October 2 - Matthew 1:18-2:23: Recurrence & Pivot Points

This week my assignment was to tear apart the story of Jesus' birth in Matthew.  I think one of the most fascinating things to observe is the different things the author uses to emphasize his point.  I am so used to just reading and accepting the narrative that I don't actually pay attention to the depth of the story.

I'll give you as much help here as I can, but if you can dig out your Bible and open up the passage, it will really help.  Or, heck just go here and read it.

One of the things that we look for in Inductive Bible study is recurrence.  What are things that happen over and over in the text?

If you read through the text, you discover the there are several things that the author uses again and again.

Matthew uses angelic appearances five different times in this passage (Matthew 1:20; 2:12, 13, 19, 22).  Joseph receives dreams telling him to take Mary as his wife, telling him to flee for Egypt, when to return from Egypt and then again to go on to Nazareth.  The wise men receive a dream from an angel telling them not to return to Herod.

Matthew also extensively uses the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.  If we believe that he is speaking to a predominantly Jewish audience, it makes sense that he is ensuring they see that Jesus Christ is the Messiah.  We see this happening in Matthew 1:23; 2:6, 18, 23)

We are beginning to see the structure of this segment come together.

Another thing that occurs is the use of a pivot - a crucial moment.  Can you find this in the passage?  If you look at Matthew 1:20-24, you see a major pivot when Joseph changes his mind following the angel's message to him.  Rather than setting Mary aside, he takes her as his wife.  What would have happened if he had disobeyed?  This is a transformative moment!

The next pivot point that happens is when the Wise Men return to their own country rather than going back and reporting to Herod in Matthew 2:12.  Again, consider the impact of that crucial moment in history.  Had they done anything differently, history would have quite a different look. 

The scriptures that we read are filled with small details that easily get passed over.  Learning to study scripture using this method is absolutely fascinating!  Tomorrow I'll show you a few more things that I discovered as I dug deeply into this passage.