Matthew 2 Herod and the King

SLIDE 1 How can we not take advantage of these first two chapters in Matthew to talk about Christmas? My pastor’s birthday is in January and he starts counting down the months until Christmas in summer, more likely February.  We are even having a Christmas in October decoration swap.  Many years ago in order to celebrate Christmas in public school I created a unit called “Christmas around the World.” Today it would have to be “Holidays around the World.”

SLIDE 2 From that experience learned celebrations among Spanish speaking children were more in keeping with the birth of Jesus than our tradition of Santa Claus. One festival is The Three Kings Day which recounts the story of the three wise men that brought gifts to baby Jesus. There are parades and parties and good food. Some children fill their shoes with straw or carrots for the kings horses. Their favorite is Balthazar who rides a donkey and is who is believed to leave small gifts. Sometimes this holiday is referred to as the “12^th Day of Christmas.”
SLIDE 3 The twelve days of Christmas start from December 25 until the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6. I posted the Christian interpretation of the 12 days that I found on our FB page. The foreign travelers did not arrive in time for the birth in the manger. Some call Matthew 2:1-12, called “The Gospel for Epiphany,” 

Matthew 2 shows us the best and worst of human nature. The journey of the magi must have been long and difficult and expensive. When they found the Christ child they fell down and worshiped him. Offering treasures of gold and frankincense and myrrh. While the outrageous reaction of Herod culminated in the infanticide of all Jewish boys under two living in the area of Bethlehem, symbolizes the worst. Let us pray.

SLIDE 4 How does God Speak? This is not an exhaustive list. God certainly has all manner or ways of speaking to His children. Ponder the idea as we study. If you will open your bible to Matthew 2 you can follow along.

·        Through His Creation

·        Sending His Angels

·        Dreams

·        Holy Spirit

SLIDE 5 Matthew 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, ²saying, "Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him."
Why did these wise men-wealthy, educated foreigners study the stars concerning the prophecy of a Jewish King? In the scriptures they found a promise about a star.

SLIDE 6 How does God make Himself known to man?       
Through His Creation

• ·        Balaam’s Donkey (What does a donkey have to do with the Star?)
• ·        Moses’ Burning Bush
• ·        Star to the Magi

NUMBERS 22:2-6 Balak, king of Moab, sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor.  “ Come, curse this people Israel, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” Balaam was a diviner and false prophet for hire. God spoke to Balaam in a dream telling him not to go. Balak offered more money.

On the way, Balaam has some donkey trouble. You may know the story of Balaam’s donkey. Trying to protect his master the donkey presses against the wall and Balaam beats this loyal animal 3 TIMES. Numbers 22:22-38 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

Now tell me why he did not think that strange? But He answers him!!! The Lord revealed to Balaam the angel standing in his path with a sword. That definitely would convince me. God would not allow Balaam to curse Israel only to bless. You can imagine Balak was not happy. “What the Lord speaks, that will I speak.” 
It wasn’t that Balaam did not know God’s will; he did not want to do God’s will.

SLIDE 7 Balaam spoke oracles over the Children of Israel. Numbers 24:15-17 is the Final of three Oracles…. the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
¹⁶ the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
    and knows the knowledge of the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
    falling down with his eyes uncovered:
¹⁷ I see him, but not now;
    I behold him, but not near:
    a star shall come out of Jacob,
    and a scepter (King) shall rise out of Israel;

“Thus Balaam's reluctant, but divinely inspired, prophecy, revealed that a unique Star associated with Israel would accompany a future King would eventually rule the world.”

SLIDE 8 Psalm 147: 4 He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.

The Bible says the stars can carry messages from God on high. The stars were part of his communication to those living in the Magi’s day. The burning bush was God’s invitation to Moses, an invitation to draw near and to hear a fuller message. When the Magi saw signs in the heavens, they responded as did Moses. They drew near to learn more. 

SLIDE 9 How do you know God’s will? We are fashioned for a relationship with our Creator. Is He speaking to you? Can you hear Him in the hustle bustle of your daily schedule? Draw near to him and learn more of His loving care. Psalm 37: is a good place to start.

³    Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

⁴    Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵    Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

⁷   Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;

²³ The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

SLIDE 10 Okay, so the Magi found this obscure scripture. Ladies I not only want to know what Matthew says but I want to know the why and how it happened? Don’t you!  Why would foreign scholars care about this small nation of Israel? Unlike Herod they were in awe of the God of Israel and eager to find the King of the Jews. Stay with me now as we return to the OT.

Other ways God spoke was through Dreams and Visions

•      King Nebuchadnezzar

•      Daniel

•      Wise Men

•      Joseph

How does God speak to you?

 Last year in CBS evening class we studied Daniel, a man who heard from God through dreams and visions. God allowed Babylon to discipline his people. King Nebuchadnezzar went to Jerusalem and captured “youths without blemish, of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace.” Daniel 1:4

SLIDE 11 Nebuchadnezzar was troubled with a dream. Daniel and his companions prayed for wisdom. Daniel 2:19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven giving God all the glory.

The King declared "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery."  He gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

SLIDE 12 The well known story of Daniel in the Lion’s den proved to King Cyrus the power of Daniel’s God. In chapter 6:26 King Cyrus commanded people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.

The Magi, especially those in Babylon and Persia would have been familiar with Daniel and the supremacy of His God.  Some of the Magi may even have been Jews in religion. Remember Queen Esther’s bold approach to the King resulting in God’s preservation of the Jews in Persia. The last verse in the book of Esther 8:17 states "many of the people of the land became Jews."  

“This event in itself would prompt the Persian members of the Magi at that time to study the Jewish sacred books, especially the Messianic prophecies of Daniel.  It would easily be possible for the Persian Magi, to put these prophecies of Balaam and Daniel together, and thus be watching for "His star" to appear.” When They Saw the Starby Henry M. Morris, Ph.D.

SLIDE 13 The wise men did not arrive in Jerusalem just looking for one baby born of the Jews.  They arrived looking for one born king of the Jews. This would have been particularly disturbing to Herod the Great, the Roman-appointed King of the Jews.  

Let’s look at Matthew 2:2-6

2-6 assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, (King Herod)he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

⁵    They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

SLIDE 14 ⁶      "'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 shepherd my people Israel.'" This reference comes from Micah 5:3 All through the Old Testaments are prophecies of the coming Messiah for those willing to study.

SLIDE 15 God also communicates by Sending Angels.  Another part of the Christmas story in Luke occurs when the angel sent to Zachariah during his once in a lifetime service in the Holy of Holies informed his wife Elizabeth would bear a son. (More on that next week.)

•      Also Mary was visited by an angel and the Holy Spirit.

•      An angel chorus announced to the Shepherds the birth of Jesus.

Are you ready for Christmas yet? How does God communicate with you?

SLIDE 16 All these years of studying and just this week I realized that the STAR the Wise Men followed sometimes was hidden from view and then reappeared. Let’s continue. Isn’t this a beautiful picture of the nativity? It appears that the Magi were present at the cave the birthplace of Christ. As we mentioned the Epiphany was the 12th day of Christmas  celebrated on January 6, Joseph must have secured more permanent housing for the family.

SLIDE 17 Matthew 2:9-12 And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

¹¹ And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Alleluia

How do we welcome this GOOD NEWS?  Do you begrudge the retailers starting in September with the commercialization of Christmas?

SLIDE 18 After years of stressing over the holiday madness, I now only celebrate the Birth of Jesus. Gone from my house are all signs of Santa Claus and the frenzy of shopping for gifts no one really needs. Only Chrismons hang on my tree every year and Nativity scene decorate my home.

Verse 12 tells us God protected the caravan of Wise Men. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, the Magi departed to their own country by another way.

 SLIDE 19 ¹³Now 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 until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."

¹⁴And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod.

Herod, at home in Jerusalem, surrounded by advisors well versed in the scriptures, yet he did not know what was happening in Bethlehem, had not noticed the star, he had no message from God about the Messiah.

SLIDE 20 Herod was not a full Jew. His lineage came through Esau instead of Jacob.  In his paranoia over losing his throne, he even had members of his own family killed to preserve his reign.

Matthew 2:16-18, the account of the slaughter of all the boys under two years old, is known as the Feast of the Holy Innocents mourned on December 28,

Jeremiah 31:15 the prophet, saying, 'A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.'” 

SLIDE 21 Hosea 11:1"Out of Egypt I called my son."

Matthew 2:19-23 An angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

 "Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, Even with Herod dead his son ruled Judah. God warned Joseph in another dream and he went to district of Galilee to a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene." Not to be confused with a Nazarite.

SLIDE 22 Are you allowing time to listen when God speaks to you? Through Jesus the Christ, God is inviting you into relationship. If you accept the invitation, Jesus promises to come and be with you. If you feel God calling you into relationship, you can do this by praying to God right now.  Members of the Leader’s Council will pray with you right now.

Matthew 1- Immanuel God with Us

SLIDE   1 Welcome back, ladies. Tonight was a real taste of CBS core groups. I hope those new to CBS will feel free to share and bless others with your thoughts. It may take a little time to realize what the writers of these lessons are wanting in the questions. Don’t worry about it! That is why we share our answers in core group and I do the wrap up after core.  You bible scholars out there wait 10 seconds to answer. Give the new ladies time to process and gather up courage to jump in. Although Matthew’s parables and events may be familiar to us there are many nuggets worth digging for in this wonderful book. Our Theme tonight is God’s ways are not our ways.

SLIDE   2 Immanuel: God with us

·  Genealogy of Jesus Chris

·  Prophecy fulfilled

·  Emmanuel :God with us

God’s ways are not our ways.

 SLIDE   3 Genesis 17:-6 “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. 

As Jesus preached to the crowds during His earthly ministry many times…  They answered him, "Abraham is our father."  John 8:9 The Jews were proud of their heritage. It was important Matthew for to begin his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus proving his rightful place as King of the Jews.

SLIDE  4 Many prophecies for the Messiah are fulfilled through Jesus. As we go through the Gospel of Matthew, we will identify some of these prophesies from the Old Testament and relate how Jesus has fulfilled them ALL.  Many young men may have similar lineage and many more are named Jesus but no other man could fulfill a fraction of these prophecies. Hang tight ladies and prepare to dive deep into the Gospel of Matthew.  We must remember God’s ways are not our ways.

Let us pray.

Now ladies if you will open your bibles to Matthew 1.

Matthew 1: The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

¹    The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

SLIDE   5 ²Abraham was the FATHER of Isaac, and

Genesis 17:19 At 100 Abraham laughs when God suggest 90 year old Sarah will conceive. Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.” And that was the miracle God’s ways are not our ways.

 Isn’t that the way God works?...through extraordinary means.

verse 2.Isaac the FATHER of Jacob, Remember the story of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25. When Rebekah conceived twins … And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the older shall serve the younger." v.23

SLIDE  6 Rebekah like Sarah tried to make God’s promise come true by deceiving her husband Isaac by dressing the younger twin Jacob like his brother Esau.

Ladies have you noticed God does not need your help. Lay your burdens down at the foot of the cross and do not pick them up again.

SLIDE  7. verse 2  Jacob the FATHER of Judah and his brothers
 Jacob(Also known as Israel) which make the 12 Tribes of Israel. Did anyone wonder why Judah? Not Joseph? Can you say it with me God’s ways are not our ways.

Clickfor arrow Genesis 49:10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

verse 3. Judah the FATHER of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and

SLIDE   8 Heritage and property are very important in the Jewish community. The eldest son was to inherit the greater potion. God saw wickedness in Judah first son Er, and took his life. Judah told his second son to “perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother." Genesis 38: 8 Selfishly Onan refused to comply and God put him to death also. Judah tried to save his younger son from a similar fate and tricked Tamar to remain a widow in her father’s house. Tamar took initiative to make sure she conceived an offspring from the line of Judah. Genesis 28:26 ²⁶     Then Judah identified (the signet and the cord and the staff) and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah."

If God determined who he wants in the lineage of his Son, who is man to deny it! Because  God’s ways are not our ways.

SLIDE 9 As we look at verse 5 let’s talk about these two remarkable women in the geneology. Salmon the FATHER of Boaz by Rahab,

The story of Rahab from the book of Joshua and with is one of my favorite bible stories. Who but God would see the value in a woman of her profession? Ladies this is hope for all of our sister who have been trafficked into a lifestyle not of her choosing.

Rahab’s FAITH in the God of Israel saved the spies and the scarlet cord hanging from her window in the wall of Jericho won freedom for herself and her family.

  Remember God’s ways are not our ways.

When someone questions, “Can you believe…..what God did?” Yes, I can.

My God created the earth from nothing. He is almighty omnipotent Ruler of all creation.

SLIDE  10 verse 5 Boaz the FATHER of Obed by Ruth,

Ruth another of those faithful women in the bible left her homeland to care for her widowed mother-in-law. She fearlessly followed Naomi to her homeland where she met her Kinsman Redeemer, Boaz. Ruth produce an heir to the kingdom of God.

SLIDE  11 Don’t you see how God has a special place for women in the Bible in the lineage of the Messiah the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Sisters He is your Kinsman Redeemer, the Lover of your soul. And he has promised never to leave us or forsake us. I am so glad that God’s ways are not mans ways.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9

v 6.  Jesse the FATHER of David the king.

Isaiah 11:1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. You know the story of Samuel seeking a new king from among the sons of Jesse.

SLIDE  12 1 Samuel 16:10  And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these."¹¹Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here."   We see His choices as out of the ordinary, but God chooses who he chooses. That’s how I felt when I was chosen to be your Teaching Director. When I told one friend she laughed out loud. God’s ways are not man’s ways. 

SLIDE 13 Note the wording v.5 David was the FATHER of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

2 Samuel 11 speaks of the sins of David in coveting Uriah’s wife, committing adultery and having him killed in battle. God takes the child of their union, but gives David two more sons with Bathsheba: Solomon and Nathan.  

Hold on to Nathan for a minute. I discovered something I have never heard from a pulpit. Notice this name in verse 11 Josiah (one of the truly good kings) is the FATHER of

Jech o ni ah and his brothers,  at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

Let’s skip 12 generations to verse 16. Again notice the wording…
¹⁶ Jacob the FATHER of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

SLIDE  14 Interesting fact: in Jeremiah 22:30  King Jechoniah was cursed… none of his offspring shall succeed in sitting on the throne of David and ruling again in Judah." Therefore if Joseph was the natural father Jesus could not be King.  Joseph was the legal father.

The lineage of royalty came from Mary, Jesus’ only biological parent.  It was through her ancestry that Jesus had a birthright in the bloodline of the Tribe of Judah. The genealogy of Jesus through Mary is through Nathan (the second surviving son of King David and Bathsheba.) God’s ways are not man’s ways. 

SLIDE  15 Jeremiah 23:5-6 Tells us Messiah will come through David.

"Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.'

SLIDE  16 ¹⁷   So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

“750 years separated Abraham from David, 400 years separated David from the Babylonian Exile, and 600 years separated the Babylonian Exile from Jesus' birth."

We must recognize the definition of terms Matthew used which enlarges the notion of a generation. “Just as Matthew can use the word 'son' to mean any descendant in the direct line, so can he use the word 'begot' to mean any ancestor in the direct line.”

This division of the names in groups of 14 was doubtless adopted for the purpose of aiding the memory. Since the Jews did not have personal copies of the scrolls, they would memorize the major events in history. They devised plans to keep up the remembrance of important facts history.  As a side note.

Gematria /ɡəˈmeɪ.tri.ə/ is an Assyro-Babylonian system of numerology later adopted into Jewish culture that assigns numerical value to a word. From the Hebrew name דָּוִד (Dawid), which was probably derived from Hebrew דוד (dwd) meaning "beloved". If your leave out the vowels in DAVID Dalet counts as 4, Waw counts as 6, and another Dalet adds 4 more.

SLIDE  17¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

 ¹⁹And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.

I really enjoy the verse that says “Joseph was just a man” Ladies how many times have you said that about your son, husband, workman. Just as God’s ways are not our ways? Men’s ways are not women’s ways. God’s ways are not man’s ways. 

SLIDE   18 What a compassionate man of God to try to spare her reputation and shame? To save his standing in the community he was going to divorce her quietly. But our God is full of surprises!

²⁰But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

That is also what Gabriel said in Luke 1:30  "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

SLIDE   19 ²¹She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

Ladies, that is what Jesus wants for you freedom from fear. Rest in the peace that passes all understanding.

²²All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

SLIDE   20 ²³"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel"(which means, God with us). Isaiah 7:14 God’s ways are not man’s ways. 

²⁴When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,²⁵but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.

Intro to Gospel of Matthew

SLIDE 1 Good Evening Ladies; we are so happy you are here for Gastonia Women’s Evening Class. It has been three month since our CBS class have met together to study God’s Word. I really miss it during the summer months. The wonderful part about this Bible Study is that it engages the members to dig deep into scripture and consume the good news of God’s Salvation Plan.

SLIDE 2 Last Sunday as I taught Revelation 10 in our women’s class the Mighty Angel was holding out the little scroll to John. Warren Wiersbe states “God is a gentleman, even as he stands at the door and knocks waiting for you to invite Him in; He will not thrust His Word into our mouth and force us to receive it. He holds it out to us and we must take it. Read and digest His sweet promises.” To get the most from CBS experience you must spend personal time in bible study answering the questions in preparation for next week’s core group.

SLIDE 3 CBS Plan of Study

·        Wrap up by TD or ATD

·        Read you Commentary (Lesson 1)

·        Pray for Guidance of the Holy Spirit

·        Day 1-5 write answers to Study Questions

·        Share answers in Core Group

PRAY

SLIDE 4 Welcome to the teaching element of CBS which wraps up the lesson. As the Teaching Director I have the privilege and honor with the guidance of the Holy Spirit to study various versions of the bible and some commentary writers to add insight to the time and circumstances when the Gospel Matthew was written. I promise to dismiss at 8:30.*We ask that you answer your questions as I do without commentary or study bible prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to teach you.

Last year we studied Revelation, the last book in the bible and this year we will The Gospel According to Matthew the first book of the New Testament.

SLIDE 5 Gospel means “Good News!” Did any of you find a wonderful new restaurant, a great bargain, a steal of a deal? We share these with our friends. Ladies we should be shouting from the rooftops about the inconceivable free gift “paid in full” we can claim by knowing Christ as our Savior. You are a Princess and your Father is the KING.

SLIDE 6 *As you traveled this summer, I’m sure many of you shared a specific experience with others, perhaps witnessed a car accident. (We’ll talk later!) As different witnesses view the same event each may highlight unique details from their perspective. And each gospel writer wrote with a different purpose is mind.

No one gospel is able to tell the entire story as God wants to reveal it but as we put the four Gospels together we have a composite picture of the person and works of our Lord.  

SLIDE 7 Matthew wrote for Jewish readers using OT to establish the lineage of the Promised Messiah. Matthew’s book is called the gospel of the king.

·        Mark the shortest gospel probably composed with Peter in Rome.  From Peter he received first-hand information of the events and teachings of the Lord, and preserved the information in written form. It is thought that this gospel had been written first. Mark aims to present Jesus as the humble servant constantly doing His Father’s business was written primarily to instruct Roman Readers.

·        Luke the physician and historian was not an eyewitness but he methodically collected and combined facts from those who were present. Being a man of science he arranged these accounts in a chronological order. Written for gentiles, mainly the Greeks, Luke presents Christ as the perfect Son of Man. He traces Mary’s ancestry from her father all the way to Adam emphasizing Christ’s humanity.

·       Johns appeal is universal. He presents Jesus as the Word of God setting forth seven miracles or signs showing Christ’s supernatural powers. Seven times Jesus announces He is “I AM.” Christ’s deity as the Son of God is John’s focus. His aim to convince the lost to believe in Jesus. “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31)

SLIDE 8 Of the four gospels, Matthew was probably placed first because he leads off with the paternal ancestry of Jesus by his earthly father Joseph to Father Abraham and King David. Since Matthew is writing primarily to Jewish readers he naturally began by emphasizing Jesus Jewish heritage. The Old Testament is a book a promise while the New Testament is a book of fulfillment. The word fullfilled is a keyword in the Gospel of Matthew use 15 times.

SLIDE 9 “The Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah would be the Son of David; the son of Abraham.

In the very first sentence, Matthew points to Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy.  Matthew 1:1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

There are wonderful resources listing thousands of  Prophecies of the Messiah and the scripture references. I will post a link to several sites if you are interested. http://www.newtestamentchristians.com/bible-study-resources/351-old-testament-prophecies-fulfilled-in-jesus-christ/
http://www.christsavesministries.org/index.php?proc=pbp&sf=vw&id=52

SLIDE 10 2 Samuel 7:12-16 English Standard Version (ESV) speaking of  David

¹² When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, ¹⁵ but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. ¹⁶ And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.^[a] Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Matthew not only connected Jesus to David, but back yet further to Abraham. Jesus is the Seed of Abraham in whom all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth
 will be blessed through you.

This genealogy in the early verses of Matthew establishes Jesus' claim to the throne of David through his adoptive father Joseph. This is not blood lineage of Jesus through Mary found in Luke’s gospel, but the legal lineage of Jesus through Joseph. Remember Jesus’ family had to travel to Bethlehem to pay taxes in the City of David.

SLIDE 11 Matthew also has more references to the Old Testament; 41 specific quotes by Jesus the Christ. The Gospel of Matthew is a bridge from the Old Testament to the New Testament a natural choice after a silence of over 400 years.   

Genesis 5:5Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.
31 times in Genesis lists the names of descendant and he died
The first book in the NT introduces a genealogy that emphasizes birth not death.

Matthew’s name means gift of Jehovah. Jesus called him Levi. Matthew introduces us to  Jesus against the backdrop of Old Testament promise, prophecy, type and symbol emphasizing his royalty.

SLIDE 12 The Gospel of Matthew is very orderly and concise.
As a tax collector, Matthew possessed a skill that makes his writing all the more exciting for Christians. Tax collectors were expected to be able to write in a form of shorthand, which essentially meant that Matthew could record a person’s words as they spoke, word for word. This ability means that the words of Matthew are not only inspired by the Holy Spirit, but should represent an actual transcript of some of Christ’s sermons. Rather than write in chronological order, Matthew arranges this Gospel through six discourses.
For example, the Sermon on the Mount, as recorded in chapters 5-7, is almost certainly a perfect recording of that great message. Got Questions?

SLIDE 13 As an apostle, Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew in the early period of the church, probably in A.D. 55-65. The second generation of Christians when most were Jewish converts. Matthew’s focus on Jewish perspective in this Gospel is understandable. Matthew wrote for a community of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, located probably in Syria (Antioch, the largest city in Roman Syria. )

•      25 parables

•      17- 20specific miracles

•      6 major messages

•      66 references to the Old Testament

•      41 of those are specific quotations by Christ.

•      Only gospel to mention the church.

SLIDE 14 As a tax collector, Matthew was viewed by other Jews as collaborators with the Romans to enforce paying taxes to Caesar. He probably was a rich man because tax collectors often took over the amount the government required.  We know in chapter 9 Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners.   Ladies I am going to help you with your homework. A review question ask what is something new to Matthew’s Gospel. Here are some things I learned. SLIDE 15 Unique to Matthew •      Story of the Wise Men •      Angel visit to Joseph •      The Beatitudes •      Peter’s attempt to walk on water •      Only gospel to use of word “church” •      Full Olivet Discourse SLIDE 16 Nowhere in the four Gospels do we find any recorded word that Matthew spoke. Matthew describe Jesus as a doer and the teacher  60% of the book focuses on teaching of Jesus. Matthew’s book is not chronological but rather topical he groups 10 miracles together and chapters 8 and 9 instead of putting them in historical sequence. If you consult any good harmony of the gospel you will see while Matthew does not contradict the three Gospel writers he does follow his own pattern.

Matthew's account uses the word "kingdom" 50 times and the "kingdom of heaven" 32 times.

Using Fisher

Slides 17-20