The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - How Matthew Connects the Old Testament Dots

Episode Date: January 23, 2026

What if the Gospel of Matthew is quietly connecting dots you’ve never noticed before? Jeff explains how the Gospel of Matthew masterfully recapitulates Israel’s story and reveals that Jesus is the fulfillment of all of God's promises and the prophecies of the Old Testament. Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail]. Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit https://media.ascensionpress.com/?s=&page=2&category%5B0%5D=Ascension%20Podcasts&category%5B1%5D=The%20Jeff%20Cavins%20Show for full shownotes!

This podcast is brought to you by Ascension. To discover even more free Catholic podcasts, videos, and resources, to help you live your faith every day, visit ascensionpress.com. Welcome to the Jeff Kaven Show, where we talk about the Bible, discipleship, and evangelization, putting it all together in living as activated disciples. This is show 466. Matthew connects the Old Testament dots. Welcome to the show, my friend. Good to have you with me again this week as we delve into Scripture. If you just join me this week, I got to let you know we started a series two weeks ago on Matthew. And not a full study of Matthew, but an introduction to Matthew. Why? Well, because the liturgical year A is upon us. And on each of the three liturgical years, we focus on a gospel. And A is Matthew.

And we've already started the liturgical calendar, but, hey, to be brought up to speed, it's a good thing. And I wanted to associate you. I wanted to orient you to this gospel a little more so that you would enjoy it. And I also think it's a good year for you to start a Bible study at your church. Start a Bible study with your friends. Start a Bible study with yourself. And I would recommend, of course, the Matthew study that I did for Ascension Press, part of the great adventure, Bible study. series. It's Matthew, the king in his kingdom. 24 weeks. It's a big one, but is it rich? And you got a whole liturgical year to get her done. So I would encourage you to do that if you can. In the first show a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about how unique the gospel of Matthew is. Last week,

we talked about the Bible genealogies and how interesting they actually are. So not only is Matthew unique. It's interesting. And today we're going to see that Matthew does a wonderful job of connecting you to the Old Testament. Now, show 1, 2, and 3. That's show 464, 465, 466. And then next week is 467. These four are really focusing primarily on the introduction to the book. And that's chapters 1 and 2. However, next week I will be getting into the beginning part. the origin of Jesus' public ministry down at the Jordan River. And I'm going to show you how he fulfills the Old Testament next week. But today, aha, we're talking about Jesus connecting the Old Testament dots via Matthew and his writing.

Now, why is this so important? Well, the reason that this is so important is that we as Catholics believe that the entire Bible is Christocentric. What does that mean? Well, it means that no matter where you are in the Bible, it finds its fulfillment. and ultimate meeting in Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of all of it, no matter what. And that's why it's important for us to know the Old Testament, get a hold of the Bible timeline, go through the whole Bible with me.

And people ask me that all the time. They'll say, what's the key to really understanding Jesus ministry? You know, because I'm reading in the New Testament all about him. Well, the key is actually to know the Old Testament because then you'll know what he's fulfilling, right? Oh, by the way, if you want the show notes, which I, I've been giving you some good ones here, all you got to do is text my name, Jeff Kaven's, one word, Jeff Kavins, to the number 3377. 3377.

Okay, so let's look at this. I want to pick up with the end of chapter one, and then we're going to look into chapter two to see how Matthew connects the dots of what's happening in Jesus' life to events in the Old Testament. Very, very important. We could call this, as we're going to call it next week, recapitulative history in a way, you know, where Jesus is reliving the life of Israel. Next week, I'll show you that in spades, and I'll show you that with Jesus at the Jordan River and the wilderness of Judea, the temptation in the wilderness. You won't want to miss that show for sure, because that's going to give you an idea of how he goes about connecting dots and fulfilling everything in the

Old Testament. So Matthew, remember, is writing to a Jewish audience. Now, he's writing to a Jewish audience, but that doesn't mean that they know everything about the Old Testament and its connection to the acts of Jesus, what he's doing. They know a lot because they're Jews and they know the Torah and the five books of Moses and so forth. And we talked about that in the first lesson. But it doesn't mean that what is obvious to you about an Old Testament quote from Isaiah or Micah or Hosea, it doesn't mean that they make the connection as easily as you do. The reason that you make the connection between Jesus and these Old Testament quotes is because you grew up that way.

You heard it every Christmas. You heard it at feast days and so forth. They never had that repetition of connecting a common scripture in the Old Testament to a future Messiah. especially named Jesus, right? So there's five of these. Now, when Matthew quotes the Old Testament in the introduction of Matthew, he is using what theologians call a formula quotation. Big fancy word.

Formula quotation. What's a formula quotation? That is a quotation from the Old Testament that is showing the reader and the listener something that the writer, Matthew, didn't think they would know readily. It wouldn't immediately pick up on this. They had to be told. And again, you didn't because you've heard it in church growing up, okay? But it wasn't common for a first century Jew to make that connection.

So the first one is in chapter one of Matthew. And it talks about the birth of Jesus Christ in chapter 1, 18 on. and then it says all of this in verse 22, all of this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which means God with us. Now this was given to Joseph and he woke from the sleep. He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, Mary, but knew her not until she had born a son and he called his name. Jesus. We'll take a look at that word until here, because I know that question comes up.

So, behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son. His name shall be called Emmanuel. Who doesn't know that? Right? Well, who doesn't? Is a first century Jew who didn't make that connection. So Matthew said, I got to make it for you. Now, where is he quoting from? Well, he's quoting from Isaiah chapter 7 in verse 14. And he mentions that a virgin shall conceive, bear a son, and he's even got a name. His name is Emmanuel. Now, Emmanuel means God is with us. God with us. Now, here's what's interesting. Matthew 28, 19 and 20 is the other book end. The gospel opens up with God is with us. The gospel ends with God will never leave you. I will be with you always, even to the end of time.

Isn't that beautiful? So the book ends here in Matthew are, God is with us. Isaiah 7.4. 14 initially prophesied the birth of King Hezekiah, who rescued Israel from harm. Second Kings 18, 1 through 6. I'll stick that in the notes for you. And Matthew sees a deeper level of meaning here. He sees a deeper level. The name Jesus, God saves. It was sin that landed them in Babylon.

Jesus would save them from sin, thus saving them from the ultimate exile, his eternity away from him. So this is what Matthew is bringing out. Yes, there was a historical context. The initial prophecy was the birth of King Hizakaya, who rescued Israel from harm. But Matthew sees a deeper meaning here. He sees an allegorical meaning, meaning that how does this relate to Christ, that he is going to be born.

He is going to save the world from their sin, from destruction. Now in verse 25, it says that Joseph took Marius' wife but knew her not until she had born a son. Now, to know her not means to have sexual relations, and the church teaches us that she's perpetually a virgin. And so we have this word, until he knew her not, until she had born a son. Now right away, people say, you see, he did not have relations with her until, until. Then he did, but that's not true. The Greek word, haos, until, does not imply that Joseph and Mary had marital relations following Jesus' birth.

This word is often used to indicate a select period of time translated to or till without implying a change in the future. An example, in 2nd Samuel 623, and Michael, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day of her death. Same idea. And Michael, the daughter of Saul, had no child to the day of her death. Well, does that mean that when she died she had a child? No. It just means she didn't have a child till then. And that's what this is talking about with Joseph and Mary and sexual relations. 1st Timothy 413, Paul said, till I come, attend to public reading of scripture to preaching and to teaching. till I come. Does that mean that you don't attend to Scripture preaching and teaching after I get there?

No, it just says during this period of time. So Mary's perpetual virginity is firmly established in Scripture and in church tradition. Formula quotation number two. You'll find this in chapter two and it's verses, what is it, five and six. Let's see, you've got to go back a little bit. It's the visit of the wise men. And verse 3, when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled. Oh, he didn't want another king, right? And all Jerusalem with him, and assembling all the chief priests and scribes and the people, he inquired of them, where the Christ was to be born. They told him in Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet,

and you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people. Israel. Okay. And so the quote there, and you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah are by no means, least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel. That is a quote from Micah 5.2. Now in verse 11 of chapter 2 here, we see that there was the visit from the Magi, and the visit may be in response to Isaiah, 60, where Gentile nations bring gifts to the God of Israel.

Now, when you read this and you understand that Matthew inserted Micah 5-2 in here so that you would see the connection between what Micah was saying about Bethlehem and how a ruler would come out of this city, then you begin to realize a number of other things. we see the visit from the magi, all right, and they gave gifts to Jesus, to God. Now, the allegorical sense of this, that is, how does it relate to Christ? St. Iranaus said, the gifts of the magi signify the mystery of Christ's incarnate. Gold is a symbol of royalty. It represents the kingship of Jesus.

Frankencence is used in the worship of God points to his divinity. Mur, a burial ointment, signifies the human. of Christ, especially in his passion and death. And then the moral sense, how does it relate to us? St. Gregory the Great said, the treasures signify the gifts we present to Christ in our daily lives. Gold, Christ's wisdom, which shines in us. Franken sense is the prayer and adoration we give him.

Mur is our daily self-sacrifice to him. That's a beautiful thing. Now, let's take a break. When we come back, I'll go into three, four, and five real quick for you to show you those formula quotations, which are again, Matthew stating the obvious that wasn't obvious. You're listening to The Jeff Kaven Show. I am Father Colomba, Jordan a Franciscan friar of the renewal living here in Ireland. This lent, I'm partnering with Ascension to bring you Crooks, a set of daily challenges

and videos in the Ascension app. Starting Ash Wednesday, we'll take on four challenges each day that remind us of the cross of Christ. One, reading scripture, two, praying the examined prayer, three, doing one workout or exercise and four, and dietary fast of your choice. Nothing extreme. It's about stepping into small daily challenges that rub up against our weakness so we can learn to meet God in those moments and rely on him alone. So here's the invitation. Join me every day this Lent in the Ascension app. Get ready for a that stretches you, challenges you, and draws you closer to God. Download and subscribe to the Ascension app to get started today.

God bless you. I'll see you soon. Thank you for returning. We're looking here at the formula quotations in Matthew 1 and 2. The introduction to Matthew. He's setting the stage, showing you that the dots are being connected by Jesus, and he is being so kind to mention it because he knows we'd never get it otherwise. If they didn't get it in the first century, they're not going to get it today, are we?

So now the third one. The third formula quotation is in chapter two, and it is verse 15. Verse 13, now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there till I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him, and he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, out of Egypt, have I called my son. And that, my friend, is Hosea 11 in verse 1. Did they see that connection? No.

Did they after Matthew? Yes. Thank you, Matthew, for clarifying that. So, Josea, what does he do? Josea looks back to Egypt and forward to Christ. He looks back to Egypt and forward to Christ. Now, here's the interesting thing about Joseph and the parallel between the life of Joseph and Israel and Egypt.

Okay? And this is why Matthew brings it up, because the context is Joseph brings the child Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary to Egypt. Now, here's, there are six major parallels here. One, both lives are threatened in their infancy. Now, you can do this comparison with the Old Testament Joseph and the New Testament Joseph, but you can also look at the life of Israel in Egypt. So both Joseph, their lives were threatened in their infancy,

by an edict to kill Hebrew male children. Now this obviously is parallel with Israel in Egypt. So both lives are threatened in their infancy by an edict to kill Hebrew male children. Two, both are saved by a family member. Israel was saved by Joseph in the Old Testament. And in the New Testament, Joseph, the stepfather of Jesus, Jesus is the one that's saving his life. Imagine that's saving the Savior's life.

Number three, both found protection for a time in Egypt, right? Yes, Israel did for a period of time after Joseph, and they've enjoyed some protection. That came to an end. And same with Joseph, Jesus, and Mary, the Holy Family, finding some protection for a period of time. Number four, both were called back to their birthplace after a time of flight. And number five, both spent 40 days and nights fasting alone in the wilderness. And both, number six, were commissioned by God to promulgate his covenant law. Israel, under the leadership of Moses and Jesus.

On the sermon on the mouth, the new law. Now, in verse 16 of chapter 2, you've got the killing of the children. and the church considers these children the first martyrs of the church, the holy innocence. And the feast day is, we just had it just a few weeks ago, December 28th. Now, formula quotation number four, this is in verse 17 and 18. It picks up then Herod when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was in a furious rage, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem, and in all that region who were two years old or under,

according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah. Here's the fourth formula quotation. He's going to quote from Jeremiah 3115, A voice was heard in Rama, wailing in loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children. She refused to be consoled because they were no more. That is a formula quotation.

Now, you know it. You've heard it before. Did they see the connection? Again, no, they didn't. They had to be told by Matthew. Now it mentions this city called Rama. A voice was heard in Rama. Now we've got to put our thinking caps on.

We've got to do some Bible study. Rama. Where's Rama? Well, Rama is a city five miles north of Jerusalem. It's a place of sorrow and exile. Rama is like, saying twin towers in the United States. You see, the Assyrians first devastated northern Israel in 722, and later the Babylonians conquered the southern tribes in 587 BC. Rama became the

assembly point for hauling away captives. You can read about it in Jeremiah 40 in verse 1. I'll stick it in the notes for you, even. So Matthew sees Bethlehem as the new city of sorrow, where many are killed, and the Messiah, representing Jesus, is carried away. He goes to Egypt, right? He went to Egypt. He identifies with Israel in every single way. Herod doesn't get away with it. His death is mentioned how many times?

Three times. Chapter 2, verse 15, verse 19, verse 20. The context of Jeremiah 31, this formulae quotation offers hope. Hope. That's what it's mentioning. Hope. A return. And of course, Jesus is leading the big return. Now, number five. Now this one is in verse 23. It actually ends the chapter. Listen to this. When Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying, rise, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel. For those, who sought the child's life are dead, and he rose and took the child in his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus reigned over Judea, in place of his father, Herod,

he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee. And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophet might be fulfilled, he shall be called a Nazarene. Again, you think, well, didn't they read it and put one and one together and come up with two? No, they did not. Matthew did, though. And aren't you glad because I don't think you would have either, and I wouldn't have, unless we're told. So, he shall be called a Nazarene. That's Isaiah 111. That's the formula quotation. Now, you know, the prophets that speak formulate their ideas from what is happening at their times. Okay?

But what's happening at the time in Isaiah 11 has a deeper meaning. It's Christocentric. And that's the beauty of studying the Old Testament. I love it. And that is, you can find out what it literally meant to that writer at that time, but then you can look at the spiritual sense, how it related to Jesus, to you, and the future. All right?

Now, what does Nazarene refer to? Nazarene comes from the Hebrew word Netzer, N-E-T-Z-E-R. I'll stick in the notes, translated as branch. Now, you can see in Zechariah 3-8, Zechreya uses this word, Semach, which speaks of this branch. Zechariah 6, 11, 12, and 13, the branch shall build the temple.

And then in Isaiah 11, verse 1, our formulaic quotation, Isaiah uses Netzer for branch. Isn't that interesting? Netzer for branch. Isaiah used the image of a branch growing from a stump to signify hope for the kingdom of God. And the great Davidic tree had been cut off since the exile in 587 BC, but the sprouting branch signifies hope from a hopeless situation.

And that's Jesus. He shall be called a Nazarene. He was from Nazareth, but there's a deeper meaning there. And that's why it's so very, very important to get into the Word of God and study it and dig out the meaning and apply it to your life. I mentioned to you, Zechariah 3, 8. It says this, here now, Joshua, the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men of good ome, and behold, I will bring my servant the brink. ranch. That's this idea of Seymach. And that's the fifth formulaic quotation. So let's wrap this up. We know that Matthew's communicating to a first century audience who doesn't necessarily know or make

these connections. So he does it for them. And he's giving us a jumpstart in connecting the dots between the Old Testament narrative and the New Testament narrative of Jesus. Israel, Jesus, Israel, the fulfillment of everything related to Israel. And so that's the beginning of this gospel. Next week, I'm going to take you into chapters three and four for just a jumpstart in how Jesus fulfills everything and what to watch for the rest of the year as you go through this marvelous, marvelous book, the Gospel of Matthew. Again, if you want the notes, my name, Jeff Kaven's one word, text it to the number 3-3-7-7. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, we love you so much. And we thank you, Lord, for giving us life.

We thank you, Lord, for saving us and continuing to save us. We thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit that we can continue now to continue your work and to walk with you and you are in us. You are the hope of glory. In Jesus' name, amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, I love you. Look forward to talking to you next week.