Beatitudes Verses 1+2
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THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
You could summarize the Gospel of Matthew with three words: JESUS IS KING.
Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience to prove to them that Jesus is a better Moses! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and it is here; here in the personhood of Jesus the Christ. Jesus is Israel’s awaited Messiah.
Things to Consider when Studying the Bible
Things to Consider when Studying the Bible
Wesleyan Quadrilateral
Let Scripture interpret Scripture.
This is important because one of the first things you may notice in Matthew’s Gospel is the long list of names it opens with. And those with a critical eye may notice some names have been omitted from the list. What is Matthew doing? Did he accidentally forget Jesus’ great-great-great-earthly-grandpa?
No. Matthew purposefully put 14 names from Abraham to King David and then 14 names from King David to the exile, and 14 names from the exile to Jesus (this is called a mnemonic and makes it easy to memorize).
David’s name in Hebrew (דוד) adds up to 14 in Hebrew numerology (D = 4, V = 6, D = 4), further pointing to Jesus as the True King.
Right off the bat, Matthew connects Jesus to King David and Abraham.
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
Matthew is writing to a bunch of Jews - and he is about to slam dunk on them that Jesus is better than ANYTHING in the Old Covenant. The New Covenant and the Old’s fulfillment has arrived: the Christ.
Jews LOVE genealogies. Matthew calls this the biblos geneseōs, the Book of Generations, which is a common phrase among the Jews. Jews love nothing more than Jews, so if there was any discrepancy in someone’s lineage, they would lose the right to be called a Jew and a member of the people of God (think of the Samaritans).
The genealogy is broken into 3 sections, as I mentioned: the first showing that human beings were born for greatness (King David), the second showing they lost this greatness (the exile), and the third showing they can regain this greatness in the New Covenant with Christ.
You thought King David was great? Jesus said, “Hold my wine and watch this.”
As my favorite author, Chesterton, said, “whatever else is true of man, man is not what he was meant to be.” We are in desperate need of better Abraham, a better David, a better Moses, a better King. This is fulfilled in Jesus the Christ.
Jesus is the focal point of history. Past, present, and future.
WHAT
Matthew is one of the 4 Gospels found in our New Testament. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all share a similar outline and pattern. It is likely that Mark was written first, and Matthew and Luke used it as a template for their Gospels, written to their particular audiences. However, there is some debate on this.
The Gospel of Matthew is written as an ancient biography. These differ wildly compared to modern biographies. Biographies today start with the person being born, their childhood, and then progress in a linear fashion throughout their lives until their death. Ancient biographies, however, might start in the subject’s adulthood or might record the subject’s life topically instead of chronologically.
It should not be a surprise to us when we compare Matthew and his timeline of Jesus’ life to Mark’s or Luke’s. Nor should it be a surprise when Matthew condenses certain parts that Mark or Luke expound upon.
WHO
As already briefly discussed, the Gospel of Matthew was written to the Jews. This is significant because they hear things we don’t hear. They hear echoes of the OT in Matthew’s writing that we might not pick up on.
This is why Matthew constantly refers to the book of Isaiah. Matthew stayed committed to his Jewish heritage, and his method closely resembles that of Pharisaism. Think of this in contrast to Luke’s account, told as a hero’s journey that is written to a Greek audience who love their heroes (I.E. all the Greek gods). This is also why Matthew refers to Jesus as “Son of Man” more and Luke uses “Son of God” more.
WHY
Matthew functions as a discipling manual, a “handbook” of Jesus’ basic life and teaching, relevant to a Jewish Christian community engaged in the Great Commission but struggling with the Scriptural (OT) explanation of it with their local synagogue communities.
Jesus is the true King of Israel.
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QR code for Matthew Overview — I will not go over it now.
I hate gatekeeping — love that Dom is doing this as a class
Welcome to class! Take notes, engage
Things to remember when studying the Bible:
The Bible was written FOR you, but it wasn’t written TO you
What does that mean?
It means that the books of the Bible were written to a particular audience, at a particular time, at a particular place. For us to rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15) we must decenter ourselves and our contexts and place ourselves as closely as possible with the original audience.
15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
How would they have heard it? How would they have read it?
The Bible CAN’T mean something to YOU that it DIDN’T mean to THEM.
The Bible out of context ISN’T the Word of God.
So, as we dive into the Beatitudes, we are going to take some time and really try and put ourselves in the original audience's shoes.
The word Beatitude means Complete Happiness that Comes from Being Blessed by God. It means to be Made Holy.
a term derived from the Latin beatitudo
It is all these blessings that God has given us if we walk according to His Word.
These are the attitudes we should BE, and in doing so, will receive Joy
We see this same type of statement in the first Psalm:
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked…
And these are scattered throughout the Psalms and in Proverbs.
This is the same form Jesus uses to teach this.
They are said not as statements, but as exclamations!
They are not hopes of what could be, BUT AN EXCLAMATION OF BEING THAT WE HAVE IN CHRIST!
Not a vague prophecy of “one day” — but a declaration of RIGHT NOW IN CHRIST. Not something Christians will enter; it is something they have entered.
They are a giant neon sign exclaiming the radiant joy and gladness found in Christ RIGHT NOW, ON THIS SIDE OF ETERNITY.
It’s important to note that Beatitude is not an invocation of God’s blessing; it is a declaration of His ALREADY blessing to His people who follow after Him.
It is not a DOING statement but a BEING exclamation
The English word “happiness” really can’t do it justice. The root of the word Happiness is hap, which means chance (think happenstance).
But beatitude is no “chance;” it is certainty for the Christian.
The beatitudes speak of that joy which seeks us through our pain, that joy which sorrow and loss, and pain and grief, are powerless to touch, that joy which shines through tears, and which nothing in life or death can take away.
Whatever pain, sorrow, sadness, or tribulation we see in the world today, there is beatitude for the Christian.
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Verses 1 + 2
Verses 1 + 2
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
There are echoes that the original audience to Matthew would have heard that we no longer do. Bc we are so removed from their culture
Paula and my movie references. LeMarr’s watched a lot of movies.
So, Jesus going up the Mt., what Old Testament stories would this evoke for the original audience reading this?
Many scholars think that Matthew probably recalls Moses’ revelation on Mount Sinai.
Mountains or high places are always significant in Scripture.
And so Matthew is placing Jesus and Moses next to each other, saying:
“Moses went up the mountain and received revelation from God — and now God Himself goes up the mountain to teach revelation to us”
Jesus is the better Moses
Jesus and this new revelation - this New Covenant that is being established is BETTER than Moses and the Old Covenant.
Don’t believe me?
This isn’t the first time Matthew has made this connection
13 Now 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.” 14 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.
What happened when Moses was born?
What happened when Jesus was born?
Where did God call Moses out of?
Where did God call Jesus?
JESUS IS THE BETTER MOSES!
THE NEW IS HERE!
1 Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2 who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. 3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.
4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5 Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
What the Old Covenant couldn’t complete — Christ fulfilled!
Where Moses fell short — Christ did not!
You cannot sacrifice enough, you can’t keep the laws enough, you can’t do enough good works to earn your salvation
BUT THROUGH THE BLOOD OF JESUS WE HAVE BEEN MADE NEW!
Sin is not the thing — Sin is the thing that is done to the thing
Sin is not a noun — Sin is the mutation of a thing.
Sin has mutated us into something we are not.
Our nature has been contaminated and compromised by sin
THIS IS WHY WE MUST BE BORN AGAIN — We need a new nature. So the old nature must be killed, the old man must pass away, and a new creation is made.
3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
God has done the work of salvation AND IS DOING the work of Salvation in YOU THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.
Jesus is better than Moses.
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
HE SAT DOWN
This is something that was customary for Jewish rabbis to do when they were teaching.
Jesus, by sitting down, is taking the role of the Jewish leaders, the Scribes, which Matthew points out, Jesus is greater than
29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
And again, remember who Matthew is writing to: unbelieving Jews or Jews who were on the fence about Jesus.
This small detail would carry such a weight to them
And we see this in our world today -we have the “Professor’s chair,” or for the Pope, the “ex cathedra” — It is this position of Authority and Direction-Giving
Matthew is again, in so few words, putting Jesus higher than Moses
2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat,
Jesus’ revelation is more superior and it makes Him more superior to anything that had come before in the Old Testament
BAND
Jesus takes the position of the teacher, and following Matthew’s narrative, it’s not just any teacher, BUT THE TEACHER.
This is the God-Man, the Author of the Universe, delivering by His own mouth, Beatitude for His Disciples
This God-Joy for you and me, if we will obey and hear His Teaching
Friend, let me tell you, Jesus must take the position of TEACHER in your life.
Christianity is not just a mental exercise or information to know. This isn’t trivia night!
Who cares?!
This isn’t merely intellectual! This is Spiritual because I need to KNOW GOD ACCURATELY
I cannot follow the lifestyle of Jesus if I don't know what it is!
I don’t care to know trivial information about an old book
I need an encounter with a living God that marks and transforms my life!
I need the Presence of God in my life!
Marriage
Kids
Work
Finances
Tozer quote — Most important thing about you
We need to know God accurately so we can live accurately
This is why people who say they don’t need theology, they only need Jesus, are retards
I want to know the real Jesus, not the one I created in my mind that agrees with me.
Jesus isn’t sitting at my feet — I’m sitting at His.
We are sitting at the Teacher’s feet, as He is seated as the Rabbi of our lives
Our culture is so narcissistic
So insanely independent
Everything we do is centered around us
American lines at Disneyland VS Tokyo Disney
The SELF has become the LOCUS of Truth
This is my encouragement to you tonight:
Lay yourself down at the feet of the Teacher
He is the teacher, not you
That means I have to let go of my definitions of things. That means that “my truth” has to take a back seat and His Word carries more weight than my word — even in my own life.
So my definitions of sexuality, or justice, or equality, or gender, or gossip, or slander, or hate, or purity —— ALL OF THAT must be laid at the Teacher's feet
This is the nature of revelation.
It can only come from God
A phrase repeated throughout the Gospels, not just in Matthew but throughout — “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Meaning what? Some have ears — and some have ears to hear.
Revelation is shielded from the prideful.
9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
He who has ears to hear, let him hear
Pride is unteachable
The Bible only works for the humble.
You can read the Word, but because of Pride, God will resist you.
An unteachable heart can't receive from the Lord
For Jesus to be seated as the Teacher in your life, it takes a heart that is humble and a heart that is willing to be transformed by the Holy Spirit.
STAND
2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
God opened HIS MOUTH
He isn’t speaking through the mouths of the prophets of old anymore — He can speak to His people directly!
Moses went up the mountain, heard from God, and brought the revelation down to the people.
But Jesus takes His Disciples up the mountain with Him, takes the place of The Teacher, and gives us the revelation from His own mouth.
He is not a distant God
He is not a foreign God
He is not an impersonal God.
HE IS A SPEAKING GOD — AND HE IS SPEAKING TO YOU!
He who has ears to hear - LET HIM HEAR!
I believe there may be some hardness of heart.
Not that you’re backsliding or having a crisis of faith — but there are areas that Christ is not your Teacher
He has not been seated in your heart as Teacher in every area.
You love him, you live for Him, but there are areas untouched by His Teachings
You need to surrender that today. He is speaking.
Times for questions?
