The final adumbration, and a key passage for this chapter, is that Jesus is a Nazarene. In 2:23 the scribe says Joseph and his family “went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.” However, no specific OT passage contains the words “He will be called a Nazarene,” and thus interpreters must try to figure out what Matthew alludes to. One important clue is given: Matthew uses the plural form of “prophet” to describe the source. Through the use of the plural, he might be indicating more than one source. Many see him alluding to the messiah as “the branch,” which is found in Isa. 4:2; 11:1; Jer. 23:5; 33:15. In early readings of Isa. 11, there seems to be some coherency of identifying this branch as the messiah.42 Here the branch is the righteous descendant of David and empowered by the Spirit. In Hebrew, the word for “branch” is netzer, which in an unpointed text (i.e., without written vowels) would appear as NZR, the key consonants in NaZaReth.
Matthew skates across an etymological pond to label Jesus’s new home as the “branch place” and Jesus is the “branch person” who possesses wisdom. While this might seem far-fetched, when combined with the evidence we have seen above, it coheres nicely with the theme throughout. Jesus is the wise king from the line of David to whom wise men come and give their gifts. Now he is also the “branch place” and the “branch person” because the branch is the descendant of David. In the OT, this branch is especially associated with wisdom. The branch shall “deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jer. 23:5). The branch “shall build the temple of the LORD” (Zech. 6:12), like the action of wise Solomon. The branch shall have “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding” resting on him (Isa. 11:2).
Many note these correspondences but miss the most important point: Jesus is in Nazareth of Galilee, not in Jerusalem or Bethlehem! Because of the rejection of Jesus’s kingship, the wise king must flee first to Egypt and then to Nazareth (northern part of Israel). The Gospel of John indicates that being from Nazareth was a stumbling block for Jews (John 1:46), and therefore Matthew provides this fulfillment quotation and this unique material as an apologetic for Jesus’s Nazarene origins (Matt. 21:11; 26:71). Nazareth in Galilee, therefore, is Jesus’s exile from his city. Two realities indicate this, one historical and the other textual. First, while Galilee was in the region of the former Northern Kingdom of Israel, it still was largely separated from the southern region by a number of factors. Racially, it had a more mixed population (ever since the Assyrian conquest in the eighth century BCE). It is even known as the district of the gentiles (Isa. 9:1). Not only was it racially removed, but it was also geographically removed because it was detached from Judea by the non-Jewish territory of Samaria. Politically, Galilee had been under an administration separate from Judea for almost all of its history, since the tenth century BC. Culturally, Judeans despised their northern neighbors because of their lack of Jewish sophistication and their openness to Hellenistic influence. Linguistically, Galileans spoke a distinct form of Aramaic that was immediately noticeable (cf. Matt. 26:73). Religiously, the Judean opinion was that the Galileans were lax in the observance of proper ritual, and this was primarily based on the distance of Galilee from Jerusalem, the city of the king.43 As France says,
Even an impeccably Jewish Galilean in first-century Jerusalem was not among his own people; he was as much a foreigner as an Irishman in London or a Texan in New York. His accent would immediately mark him out as “not one of us,” and all the communal prejudice of the supposedly superior culture of the capital city would stand against his claim to be heard even as a prophet, let alone as the “Messiah,” a title which, as everyone knew, belonged to Judea.44
To miss this geographic distance is to miss one of Matthew’s major points. France again says, “To read Matthew in blissful ignorance of first-century Palestinian sociopolitics is to miss his point. This is the story of Jesus of Nazareth.”45
Second, it is not only the history but the narrative that supports that this is Jesus’s exile. Between the geographic references to Bethlehem and Nazareth is the overlooked town of Ramah (2:18). Ramah is the place from which Israel was taken by Babylon into exile (Jer. 40:1). The wise king must be exiled from his birthplace like his people. Matthew the scribe informs readers that wise kings embody the actions of the nation. The genealogy lets readers know that Matthew views Jesus as the son of David who will restore the kingdom and build the temple, but now readers are seeing that Jesus must first be exiled. Ironically, he is exiled to the branch place because he is the descendant of David. His exile does not dull his Davidic kingship. Rather, it confirms that he is worthy and full of wisdom.
Summarizing the Son of David in Matthew 1–2
From the moment Matthew puts his pen to his scroll, he thinks of Jesus as the wise son of David.46 In both Matt. 1 and 2 he fills his text with Davidic allusions and echoes so that readers can recognize Jesus as the son of David. But if Matt. 1 asserts that Jesus is the king who fulfills the Davidic covenant, then Matt. 2 tells readers that Jesus is the wise king and rival kingdoms are not going down quietly. The Davidic resonances escalate and accelerate the conflict rather than smoothing and facilitating the path to the throne.
Notably, all the allusions to Jesus’s Davidic descent in Matt. 2 center on geography. If Matt. 1 is about the people of the king, then Matt. 2 is about the place of the king. He is born in the city of David but exiled to Nazareth, where he will minister as the wise king reuniting the split kingdom. Though we didn’t explore Egypt and Ramah in depth, both are places associated with exile, thus confirming the exile theme in miniature in Matt. 2 and setting up the larger exile in Matthew’s entire narrative.47
Bethlehem → Egypt → Ramah → Nazareth
southern Israel → exile → exile → northern Israel
As David had to flee from Saul (1 Sam. 21:10) and Absalom (2 Sam. 15:14) and leave the city of his home, so too Jesus flees from King Herod and the scribes and inhabitants of Jerusalem. The journey of the Davidic king has begun. Matthew is a creative scribe, filling out Jesus’s life with echoes from the OT and asserting that something new is here, but the new is like the old.
The Return of the Exiled King
Some scholars, following Kingsbury, stop finding parallels to the life of David after Matt. 22:45, since the name “David” never occurs after that. Kingsbury even asserted that the title “son of God” becomes the most prominent title in light of this lexical fact.48 At least three arguments work against dropping a focus on David at the end of Matthew’s narrative. First, as we have already seen, Matthew has a tendency to dilute more explicit fulfillment references as his narrative proceeds. Second, readers should be looking not only to the titles but to narrative parallels. Third, the title “son of David” and “son of God” are not antithetical or mutually exclusive but work together (cf. 2 Sam. 7:11, 14; Pss. 2:7; 89:27–28).49 The rest of this chapter will display that David traditions play an important role in the arrest, trial, and crucifixion.
The “interlude” begins with Jesus’s exile to Nazareth at the end of Matt. 2. For most of the narrative, Jesus ministers in Galilee, embodies the way of wisdom, and forms a new scribal school (Matt. 3–20). Then in chapter 16 he turns his face toward Jerusalem to return to the city that had already rejected him once. Upon entering the city, he experiences a mixture of celebration and confrontation. The geographical overlay of Matthew, with the journey of the king, can appropriately be described as the return of the exiled wise king to confront the city of his forefather’s throne. He comes conquering through humility; he does not let pride destroy him as it did Solomon and his sons. Matthew has Jesus walking the dusty Galilean path because, as David was sent away from his home and chased by Saul before he became king, so too Jesus must walk these paths before he is enthroned. As the sitting king seeks Jesus’s life, so too David fled for his life from King Saul and from David’s own son, who sought David’s life so that he might become king
. Jesus spends most of his time in Galilee, north of Jerusalem,50 but Jesus’s goal is to return to the city of the king, and on his way through Galilee he teaches his people wisdom concerning the content and character of the kingdom. Now that Jesus has entered his city, will he go to his throne, or will Jerusalem reject their king again? If readers have been following the pattern and the predictions, they know that the high priests and scribes, who are supposed to welcome Jesus, will not be favorable to this new son of David. As the wise king, Jesus will (1) allow himself to suffer as the wise servant. He will then (2) be enthroned on the cross as the exalted one who leads by sacrifice rather than by power and might.
The Wise Suffering Servant
The Davidic parallels don’t cease once Jesus returns to Jerusalem; rather, they pick up in new and unique ways. Upon entering the city, Jesus mimics David as the wise suffering servant who is (1) betrayed, (2) innocent, and (3) forsaken as David was in his life.51 A number of arguments tie the servant in Isa. 53–55 to a Davidic figure in Isa. 1–39.52 First, outside of Isaiah, the title “servant” is applied to David more than any other figure, especially when one considers “servant” with its possessive pronouns.53 Isaiah himself references King David as “my servant” in Isa. 37:35, suggesting that these two figures are one and the same. Second, both the king and the servant are tasked with establishing justice (9:7; 42:1–4), bringing light to the nations (9:2; 42:6–7), and opening the eyes of the blind (32:3; 42:7). Third, in many ways, the titles “son of David,” “son of God,” and “servant” collide in the textual tradition. This is most evident in Jesus’s baptism when God declares Jesus to be his beloved Son, with whom he is well pleased (Matt. 3:17). This statement likely reflects influences from both Ps. 2:7 (son of David and son of God) and Isa. 42:1 (the servant).54 Fourth, Isaiah describes the king and the servant with botanical imagery (11:10). He grows up like a young plant, like a root out of dry ground (53:2). This last point coheres with the branch bearing the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord (11:1–3). In other words, if one looks at the narrative of Isaiah as a whole, rather than dividing it into sections, the servant and the Davidic king are equated or at least related.55 But not only that. The suffering servant is also the emblem of a wise king par excellence. Every picture of his suffering can and should be put under the banner of wisdom.
Heinz Held notes that Matthew does not simply hand on the traditions he receives but rather retells them.56 This is certainly the case where Matthew presents Jesus as the wise suffering servant. Like David, Jesus’s friends betray him, false witnesses rise up against him, Jesus declares his innocence, he is silent before his accusers, and finally he is mocked as the king. Matthew’s presentation is even more explicit than Mark’s in portraying Jesus as undergoing righteous suffering. In one instance, Matthew even indicates awareness of the tradition in the Hebrew Scriptures by adding a quotation where Mark has only an indirect reference (Matt. 27:43//Ps. 22:8). On other occasions Matthew reproduces Mark’s material to maintain the parallels already there (Matt. 27:34//Ps. 69:21; Matt. 27:35//Ps. 22:18; Matt. 27:39//Ps. 22:7; Matt. 27:46//Ps. 22:1). Both Pss. 22 and 69 play prominent roles in the development of the theme of the righteous sufferer and the Psalms are like floating wisdom hymns sung by the sage-king.
Both of these psalms also have first-century Davidic associations within the Psalter; their use thus indicates Matthew’s continued interest in Jesus as the Davidic messiah. “Three of Matthew’s longer expansions to Mark in his account of the trial are carefully positioned to highlight Jesus’ innocence.”57 But rather than merely focusing on a horizontal reading and how Matthew adapts Mark’s literature, it is more important to see Matthew develop his own narrative of the righteous suffering Davidic messiah. Matthew suggests Jesus is the wise suffering servant through (1) betrayal before the cross, (2) his silence and innocence at the trial, and (3) his forsakenness at the cross. The kingdom comes, but it arrives not through violence but by the Davidic servant submitting himself to death.
Betrayal before the Cross
Suffering and betrayal were always predestined for this wise king. Several predictions of Jesus’s suffering are made before the actual events. These pick up with fervency after Peter confesses that Jesus is the messiah (16:21; 17:12, 22–23; 20:18–19). Once the suffering begins, the parallels with David’s life blossom, especially with regard to Judas’s betrayal and its similarity to the revolt of Absalom and Ahithophel. First, as Van Egmond and N. Johnson note, Jesus’s movement from Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley to the Mount of Olives parallels an episode in the life of David.58 Second, as Jesus goes up to pray on the Mount of Olives, Matthew employs the same verb that describes David’s journey from Jerusalem during the revolt of Absalom and Ahithophel (2 Sam. 15:12–18:18). Therefore, Matthew sets up Jesus’s time of prayer and betrayal with the same geographical movement and even some of the same words as a Davidic episode. Third, as Absalom and Ahithophel conspire against David, so Judas conspires against Jesus.59 Fourth, David prays that the counsel of Ahithophel will be turned to foolishness (2 Sam. 15:31), and in a similar manner the counsel of Judas to the religious leaders turns to foolishness because it leads to Jesus’s enthronement and Judas’s death. Fifth, when Judas hangs himself (Matt. 27:5), readers should also be thinking of Ahithophel’s suicide (2 Sam. 17:23).60 They are the only two characters in the entire Bible to hang themselves.61
The allusions to a Davidic figure continue as Matthew then transitions to Jesus in the garden and puts words in his mouth that suggest an echo with the suffering king from the psalms, especially a close mirroring of Ps. 42:5–6. Jesus prays, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me” (περίλυπός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου ἕως θανάτου· μείνατε ὧδε καὶ γρηγορεῖτε μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ, Matt. 26:38). The parallels in the first part of the psalm are notable:62
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember you. (Ps. 42:5–6)
ἵνα τί περίλυπος εἶ, ψυχή,
καὶ ἵνα τί συνταράσσεις με;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν ἡ ψυχή μου ἐταράχθη·
διὰ τοῦτο μνησθήσομαί σου. (Ps. 41:6–7 LXX)
David also arrived on the Mount of Olives in emotional distress; he wept as he walked (2 Sam. 15:23, 30). After Jesus has finished praying that this cup would pass from him, Judas arrives with a crowd of armed soldiers (Matt. 26:47). Although no verbal parallels with the Psalms occur here, there are thematic parallels. David speaks of deadly enemies surrounding him (Ps. 17:9). He tells of the Lord preparing a table before him in the presence of his enemies, which suggests a fulfillment in the Last Supper (Ps. 23:5). David pleads to be rescued from the hands of his enemies and his persecutors (31:5); he complains that his enemies trample him all day long (56:2) and that they consult together, watching for his life (71:10).
When Judas approaches, Jesus says, “Friend, do what you are here to do” (Matt. 26:50 NRSV). This use of “friend,” both ironic and excruciating, refers to the pain of a companion’s betrayal.63 A psalm also speaks of the pain of a friend’s betrayal:
For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
then I could hide from him.
But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God’s house we walked in the throng.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
he violated his covenant.
His speech was smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords. (Ps. 55:12–14, 20–21, emphasis added)
After Judas has arrived with his band of soldiers, the opportunity for violence arises. Jesus, however, denounces violence, though it is clear that he has authority to wield such power (26:51–53; cf. 5:38–42). This action both aligns with and contradicts the David narrative. Sometimes he too resisted violence (as with Saul and Shimei; 1 Sam. 24:4; 2 Sam. 19:21–23). However, David also benefitted from violent help and was known for killing tens of thousands, but “Jesus refuses identification with . . . a militant Davidic messiah.”64 He acts as the servant. The story is new and old.
Matthew thus presents the betrayal of Jesus in the matrix of Davidic passiocentric wisdom-like texts. The First Gospel employs unique material to show Jesus acting as a type of David as his friend betrays him at his most emotional moment.65 Rather than responding with violence, he submits himself to sword and corruption. “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3). As both the Psalms and Isaiah predict, the messiah has returned to Jerusalem to be betrayed by his enemies and now even his friends.
Silence and Innocence at the Trial
Matthew continues to depict Jesus as the Davidic wise suffering servant when the scene shifts to the trials. Here readers see the false testimonies against the Lord’s anointed and Jesus’s silence and innocence as the servant (Isa. 53:7, 9). Both of these themes have resonances with David’s life and that of the servant. In the trial before the Sanhedrin (Matt. 26:57–68), the chief priests and the whole council are seeking “false testimony” (ψευδομαρτυρίαν) against Jesus. In the Psalms, David similarly cries out, “Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me” (Ps. 27:12). “For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues” (109:2). “Deliver me, O LORD, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue” (120:2). As in the Psalms, Jesus is surrounded by lying tongues and false testimony. They ask him about the temple, and then they adjure him to tell them if he is the Christ, the Son of God (Matt. 26:63). Jesus answers in the affirmative. The whole scene fulfills Ps. 2, where the kings of the earth set themselves against the Lord’s “Anointed.”
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