Christmas: Session 2 of 3

 

Adult Christmas Bible Study

Session 2: The Genealogy and Joseph the Just - Matthew 1:1-21

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In this session, we will look at the genealogy of Joseph as given in Matthew. This list, unlike the list of seventy-six men given in Luke 3:23-38, includes four women. Middle Eastern genealogies are expected to be lists of men. Why does Matthew include these women along with his list of forty men? We will also delve into the concept of “justice” and why Joseph is said to have been just.

The Women in Matthew’s List

1. Tamar: found in Genesis 38:1-30. Probably Aramean (from “Jubilees”) – a gentile

   1. Who did Tamar marry

   2. What tradition is mentioned in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, and what does it have to do with Tamar?

   3. What is the obligation of a father-in-law to the wife of a deceased son? (“Levirate marriage”)

   4. Consider Leviticus 20:12. What does the story of Tamar tell us about justice?

   5. Of what importance was the staff and signet ring to Judah?

   6. What did she do that was sinful?

   7. What characteristics does Tamar demonstrate, and why is she mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy?

2. Rahab: found in Joshua 2. Citizen of Jericho

   1. Why did she save the two spies?

   2. What was her profession?

   3. What does her story tell us about God’s relationship to gentiles?

   4. What characteristics does Rahab demonstrate and why is she mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy?

3. Ruth: found in Ruth. A Moabite and grandmother of King David

   1. Whom did Ruth marry, and what was his family’s origin and belief?

   2. Why did Ruth accompany Naomi back to Bethlehem? See Ruth 1:16-17

   3. What dos “uncovering the feet” mean? Why did Ruth uncover Boaz’s feet?

   4. Why did Ruth not sin in her encounter with Boaz? How do we sometimes judge incorrectly?

   5. What tradition, found in Leviticus, is shown by Ruth’s marriage to Boaz?

   6. What characteristics does Ruth exhibit, and why is she mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy?

4. Bathsheba: found in 2 Samuel 11:1-12:25. Mother of King Solomon

   1. Whom was Bathsheba married to, and what happened to him?

   2. Why do we know that Bathsheba was as much to blame (as sinful) as David?

   3. What was Jerusalem like at the time of King David (size, types of houses, traditions)

   4. What was the probable distance between King David’s window and Bathsheba’s window?

   5. What Psalm was probably written by David in response to his repentance?

   6. Why does Matthew list Bathsheba as “the wife of Uriah the Hittite” and not by name or by saying, “the wife of David”?

   7. What characteristics does Ruth exhibit, and why is she mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy?

5. Important Considerations:

   1. Why did Matthew include men and women? See Luke 8:1-3, Galatians 3:28

   2. Why did Matthew include Jews and Gentiles? See Matthew 28:18-20

   3. Why did Matthew include both saints (Ruth) and sinners?

   4. What characteristics does each of the four women have in common? Why is it important?

   5. Taken in totality, what do these women reveal about God and justice?

Joseph the Just

1. Read Matthew 1:18-19 and Deuteronomy 22:23. – This is before Joseph was visited by an Angel.

   1. Why did Joseph break the law? How were his actions just? What does this tell us of Joseph?

   2. Consider Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac – it was against the law

   3. Consider the unwed Mary’s willingness to accept pregnancy – it was against the law

   4. Kirkegaard said that authentic faith required “an absolute relationship to the absolute”. What did he mean by that and how is it related to Abraham, Joseph and Mary?

   5. Read Isaiah 42:1-6 and focus on verse 3.

      1. What were reeds used for, and what happened to broken reeds?

      2. Why were bowls of water placed under oil lamps?

      3. What does this verse tell us about Mary, Joseph and justice

   6. What is “Man’s Justice” and what is “God’s Justice”?

   7. Why is justice often seen as revenge, retribution, or “equal application”? Are laws justice?

2. Read Matthew 1:20: How would an average man have responded to the news?

   1. Translating the Greek word “enthymeomai” to mean considered/pondered

      1. Can be translated as considered, pondered, became angry or very upset

      2. Root work “thymos” used in Luke 4:28 (noun) and Matthew 2:16 (verb)

      3. Variation of this word used in Acts 10:19

      4. “en” added to beginning of “thynmos” and implies evil and within. See Matthew 9:L4

      5. Literal translation is “anger within (en) the person involved”

      6. Why might this translation of the word be significant in appreciating “Joseph the Just”?

3. How is Joseph like the women mentioned earlier? What are the similar characteristics?

4. How is Joseph’s justice like the justice shown in the “Great Banquet” parable in Luke 14:16-24?

5. How is Joseph’s justice like the justice shown in the story found in Mark 12:1-12?

6. Why did Joseph take Mary with him when he traveled to Bethlehem for the census?

General Thoughts to Consider

1. Women and men are listed in the genealogy of Matthew. The reader expects to see men alone. This Messiah comes to save all of humankind, not half of it.

2. Gentiles are affirmed as part of Joseph’s bloodline *(and by implication Mary’s). The Gospel of Matthew begins and ends with a focus on Gentiles.

3. Saints and sinners appear in this list of women, and the new Messiah came for all

4. These particular women exhibited courage, intelligence and initiative – characteristics that were not lacking in Jesus.

5. Joseph was a theologian whose concept of justice grew out of the Servant Songs of Isaiah. That theology saved the life of Mary and her unborn child.

6. Joseph had the courage to withstand the culture of his day as he lived out his life in the light of the word he received from the angel.

7. Joseph was able to reprocess his anger into grace. How does this model God’s relationship to us?

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