Posts Tagged ‘Subversive’

The Gospel of Matthew has been called the most Jewish of all the Gospels. Jesus of Nazareth was Jewish, mind you. I think that simple truth alone has been subtly buried by the crushing tide of our popular, Western expressions of Christianity. Jesus was Jewish, as were his disciples. The Gospel of Matthew reflects this Jewishness more so than any other canonical Gospel. This is very important. The Jewishness of Mathew is very, very important.

You see, in Matthew, the author is writing specifically to Jewish people who are well trained in Jewish Law or Torah. That’s why the Gospel begins immediately with a long and tough to read genealogy. Yeah, we may as well admit it, we all skip that part of Matthew, right! Right. It is, however, a very important feature of this Gospel. The author of Matthew includes it because he is writing to a Jewish audience and he wants to show his audience that the redemptive work God began with Israel is completed in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. So, in this long and tedious genealogy, Matthew not only links Jesus’ heritage with King David, but also with Abraham. Jesus of Nazareth is Son of David, Son of Abraham, Son of God. That’s pretty important info., not only for Matthew’s Jewish audience, but for all of us Gentiles too. Read More »