How OT Helps Gospel of Matthew

Dr. Seth Postell Israel College of the Bible, Senior Professor How the OT Helps Us Understand the NT Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. (Acts 17:11) The World of Jokes • Have you ever told a joke to children? Have you ever told a joke to someone from another culture? • They get every word, the grammar, the syntax, but they don’t get the joke. • Why not? • The NT works like a joke Reading the NT with the OT in Mind The Gospel of Matthew Structure of Matthew’s Gospel Introduction Matthew 1 Matthew 2 The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: Exod 4:22-23 Gen 5:1 Matthew 3 Matthew 4 Then Then Jesus Jesus was arrived from led up by Galilee at the Spirit the Jordan into the coming to wilderness John, to be to be Exod 14-15 Exod 16-17 Yeshua’s Five-Fold Torah When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them (Matt 5:1-2) Yeshua’s Torah Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7) Missionary Discourse (Matt 10) Parable Discourse (Matt 13) When When When Jesus Jesus Jesus had had had finished finished finished these giving these Mount words instructio parables Sinai (Exod 19) Discourse on the Church When Jesus had finished these words Discourse on the Last Days (Matt When Jesus had finished all these Plains wordsof Moab (Deut 31:1) Yeshua’s New Covenant • While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matt 26:26-29) • Exodus 24:1-8 Yeshua’s Command to Conquer the Lands • And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:18-20) • Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the LORD showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, and all Naphtali and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, and the Negev and the plain in the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying, ‘I will give it to your descendants’; I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there.” (Deut 34:1-4) Lack of Parallelism Between Yeshua and Moses Yeshua’s Torah and God’s Torah • When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them.… “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ “But I say to you (Matt 5:1-2, 21-22) • “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock…. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. (Matt 7:24-26; Deut 30:15) Yeshua’s Torah and God’s Torah “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matt 11:28-30) The Punchline! • Yeshua is not only the Prophet Like Moses … • “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).” (Matt 1:22-23) • “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:20) • Irving’s Story