Hauerwas on Matthew 1 (1)

I can't believe that it's been almost two years since I posted on my blog!  I also can't believe that I've had this blog since 2004.  Time absolutely flies by.  The older I get - the faster it goes.

I wanted to get back into a discipline of spiritual writing.  I feel like I read a lot, but I'm not sure how much I retain when I don't process it through writing.  Thought I'd give it a shot on this forum.  May only last today - I don't know.

I've been reading the Brazos Theological Commentary on Matthew, written by Stanley Hauerwas.  I'm a huge fan of Hauerwas - was exposed to him while in Wheaton and through a family member who attended Duke.  Today - I started in on his thoughts on Matthew 1.  I really appreciated some of the things he communicated.

For one:  He observes that Matthew 1:1 designates Jesus as a descendant of 'David and Abraham.'  He thought it was curious.  Why not just go all the way back to Adam?  There must be a reason why Matthew writes it this way:  Hauerwas speculates that it's because Matthew wants Jesus connected with kingship (David) and sacrifice (Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac.)  "Matthew prepares us to recognize that this is a king who will end up on the cross (p. 27)."

Hauerwas thinks that there is great intention in the names and order of 1:1.  I'm a sucker for this kind of thinking.  He may be wrong - but I love making those interesting connections... and understanding that original readers/hearers would pick up on those types of connections because of their familiarity with the OT.  I LOVE that Matthew had a specific strategy for his gospel and starts unpacking it right away in the first sentence!