Matthew – Hosanna to the Son of David!
Let’s start at the beginning – what is “gospel”?
The gospel is the good news about Jesus – His life, death and resurrection. A Gospel is one of four books (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) that bring us the gospel of Jesus. We are about to embark on reading the Gospel of Matthew, so that we may learn the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Each Gospel brings a different theme. You will notice four different viewpoints of the work of your Savior as you read each Gospel. May I compare it to someone who gives a biography of George Washington, perhaps as a military leader or as a statesman or as a farmer. Three separate biographies, each helping the reader to learn more.
The first three Gospels are called the “synoptic” gospels – they present the life of Jesus from a similar point of view. The fourth Gospel, John, is of a different character. While it tells Jesus’ history, it is much more theological than the first three Gospels, which are more biographical.
Who is Matthew? Practically all we know of Matthew is recorded by himself (9:9-12), by Mark (2:13-17) and Luke (5:27-32). Matthew records his previous name, Levi. It seems that after he left his position as a tax collector, he discarded that old name as well as the old life.
He is not prominent among the Apostles in any part of the Bible. We have only meager and unsatisfactory records of his life after the Bible is closed. It is said that he worked in Jerusalem for 15 years, then extended gospel proclamation to Africa and Eurasia – to the Ethiopians, Macedonians, Syrians, Persians and Medes.
From the Lutheran Study Bible:
Blessings for readers:
· As you read the Gospel according to Matthew, rejoice especially in the very full accounting he gives of Jesus’ teachings. His five discourses record more of Jesus’ parables and sayings that are recorded by Mark and Luke. Also take special note of the promise that Christ is coming again to reign eternally. As you face struggles, dwell on this sure and certain hope in your Savior.
Challenges for readers:
· Order and Meaning of the Story. In the Gospels, the teachings and events of Jesus’ life are not simply gathered together randomly but are presented (narrated) for the instruction of the reader. Matthew’s account illustrates this clearly by the five sermons, or discourses, that organize Jesus’ teaching into blocks (chs. 5-7; 10; 13; 18; 24-25). The passages before and after each saying or event often help the reader interpret their meaning and role in the larger story. The study of these relationships is important for interpreting and applying the Gospel message. In other words, it is important to study the story as Matthew presents it before comparing his account with other Gospels.
· Jesus and the Community of Faith. Since the Gospel according to Matthew is the only Gospel to directly mention congregations (16:18; 18:17), some interpreters have emphasized the role of the early Christian churches in writing this Gospel. A typical critical argument is that Matthew strongly reflects the needs, interests, and interpretations of early congregations and that members of these congregations made up the stories and teachings about Jesus’ life to address issues of their time and place. Although Matthew does focus more on the community of faith than do the other Gospels, that does not mean his Gospel is about early churches rather than the actual events and teachings of Jesus. Matthew answers questions about congregational life while faithfully describing Jesus’ ministry, which founded the community of faith.
· The End of the World – Eschatology. Matthew emphasizes that the life and teachings of Jesus fulfill God’s plan to reign over His people from heaven. In Jesus, the end-times reign of God has come. In Matthew, Jesus mentions the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven” 48 times. This is the single most important theme of the Gospel.
In Ten Words or Less:
The Kingdom of God arrives
in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Outline of Matthew:
I. The Person of Jesus (chapter 1:1-4:16)
II. The Proclamation and ministry of Jesus Christ to Israel (ch. 4:17-16:20)
III. The suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for Israel and for all people (ch. 16:21-28:20)
Reading Plan for Matthew
We return to one of the longer books, and you again have two reading plans. We strongly encourage reading this entire book – it is a Gospel! However, there is a shortened reading plan as well, for those who must choose to read selected portions.
The reading plan is for six days – with a day of rest. Obviously you may choose to read it in seven days. Just get started!
Feel free also to listen to the Bible and follow along in the text. The Bible is on tape or you can access the entire Bible at Biblegateway.com. At the bottom of the homepage, look for the line “Listen to the Bible.”
Whole Book: / Selected Chapters:Sunday / Chapters 1-5 / Chapters 3-4
Monday / Ch. 6-9 / Ch. 5-7
Tuesday / Ch. 11-15 / Ch. 8, 10-11
Wednesday / Ch. 16-20 / Ch. 13-14, 16
Thursday / Ch. 21-24 / Ch. 17, 21-22, 24
Friday / Ch. 25-28 / Ch. 26-28
Saturday / Make-up Day / Day of Rest
Total chapters: / 28 / 18