Title: Nativity in the Gospel of Matthew
Text/ Matthew 1:1-2:23, Matthew 28:16-20
1. Introduction
The authors of all books in the world, regardless of the East and West, write with their own special purpose and point of view. The Old Testament books of Samuel-Kings and Chronicles all record the history of Israel, but the contents of Samuel-Kings and Chronicles are slightly different. Because each has a different purpose and point of view. For example, in the book of Samuel-Kings, King David's sins and mistakes are recorded in detail, whereas in Chronicles, there is no record of King David's sins and mistakes, only the good points of King David.
In the New Testament, there are four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that record the history of Jesus, but the contents are slightly different. For example, there is no record of Jesus' birth in the Gospels of Mark-John, and it appears only in the Gospels of Matthew-Luke, but the content of Matthew and Luke is different. Because, as I said earlier, Matthew's point of view and Luke's point of view were different.
And one more thing to keep in mind is that the authors of all the great books in the world write their own writings in a good way. In other words, you want to maintain logical consistency so that the beginning and the end of the article you claim or testify to match.
2. 33 Christmas hymns appearing in the hymn
Hymns 97-129 are hymns celebrating the advent and birth of Jesus. However, if you look at the Bible verses on which these hymns are based, only 5 of the 33 songs (104, 107, 111, 116, 120) are from Matthew, and the remaining 28 songs are almost all from Luke. In other words, it is evidence that the basis of the Christmas hymn is mainly found in the Gospel of Luke.
As we celebrate Christmas 2011, today, we would like to share our grace by meditating on the meaning of Christmas, especially from the perspective of the writer of Matthew. In conclusion, the meaning of Christmas for the writer of Matthew is the birth of King-Savior (Jesus Matthew 1:21)-Immanuel (King-Messiah-Immanuel). I think the best hymn of the Christmas hymns from the point of view of the writer of Matthew is "Chapter 104, O come, O come, Immanuel."
Come soon, Immanuel, O rescue me, Israel is waiting for the Messiah who is suffering from captivity.
Come soon, Lord of wisdom, give order to all things, show me the way of true truth, and guide me in the way.
Come soon, Lord of hope, grant all the people one heart, get rid of envy and strife, and fill true peace.
Rejoice, Israel, coming soon, Emmanuel!
3. The Meaning of Christmas by the Gospel of Matthew
first. After listing the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-16, the writer of Matthew said, “Therefore, all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David to the exile into Babylon, fourteen generations. They did it” (Matthew 1:17).
What does it mean? Jesus is the descendant of Abraham, the father of Israel's faith, the lord of Israel's kings from David to the Babylonian captivity, and testifies that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied by the prophets sent by God from the Babylonian captivity .
* All this happened to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet, saying, “Behold, a virgin will conceive and bear a son, and he will call his name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:22- 23)
second. In Matthew 2:1-18, the writer of the Gospel of Matthew tells us that the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem - The pilgrimage of the wise men to Bethlehem who saw the astronomy (star) and predicted the appearance of a king who would rule a new age - Herod's envy and a young man Murdering Babies - It records Jesus' escape to Egypt, etc.
What does it mean? It was proof that Jesus was the Messiah like Moses. Just as Moses saved Israel by surviving the crisis of Pharaoh's murder of a baby boy, he is the Messiah who will survive the crisis of Herod's murder and save Israel. That is, he testified, “He was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled, which the Lord had spoken through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son’” (Matthew 2:15).
So, Christmas in Matthew's Gospel is not a romantic, warm, tender image like "The young Jesus - Silent night, Holy night - That baby is asleep - O Bethlehem, etc." The Christmas in Matthew’s Gospel is the Great Kingdom of God Heaven and Earth The narrow and strait road Suffering and the death of the cross so that God’s justice flows like a river. It is an image of The King of kings-轉輪 Holy King, like -strong-孤奮鬪(Struggle)-疾wind怒濤(Wild Wind Fury). Merry Christmas! Hallelujah!