City United Reformed Church
CHRISTMAS FOR ADULT CHRISTIANS
Session 3:
In this session you will be looking at how Matthew’s version of the nativity fits in with the Gospel of Matthew as a whole.
First of all, look at the way the birth story itself is told in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew deliberately makes many references back to the Hebrew Scriptures, both in direct quotation and in constructing a story in a way that refers back to familiar Old Testament themes. We’ll first look for the references, then ask ourselves why Matthew is telling the story the way he is. What is the pattern being constructed in this gospel, and what does that pattern mean? Clearly, Matthew is not telling the story of Jesus as a biographer would, but as a preacher would--to make a point.
Pause For Thought
Any good work of literature has something important to say if it is going to rise above ordinary tale-telling, and this includes the gospels. The late nineteenth-century novelist Henry James once said that reading a story to uncover its meaning is like discovering the repeated figure in a carpet. A character in one of Henry James’ stories (The Figure in the Carpet), for instance, says the writings of someone named Vereker has an underlying meaning: “Vereker’s secret, my dear man—the general intention of his book: the string the pearls were strung on, the buried treasure, the figure in the carpet.”
The conversation partner expresses surprise that the writing makes any sense at all: “Vereker’s books had a general intention?”
In this session and the next we are going to look for “the figure in the carpet”, first in Matthew and then in Luke
How many times does Matthew quote from the Old Testament in his first two chapters (compare to the first two chapters of Luke)? Why? Why do you think Matthew makes a point of beginning his gospel with a genealogy that goes back to the patriarch Abraham? You will find some answers as we explore Matthew in more detail. We recommend the New Revised Standard Version translation, by the way. But it is always useful to have two or three translations to compare.
Reading activity.
In this reading activity we will be looking more closely at particular references that Matthew makes to other parts of the Bible and thinking about why Matthew makes these links.
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Start with Joseph, since Matthew seems to be particularly interested in him. What other Joseph in the Bible was a dreamer? |
If you’re not sure, you might like to read Genesis 41. |
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Do you recall another time in the Bible when children
were slaughtered by a jealous ruler? |
You might like to read Exodus 1.8-2.10. |
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Jesus and his family went down to Egypt, then
returned. What other family in the Bible went down to Egypt and returned
(“Out of Egypt I have called my son”)? |
You might like to read Genesis 46 and Exodus 3.1-10. |
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Where were the Magi from? They are sometimes called
“kings”, but Magi were astrologers, not kings. |
Look at Isaiah 60.1-7. |
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Why does Matthew add myrrh, an embalming spice, to the
gifts? |
A hint is found at John 19.39. |
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Were the Magi Jews or Gentiles? |
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Who rejoiced in the birth of Jesus? |
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Who felt threatened? Be careful to differential
between a people as a whole and their leaders. |
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Now, look at some important features in the rest of Matthew’s story. You should read the following… |
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Beginning in chapter five, Jesus, on a mountain,
teaches about the law. Who else in the Bible gives the law to the people
from a mountain? |
Look at Exodus 19 and 20. |
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At the end of Matthew, chapter 28, Jesus is again on a
mountain, with his attention on future generations: “Go to all peoples
everywhere, make them my disciples, teach them my commandments.” What other
important biblical person, at the end of his life, looked from a mountain
into land where a new generation would teach God’s commandments? |
Read Deuteronomy 34, the end of the “Torah”, the first five books of the Bible, that tell the background of the people who enter the Promised Land. |
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Among what people did the Jesus movement begin? To what people did the movement spread? For Matthew, it seems, the good news comes out of the heart of what the Jewish people are all about, but is not limited to them. |
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In your own words, what is the gospel of Matthew trying to say about Jesus and the good news (that's what the word “gospel” means)? How does the birth narrative in the first two chapters contribute to what the gospel of Matthew as a whole is saying about Jesus and his message?
We will be interested in hearing what you have to say! You will need to think about how the gospel of Matthew its develops meaning from the kind of details it has chosen to use in telling the story. Does he value the Jewish roots of Jesus? Should we? Do you think Matthew thinks the expansion of the faith into Gentile communities is a new thing, or is it something emerges out of the heart of what it means to be a Jew?
You should aim to write between 250 – 300 words.