BOOK OF
MATTHEW
CHAPTER
BY CHAPTER, VERSE BY VERSE BIBLE STUDY
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MATTHEW STUDY #1 [Mt 1:1 - 1:25]
CHAPTER 1
Matt 1:1-25:
1 The book of the generation*1 of Jesus Christ, the son of David*2, the son of Abraham.
Explanations for above verse: *1 generation = Pedigree, ancestry. *2 son of David = Because it was promised directly to David [2nd Sam 7:12-13], see below scripture:
2 Sam 7:12-13 (The promise to David that the Messiah would come through his bloodline)
12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. (KJV)
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren*1;
Explanations for above verse: *1 Judas and his brethren = Judas is Greek for the Hebrew name Judah; Judah and his eleven brothers make up the twelve tribes of Israel.
3 And Judas begat Phares
and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and
Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5 And Salmon begat Booz of
Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6 And Jesse begat David the
king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the
wife of Urias;
7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and
Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and
Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and
Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
10 And Ezekias begat Manasses;
and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
11 And Josias begat Jechonias
and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to
Babylon:
12 And after they were brought
to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud;
and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and
Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and
Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat
Joseph*1 the
husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus*2,
who is called Christ
Explanations for above verse: *1 Jacob begat Joseph = Remember the fact that Joseph was the son of Jacob because I will refer you back to this verse later on to make a point. *2 the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus = Joseph was Mary's husband, but not Jesus' father. This genealogy we are studying is not the bloodline genealogy of Jesus Christ, but is the genealogy of Joseph, Jesus' stepfather by adoption. Verse one of this chapter mentions that this is the "generation of Jesus Christ," but as we will see, it is not the literal bloodline of Jesus but is the adoptive family line. This is symbolic of the grafting in to the eternal family that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ provided for all of us; white, black, brown, yellow, red, all races and peoples can come into the family of God and everlasting life through Jesus Christ. Below is a verse from the book of Revelation and it speaks of the eternity and of the grafting in of the "overcomers" into the eternal family of God.
Rev 21:1-7 (No gender implied in verse seven)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (KJV)
Now let's study the literal bloodline of Jesus Christ. Jesus' Father was God, and Jesus' mother was Mother Mary. Naturally the flesh side of Jesus's bloodline (genealogy) comes from His mothers genealogy and that consists of her fathers genealogy and her mothers genealogy.
The reason that it is so important to affix the true genealogy of Jesus Christ is that because through knowing it, we see Old Testament prophecy become fulfilled by the birth of Christ. As we will see below, Jesus on His mothers side was half of the tribe of Levi (The priest line of the twelve tribes of Israel) and half of the tribe of Judah (The King line of the twelve tribes of Israel). This was prophesied fulfilled in the name of the forerunner of Jesus Christ: Melchisedec in the Greek translation which is the same as "Melchizedek" in the Hebrew translation from [Gen 14:18-20]. In the Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Lexicon, the name "Melchizedek" is translated as:
Melchizedek: Hebrew word #4442 Malkiy-Tsedeq = "my king is Sedek"; king of Salem and priest of the Most High God to whom Abram paid tithe after the battle he fought to free Lot; "the order of Melchizedek" = the order of the priesthood to which Christ belongs.
Below is the first appearance of this one called Melchizedek:
Gen 14:18-20
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. (KJV)
This "Melchizedek" was Jesus Christ in a different entity, way before His time was to be:
Heb 6:17-20
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20 Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. (KJV)
Heb 7:1-3
1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
3 Without father, without mother, without descent*1, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life*2;but made like unto the Son of God*3; abideth a priest continually*4. (KJV)
Explanations for above verse: *1 Without father, without mother, without descent = This obviously was no ordinary priest, this one was not born like a man, and had no ancestors at this time, He just appeared. *2 having neither beginning of days, nor end of life = He was from before the beginning and after the end, he wasn't born and he won't die, he is life everlasting. this one is the Alpha and the Omega (beginning and end); that should ring a bell, who called Himself the Alpha and the Omega? Naturally it was Jesus Christ [Rev 1:8]. *3 like unto the Son of God = Because He was the Son of God, He was Jesus Christ. *4 continually = Non-stop, always, eternally, forever.
Now let's document the King line (Judah) and the Priest line (Levi) of Jesus Christ. The King line (Judah) comes through Mother Mary's father, and the Priest line (Levi) comes through Mother Mary's mother.
The Priest line (Levi) through Mother Mary's mother:
We find this in [Luke 1:5]. In this scripture we see that Mother Mary's Cousin Elizabeth is a Levite. Mary and Elizabeth's mothers were sisters. Below we see that Elizabeth was of the genealogy of Aaron. Aaron was a Levite (of Levi) and thus Elisabeth was of the tribe of Levi. Elisabeth's mother and Mary's mother were sisters and both Levites, thus Mary was of the tribe of Levi. Below we see that Zacharias (Elisabeth's husband) was a Levitical priest, and a Levitical Priest could only marry a full blood Levite woman if he was to perform duties in the Temple of God. In verse 8 below we see that Elisabeth's husband was indeed a practicing priest, therefore Elisabeth would have to have been a full blood Levite. And for Elizabeth to be a full blood Levite the her mother had to be a full blood Levite. Elizabeth's mother is the sister of Mary's mother and thus was also a full blood Levite. This documents that Mary was born of a full blood Levite woman, and as we will learn shortly, Mary's father was of the tribe of Judah with a family tree that goes all the way back to Adam from the Garden of Eden, and thus from God Almighty, for God formed Adam.
Luke 1:5-9 (Documentation of above paragraph)
5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
7 And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
8 And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
9 According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. (KJV)
NOTE: Elizabeth and Zacharias were the mother and father of John The Baptist.
The King line (Judah) through Mother Mary's father:
We find this in [Luke 3:23-38]. In this scripture we see the genealogy of Heli (Mary's father):
Luke 3:23-38
23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty
years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph,
which was the son of Heli*1,
Explanations for above verse: *1 Joseph, which was the son of Heli = At face value it would appear that Joseph is the son of Heli; but this is not the case. Joseph is the son-in-law of Heli. Do you remember when I told you to remember verse 15 &16 of Matthew chapter1? I will resupply them below to illustrate that Heli could not be Joseph's biological father.
Matt 1:15-16
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph*1the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. (KJV)
Explanations for above verses: *1 And Jacob begat Joseph = Joseph was begat (sired from) Jacob, Jacob was Joseph's father, therefor Heli could not be Joseph's father. There is a simple explanation for this, in those days if a man (Heli) did not have any sons to carry on his name, then the husband (Joseph) of his (Heli's) oldest daughter (Mary) became his son "by law," and inherited everything. Even to this very day in our culture we have what is known as a son "in law," but we don't place the great value that they did back then.
Below in the next verse we will see that Heli is a direct descendant of Adam (from the Garden of Eden), and Adam was formed by God, and thus God is the Father of Adam and the first in the genealogy of Heli, Mary's father, and thus half of the genealogy of Mary, the mother of Christ. Jesus Christ, the greatest King and Priest forever, The King of Kings and Lord of Lord's [Rev 19:16]; and Forever a Priest after the order of Melchisadek [Heb 6:20], thereby fulfilling the prophecy that was written of Him!
Luke 3:24-38
24 Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,....(and now we skip to verse 38) 38 Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. (KJV)
And now we go back and pick it up were we left off at verse 17 in our study of Matthew:
17 So all the generations from
Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until
the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from
the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen
generations.
18 Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was on this wise*1: When
as his mother Mary was espoused*2 to Joseph, before they came
together*3, she was found
with child of the Holy Ghost*4.
Explanations for above verse: *1 was on this wise = This is how it was, this is what transpired. *2 espoused = Betrothed, Promised to, similar to our present day engagement period. *3 before they came together = Before they had married and consummated the marriage with sexual intercourse. *4 she was found with child of the Holy Ghost = She was made to become pregnant by the power of the Holy Ghost (The Holy Spirit of God).
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man*1, and not willing to make her a publick example*2, was minded to put her away privily*3.
Explanations for above verse: *1 being a just man = Desirous of obeying the law. *2 not willing to make her a publick example = Not wanting to expose her to shame. This exposure would have necessitated her being stoned to death, according to the law of [Duet 22:22] which was very much in effect at this time. *3 was minded to put her away privily = To break off their relationship without telling everyone why he was doing it. ie: not telling everyone that Mary had gotten pregnant by another man. Joseph had trouble believing Mary's story to him of how she became pregnant. Joseph was no doubt hurt by Mary's haven been unfaithful to him with another man; but in those days Mary and whoever got her pregnant would have been publicly stoned to death as required by the law (Duet 22:23-24). Joseph, even though hurt, did not want Mary to be shamed and killed.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife*1: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost*2.
Explanations for above verse: *1 fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife = Go ahead and marry her, your fears of her infidelity are wrong. *2 that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost = The child growing inside her is not the product of sexual relations, but is by divine intercession of the Holy Spirit of God.
21 And she shall bring forth a son*1, and thou shalt call his name JESUS*2: for he shall save his people from their sins*3.
Explanations for above verse: *1 she shall bring forth a son = Her pregnancy will result in the birth of a boy. *2 JESUS = This is "Jehoshua" in Hebrew and it is translated in English to mean: "God Savior, or God who [is] Salvation. "Jehoshua"is composed of two Hebrew words: "Jah," meaning: God; and "Hoshea," meaning: Savior, or salvation. Jesus' name in Hebrew (Jehoshua) is pronounced: "Yeh- shoe-wa." *3 he shall save his people from their sins = He is the one who will save. Through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ all that believe upon Him can have forgiveness and everlasting life.
22 Now all this was
done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet,*1saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be
with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his
name Emmanuel,
which being interpreted is, God with us*2.
Explanations for above verses: *1 ...fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet = This is telling us that what is happening here was foretold of long ago (prophecy). Below is the Old Testament scripture that this is referring to. *2 Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us = Emmanuel being translated to English means: "God with us," and God truly was with us when Jesus walked the earth, for as Jesus stated in [John 10:30]: "I and my Father are one."
Isa 7:10-14 (Prophecy from 649 BC to 588 BC)
10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.
12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife*1:
Explanations for above verse: *1 and took unto him his wife = Joseph married Mary so that she would not appear to be an unwed mother, for the townsfolk would not have believed her story of a virgin birth, many of the ignorant don't believe it to this very day. Back in those days it was a great shame to be an unwed mother, and certainly not a fitting birth for the Messiah. God was protecting Mary's credibility and reputation.
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son*1: and he called his name JESUS*2. (KJV)
Explanations for above verse: *1 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son = Joseph did not consummate the marriage by sexual intercourse until after Mary gave birth to Jesus. *2 JESUS = God Savior, Savior from God.
There seems to be a misconception that Mother Mary remained a virgin her whole life. This is not the case and is simply the false teaching of certain denominations that have elevated Mother Mary to the status of a goddess, something that must sorrow her greatly in Heaven. In verse 25 above, it states that Joseph " knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son." That means that he did not have sexual relations with her UNTIL she had Jesus, but then he did so at a later time.
And Jesus is referred to as her FIRSTBORN son, that means there were more after him. You don't call someone a firstborn if there isn't a second born, you would either call him a son, or an only son, but not the firstborn of one. Not surprising is the fact that the Vatican Manuscripts omit the words: "her firstborn" from the verse above [Mt 1:25]. However they forgot to corrupt the identical passage in the book of Luke. Below is a second scriptural witness to the fact that Jesus was Mary's FIRSTBORN of others.
Luke 2:4-11
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (KJV)
It is not known why certain false teachers/preachers decided to make Mary out to be an eternal virgin, for Mary did nothing wrong or shameful by having children with her lawful wedded husband; and she was in fact simply obeying God's command as stated to all peoples in [Gen 1:28]:
Gen 1:27-28
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. (KJV)
Mary had four other sons and at least three daughters. These other children were sired by Joseph and were the stepbrothers and stepsisters of Jesus with a common mother and two different fathers, Jesus' Father of course being Almighty God through virgin birth.
Matt 12:47-50 (Christ's words in Bold)
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (KJV)
Jesus wasn't being rude to His mother and His brothers, He was simply saying that all could be grafted into that eternal family of God.
Below we see Jesus' four stepbrothers mentioned by name. His sisters are not named nor numbered but by the use of the phrase "are they not ALL with us?" we can determine that there were at least three sisters. If there was only one sister then it would have read as: "his sister," and if Jesus had two sisters it would read as: "are they not with us;" but it reads: "are they not ALL with us," meaning at least three maybe more.
Matt 13:53-58
53 And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58 And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. (KJV)
I hope you enjoyed studying that first chapter as much a I have; and I hope you continue studying with us the entire book of Matthew, chapter by chapter and verse by verse. God's Word tells us of all things, and in this chapter we see that it cut through a couple of the myths and fairy tales that are taught by traditions and precepts of men in the false churches of today.
Sadly, God's Word is seldom taught in-depth in our generation, but we will continue to study it as it is written, and if God's Written Word contradicts what the false teachers tell us, so be it. For we are not accountable to a false teacher/preacher, but we are accountable to God. God bless you and your studies in the name of the one we are learning of here, Jesus Christ.
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