Matthew 1
Knowing myself, I will not blog for the next 28 consecutive days, but I can at least do one in a row, so here it goes. Apparently in contrast to my brother, I find Matthew 1 to be well, kinda boring. It's a list of names, most of which I can't pronounce.
The most interesting thing I found was in my footnotes. I guess in the interest of numerical symmetry Matthew either omitted or assumed several generations in the genealogy of Jesus. I was always under the impression that this list was literal and exhaustive.
I also find it curious that he names five women in the list. Some of these weren't the best women to be associated with. Tamar, who seduced her father-in-law, Rahab the prostitute, Bathsheba the adulterer, and Ruth and Mary. Dawn has impressed upon me the fact that they are in the line of Christ due to God's grace. (She has read a series of historical fiction by Francine Rivers on these five.)
I have always longed for more information about Joseph and Mary and the circumstances of their betrothal. He must have been very shaken when he found out his betrothed was pregnant. As an assumed adulterer, Mary was due to be stoned for that offense. Joseph wanted to "divorce her quietly" to save her that sentence. I don't think Joseph gets enough credit for his character and his faith. He is as important as Mary as the choice for Jesus' earthly parents.
All in all, chapter one is a good scene setter. We know where Jesus came from and who his parents were. Let's see where he goes.
posted by Darin @ 9:16 PM
2 Comments:
If it were really just a list of names, I would find it boring, too. But the exciting thing about the names is all of the OT history it pulls in. It's basically a shorthand summary of the entire history of Israel. That was kind of my point. It ties the story of Jesus into the story of the whole Bible and foreshadows how the rest of the book is going to turn out.
Your comment about it being a good start made me think of a line from "Alex and Emma" - a movie about a novelist struggling to write a book in order to save his life. He can't get started with the novel because he can't think of the perfect beginning. He groans over the great starts in literature history ["It was the best of times..."; "Call me Ishmael"; "In the beginning"; "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife..." (Pride & Prejudice)].
I share my husband's view of the genealogy (surprise, surprise). We just got through teaching the Old Testament to our junior highers for about a year and a half. We got to know some of those people REALLY well - even the obscure ones. They're people, really people.
So Matthew decided to begin his narrative of the most significant experience of his life with a list of people he'd never met, but, as a Jew, were probably very real to him. The majority were even kings to his ancestors.
*shrug* I'll stop here. I don't have a point. I'm just reminding myself that they were in fact real people who continue influencing people to this day for eternity.
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