For a description of the (Y2) reading plan, see the “About” page.
Matt. 1
What do the two names given to Jesus tell you about who He is? What will He do? Matthew wrote this account to prove to his fellow Jews that Jesus was God’s promised Messiah. We just saw, through the Psalm we read yesterday, that every good scripture studying Jew knew that Messiah was the son of David. So where did Matthew start his account? From that very truth. At the same time, he tied this together with God’s covenant promise to Abraham. “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). Well done, Matthew!
This chapter gets even better, though. We know that David and Abraham are both representations of who Messiah is and what He does for us. But these are not the only two Old Testament Messianic representations Matthew connects to Jesus here. Joseph, one of Jacob’s twelve sons, is another obvious one. As it happens, Jesus’ earthly, though not biological, father was Joseph, son of Jacob. Then there is the name, Jesus, which is the Greek form of Joshua. Joshua, whose name means, “the LORD saves”, was the conqueror who led God’s people into the Promised Land. Yet another representation of Jesus. Lastly, Matthew connects Jesus to the prophecy of Isaiah, whose son was Judah’s sign of God’s promised salvation from their enemies, Damascus and Samaria. This was the sign of “Immanuel”, meaning, “God with us”, of which Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment. Well done, Matthew.
Is. 35-36
I have wondered in the past why this story about Hezekiah and the king of Assyria was repeated here in Isaiah. On this round of reading through Isaiah, however, I notice that this story in particular connects to a couple of Isaiah’s previous prophecies. Most significantly, it connects to his prophecy of the sign of Immanuel. This was the prophecy where Isaiah’s second son was the sign from God that Assyria would overrun Damascus and Samaria. Isaiah also prophesied that Assyria would sweep across Judah like floodwaters, “passing through it and reaching up to the neck.” (From Is. 8:8).
So I can see a couple possible reasons why this story is repeated in Isaiah (It is also in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles). One is because God promised at the time of Isaiah’s prophecy that Jerusalem would not fall to Assyria. This shows the foundation for Hezekiah’s faith in the situation. The other, more significant reason is that this particular prophecy of Isiah’s is one with a very important double fulfillment. From the virgin birth to the rock that makes people fall, it is very much a messianic prophecy. This particular story of Hezekiah, however, is the first fulfillment. Which makes me think that the story itself is part of the future prophecy. Somehow, we who put our faith in Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of God’s Messianic promise, share this story with Hezekiah, who likewise put his faith in the same promise.