The Gospel of Matthew - Intro

I've been studying Matthew recently and I thought it might be enjoyable to share some things with you.

This first post will be a short overview of the book. Then in each subsequent blog I will look at one passage in one chapter. For example, in the next post we'll be looking at Matthew 1:18-25, the next post after that we'll look at 2:1-12, and so on. Why not look at every verse in every chapter? There are a couple of reasons, the first of which is that I'd love for our discussions here to pique your interest in the book and inspire you to study some passages on your own. Second, I simply don't have the time - my goal is to post something at least once a week. At that pace it would take us the rest of our lives to go through the whole book. But don't worry - we'll be paying such close attention to the context in the passages we do look at that you will still have a good feel for the whole book.



So, each week I'll post. At the end of each post, I will give you the passage for the next week. I encourage you to read the whole chapter, though, so that you will be familiar with the context. It would be better still if you could read the chapter several times. If you are even more ambitious, make notes of your own observations of the passage and then compare them to my comments. You'll undoubtedly pick up things I missed and I would be thrilled to hear your insights. Just post a comment at the bottom of my post.



Okay, let's get started. There are a number of key themes in Matthew that we want to be aware of as we read. See if you can identify elements of these as we go through each subsequent passage.



1. The Identity of Christ - Matthew will take great care in establishing who Jesus is. The first several chapters are key. It will be clear that he wants us to be aware of Jesus' credentials before we ever hear a word of Jesus' teaching. Of course, Jesus' identity has everything to do with the significance of what He does at the end of the book.



2. The Kingdom - Matthew puts more emphasis on the kingdom than any of the other Gospels. Watch for the phrase 'kingdom of heaven' as you read and note what we learn about the kingdom from what is written.



3. Fulfillment of the Old Testament (OT)/Old Covenant - Matthew vigorously uses the OT, presenting Jesus as the fulfillment of all that has come before. It will be a very interesting exercise to look at Matthew's OT quotations and then look those verses up where they actually occur in the OT. Most Bibles will have Matthew's OT quotes in all caps and then note the OT reference in the margin. If your bible does not, you can look at the passage in the NetBible.



4. "...to the Jew first and also to the Greek..." - Matthew gives a clear representation of this Romans 1:16 phrase. We will see very intentional comments in Matthew about Christ's exclusive mission to the Jews. By the end of the book we'll see an obvious shift in the gospel's focus and also get an idea of when the focus shifted.



5. The Authority of Christ - We'll be able to trace this theme throughout the book, seeing from where His authority came, what it's purpose was, and what He did with it. And what it means for us.




It will be important to be aware of the structure of the book, as well. Here is a quick blue print:

Ch. 1-4 /Narrative/ Intro: main character introduced
Ch. 5-7 /Discourse/ Jesus’ demands upon Israel
Ch. 8-9 /Narrative/ Jesus’ deeds within and for Israel
Ch. 10 /Discourse/ Ministry through others’ words and deeds
Ch. 11-12 /Narrative/ Israel’s negative response
ch. 13 /Discourse/ Explanation of Israel’s negative response
Ch. 14-17 /Narrative/ Founding of the Church
Ch. 18 /Discourse/ Teaching for the Church
Ch. 19-23 /Narrative/ Commencement of the Passion
Ch. 24-25 /Discourse/ The future: judgment and salvation
Ch. 26-28 /Narrative/ Conclusion: passion and resurrection

Don't want to give away any more than this. Next time we'll be looking at Matthew 1:18-25, but don't forget to read the whole chapter. The questions we want to answer are, 'what is the point of this passage? why is it in the book of Matthew?' Also, pay close attention to the genealogy at the beginning of the chapter. Why is it there? (And why doesn't it agree with the genealogy in Luke?!)

Drink deep and I'll talk to you soon. Ephesians 1:15-17.