MAN (17)
[p. 296] MAN (17)
Matthew 1:1 - 25; Matthew 2:1 - 23; Matthew 4:1 - 11.
JT It is thought that we should go on with the New Testament and it is proposed to read from Matthew, which affords much to instruct us as to man, especially in relation to the assembly. Matthew is the assembly gospel as we understand. The Lord refers to man, in answering the devil, that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word proceeding out of the mouth of God, which is peculiarly fitting in considering the subject of man in the assembly gospel, in which it is said, “On this rock I will build my assembly, and hades’ gates shall not prevail against it”, Matthew 16:18.
EAL Joseph is called a righteous man.
JT A very fitting term for the subject before us, the idea of a righteous man.
VCL Is there something in the fact that the generations are mentioned? Are we carried back to God’s early thoughts of man as though to show the purity of the wholly right seed and that it came right down?
JT Just so, the Son of David is mentioned, and the Son of Abraham. So that the word is, “Book of the generation of Jesus Christ, Son of David, Son of Abraham”. I suppose David is mentioned first because the kingdom is involved. He is said to be “the king” in verse 6.
FHL Joseph is brought in on that line, as son of David, is he not?
JT Yes, quite so.
EEH Does the fact that only certain men are selected for the generations emphasise the idea of choice, a certain kind of man; not any man?
JT So that man is particularly in the whole matter; forty-two generations of men. It is not the [p. 297] generations as in Luke where the word “of” is used; it is the begetting here, which is a masculine idea.
CFE Jehovah said of David that he was a man after His own heart.
JT Just so, who would do all His will.
SCM Jehovah said that He had found David.
ANW The last fourteen generations are said to have been “from the carrying away of Babylon unto the Christ”, the anointed Man of God’s choice.
JT We might say the Messiah.
SCM Is it not worthy of note that Ruth, the Moabitess, is in the line from which David sprang?
JT There are certain persons that might be regarded, from a human standpoint, as dishonouring the generations, but they are mentioned nevertheless, inclusive of Ruth, and the wife of Urijah the Hittite, as if God is above all that may be discreditable, because redemption has been accomplished.
AR Joseph is referred to as the son of David here. Is it important to note that?
JT It is, because David is called the king, and kingship according to David is in mind. It is not any king, but kingship according to God comes in with David; he was the king.
AR Is Joseph in the royal line?
JT Just so; he belongs to the line of David, who is the king. We shall see the idea of kingship running through the gospel of Matthew; the idea of government or rule is found in this gospel, therefore David comes before Abraham in the first verse.
ANW While certain of the feminine characters mentioned here may be spoken of as disreputable, the Christ must be of the virgin, “The virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son”.
JT Just so, that is quoted from Isaiah.
CAM Would you say something about the fact that there were three sets of fourteen generations?
[p. 298] Would it mean that a certain history had to be gone through to bring us to Christ?
JT Well, quite so; that is to say the idea of the Messiah is in mind, and that idea runs right through Scripture.
EJF Would that be confirmed by the frequent references to things being fulfilled that had been spoken before?
JT All matters relative to promise are involved; they are mentioned right through the book. It is a question of the promises made to the fathers, and especially the ruling element.
EJF So that we are coming to the real thought of man now in Christ?
JT That is the idea. “Man shall not live by bread alone”, the Lord said, as He answered Satan, “but by every word which goes out through God’s mouth”. And another thing that should be in our minds is that man is comparatively recent in the creation. Perhaps some of us have not thought that the creation of man is more recent than almost anything in the creation.
AP Is it to emphasise royalty in Matthew that the generations do not go back to Adam?
JT Well, Son of David is royalty but then, Son of Abraham is stated also.
A,P. Luke carries us back to Adam.
JT Adam is said to be “of God” Luke 3:38 in Luke; the genealogy is carried back to Adam and then to God. The word ‘begotten’ is not used in Luke, it is more the female side rather than the male idea.
CAM It is very interesting that the genealogy should be written in these different ways in the two gospels and that in Matthew it is the masculine side giving character as the truth develops.
JT The masculine is seen in the idea of begetting as it says here, “Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob ...”.
[p. 299] It is the male side which implies responsibility more so than the female side.
CAM Considering this masculine thought in Matthew, with the fact that the promises are in mind, makes it a very wonderful matter.
JT Think of the details that the blessed God Himself has gone into to bring all these details to light for us now in this remarkable book of Matthew, running down the forty-two generations! Think of all the details required to bring it out; and it is perfectly accurate, every thought of it. Certain omissions are made but God is perfectly accurate in making them; there is a reason for each omission in the genealogy, and if we look into it we will find that it is so.
WWM Please say more about man being brought into the creation recently. Do you mean that God prepared the creation and then brought man into it?
JT It is wonderful that God should wait for centuries for the time to bring in the Lord Jesus, and to tell us about it as He does here.
ANW The Spirit’s comment in Hebrews 2:16 is, “For he does not indeed take hold of angels by the hand, but he takes hold of the seed of Abraham”, Hebrews 2:16. That book notes the importance of the place of angels but shows that they are subordinated to man.
FHL Man comes in as a result of divine counsel “Let us make man”, Genesis 1:26. That could only be said as to man, could it not?
JT The word ‘us’ is plural, “Let us make man”. And then it says, “Let them have dominion”. That, too, is a plural word; “let them have dominion”. The woman is brought into it.
Ques Were the sons of God, mentioned in Job 38, created earlier than man?
JT Undoubtedly, “The sons of God shouted for joy”, Job 38:7. They would be angels undoubtedly. The [p. 300] celebrations were by angels. We cannot say when angels were created.
WWM Is it right that the great thought of God in bringing in the creation was to put man in it? And would man in it according to His purpose have the whole universe in mind?
JT Angels celebrated the creation, the founding of the earth, and no doubt man was in mind. The angels were taken up with it.
ANW They “shouted for joy”.
EM Mention has been made as to God making the creation and putting man into it, but is it right that in new creation God has His man in Christ, and He is going to make the new creation for Him?
JT He is said to be the beginning of the creation of God, not the new creation. The book of Revelation mentions that Christ is “the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” Revelation 3:14. It is not the beginning of the new creation, but the beginning of the creation.
SCM “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things to be in his hand”, John 3:35. Would that fit in with what we are saying?
JT That is peculiar to John’s gospel; the Father has done that.
AR That is in time, is it not? But “the beginning of the creation of God” Revelation 3:14 refers to the beginning of things, does it not?
JT The beginning of things, exactly. In all things He must have the pre-eminence, even if it is in relation to the ordinary physical creation. It is not that He is part of creation, but He has had to do with it, according to John 1.
VCL Would the decency of man suggest that God would only allow a limited time to intervene between the creation of Adam and the bringing in of Christ? It says that “when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son”, Galatians 4:4 and I wondered [p. 301] if that linked with the decency of man, that it was not a protracted period between the creation of Adam and the coming in of Christ.
JT The period, relatively speaking, was not a protracted one. The creation of man was comparatively recent. It can be reckoned historically, about six thousand years, as far as we know. And the final era will be the millennium; that is coming in after the present dispensation ends. We are waiting for that, the millennium will be the seventh great division in time.
SCM In our chapter it says that David begat Solomon. Would that suggest that there is something coming in after the reign of David? Will it be the character of Solomon’s reign in the millennium?
JT Yes, I see what you mean. The millennium will be the reign of peace.
TNW If these men in the generations give character to each succeeding generation, that must stop short as to Christ Himself, must it not? None gave character to Him.
JT That would be seen in the Lord’s own remark that a greater than Solomon is here. The Lord must always have the pre-eminence in everything. Solomon may be figurative of Christ but Christ is greater than Solomon.
ANW David knew it well, because he called Him Lord in Psalm 110. The Lord raised the question, “If therefore David call him Lord, how is he his son?”, Matthew 22:45. David knew who the great Son is.
FHL After the Babe is born the enquiry is “Where is the king?”. Is that in contrast to Herod? Though a Child, He is the King.
JT Yes, “The king ... that has been born”. The magi had that in their minds, the King had been born. They had come a long distance and when they saw Him they worshipped Him. They recognised the divine dignity that [p. 302] was there.
EJF Would the two names given here have a bearing on that? “Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins”, and again, “They shall call his name Emmanuel, which is, being interpreted, ‘God with us’”. Do these names set forth the greatness of Christ and convey to us what a great matter has taken place?
JT Just so, there could not be a greater thought than God with us.
ANW We may wonder why Matthew, in verse 6, did not complete his quotation from Micah, which goes on to say, “Whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity”, Micah 5:2. That involves Deity.
JT The Spirit of God had all this in mind, and we ought always to keep in mind that the Spirit of God is here in relation to the things of God and the whole position is held.
AR Verse 21 says, “He shall save his people from their sins”, Does that refer to the Jews?
JT I suppose the Jew would be in mind, but it is His people. So the question is whether we can say that it is only the Jews, because we are His people too. But I daresay that it is a Jewish term.
AR I wondered if it confirmed what has been said, that Matthew brings in the Messiah, he identifies Him with a remnant.
JT Well, quite so.
VCL Would His people be seen in John 1:12: “He came to his own, and his own received him not; but as many as received him, to them gave he the right to be children of God”? John 1:12. We are His by right.
JT The children of God are His people peculiarly.
DP Is the light thrown backward over the generations to establish the legal rights of the Lord to the throne?
JT Just so; “his people” would allude to that; He is the King; but then He is God Himself, “God with us”
[p. 303] Ques What link had Mary with these generations? The Lord had no link at all with Joseph, had he? Joseph was not really His father.
JT Oh, he was, officially; that is the idea here. Mary was the wife of Joseph, he had an official link with her; that is the legal idea. It says, “Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary”.
Ques Why is the public position stressed here? Is it because Joseph was the husband of Mary that the Lord has a link with this generation?
JT Well, the Lord Jesus was begotten by the Holy Spirit, through Mary, so that the Lord had no link with Joseph in that sense. Joseph had a public link as the husband of Mary.
EAL It says in Luke 3:23, “And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years old; being as was supposed son of Joseph”, Luke 3:23. That ‘supposed’ can only be understood spiritually?
JT Yes, quite so. It is quite clear that there is no link with Joseph as far as the Lord’s birth is concerned, for He was begotten of the Holy Spirit. The birth of the Lord Jesus is mysterious.
Rem So that this is the public position.
JT Yes, it is to be kept clear in our minds at all times that the official thought is the great point in Matthew.
WWM It says that Joseph was “unwilling to expose her publicly”. That would be the public position. And then it says in the footnote, “The expression is characteristic: ‘being a man not willing’”. He was characteristically a man unwilling to expose.
JT He was a righteous man, and that is a great point. But we must keep clear as to the Lord Himself, that He is a divine Person and that He became incarnate; that is the word we use, and rightly so. He became incarnate, taking man’s place [p. 304] here below.
RFD Why do we hear no more of Joseph when the Lord takes His place in public testimony? We often hear of His mother, but never again of Joseph.
JT There is nothing said about that. He is mentioned commendably in this section. We do not know when he died.
Ques He shines in this chapter in that he pondered. Would that not help all of us in relation to the ministry and the truth generally? Paul says, “Think of what I say, for the Lord will give thee understanding in all things”, 2 Timothy 2:7.
ANW Is it not a wonderful thing that while the incarnation is a divine act, yet an honest and conscientious Jew in whom God is working can trace his Messiah legally in these verses?
JT Quite so, that is the point in Matthew. The legal side is alluded to in Matthew.
EAL Joseph had certain latitude when he returned from Egypt into the land of Israel in chapter 2. He went into the parts of Galilee, and so fulfilled the prophecy: “He shall be called a Nazaraean”. His change of locality fulfilled prophecy.
JT Very good, and God gives the same latitude to us oftentimes. God is God, but He comes down to where we are and He allows certain latitude. We make much of authenticity in a certain sense, but we also recognise certain latitude which God allows, bearing on His service.
Ques Does Joseph represent the saints as caring for and protecting the interests of the Lord?
JT Very good. You can see what a man he was. He was selected for this place and he acted rightly in it. He did what was needed.
EEH Our subject is man, but chapter 2 emphasises the little Child.
JT God would have that; the Spirit of God in recording these facts would make mention [p. 305] of the little Child. But He is always mentioned before His mother.
FHL The great thought of man has to be reached through a process of development?
JT Quite so; according to Luke He grew, there was development, He was a real Man. Luke would tell us that He was subject to His parents.
FHL It is a great thing to make a start, I suppose, and to have an objective, and we find the Spirit of God available to help us into the fuller thought.
AR The wise men saw both the little Child and His mother, but they worshipped Him: “And having come into the house they saw the little child with Mary his mother, and falling down did him homage. And having opened their treasures, they offered to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh”. There is a dogma being presented at me present time about Mary, but the wise men recognised Him alone.
JT It is a blasphemous thing and we do well to be stern in refusing it. These magi are to be particularly noted, they are distinguished men: “Now Jesus having been born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the days of Herod the king, behold magi from the east arrived at Jerusalem, saying, Where is the king of the Jews that has been born?”. Herod would use them in his effort to destroy the Child but they returned to their own country another way; they knew what to do, they went “another way”, which is very remarkable. They discerned the real condition with Herod. God was in it no doubt, but they departed into their own country another way. We are not told what that other way was; they did it of themselves and God accepted it.
AR Did they get light as to conditions in verse 12?
JT Just so. “And being divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way”.
[p. 306] They were wise men, and it is for us to be wise in things of this kind and know what to do.
Ques Are we to be helped as to the side of things which Herod suggests which would seek to destroy that which is of God?
JT Just so, because he did destroy the children; he did not destroy the Lord Jesus; it would not be permitted that he should, but he did destroy the children we are told, in chapter 2: 16 “Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the magi, was greatly enraged; and sent and slew all the boys which were in Bethlehem, and in all its borders, from two years and under”. What a terrible thing that was! A wicked idea came into his mind, and he destroyed the boys of two years old and under.
GVD The second Psalm tells where the kings of this world stood. They took counsel against the Lord and against His anointed, but “he that dwelleth in the heavens shall laugh”, Psalm 2:4. God will have the final say.
JT Yes, quite so.
FHL During war periods the requirements of the authorities would come in between the parents and the children, to take the young men. We see evidences of manhood coming to light in our young but the authorities would claim them for the army.
JT The governments of certain countries permit non-combatant service, whereas at the beginning of the first great war there was considerable question about that and quite a little persecution too, but God has mercifully come in and provided a way through, and we should thank Him for it.
ANW Has not that change come about, to a considerable extent, through the commendable testimony and conduct of the young men?
JT That has often been referred to and it has been taken [p. 307] account of by the authorities.
ANW The young men should consider that.
WWM Have not our brethren been helped in placing before the government the same principles in relation to trade unionism in view of getting governmental recognition of conscience? Some may not be quite clear about that.
JT Well, I think God is helping on that line and the authorities are coming to see the issue. We should continue to pray that it may be so, that the thing might go through. Certain things have happened lately which indicate that our prayers are being answered. Therefore we should carry on in prayer, because prayer brings God into these matters.
VCL The scripture we are considering speaks of a most critical time in which heaven took great interest and in which manhood came to light in Joseph. Several times there is direct instruction from heaven, to the wise men and to Joseph. In each case there is a desire to do what is right and heaven immediately comes in with the guiding word.
SCM Similar conditions are seen in connection with the birth of Moses; the king of Egypt sought to destroy all the male children but Moses was preserved.
JT God came in to preserve Moses despite the efforts of the king; the midwives were charged to destroy all the males. Terrible thing! It is a similar idea to what we have here.
SCM God made the midwives houses because they were faithful. God would compensate where there are right feelings.
Ques Would these boys be regarded as suffering for Christ?
JT Do you mean the boys of two years old and under that were slain? I am sure that God would take account of that.
EAL They would represent potential manhood?
JT Potential manhood; that [p. 308] is good.
EJF The references to the angel of the Lord should encourage us. You have often remarked that God, by angelic means, can come in and help in relation to the governments, whereas we cannot take part in government.
ANW “And he was there until the death of Herod”. That is a restrained statement but a very ominous one. He was there until the death of Herod.
AR Do the references to the angels in this chapter suggest the place heaven and the kingdom of the heavens have in the book? Is the rule of the heavens a feature in the book?
JT The kingdom of the heavens is a great feature in Matthew; not so much the kingdom of God but the kingdom of the heavens.
AR The angel is called the angel of the Lord. The footnote refers to him as the angel of Jehovah.
JT Well, it would be the same idea, of course, only the word ‘Lord’ may be used designedly to bring in the idea of authority which is stressed in Matthew.
CAM Does not Matthew have a special link with the Old Testament scriptures?
JT That is right.
Ques Would the mention of the angel of the Lord suggest that God was alert, speaking reverently, to guard the One who was coming in?
JT Well, quite so, the angel of the Lord, or of Jehovah, would convey the idea of authority. It belongs peculiarly to Matthew.
Ques Do we have angelic disclosures today?
JT I do not think so; I understand that they are used providentially. This came before us in Australia. We discussed angelic services and intervention, and what was said at that time is available in the printed notes; angelic intervention is used of God to interfere with things that are against the truth. God comes in for us, in mercy. So that [p. 309] trade unionism may be taken into account in this sense, for God comes in to restrain men and He uses angelic intervention.
AP That is seen in Acts 12 where the angel of the Lord smote Herod.
EAL In Hebrews 1:14 it says, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out for service on account of those who shall inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14.
JT Quite so, that is angelic service.
ANW It is remarkable that Philip had a word from an angel and from the Holy Spirit; the angel directed him first and then the Spirit spoke to him.
JT Yes; and in Acts 10 the Spirit spoke in the same way to Peter.
SCM In Matthew 4:11, it says, “Behold, angels came and ministered to him”, Matthew 4:11.
JT Yes, that was the Lord.
AR In chapter 4:7 it says, “Jesus said to him, It is again written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”. The footnote says ‘Jehovah’. Does that suggest that the Lord is Jehovah?
JT Well, it is simply that, “Ye shall not tempt Jehovah your God”, as it says in Deuteronomy 6:16.
AR But the Lord Himself is God, is He not?
JT Just so; but this reference to the Lord thy God is not the Lord Jesus; it is God: “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God”.
CAM The Lord Jesus was speaking as Man when He said that, was He not?
JT He was quoting from Deuteronomy.
CAM So that He magnified the idea of manhood.