Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro: Tonight I want to begin a teaching series on the Gospels.

We are going to cover one Gospel a week for the next four weeks.

I Hope you walk away from this with some new knowledge and some new insight into God’s word.

Getting Started - Key Facts

The New Testament is a collection of 27 Books.

It was written by various authors over the course of approximately 50yrs.

The events contained within the New Testament cover a time period of about 100yrs.

The New Testament was originally written in Greek.

The Goal of the New Testament

The Goal of the New Testament is to continue the story of the Old Testament by showing that Jesus is the Messiah of the Jewish people and the entire world.

The Old Testament begins with a married couple (Adam and Eve) living in paradise.

The New Testament ends with a married couple (Jesus and the Church) living in paradise.

The Old Testament begins with the fall of humanity and creation being plunged into chaos.

The New Testament ends with a new heaven, a new earth, and the restoration of all things.

Getting Started – Key Questions :

Each week, we will answer the following questions:

Who wrote the book?

Whom did they write to?

What problem or question were they addressing?

What does that mean for us today?

Some Things to Remember:

The Bible was written for you, but not to you!

You are reading someone else’s mail.

The Gospels

Gospel Means – “Good News”

This begs the Question – Good News about what?

Remember – In the Old Testament the Jewish people are looking for a Messiah.

Jesus is the answer to the hopes and longings of the Jewish people.

The Gospels Primarily answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”

There are Four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The First 3 are very similar.

They are referred to as “The synoptic gospels.”

The gospels are biographies about Jesus.

Each of the four writers is trying to prove a point about who Jesus is.

ILLUSTRATION: If people were to write biographies about my life, one might write about my relationship with my wife.

Another might write about my relationship with my parents.

Another might focus more on what I do for a living.

The writers would arrange their material in such a way that suits their purpose.

The writers all arranged their content in such a way that their points regarding Jesus would be apparent to their original audience.

The gospels do not cover all of Jesus’ life and ministry.

John 20:30, Luke 1:1

Each Gospel was a selective account suited to the purpose of the author.

The Gospel of Matthew - Jesus is King

Matthew forms a connecting link between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Who Wrote Matthew?

Church tradition tells us that Matthew, the tax collector and disciple of Jesus was the author of this Gospel.

Who was Matthew Written To? Unknown; but almost certainly Jewish Christians with a commitment to the Gentile mission, most commonly thought to have lived in and around Antioch of Syria.

What did Matthew Emphasize?

Jesus is the Son of God, the (messianic) King of the Jews; Jesus is God present with us in miraculous power; Jesus is the church’s Lord; the teaching of Jesus has continuing importance for God’s people; the gospel of the kingdom is for all peoples—Jew and Gentile alike.

Matthew is a Jewish Gospel showing that Jesus is the coming King and Messiah who fulfills the Old Testament Prophecies.

There are at least 60 references to the Old Testament.

Matthew speaks to the Old Testament in presenting the promised Messiah, as King, in the statement twelve times - "That it might be fulfilled."

Matthew traces Jesus’ genealogy through David to Abraham.

Matthew is careful to link Jesus to Abraham, Moses, and David

Notice how he starts the book: Matthew 1:1

Jesus is portrayed as King announcing his Kingdom

Matthew Links Jesus to David

Matthew Records Herod’s alarm at a potential rival to his throne Matthew 2:1-3

Matthew Records Jesus riding in on a Donkey as a Peaceful King (Matthew 21:1-11

Matthew Records Jesus speaking of “Sitting on the throne of his glory” (Matthew 19:28, Matthew 25:31)

Matthew Records Pilate’s inscription on Jesus’ Cross (Matthew 27:37)

Matthew uses Jewish expressions for Jerusalem.

“Holy City,” “City of the Great King.”

Matthew is about a King Announcing the Coming Kingdom

Seven times Jesus is called the “Son of David,” a Kingly/Messianic title, showing JESUS IS THE KING.

(2:2, 21:5, 7, 27:11, 27:37, 25:31)

Thirty-Three times the phrase, “Kingdom of Heaven” is employed by Matthew.

The Spiritual and ethical nature of the Kingdom is expressed in the Sermon on the Mount

Twelve Parables begin with the expression, “The Kingdom of God.”

Jesus is presented as the New Law Giver and is compared to Moses

Matthew is split into five blocks of teaching (5:1–7:29; 10:11–42; 13:1–52; 18:1–35; [23:1] 24:1–25:46) presented on a topical basis.

Each is marked off by a similar concluding formula (“When Jesus had finished [saying these things]”), which Matthew uses to transition back to the narrative.

This may have been a deliberate arrangement; it may have been modeled after the Torah, making this the Christian torah.

Perhaps this was a new torah for the Church.

Like Moses, Jesus goes up on the mount to give a new commandment.

I think agree with this.

Notice how these teaching blocks start in Matthew 5:1

Matthew here is making a theological point.

A lot of us like going to the mountains.

This was not the great smoky mountains.

It was more like a hill.

In fact, Luke puts a lot of this same content taking place on the plain.

Look at what Luke says: Luke 6:17-21

Who’s right Luke or Matthew?

BOTH..They aren’t so much worried about accuracy of place as much as they are trying to make a theological point.

MATTHEW has Jesus going up the the mountain for a reason.

Notice How Matthew Links Jesus to Moses:

Moses had a miracle associated with His birth, as did Jesus

Babies were Killed around the time of Moses’ birth, as was the case with Jesus.

Moses fled into the wilderness and then returned to Egypt and came out, Jesus’ family flees into the wilderness, then to Egypt, and then came out of Egypt as well.

Moses preached on a Mountain - Mt. Sinai - Jesus’ greatest sermon was given on a mount

What does Moses do when he goes to get the 10 Commandments?

He Goes up to the Mountain

Jesus here goes up the Mountain and begins teaching the Sermon on the mount.

In the Sermon he frequently says “You have heard it said…but I say”

Matthew is portraying him as a new and better Moses

The Law God gave Moses was to be the guidelines for the community - The Nation of Israel

The Sermon on the Mount Provides guidelines for a New Community - The Church

So these 5 teaching blocks and the sermon on the Mount are showing How God is forming a new People - The Church!

Matthew Offers The Proof Of Jesus’ Kingship

Matthew show us that Jesus has power f Disease