I am teaching a class on Wednesday night studying the gospel of Matthew using my combination of study/discussion questions and a lot of AI research. So I thought it might be good for blog readers to start following this study of all 28 chapters of Matthew chapter by chapter. So today I start with my chapter 1 questions and notes. I suggest that you have Matthew 1 open to read as you go through this.

MATTHEW DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

CH 1 

1 Why were the genealogy tables so important to the Jews?

AI: Genealogies were incredibly important to Matthew because they provided legal and theological proof that Jesus was the promised Jewish Messiah. By tracing Jesus’ lineage back to Abraham and David, Matthew anchored Christianity in concrete history and demonstrated that Jesus fulfilled centuries of Old Testament prophecy. Matthew’s genealogy served four main purposes:

• Messianic Legitimacy: To claim the throne of Israel, a claimant required a verifiable royal lineage. Matthew traced Jesus through the kingly line of David (via Solomon) to show that Jesus held the legal right to be the Messiah.
• Connection to the Covenants: By tracing the lineage to Abraham, Matthew highlighted that Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise to bless all nations through Abraham’s seed.
• Theological Structure: Matthew arranged the genealogy into three distinct sets of 14 generations (14 being the numerical value of the Hebrew letters for “David”). This mathematical symmetry acted as a “sermon” to his primarily Jewish audience, visually demonstrating that history was tightly ordered by God, moving perfectly from Abraham to the monarchy, to the exile, and finally to Christ.
• A Gospel for All People: Matthew intentionally included four women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba) in his list—a highly unusual practice for ancient patriarchal records. These women included Gentiles and those with complicated pasts. This signaled immediately that Jesus’ kingdom would include outcasts, Gentiles, and be open to the whole world

2 How long were the generations in the 42 generations in Matthew 1?

AI: God renamed Abram, who was born in 2167 BC, “Abraham” in 2068 BC when he was “ninety-nine years old” (Genesis 17:1); David was crowned king in 1010 BC; the southern kingdom of Judah was deported to Babylon in 586 BC; and Jesus was born about 6 BC (see When was Jesus born?). This means that the first set of “fourteen generations” in Matthew 1:17 covered 1,058 years (2068 BC to 1010 BC), the second set of “fourteen generations” covered 424 years (1010 BC to 586 BC), and the third set of “fourteen generations” covered about 580 years (586 BC to 6 BC).

So 1,058 + 424 + 580 =2,062 years from Abraham to Jesus. An average of 2,062/42 = 50 year generations although the 2nd and 3rd 14 were shorter and averaged 1,004/28 = 36 year generations.

3 What did a Jewish betrothal involve?

AI: In traditional Jewish law, a betrothal (kiddushin) is the legally binding first stage of marriage, establishing the couple as husband and wife While modern engagements are merely social promises, historical Jewish betrothal required a formal legal act.

A Jewish betrothal traditionally involved three binding legal and financial components:

• The Act of Acquisition (Kiddushin): The groom gave the bride an object of value, such as a coin or the traditional wedding band, or a formal written document (shtar), accompanied by the declaration: “You are hereby consecrated to me with this ring according to the law of Moses and Israel”.
• The Marriage Contract (Ketubah): Signed before or during the ceremony, this document served as a binding prenuptial agreement detailing the husband’s financial obligations to his wife. It guaranteed her financial support during the marriage and specified a settlement to be paid in the event of divorce or the husband’s death.
• Conditions of the Engagement (Tena’im): Separate from the ketubah, these terms were the stipulations laid out between the two families. They outlined the dowry, wedding date, and financial penalties to be paid if either party broke the engagement before the final wedding ceremony (nissuin).

In antiquity, the betrothal lasted about a year, during which the groom prepared a home for the couple. Although legally married, the couple could not live together or consummate the marriage until the final nissuin ceremony took place. Because the betrothal was legally binding, dissolving it required a formal religious divorce (get), even if the marriage had never been consummated.

4 What were the emotions that Joseph had during this?

5 What were the emotions Mary had? 

6 How long from the conception of Mary by the Holy Spirit until Joseph married her?

7 How many months of the one year betrothal had passed before the conception?

8 Did Mary tell Joseph about her pregnancy before or after the 3 month visit to Elizabeth

It is possible that 6 months of the one year betrothal had passed before the conception. And then after the 3 months with Elizabeth, Mary then tells Joesph she is pregnant. And Joesph immediately marries her while she is 3 month pregnant barely showing Which might help with the reaction of relatives and friends not knowing Mary conceived before marriage. .

9 How much did her friends and relatives know about the conception before marriage? 

It seems that Joseph married her quickly after the angel appeared to him, and it would have been strange if he married her months before the one year ended. Did Mary tell her parents she was pregnant? Did they send her away to Elizabeth? 

10 Was the prophecy of the virgin birth in Isaiah 7:14 only fulfilled in Jesus’ birth?

Review the history of the virgin birth prophecy from Isaiah 7-8. 

The prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 originates during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis (circa 734–732 BC), when the Kingdom of Judah was threatened by an invading alliance of Israel and Syria.

AI: The Historical Context (8th Century BC)

• The Crisis: King Rezin of Aram (Syria) and King Pekah of Israel launched a joint military campaign to siege Jerusalem. Their goal was to overthrow Judah’s King Ahaz, who refused to join their coalition against the expanding Assyrian Empire.
• The Fear: King Ahaz and the people of Judah were terrified, believing their utter destruction was imminent.
• The Message of Reassurance: God sent the prophet Isaiah to tell Ahaz to remain calm, promising that the enemy coalition would fail.
• The Sign: To prove this, Isaiah offered King Ahaz a miraculous sign. When Ahaz hypocritically refused to ask for one, God provided one anyway: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14, NIV).

The Near-Term Fulfillment

Scholars debate the exact identity of the child in Isaiah’s time, but the prophecy carried an immediate message of timekeeping:

• Timeline Marker: The sign stated that before this newly conceived child reached the age of knowing right from wrong (weaned, age 2 or 3?), the northern threats to Judah would be completely dismantled.
• Historical Result: This came to pass just a few years later when the Assyrian Empire intervened, destroying Damascus and conquering the Northern Kingdom of Israel. This coincided with the birth of a child to Isaiah by a prophetess. We assume he married a prophetess and it was a natural birth. 

The Original Hebrew Word: ‘Almah‘

A major point of historical and theological debate centers on the Hebrew word used in the original text: ‘almah.

• In ancient Hebrew, ‘almah translates to “young woman” or “maiden”. While young unmarried women in that culture were presumed to be virgins, the word itself does not strictly denote virginity (the distinct Hebrew word for a literal virgin is betulah). But the prophecy of the birth of a child to a “maiden” in 7:14 was made before Isaiah married a prophetess and had a child by natural birth. So young maiden who most likely was a virgin when the prophesy was made then married and had a child by natural birth. 
• Thus it appears that Isaiah 7:14 was only predicting the birth of Isaiah’s child. So in Matthew 1 says 22 Now all this [u]took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled and then he quotes Isaiah 7:14.
• This is a fulfillment by analogy. There are two ways OT prophecy was fulfilled:    1) A one and one only event like Micah 5:2           2) Fulfilled by analogy: a similar event to the OT event, such as Hosea 11:1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” Historically, this refers to God rescuing the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt during the Exodus. Yet Matthew 2:15, Matthew applies this verse to the infant Jesus returning from Egypt after escaping King Herod’s massacre. The prophet Hosea was looking backward at the nation of Israel’s history; he was not making a predictive statement about the future Messiah.
• You can see the analogy and how Matthew could say that Jesus was born to a virgin (parthenon in the Greek always meant a virgin). The maiden (almah) in Isaiah’s day was probably a virgin when the prophesy was made, and Mary was a virgin when she conceived, but the difference was that Mary did not have sex before the child was born as the maiden in Isaiah 7 did. But the analogy of the virgins is clear and the prophecy was fulfilled by analogy. 
• The name of the child to be born to Isaiah would be Immanuel, which means “with us is God”. It would not imply that the child born to Isaiah was God in the flesh. It would just mean the presence of God was with the people through the birth of the child.
• Isaiah 8 shows that the child born to Isaiah was called Immanuel: 5 Again the Lord spoke to me further, saying, 6 “Inasmuch as these people have rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah And rejoice in Rezin and the son of Remaliah; 7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord is about to bring on them the strong and abundant waters of the Euphrates River,That is, the king of Assyria and all his glory;And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks. 8 Then it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass through,It will reach as far as the neck;And the spread of its wings will fill the expanse of your land, Immanuel. 9 “Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; And listen, all remote places of the earth. Get ready, yet be shattered; Get ready, yet be shattered. 10 Devise a plan, but it will fail; State a proposal, but it will not stand, For God is with us.”

So in Matthew 1, the child born to the virgin Mary is called Immanuel b/c the birth of Jesus showed God’s presence among His people. He was even God in the flesh, but Isaiah was obviously not predicting a child in Isaiah’s time that would be God in the flesh incarnation like Jesus was.  So the name “Immanuel” is not only used of Jesus as God.

AI: The Shift to “Virgin Birth” (2nd Century BC)

• The Septuagint Translation: Centuries later, when Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek (a version known as the Septuagint), they translated the Hebrew word ‘almah‘ into the Greek word ‘parthenos’.
• Strict Meaning: Unlike the Hebrew term, the Greek word ‘parthenos’ explicitly and exclusively means “virgin”.

The Christian Fulfillment

The Gospel of Matthew applied Isaiah 7:14 directly to the birth of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:22-23). Matthew used the Greek Septuagint’s wording (parthenos) to highlight that Mary’s miraculous, non-sexual conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit was the ultimate, spiritual fulfillment of the prophecy (but only by analogy).

11 How important is it that someone believe in the virgin birth of Jesus? Can someone deny the virgin birth and still be a Christian? 

The Unitarians, liberal branches of the Episcopal and Presbyterian church, the Christodelphians, and United Church of Christ all deny the virgin birth.  Historically, this ancient Jewish-Christian sect the Ebionites in the early centuries of the Church viewed Jesus as the natural human son of Joseph and Mary who was “adopted” by God at his baptism

12 What are the Catholic doctrines about the virgin Mary?

Catholic doctrines about the Virgin Mary emphasize her unique role in God’s plan of salvation. These teachings are built upon four core Marian dogmas that define her sinless nature, divine motherhood, perpetual virginity, and bodily assumption into heaven.

AI: The Four Marian Dogmas

• Mother of God (Theotokos): Defined at the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), this doctrine asserts that Mary is truly the “Mother of God” because she gave birth to Jesus, who is both fully human and fully divine.
• Immaculate Conception: Defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854, this teaching states that, by a special grace from God, Mary was preserved free from original sin from the very moment of her own conception.
• Perpetual Virginity: This doctrine holds that Mary was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus, remaining a virgin her entire life. They say that the named brothers of Jesus were spiritual brothers or sons of Joseph from a previous marriage.
• Assumption: Defined by Pope Pius XII in 1950, this teaches that at the end of her earthly life, Mary was taken up (assumed) bodily and spiritually into heavenly glory.

Other Core Teachings

• Veneration, Not Worship: Catholics do not worship Mary (a privilege reserved for God alone). Instead, she is given hyperdulia—an extraordinary level of honor due to her unique role as the Mother of Christ.
• Intercession: Catholics pray to Mary in the sense of asking her to intercede on their behalf, meaning she brings their prayers to her Son, Jesus.
• Spiritual Motherhood: Catholics view Mary as the spiritual mother of all Christians, a title rooted in Jesus’ words on the cross (John 19:26-27).
• The New Eve: In Catholic theology, Mary is seen as the “New Eve” whose faithful obedience reversed the disobedience of the first Eve, helping to bring about salvation for humanity.

That’s chapter 1. Unless I change my mind, I will continue with blog articles on chapters 2-28, chapter by chapter. I hope this is beneficial to your private or group study.