Participants: Glenn Russell & Ranko Stefanovic (Host)
Series Code: MTBOTB
Program Code: MTBOTB000002A
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00:22 Hi, I'm Glenn Russell your host.
00:24 Welcome to our 'Books of the Book' series. 00:26 This one is the special exploration 00:28 of the Gospel of Matthew. 00:31 It's a wonderful thing to be able 00:32 to spend time digging into God's word 00:35 Thats what we are doing in this series. 00:37 We are exploring the Book of Matthew 00:39 with our guest teacher Dr. Ranko Stefanovic. 00:42 As we explore that word, we're gonna find out 00:44 that the more we learn about how it's written, 00:46 who its written to, the more we can appreciate 00:49 God's wonderful blessings here, in His word. 00:52 So let's enter into prayer, 00:54 as we ask God to guide us in our study 00:56 and discussion of His word. 00:57 Let's pray together Lord, before we turn into your word, 01:01 we ask you to--we can turn our hearts to you. 01:04 May we set aside other preoccupations, 01:06 may we set aside any distractions 01:09 and may we just listen to Your voice 01:11 speaking to us through Your word. 01:13 In Jesus name we pray, amen. Amen. 01:16 Wanna welcome back Dr. Ranko Stefanovic. 01:18 Ranko, dear friend and colleague 01:20 at Andrew's University, 01:21 you are professor of the New Testament. 01:23 You served as a pastor, you're now seminary professor. 01:27 What is that about the scripture 01:28 that just draws your heart 01:30 and especially this Book of Matthew? 01:33 The Bible affects human lives. 01:37 You cannot read it and stay indifferent. 01:41 It changed your life? It changed my life completely. 01:43 And it continues to change and impact it. 01:45 Now we are looking at the Gospel 01:47 according to Matthew. 01:48 Last time we had little bit of an introduction, 01:50 we saw that Matthew inspired 01:52 by the Holy Spirit is writing to, 01:56 probably a predominantly Jewish audience, 01:58 although it's a timeless book. 02:00 It's appealed to every generation even does today. 02:04 And He's wanting to tell us something 02:06 about the kingdom of God, 02:09 the kingdom of Heaven rather 02:10 and a focus on Jesus as our Lord and Savior and King. 02:14 We looked at the fact 02:15 that there's five blocks of material. 02:18 That they kinda remind 02:19 the Jewish reader of the Pentateuch. 02:22 Now, when we open the book we begin reading, 02:25 I want to just read the first part of the beginning. Please. 02:28 And see if you have reaction here, 02:29 the first verse we all get into Matthew 1:1. 02:34 "The book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, 02:36 the son of David, the son of Abraham". 02:39 Now we're all with you till that part, 02:40 but then verse 2 "Abraham begat Isaac, 02:44 Isaac begat Jacob, Jacob begat Judah 02:47 and his brothers, Judah begat Phares 02:49 and Zara by Tamar, Phares begat" 02:51 right about now, people falling asleep. 02:55 What a strange way for us, 02:57 to think a beginning a book by a genealogy. 03:02 What's so important about genealogy? 03:04 Okay, I have to admit when I was a young person, 03:09 by the age 12, I have read my Bible three times through, 03:14 but I must admit there are some portions of the Bible 03:16 that I came to read I simply skip it, 03:20 and this was one of those sections the first 17 verses 03:23 I would simply skip and keep on reading. 03:26 But let me tell you something, 03:29 when you write a book like the Gospel of Matthew, 03:34 you put the most important 03:36 and the most significant things at the very beginning. 03:39 Okay, but for us genealogies aren't very important. 03:41 I know it. See, among the Jewish people, 03:45 genealogy was very important. 03:47 You know genealogies were done and kept with priest, 03:51 so people knew where they belonged especially 03:53 if the person was fit for the priestly ministry. 03:57 And there are some parts of the world today 03:59 where genealogy is very much-- much important 04:02 so that you can trace your origin where you belong to. 04:05 Infact Josephus begins his autobiography 04:08 with the genealogy to prove your purity, 04:10 your credibility, your credential. 04:12 If my great grandfather was a significant 04:15 rich person known in the world, 04:18 I would be so eager to trace my genealogy 04:20 to remind people who actually I am 04:23 and where I came from. 04:24 However, genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew 04:31 is not the real genealogy. 04:32 You suggesting there's gonna be some 04:34 fascinating things in this Genealogy. 04:36 First how does genealogy begin? 04:38 This is the Book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, 04:42 the son of David, and then you have the son of Abraham. 04:46 First David is not the son of Abraham, 04:48 the generation generations between the two. 04:51 Why the son of David, 04:53 because in the Gospel of Matthew, 04:55 Jesus is the king, who came to the earth 04:58 and it refers to that promise given to David 05:02 that God will have his offspring 05:04 who will sit on the throne of David and rule forever. 05:09 But the son of Abraham refers to the covenant promise 05:13 that God made to Abraham that through his seed, 05:17 through his offspring, all the nations 05:20 of the earth will be blessed. 05:22 So the begin of the genealogy is to tell us 05:25 that actually those promises made to David 05:28 and to Abraham are now to come to be true. 05:32 So a Jewish reader, reading this in the first century 05:35 would be amazed to see the claim from the first verse. 05:38 Jesus has the right to be a king 05:40 and He's the fulfillment of the covenant promises, 05:42 the one they will be looking forward to. 05:44 Let's keep in mind 05:45 to whom the Gospel of Matthew was originally written. 05:48 When we go to the Gospel of Luke, 05:49 Luke also has genealogy in Chapter 3, 05:52 but he does not begin with David or Abraham. 05:56 Actually he concludes he got in a reverse order, 05:59 but he concludes with Adam and the son of God, 06:02 because in the Gospel, you remember, 06:04 the Gospel of Luke was written to non Jews 06:07 so he wanted to show that Jesus 06:08 was actually a Savior of the entire humankind. 06:12 So we have an idea here that Jesus is the one 06:15 who has the right to be on the throne. Yes. 06:18 Now Matthew will spend the rest book showing 06:20 He's the different kind of king 06:22 than they expected. Yes. 06:23 And secondly, He's the covenant for fulfillment, 06:25 He's the Messiah they have been longing for, 06:27 we'll see much more of that. 06:29 What else should we notice 06:30 in the way the genealogy is structured? 06:31 Glenn, this genealogy, 06:34 the primary reason of this genealogy 06:37 is not really to trace, 06:40 that to least going up to Abraham. 06:43 How do you know that? 06:44 Because this is not an ordinary genealogy 06:47 for which reasons, you know when you have genealogies, 06:50 it's very, very important that all names 06:52 in the list are included. 06:54 However, when we read the Gospel of Matthew, 06:58 this genealogy is there're several names 07:01 that are not mentioned. 07:04 And this is usually 07:05 what the Bible students want to understand 07:07 and the question is why? 07:09 Why certain names are taken out? 07:12 But there is much more. 07:13 You will notice in this Geneo, 07:15 usually in Jewish genealogy, men they bear children. 07:20 You see, Abraham. 07:22 You're not speaking biologically? 07:24 No biologically. In geneology. 07:25 But his because its men that counts in Genealogy. 07:29 But what here unusual is, that four women 07:33 actually are mentioned, and let me give their names, 07:37 in verse 3 its Tamar. 07:40 Yes and Tamar is not usually one 07:43 that we teach our children much about. 07:44 No, no. Then in verse 5 it's Ruth, 07:47 Moabite, Tamar was Canaanite, 07:51 Rahab was Canaanite, in verse 5 as well. 07:55 And then we have something very unusual in verse 6. 08:00 There is one that is mentioned not by name, 08:04 as the wife of the one the she was-- 08:07 the woman that was the wife of Uriah Hittite. 08:10 Doesn't even say Bathsheba. 08:12 The mother of Solomon. 08:13 And usually the Bible students, 08:15 they ask the question why? 08:17 Why such a genealogy is? 08:19 There is something about these women 08:24 that we can learn. 08:26 Number one, they are all non Israelites. 08:30 So you are talking about Gentiles whose-- 08:33 were usually outside, you know, 08:35 if you gonna be priest here to prove your tree 08:37 went all the way back to Aaron 08:39 and now in Jesus genealogy you have Gentiles, non Jews. 08:43 And there is something more. How can that be possible? 08:45 All these four women they had their men 08:50 in their life prior to the one mentioned in the genealogy. 08:55 You know all those four women are the wives 08:58 of those mentioned genealogy are Israelites, 09:00 but all of them they had husband 09:03 or they were involved with a man 09:05 before the one mentioned in the genealogy. 09:08 Why is that? See this is not usual genealogy. 09:11 Its purpose is to tell us the salvation 09:15 is not limited to the Jews. 09:17 It deal with the universality of salvation 09:20 and actually he's telling us 09:22 also the scope of the salvation. 09:25 Actually Jesus came to save the sinners. 09:29 So you are saying in spite of the fact 09:30 that one is a prostitute, 09:32 one is involved with immorality, 09:34 others have other issues, still God is working. 09:38 Yeah, but there is much more. All right. 09:41 When we read this genealogy 09:44 and probably for the sake of time, 09:46 we don't have time to read all those 17 verses. 09:51 But when you read genealogy from verse one all up to 17, 09:54 that's not really Genealogy, 09:55 it's the history of the people of Israel. 09:59 Now, you--are you taking that from the structure 10:02 that it's the history of Israel? 10:03 No, it's from the very, very genealogy. 10:06 You know, in Jewish Genealogy 10:07 number one women are not mentioned, never its man. 10:10 Second one, it's only this person bore that one 10:15 and he bore another one, but we have here 10:17 certain events mentioned in genealogy. 10:21 So the events are mentioned, 10:23 so to show that actually this genealogy 10:26 is really the history of God's people 10:29 in the Old Testament times what makes 10:31 this genealogy very, very unique. 10:33 So, so Ranko, you suggest that within this family tree, 10:36 this genealogy, there's specific time period breaks, 10:40 that are telling us that through this salvation, 10:43 through this experience of history 10:45 God is working at salvation. 10:47 He will use all kinds of people. 10:49 They know that you are still asking a question 10:52 what is then the purpose of this Genealogy? 10:54 What is the genealogy all about? 10:56 Okay can we talk about that? 10:57 Let's do it. What genealogy is? 10:59 Okay, when we read today 11:01 especially when we read in English translation 11:04 it doesn't make too much sense. 11:06 I have here in my Bible the record of the genealogy, 11:09 some other Bibles they use different expressions. 11:14 New King James Bible says 11:16 'this is the book of genealogy'. 11:19 You see, so many times it doesn't mean too much to us, 11:25 but for the Christian who were of Jewish origins, 11:29 who had their Bible as the Old Testament, 11:32 that expression would bring to their mind something else. 11:35 So Glenn, I've would like you to help me. 11:39 We can open the Book of Genesis 2:4. 11:43 Okay Genesis 2:4. Genesis 2:4. 11:47 Speaking of the wise men coming? 11:50 No, no, the Book of Genesis. 11:51 Genesis 2:4 excuse me, I'm so much in Matthew. 11:54 Yeah, we have chapter 1 11:56 we have the creation of heaven 11:58 and earth in seven days. 12:01 And now in chapter 2 verse 4 we have the explanation 12:05 in detail of the creation that God did 12:08 in chapter 1, so let's read. 12:10 "This is the history of Heaven's and the Earth 12:12 when they were created and the day 12:14 that the Lord God made the Earth and the Heaven's." 12:17 I just wanted to tell you, 12:18 we have problem here with this translation is. 12:21 In Hebrew it says 'this is the book of genealogy 12:24 of the heaven and the earth'. 12:26 In Hebrew, the same is inceptal change 12:30 which is actually the Greek 12:31 translation of the Old Testament. 12:34 Can you also read chapter 5 verse 1? 12:36 Chapter 5 of Genesis and verse 1. 12:41 'This is the book of genealogy of Adam.' 12:44 So if these are the only two places 12:47 in the Old Testament when this expression is found 12:50 'This is the Book of Genealogy' 12:53 only two times in the Old Testament, 12:55 its Genesis 2:4 and Genesis 5:1. 12:59 So tell me when the first century readers 13:01 of Jewish origin when they read Matthew 1:1 13:06 This is the book of genealogy of Jesus Christ, 13:08 what could come to their mind? 13:10 The echoes of those-- 13:11 The echoes of Genesis 2:4. 13:12 So now there's a question. 13:14 If Matthew indeed use this expression 13:17 from the Old Testament and wanted to use 13:22 to communicate the message to his readers 13:24 in the language that echoes the Old Testament, 13:28 then what is the purpose of all of this? 13:31 What is the message that the Holy Spirit 13:34 through Matthew wanted to communicate 13:37 to those Christians who lived there in the first century? 13:40 You're suggesting that the message 13:42 is lot more than biology? 13:43 Yes. And we will do it in just short time. 13:47 So we have been explaining the genealogy of Jesus. 13:50 There's lots more here and we are gonna come back 13:51 to that in just a moment. 13:53 After a break here with Ranko Stefanovic 13:55 in the Book of Matthew. |
Revised 2023-08-03