This article is presented with the greatest respect for those who believe that Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth is the Eternal (God) or part of Him.
The aim of the present article is to make readers of the book of Matthew aware of the many contradictions that would result from interpreting the texts under consideration as if their authors believed that Yeshua of Nazareth was the Eternal.
Matthew 1:1 [The Scriptures - TS]
The book of the genealogy of יהושע{Yehoshua} Messiah, Son of Dawid, Son of Abraham
Anyone who believes that the book of Matthew teaches that Yeshua is God would be implying the following:
• The Eternal anointed or chose Himself. The meaning of Messiah is anointed or chosen.
• The Eternal has a genealogy and He is the Son of Dawid and Abraham.
Some may say that Yeshua is not completely God, that he is part or a person of a Trinity, or that he is an embodiment of the Eternal.
Please understand that this article is not making reference to whether your belief is right or wrong. It is merely indicating the implications that you would generate by saying that the author of Matthew believed Yeshua was the Eternal (or part of Him).
Matthew 1:18 [TS]
But the birth of יהושע{Yehoshua} Messiah was as follows: After His mother Miryam was engaged to Yoseph...
Anyone who says that Yeshua is the Eternal because that is what Matthew teaches would be implying the following:
• The Eternal was born; He had a beginning.
• The Eternal has a mother (Miryam).
Some may say that the Eternal is the Creator, and Yeshua is the embodiment of the Eternal, the Creator.
Again, this article is not making reference to whether your belief is right or wrong. It intends to create awareness in you so that you may understand what your belief generates in reference to the text of Matthew.
Matthew 2:11, 13, 14, 20, 21 [TS]
...they saw the Child with Miryam His mother
On various occasions Yeshua is identified as a ‘child’, if you say that Yeshua is the Eternal it would imply that Matthew is teaching that
• At some point, the Eternal was a child.
Matthew 4:8-9 [TS] 8 Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain, and showed Him all the reigns of the world, and their esteem, 9 and said to Him, “All these I shall give You if You fall down and worship me.”
If you say that Matthew believed that Yeshua is the Eternal (or part of Him), you would also have to say he teaches that
• The Eternal can be tempted by the devil.
Matthew 24:36 [TS]
“But concerning that day and the hour no one knows, not even the messengers of the heavens, but My Father only.
(words of Yeshua in purple)
<My Father only> – this implies that not even the Son, Yeshua, knows.
If Matthew is teaching that Yeshua is the Eternal (or part of Him) then you would have to say that Matthew teaches that
• The Eternal is not all-knowing.
After the ‘last supper’, Yeshua and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemani and the following took place:
Matthew 26:36-39 [TS] 36 Then יהושע came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the taught ones, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 And He took with Him Kepha and the two sons of Zabdai, and He began to be grieved and deeply distressed. 38 Then He said to them, “My being is exceedingly grieved, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” 39 And going forward a little, He fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I desire, but as You desire.”
If anyone says that Matthew teaches that Yeshua is God, he would have to say that Matthew also teaches that
• The Eternal became grieved, even to death.
• The Eternal prayed to Himself.
• The Eternal has two personalities.
• The Eternal has two wills or dispositions.
• The Eternal submits one of His wills in order to accomplish the other.
If you say that Yeshua is the Eternal (or Part of Him) and that he chose to do the will of the Eternal, you would be implying that there are two Eternal beings.
Does the book of Matthew really teach that Yeshua is the Eternal?
Matthew 27 DESCRIBES THE DEATH OF YESHUA
If you say that the book of Matthew teaches that Yeshua is the Eternal, you would have to say that Matthew teaches that
• The Eternal was killed or that he Eternal died.
• The Eternal was buried.
Some may argue that Yeshua is not the totality of the Eternal, that he is the second person of the Trinity, or he is the Eternal, the Son or the Eternal incarnate. Without disrespecting these beliefs, the question remains the same: is Yeshua the Eternal (or part of Him)?
If your answer is ‘yes’, no matter how you structure it, you are saying that the Eternal was killed and buried.
Matthew 28:18 [TS]
...All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
The author of Matthew clearly states that the Eternal gave Yeshua an authority which he did not have before.
All authority was given to Yeshua in heaven and on earth. If you say that the author of Matthew teaches that Yeshua is the Eternal (or part of Him), it means that
• The Eternal gave authority to Himself, which He did not have before.
With all due respect for those who believe that Yeshua is the Eternal (or part of Him), the question remains the same: does the book of Matthew teach or imply that Yeshua is the Eternal or a part of Him?
The author of the book of Matthew does not teach that Yeshua is the Eternal. To understand it this way would create many contradictions within the text. It would accuse the author of something he has not done.
Source:
Avdiel ben Oved