BEMA Episode Link: 84: Matthew — Mumzer
Episode Length: 32:12
Published Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2018 01:00:00 -0700
Session 3
About this episode:

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings look at the record of Matthew, attempting to understand his unique agenda as he presents the life and ministry of his Rabbi Jesus.

Discussion Video for BEMA 84

Didache — Wikipedia

Mamzer — Wikipedia

Transcript for BEMA 84

Notes

*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.

BEMA Episode 84: Matthew - Mumzer

Study Notes

Title & Source Summary

Episode: BEMA 84 - Matthew: Mumzer Series: The BEMA Discipleship Podcast
Hosts: Marty Solomon & Brent Billings

This episode introduces the Gospel of Matthew by examining its unique authorial agenda. Rather than harmonizing the four Gospels into one unified narrative, the hosts explore Matthew’s distinctive voice and message. The episode focuses on Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17) to reveal the Gospel writer’s central theme: the Kingdom of Heaven eliminates the category of outsiders, welcoming those traditionally excluded from God’s people. The term “mumzer” (illegitimate child/outsider) becomes the organizing concept for understanding Matthew’s revolutionary message to a Jewish audience.

Key Takeaways

  • Don’t harmonize the Gospels - Each Gospel writer (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) has a unique agenda and message that gets lost when we try to blend them together
  • Matthew’s primary audience is Jewish - He writes as a Jewish author to a Jewish audience, which shapes his language choices (Kingdom of Heaven vs. Kingdom of God)
  • Matthew’s genealogy is deliberately “scandalous” - Unlike typical Jewish genealogies that emphasize purity and pedigree, Matthew intentionally highlights outsiders, women, and morally problematic stories
  • The “mumzer” theme defines Matthew’s Gospel - Those considered illegitimate, outsiders, or unworthy are precisely the ones welcomed into God’s Kingdom
  • Matthew’s biography shapes his message - As a former tax collector (ultimate Jewish outsider), Matthew personally experienced Jesus’s radical inclusion
  • Religious insiders are at greatest risk - Matthew’s Gospel consistently warns those who think they understand God that they may be missing the Kingdom entirely
  • Matthew likely wrote first and originally in Hebrew - While not universally accepted, evidence suggests Matthew’s Gospel preceded the others and was composed for a Hebrew-speaking audience

Main Concepts & Theories

1. The Importance of Gospel Agendas

Each Gospel writer uses the life of Jesus to communicate a specific message to a particular audience. Understanding the author’s context, audience, and purpose is essential for proper interpretation. The practice of harmonizing the Gospels—attempting to create one unified account—actually obscures the distinct theological messages each writer intended to convey.

Key Questions to Ask:

  • Who is the author?
  • Who is the audience?
  • Who does the author work with/minister to?
  • What unique perspective does this author bring?

Matthew’s Context:

  • Author: Matthew (Levi), a former tax collector
  • Audience: Jewish believers and seekers
  • Unique Position: Experienced radical transformation from ultimate Jewish outsider to disciple
  • Likely Composition: First Gospel written, possibly originally in Hebrew
2. Understanding Jewish Genealogies

In ancient Jewish culture, genealogies served specific purposes:

  • Prove pedigree and family purity
  • Establish tribal and familial connections
  • Preserve the glory of one’s lineage
  • Follow patrilineal descent (fathers, not mothers)

Standard Practice:

  • Mention only male descendants
  • Include women only when absolutely essential
  • Highlight honor and righteousness
  • Avoid shameful or problematic stories

Matthew’s Radical Departure: Matthew’s genealogy violates virtually every convention of Jewish genealogy writing, which signals his intentional theological message.

3. The Genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:1-17)

Matthew structures Jesus’s genealogy in three sets of 14 generations:

  1. Abraham to David
  2. David to the Babylonian exile
  3. The exile to the Messiah

Unusual Inclusions:

Tamar (v. 3):

  • Not necessary for the genealogical line
  • Story involves deception, prostitution, and questionable sexual ethics
  • Judah sleeps with his daughter-in-law disguised as a shrine prostitute
  • Represents injustice and patriarchal abuse

Rahab (v. 5):

  • A Canaanite woman (non-Jewish)
  • A prostitute in Jericho
  • Could have been completely omitted
  • Matthew goes out of his way to include her

Ruth (v. 5):

  • A Moabite woman
  • Moabites were excluded from “the assembly of the Lord” for ten generations
  • Beautiful story, but genealogically problematic for Jewish purity
  • Another intentional inclusion of a non-Jewish woman

Bathsheba (v. 6):

  • Referenced as “Uriah’s wife” (not even named directly)
  • Story involves adultery and murder
  • David’s greatest moral failure
  • Could easily have been omitted

Mary (v. 16):

  • An unmarried pregnant woman
  • Scandalous circumstances surrounding Jesus’s birth
  • Sets up the immediate “mumzer” question about Jesus himself
4. The Concept of “Mumzer” (Mamzer)

Definition:

  • Hebrew term meaning a child born of an illegitimate or Torah-prohibited union
  • English equivalent might be “bastard,” though without the same cultural stigma
  • Torah designation that carried legal and social consequences

Literal vs. Poetic Usage:

  • Literal: Child born outside acceptable marriage boundaries
  • Poetic (Marty’s usage): Outsider, outcast, marginalized person, one excluded from religious community

Biblical Example:

  • Timothy (later in Session 4) - child of Jewish mother and Greek father, technically a mamzer

Matthew’s Message: In Jesus’s Kingdom, there are no mumzers. The category of “illegitimate” or “outsider” is abolished. Those excluded by religious systems are welcomed by God.

5. Matthew’s Authorial Agenda

Central Theme: The Kingdom of Heaven eliminates outsiders

Consistent Pattern Throughout Matthew:

  • Those who should have faith don’t
  • Those who shouldn’t have faith do
  • Religious insiders are warned they’re actually out
  • Social/religious outsiders are proclaimed to be in
  • People surrounded by synagogues and Torah show less faith than pagans
  • Gentiles, women, children, tax collectors, and sinners receive commendation

Why This Agenda? Matthew’s personal story as a tax collector—the ultimate Jewish traitor who “sold his soul” to Rome—shapes his understanding of Jesus’s radical grace. When Jesus said “Follow me” to a despised tax collector, Matthew experienced firsthand the Kingdom’s barrier-breaking power.

6. Kingdom of Heaven vs. Kingdom of God

Why Matthew Uses “Kingdom of Heaven”:

  • Jewish reverence for God’s name prohibited casual use of “God”
  • First-century Jews used substitute terms: “Heaven,” “The Name” (Hashem), “Adonai”
  • Same practice with “Temple” → “The House” (oikos)
  • Writing to a Jewish audience, Matthew respects this convention

Interchangeability:

  • “Kingdom of Heaven” = “Kingdom of God”
  • When comparing parallel passages in other Gospels, these terms refer to the same reality
  • Matthew uses “Kingdom of God” only once; all other instances say “Kingdom of Heaven”

Example from Luke: The prodigal son: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you” means “I have sinned against God and against you.”

7. Why Matthew’s Gospel Matters Today

For Modern Readers (Especially Western Evangelicals):

  • We often think we “have it figured out”
  • We’re comfortable in our religious understanding
  • We risk becoming the “insiders” Matthew warns

Matthew’s Challenge:

  • “You think you’re in, but you’re in the greatest danger of missing the whole thing”
  • God’s Kingdom operates differently than religious expectations
  • Those most confident in their standing may be furthest from God’s heart
  • Those we dismiss as “mumzers” may be closest to the Kingdom

Why Use Matthew for Jesus’s Life and Ministry:

  1. Most chronological of the Gospels
  2. Most relevant message for religious people who think they understand
  3. Most challenging for comfortable Christianity
  4. Most needed corrective for insider/outsider thinking

Examples & Applications

1. Matthew’s Personal Transformation

Before Jesus:

  • Jewish man who abandoned his people
  • Worked for Roman occupiers collecting taxes
  • Despised by fellow Jews
  • Enemy to Peter, James, John, and other disciples
  • Had “sold his soul” and given up on the Jewish narrative

Jesus’s Call:

  • Walked by Matthew’s tax booth
  • Simply said: “Follow me”
  • No qualification required, no probation period
  • Immediate acceptance into the inner circle

Result: Matthew’s entire Gospel reflects this transformative experience: “If Jesus welcomed me, the ultimate outsider, then no one is beyond the Kingdom’s reach.”

2. Genealogy in Session 1 (Abraham)

The Iscah Problem: The Bible says Abraham married Sarai, but lists three women: Sarai, Iscah, and Milcah. Sarai is described as barren. The oral tradition suggests Abraham actually married Iscah.

Why Include These Details? Jewish genealogies didn’t include women unless absolutely essential. The presence of women in the genealogy signals that something important is happening—the reader should pay attention. This pattern repeats in Matthew’s genealogy.

3. The Prodigal Son’s Language

When the younger son returns home in Luke 15, he confesses: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”

This isn’t about sinning against the sky. “Heaven” is the Jewish substitute for “God.” He’s saying: “I have sinned against God and against you.” Understanding this linguistic convention helps us read Matthew’s “Kingdom of Heaven” correctly.

4. Modern “Mumzers”

Historical Examples:

  • Divorced people barred from church leadership
  • Children born to unmarried mothers stigmatized
  • LGBTQ+ individuals excluded from community
  • People with addiction histories kept at arm’s length
  • Those with mental illness feared or avoided
  • Immigrants and refugees viewed with suspicion

Matthew’s Challenge: Who do we treat as “mumzers” today? Who do we consider illegitimate, unworthy, or outside God’s concern? Matthew’s Gospel insists these are precisely the people Jesus welcomes.

5. Insider/Outsider Reversal Pattern

Throughout Matthew, We’ll See:

  • Roman centurion (outsider) has greater faith than Israel (Matthew 8:10)
  • Syrophoenician woman (outsider) praised for great faith (Matthew 15:28)
  • Jesus spends time in Caesarea Philippi (pagan territory) (Matthew 16)
  • Religious leaders (insiders) condemned for missing God’s heart (Matthew 23)
  • Tax collectors and prostitutes (outsiders) entering Kingdom ahead of priests (Matthew 21:31)
6. The Christmas Story Application

Immediately After the Genealogy: Joseph is engaged to Mary, who becomes pregnant before marriage. This creates a crisis:

  • Is Jesus a mamzer?
  • Will they be accepted back in Bethlehem?
  • How does the community respond to this scandalous beginning?

Matthew starts Jesus’s story with the very question his Gospel addresses: Can God work through those society labels as illegitimate?

7. The “Q” Source and Gospel Relationships

Scholarly Context:

  • Matthew and Mark share remarkably similar quotations
  • Suggests a common source material
  • Scholars call this hypothetical source “Q” (from German “Quelle” = source)
  • The Didache (early church teaching document) may preserve similar material

Practical Application: Understanding that Gospel writers drew from shared sources helps us appreciate both:

  1. The historical reliability (multiple attestation)
  2. The distinct theological shaping each author applied

Potential Areas for Further Exploration

1. The Fourteen Generations Pattern

Why does Matthew organize the genealogy into three sets of fourteen generations? What’s the significance of fourteen specifically? Matthew even skips a generation to make the pattern work, suggesting intentional design.

Possible Directions:

  • Fourteen as two sevens (completion doubled)
  • Gematria (Hebrew numerology) significance
  • Structural/literary purposes
  • Connection to David’s name (David = דוד = 4+6+4 = 14 in Hebrew)
2. Original Language of Matthew

Evidence suggesting Matthew was originally written in Hebrew:

  • Internal linguistic hints in the Greek text
  • Early church testimony (Papias, etc.)
  • Jewish audience and context
  • Quotations that seem to come from Hebrew, not Greek Septuagint

Counter-Arguments:

  • Quotations perfectly match Greek Septuagint
  • No Hebrew manuscript evidence exists
  • Could have been written in Aramaic, not Hebrew
3. Dating and Order of Gospel Composition

Traditional scholarship suggests Mark was written first, but alternative views propose Matthean priority.

Questions to Explore:

  • When were each of the Gospels written?
  • Does dating affect interpretation?
  • How do we determine which came first?
  • What does early church tradition say?
4. The Role of Women in Biblical Genealogies

Matthew’s inclusion of five women (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, Mary) is extraordinary.

Deeper Study:

  • Why are these specific women chosen?
  • What connects their stories thematically?
  • How does this challenge patriarchal assumptions?
  • What does this say about God’s redemptive work?
5. Tax Collectors in First-Century Judaism

Understanding Matthew’s social position before following Jesus:

Research Areas:

  • How did Roman taxation work?
  • What made tax collectors so despised?
  • Could a tax collector return to Jewish community?
  • Economic and political implications
6. The Didache and Early Church Teaching

An early Christian document that may preserve apostolic teaching:

Study Questions:

  • What is the Didache?
  • How does it relate to Gospel material?
  • When was it written?
  • What does it teach about early Christianity?
7. Theological Implications of Gospel Agendas

If each Gospel has a distinct theological message:

Implications:

  • How do we preach from different Gospels?
  • Should we focus on one Gospel at a time?
  • How do we avoid flattening the biblical testimony?
  • What is gained by hearing multiple voices?
8. Modern Application of the “Mumzer” Concept

Who are today’s outsiders, and how does the church respond?

Contemporary Issues:

  • Refugees and immigration
  • Economic inequality
  • Racial and ethnic divisions
  • Sexual and gender minorities
  • Mental health and addiction
  • Criminal justice and incarceration
9. Kingdom of Heaven Language and Jewish Context

Exploring Jewish substitutes for divine names:

Topics:

  • HaShem, Adonai, and other circumlocutions
  • Why the Name of God wasn’t spoken
  • How this affects biblical interpretation
  • Parallels in other religious traditions
10. Matthew’s Use of Old Testament

Matthew quotes the Hebrew Bible more than any other Gospel:

Study Focus:

  • “Fulfillment” quotations in Matthew
  • How Matthew interprets Hebrew Scripture
  • Jewish interpretive methods (midrash, pesher)
  • Messianic prophecy understanding

Comprehension Questions

1. Why does Matthew intentionally include women like Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth in Jesus’s genealogy, even though this violates standard Jewish genealogical practice?

Answer: Matthew deliberately includes these women—each with problematic or scandalous stories—to establish his central theological theme: God’s Kingdom welcomes outsiders. Traditional Jewish genealogies emphasized purity and pedigree, mentioning only male descendants unless absolutely necessary. By highlighting foreign women, prostitutes, and morally complex situations, Matthew signals that Jesus’s lineage itself demonstrates God’s heart for the marginalized and excluded. This sets up the entire Gospel’s “mumzer” agenda: there are no illegitimate people in God’s Kingdom.

2. How does Matthew’s personal biography as a tax collector shape his Gospel’s message and agenda?

Answer: As a former tax collector, Matthew was the ultimate Jewish outsider—someone who had “sold his soul” to Rome and become an enemy to his own people. Tax collectors were despised as traitors and collaborators. When Jesus walked by his tax booth and simply said “Follow me,” Matthew experienced radical, undeserved inclusion. This transformative encounter shapes his entire Gospel: if Jesus welcomed him, the ultimate mumzer, then no one is beyond the Kingdom’s reach. His Gospel consistently shows insiders being warned they’re out and outsiders being proclaimed they’re in—reflecting his autobiographical understanding of grace.

3. Why does Matthew use the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” instead of “Kingdom of God,” and what does this reveal about his audience?

Answer: Matthew uses “Kingdom of Heaven” because he’s writing to a Jewish audience that observed the first-century Jewish practice of not casually using God’s name. Jews used substitute terms like “Heaven,” “The Name” (HaShem), or “Adonai” out of reverence. Similarly, they said “The House” instead of “Temple.” By using “Kingdom of Heaven,” Matthew respects his Jewish readers’ sensibilities while communicating the exact same concept as “Kingdom of God” used in the other Gospels. This linguistic choice demonstrates Matthew’s sensitivity to his audience and confirms his Jewish authorship for Jewish readers.

4. What does it mean to “harmonize” the Gospels, and why do the hosts argue against this practice?

Answer: Harmonizing the Gospels means trying to blend all four accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) into one unified narrative, smoothing out differences and creating a single story. The hosts argue this practice actually obscures the biblical message because each Gospel writer has a unique agenda and theological emphasis. When we harmonize, we miss Matthew’s theme of outsider inclusion, Mark’s particular emphases, Luke’s distinct concerns, and John’s unique perspective. By treating the Gospels as if they should all say the same thing, we lose the rich, multi-voiced testimony about Jesus that the biblical authors intended. Each Gospel needs to be heard in its own voice.

5. According to Marty, why is Matthew’s Gospel particularly relevant and necessary for modern American evangelical Christians?

Answer: Marty argues that modern evangelicals often think we “have it figured out”—we’re comfortable in our religious understanding and confident in our theological positions. This makes us exactly like the religious insiders Matthew warns throughout his Gospel. Matthew’s message is that those most certain they’re “in” may be in the greatest danger of missing God’s Kingdom entirely. The Gospel consistently challenges religious people to examine whether they’re actually embodying God’s heart or simply maintaining religious systems. For comfortable Christians who think they understand, Matthew’s Gospel provides the most necessary and challenging corrective, warning that we may be missing the whole point while outsiders we dismiss are entering the Kingdom.

Personal Summary

Matthew’s Gospel opens with what appears to be a dry genealogy but is actually a revolutionary manifesto. By deliberately including women like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba—each associated with scandal, foreign status, or moral complexity—Matthew establishes his central theme: God’s Kingdom abolishes the category of outsider.

Writing as a former tax collector to a Jewish audience, Matthew knows firsthand what it means to be excluded and then radically welcomed. His Gospel uses the term “mumzer” (illegitimate child/outsider) as an organizing principle, consistently showing that those who should be “in” often aren’t, while those who should be “out” are welcomed with open arms.

This creates an urgent challenge for religious people, both ancient and modern: we who think we understand God may be the ones in greatest danger of missing His Kingdom entirely. The “Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew’s Jewish way of saying “Kingdom of God”) operates on radically different principles than religious systems. Those we label as illegitimate, unworthy, or outside God’s concern are precisely the people Jesus welcomes.

Rather than harmonizing the four Gospels into one bland narrative, we need to hear each author’s distinct voice and message. Matthew’s voice speaks powerfully to our moment, warning comfortable Christians that confidence in our understanding may be the greatest barrier to actually encountering God’s Kingdom. The mumzers aren’t outside anymore—they’re entering the Kingdom while religious insiders stand at the door, certain they’re already inside.

For Discussion: Who are the “mumzers” in your community—the people considered outsiders or illegitimate? How does your faith community treat them? What would it look like to embody Matthew’s Gospel in your context?

Practical Application: This week, identify one person or group you’ve unconsciously categorized as “outside” God’s concern or your community’s welcome. How might Jesus be calling you to see them differently?

Further Study: Read Matthew 8:5-13 (the Roman centurion) and Matthew 15:21-28 (the Syrophoenician woman) to see Matthew’s outsider/insider theme in action. Notice who has faith and who doesn’t—and what Jesus says about it.

Episode Release: June 13, 2023 Transcript Approved: December 5, 2022 Study Notes Created: October 31, 2025

Original Notes

  • We do not want to harmonize the gospels. Each gospel writer is communicating a unique message to a unique audience.
  • We want to make sure we are asking the right questions of the Text.
    • Who is the author? Who is the audience?
    • We are not spending time discussing WHEN the specific gospel was written.
  • Author: Jewish author to a jewish audience. Marty does, however, believe that Matthew was written first and that it was also written in Hebrew which is contrary to most opinions.
    • Marty does not dispute a Q source.
    • Didache may be referenced by scripture.
    • No need to look farther than the genealogy in Matthew ch. 1 to understand Matthew’s audience or agenda.
  • The Geneology
    • 14, 14, and 14? Great things to discover with those numbers but this episode’s focus will be on other treasures.
    • No eastern reader would have trouble skipping a generation to make 14, 14, and 14 work. One of the generations would have had to have been skipped in order to do that. A grandfather or great-grandfather. Not recalling who, though, at the moment.
    • Better Jewish questions:
      • Some argue that Matthew was trying to prove that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. The Text even says that.
      • If this is the face, why then is Jesus’ genealogy so terrible? Genealogies are meant to show off one’s pedigree, but Jesus’ does exactly the opposite.
      • Jewish genealogies are paternal and do not include women, especially women with some of the most “embarrassing” stories for the Israelite people.
      • Is there a reason to include any of these women in his genealogy?
      • What are the women known for?
      • Matthew includes these women intentionally.
  • Mamzar (Mumzer): referring to illegitimate children, this is a word that we get from Torah.
    • Mumzer is the outsider and it is Matthew’s agenda.
    • Matthew was a mumzer as a tax collector who effectively sold his soul to Rome.
    • Jesus invites Matthew to follow him without hesitation regardless.
    • Matthew’s gospel articulates that “there are no outsiders.”
    • We find Jesus essentially saying, “Those who are in are actually out and those that are out are actually in.”
  • Why is Matthew the focus of Session 3?
    • Partly because Marty believes that it’s the most chronological.
    • However, it’s mostly because Marty finds that the agenda of Matthew is the message that we, mostly Americans, need to hear.
  • What does “Kingdom of Heaven” mean?
    • “Heaven” is often used as a euphemism for “God”. God resides in Heaven. In order to respect God’s name, Jews would instead use where he resides, that is Heaven, instead of his name. This is why we only see in Matthew’s gospel, with one exception, the use of Kingdom of Heaven instead of Kingdom of God.
  • The Insider-Outsider Pattern
    • If we spend our time harmonizing the gospels, we would miss this pattern that appears in Matthew’s gospel.
    • Insider: not in. Outsider: in. Insider: not in. Outsider: in.
    • Let’s try to find this pattern and write it down as we go through Matthew together.

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