Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-04

Gospel of st. Matthew. Renan, the dis
tinguished French critical scholar, claim
ed that this Gospel was "the most i'm
portant book of ChriStendom, the most
important book that has ever been writ
ten" While no claim as to the author
ship of this opening volume Of the New
Testament Is contained in the Gospel
the fact that the early Christians con-
sidered it was the work of Matthew
furnishes strong external evidence that
the anonymous writer was none other
than the former tax collector, who was
chosen by the Lord Jesus to be one Of
the twelve apostles.
Papias. who knew the Apostle John
and who is recognized by scholars as
the writer of the first interpretations
Of the sayings of the Master, stated that
Matthew had written a collection of the
sayings of the Lord Jesus in Aramaic.
Ramsay believes that, following the
practice of a business man to make
memorandumS of conversations, Mat
thew, in all probability. made short
hand notes of the Masters sayings dur
ing the public ministry of the Lord
Jesus. This collection was probably the
Aramaic Gospel that scholars believe
was used by the writer's Of the Synoptic
would be more interested in presenting
to the Jews the fact that Jesus was
their long-expected Messiah than Mat
thew. He grouped the sayings of the
Master so that the truths He taught
are presented in a topical manner.
The aim of the committee which Sc
lected the coming six months lessons,
was: I'D To present clear and COM
prehensive view of the entire Gospel OF
Matthew; CD to keep in mind the Mes
sianic character of the Gospel; (3) to
observe the well balanced relationship
between Jesus ministry of teaching and
His ministry of mercy: az to develop
faith in Jesus as the Son of God; (5)
to indicate the way to complete Chris
tan living" Matthew emphasized the
fact that Jesus fulfilled propheSy and
the doctrine of the kingdom. He made
at least 40 quotations from the prophets
that referred to the Lord Jesus. He
speaks Of the Kingdom" at least SO
times in his effort to clearly prove that
Jesus was the long-expected Messiah.
He divided the life of the Savior into
six periods. Our opening lesson upon
the Childhood of Jesus" Is drawn from
the period of Christ's preparation.
The Royal-Divine Child.
Modern Americans are not interested
very much in genealogy, but Matthew
starts writing his Gospel with the
Lords genealogical tree. He traced His
line back to David, the founder of the
kingdom, and to Abraham the father
of the race. Although he was trying to
prove beyond question that Jesus upon
the human side was a direct descendant
from David, Matthew did not hesitate
to present the evidence that there ex-
listed some gentle blood in the physical
ancestry of our Lord. Some of the
number had lived lives stained with sin.
Perhaps they are mentioned so that the
readers may clearly understand that
Jesus came into the world not only to
save sinners Of the Jewish race but of
all races. His human ancestry demon
Strated that he was clearly from a
human standpoint of royal lineage. In
the concise. complete and comprehen-
Sive statements of our lesson, Matthew
presented important incidents that we're
matters Of historical record and popular
traditions in Jerusalem that demon
strated conclusively that Jesus in His
birth fulfilled prophetic predictions in
reference to the nations hope for a
Messianic King.
Dallman has pointed out that Mat
thew traced the Lords descent to Joseph,
not to Mary, in accordance with the
view that descent on the mothers side
does not carry with it any right Of sue
ceSsion, and that her husbands recoz-
milton of Mary's supernatural child
conferred upon Him the legal rights of
his son. Luke traces Mary's ancestry
back to Adam through the Davidic line
because he was writing his gaspel for
the gentle readers more than Jewish.
Matthew saw in Josephs attitude to-
ward Mary and her child the fulfill
mont n he Fa 80
Is miracle concerning the birth of the
Christ ought to be expected If Jesus
was to save His people from their sins
No one, unless He were divine as well
as human, could possibly be the Savior
OF the human race from their sins
When the wise men reached Jeru-
salem from the East, seeking where
they could find the newborn King,
that they might worship Him, the city
was stirred. Herod, the aged king,
stricken with disease, filled with re-
morsee, sensitive to his unpopularity,
and in imminent danger, was aroused to
the possibility of new claimant to the
throne of the Maccabees and David. He
entertained the scientists, although he
probably found out where they were
from and how long they had been fol-
lowing their discovery Of the mysterious
star: we do not know their names nor
countries. Tradition gives their names
as GaSpar. Melchoir. and Balthazar.
Some traditions make them to be de-
scendants of Shem, Ham and Japeth,
representing religion. service, and rulers
Of all classes of men. They have been
representing all the races Of men. Filled
with diabolical diplomacy, Herod had
acquired and learned from the scholars
and religious leaders of his court, prob
ably members of the Sandhedrin. that
the MesSianic King was to be born in
Bethlehem according to prophecy. The
wise men were requested to return from
Bethlehem and let Herod know the re-
suits of their search, so that he could
also worship the newborn King. Beth
lehem was only six miles away, so they
continued their journey that night
seeking to find the King. Guided by
science and the teachings of the Bible
they found in Bethlehem's manger the
newborn King. whom they worshipeC
and presented to Him the most valu-
able gifts of their country. as evidence
of their devotion and loyalty to Him.
Protection FulfiIIs Prophecy.
While the wise men were bending
over the newborn child, revealing their
alteration, the sinister and murderou.
Herod was plotting in Jerusalem for the
early destruction of the newly borr
possible claimant to the throne Di.
vinely directed, the wise men we're in.
| fiuenced not to return to Jerusalem
| They left Bethlehem in all probability
| by the road that ran east from the city
of the nativity of the Lord around tn
south end of the Dead Sea. Not only
in warning the wise men, but in warn
| ing Joseph ins a dream of the DANCE
that Jesus faced and directing him II
flee at once with his family about n
miles southwest into Egypt, did Cox
reveal His protecting care over Hi
newborn son. Joseph departed a
once. He soon found shelter, safet.
and support for his family along tn
| Nile. Tourists are taken to a Greel