Matthew's Use of Providence in Narrative
Matthew's Use of Providence in Narrative
Matthew's Gospel presents a nuanced understanding of providence, weaving together the sovereignty of God with human agency. The concept of providence is not explicitly defined in Matthew, but it is implicit in various narratives and parables throughout the text.
The term "providence" refers to God's preserving and governing all things by means of second causes [1]. In Matthew's narrative, this concept is evident in the way God guides events to achieve His purposes. For instance, the parable of the mustard seed illustrates how the kingdom of heaven grows from small beginnings, much like a mustard seed that a man sows in his field [2]. This parable suggests that God's providence is at work in the mundane aspects of life, guiding the course of events towards a larger purpose.
Matthew Henry, a Nonconformist/Puritan commentator, notes that God's providence extends to the affairs of men and individuals, influencing their decisions and actions [1, 4]. In Matthew 9:9, Henry observes that Jesus' call of Matthew, a tax collector, demonstrates God's providence in reaching out to individuals and using them for His purposes [7]. This event highlights the intersection of human agency and divine providence, as Matthew's response to Jesus' call is both a personal decision and a manifestation of God's sovereign will.
The centurion's statement in Matthew 8:9, "For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers," illustrates the hierarchical structure of authority and the concept of delegated power, reflecting the providential ordering of society [3]. This understanding is reinforced by Henry's commentary on Proverbs 16:33, which notes that God's providence directs events that appear random or fortuitous to humans [6].
In Matthew's narrative, providence is not limited to grand or miraculous events but is also evident in the everyday aspects of life. The Gospel presents a vision of God's sovereignty that encompasses all of life, guiding human decisions and actions towards the fulfillment of His purposes.
The interplay between divine providence and human agency is a recurring theme in Matthew's Gospel. As Henry comments on Ezekiel 1:15, God's government of the world is not limited to the spiritual realm but extends to the natural world and human affairs [5]. This understanding of providence underscores the idea that God's sovereignty is not in competition with human freedom but is rather the context in which human decisions and actions take place.
Sources
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Providence — Literally means foresight, but is generally used to denote God's preserving and governing all things by means of second causes (Ps. 18:35; 63:8; Acts 17:28; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3). God's providence extends to the natural world (Ps. 104:14; 135:5-7; Acts 14:17), the brute creation (Ps. 104:21-29; Matt. 6:26; 10:29), and the affairs of men (1 Chr. 16:31; Ps. 47:7; Prov. 21:1; Job 12:23; Dan. 2:21; 4:25), and of individuals (1 Sam. 2:6; Ps. 18:30; Luke 1:53; James 4:13-15). It extends also to the free actions of men (Ex. 12:36; 1 Sam. 24:9-15; Ps. 33:14, 15; ”
- Matthew “Matthew 13:31 (Geneva1599) — Another parable he put foorth vnto them, saying, The kingdome of heauen is like vnto a graine of mustard seede, which a man taketh and soweth in his fielde:”
- Matthew “For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” -- Matthew 8:9”
- Proverbs (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Proverbs 29:13: This shows how wisely the great God serves the designs of his providence by persons of very different tempers, capacities, and conditions in the world, even, 1. By those that are contrary the one to the other. Some are poor and forced to borrow; others are rich, have a great deal of the mammon of unrighteousness (deceitful riches they are called), and they are creditors, or usurers, as it is in the margin. Some are poor, and honest, and laborious; others are rich, slothful, and deceitful. They meet together in the business of this world, and have dealings with ”
- Ezekiel (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Ezekiel 1:15: The prophet is very exact in making and recording his observations concerning this vision. And here we have, I. The notice he took of the wheels, Eze 1:15-21. The glory of God appears not only in the splendour of his retinue in the upper world, but in the steadiness of his government here in this lower world. Having seen how God does according to his will in the armies of heaven, let us now see how he does according to it among the inhabitants of the earth; for there, on the earth, the prophet saw the wheels, Eze 1:15. As he beheld the living creatures, and was c”
- Proverbs (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Proverbs 16:33: Note, 1. The divine Providence orders and directs those things which to us are perfectly casual and fortuitous. Nothing comes to pass by chance, nor is an event determined by a blind fortune, but every thing by the will and counsel of God. What man has neither eye nor hand in God is intimately concerned in. 2. When solemn appeals are made to Providence by the casting of lots, for the deciding of that matter of moment which could not otherwise be at all, or not so well, decided, God must be eyed in it, by prayer, that it may be disposed aright (Give a perfect lo”
- Matthew (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Matthew 9:9: In these verses we have an account of the grace and favour of Christ to poor publicans, particularly to Matthew. What he did to the bodies of people was to make way for a kind design upon their souls. Now observe here, I. The call of Matthew, the penman of this gospel. Mark and Luke call him Levi; it was ordinary for the same person to have two names: perhaps Matthew was the name he was most known by as a publican, and, therefore, in his humility, he called himself by that name, rather than by the more honourable name of Levi. Some think Christ gave him the name o”