through Joseph's line.

Matthew traces Joseph's lineage to Jehoiachin through his son Shealtiel and grandson Zerubbabel (Matt. 1:12). Luke (3:27) also mentions Shealtiel, the father of Zerubbabel, but in the genealogy of Mary. Does the genealogy offered by Luke then indicate that Jesus was after all a physical descendant of Jehoiachin? - No, because, apparently, Luke means other people who bore the same names. For Luke's Shealtiel is the son of Neriah, and Matthew's Shealtiel is the son of Jehoiachin.

Another interesting fact in Matthew's genealogical excursion is his inclusion of four Old Testament female names: Tamar (Matt. 1:3), Rahab (verse 5), Ruth (verse 5) and Bathsheba, Solomon's mother (the latter is named after her husband - Uriah). The right to include these women, as well as a number of men, in the genealogy of Christ is in some sense questionable.

After all, Tamar and Rahab (Rahab) were harlots (Gen. 38:24; Joshua 2:1), Ruth was a pagan Moabite (Ruth. 1:4), and Bathsheba was guilty of adultery (2 Sam. 11 :2-5). Perhaps Matthew included these women in his genealogy to emphasize that God chooses people according to His will and mercy. But perhaps the evangelist wanted to remind the Jews of things that would diminish their pride.

When the name of the fifth woman, Mary, appears in the genealogy (Matt. 1:16), some significant change occurs. Until verse 16, in all cases it is repeated that so-and-so begat so-and-so. When it comes to Mary, it is said: from whom Jesus was born. This clearly indicates that Jesus was the physical child of Mary, not Joseph. The miraculous conception and birth is described in 1:18-25.

Matthew obviously does not list all the links in the genealogical chain between Abraham and David (verses 2-6), between David and the exile in Babylon (verses 6-11), and between the exile and the birth of Jesus (verses 12-16). He only names 14 generations in each of these time periods (verse 17). According to Jewish tradition, there was no requirement to list every name in the genealogy. But why does Matthew name exactly 14 names in each period?

Perhaps the best explanation is that according to the Hebrew meaning of numbers, the name "David" boils down to the number "14." It should be noted that in the period of time from the migration to Babylon to the birth of Jesus (verses 12-16) we see only 13 new names. Many theologians believe in this regard that the name of Jehoiachin, being repeated twice (verses 11 and 12), precisely “complements” the names listed in this period to “14”.

The genealogy offered by Matthew answers an important question that the Jews might rightfully ask regarding the One who would lay claim to the throne of King of the Jews: “Is He really the legitimate descendant and heir of King David?” - Matthew answers: “Yes!”

B. His coming (1:18 - 2:23) (Luke 2:1-7)

1. HIS ORIGIN (1:18-23)

Matt. 1:18-23. The fact that Jesus was the son of Mary alone, as appears from the genealogy (verse 16), requires further explanation. To better understand what Matthew said, we need to look at Hebrew marriage customs. Marriages were concluded in that environment by registration marriage contract parents of the bride and groom. Once they reached a mutual agreement, the bride and groom became husband and wife in the eyes of society. But they didn't live together. The girl continued to live with her parents, and her “husband” with his, for a whole year.

The purpose of this “waiting period” was to prove the bride’s commitment to the vow of purity. If she had been pregnant during this period of time, the proof of her impurity and possible physical infidelity to her husband would have been obvious. In this case, the marriage could be dissolved. If the year-long wait confirmed the bride’s purity, the groom came for her to her parents’ house and took her to his home in a solemn procession. Only then did they begin their life together, and their marriage became a physical reality. When reading Matthew's account, all this must be kept in mind.

Mary and Joseph were just in this year-long waiting period when it turned out that she was pregnant. Meanwhile, there was no physical intimacy between them, and Mary remained faithful to Joseph (verses 20,23). Although Joseph's feelings on this matter are not stated, it is not difficult to imagine how much he was upset.

After all, he loved Maria, and suddenly it turned out that she was not pregnant from him. Joseph showed his love for her in action. He decided not to raise a scandal and not to take his bride to trial before the elders at the city gates. If he had done this, Mary would most likely have been stoned to death (Deut. 22:23-24). Instead, Joseph decided to release her secretly.

And then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream (compare Matt. 2:13,19,22) and told him that what was born in her was from the Holy Spirit (1:20 compare with 1:18).

The child in Mary's womb was completely an unusual child; The angel commanded Joseph to give the name Jesus to the son she would give birth to, for He would save His people from their sins. These words were meant to remind Joseph of God's promise of salvation for the people through the New Testament (Jer. 31:31-37). The angel, not named here by name, also made it clear to Joseph that all this would happen in accordance with Scripture, since 700 years earlier the prophet Isaiah declared: “Behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son...” (Matt. 1: 23; Isa. 7:14).

Although Old Testament scholars still debate whether the Hebrew word alma, used by the prophet Isaiah, should be translated as “virgin” or “young woman,” God has clearly shown that it was the “maiden” that was being referred to. ". The Holy Spirit inspired the translators of the Old Testament into Greek (Septuagint) to use the word parthenos, which means “maiden”, “virgin”. Mary's miraculous conception of Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, and her Son appeared as the true Immanuel (which means: God is with us).

After receiving the revelation, Joseph removed his feelings of uncertainty and fear and took Mary into his home (Matt. 1:20). Perhaps rumors and gossip began to spread among the neighbors, but Joseph knew what really happened and what the will of God was in relation to him personally.

2. HIS BIRTH (1:24-25)

Matt. 1:24-25. So, when Joseph woke up from this dream, he obeyed what he was told. In violation of tradition, he immediately accepted Mary into his home, without waiting for the one-year period of “betrothal” to end. He probably assumed what would be best for her in her situation. He accepted her as his wife and began to take care of her. However, he did not enter into marital relations with her until she gave birth to her first-born Son.

Matthew limits himself to only reporting the birth of the Child and the fact that they gave Him the name Jesus. Luke, a doctor by profession (Col. 4:14), speaks in a little more detail about the birth of the Son (Luke 2:1-17).

The Word of the Gospel in modern language has two meanings: the Christian gospel about the advent of the Kingdom of God and the salvation of the human race from sin and death, and a book presenting this message in the form of a narrative about the incarnation, earthly life, saving suffering, death on the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Initially, in the Greek language of the classical period, the word gospel had the meaning of “reward (reward) for the good news”, “thanksgiving sacrifice for the good news”. Later, the good news itself began to be called that. Later the word gospel acquired a religious meaning. In the New Testament it began to be used in a specific sense. In several places, the gospel refers to the preaching of Jesus Christ himself (Matt. 4:23; Mark 1:14-15), but most often the gospel is the Christian proclamation, the message of salvation in Christ and the preaching of this message. prot. Kirill Kopeikin Gospel - books of the New Testament, which contain a description of the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is four books named after the authors - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Among the 27 books of the New Testament, the Gospels are considered law-giving. This name shows that the Gospels have the same meaning for Christians as the Law of Moses - the Pentateuch - had for Jews. “GOSPEL (Mark 1:1, etc.) is a Greek word meaning: gospel, i.e. good, joyful news... These books are called the Gospel because for a person there cannot be better and more joyful news than the news of the Divine Savior and eternal salvation. That’s why reading the Gospel in church is each time accompanied by a joyful exclamation: Glory to Thee, Lord, glory to Thee!” Biblical Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nikephoros

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