Isaiah's Abrahamic New Exodus in Matthew 1-4

Matthew begins his Gospel with a threefold caption introducing Jesus as the Christ, the Son of David, and the Son of Abraham. Considerable attention has been given to the titles of Christ and son of David. However, less attention is given to the significance of the son of Abraham. This title is often assumed to simply refer to Jesus’ ethnic heritage.

Utilising structural exegesis and intertextual disciplines, Kinde continues the growing conversation regarding Jesus as the son of the Abraham. Identifying four quotations from the prophecy of Isaiah, Kinde observes Matthew’s literary artistry crafting the first movement of his Gospel. Observing Matthew’s spacing and placement of Isaianic quotations reveals the Gospel’s compositional symmetry.

Matthew’s Isaianic quotations share the same thematic context. Three of these references come from Isaiah 7-11. Kinde applies an intertextual reading to discern the Abrahamic motif behind this unit of Isaiah. Abraham established a paradigm making the first exodus from both Egypt and Babylon. Isaiah’s Abrahamic motif influences Matthew’s development of a New Exodus christology. Jesus follows and fulfills the paradigm as the greater son of Abraham in Matthew’s Gospel.

Kinde’s discussion deepens the reader’s appreciation of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham. The study assists preachers and Bible teachers identifying narrative units and themes to organize their material revealing Christ in all the Scriptures.

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