Matthew Simplified

We Did a Long Series for Sunday Morning Bible Class, Title:

The Old Testament Simplified

We Went Book By Book and Did an Overview of What They Were All About

My Plan was to Go Straight into the New Testament and Do the Same Thing

But I’ve Decided to Do the New Testament Simplified On Sunday Nights

My Plan is to Keep Them Short, Simple, and to the Point…

While Also Giving Us a Good Idea of What Each Book is About…

Including the Main Themes and Points of the Book

So, Lord Willing, for the Next Few Months We’re Going to Do an Overview of the Entire New Testament

Matthew

As With Each of the 4 Gospel Accounts, Matthew is Anonymous

But 2nd Century Authors All Agree that Matthew was the Author of this Account

Background On the Person Matthew

Matthew was a Jewish Man Who Worked for the Romans as a Tax Collector

We Find Out Throughout the Gospel Accounts How Hated Tax Collectors Were by Their Jewish Brethren

They Were Viewed as Traitors and Would Often Get Rich Off of the Over-Taxation of Their Jewish Brethren

But Jesus Made a Tax Collector One of His Closest Disciples

And Now We Have a Very Detailed Account of Jesus’ Life and Mission Because of Matthew

Background On the Account of Matthew

Matthew’s Gospel Account is Written to Jews By a Jew About The Jew

130 References From OT

The Gospel Accounts are Not Biographies Written for the Sole Purpose of Stating Facts about Jesus

Each Author’s Intention is to Organize the Facts and Give His Own Commentary on Those Facts

They Want Their Readers to Come Away from Their Books with a Certain Impression of Jesus

Matthew Wants His Readers to Recognize Jesus as the Anointed King Who has Fulfilled the Old Covenant

The Primary Theme of Matthew is the “Kingdom of Heaven”

This Phrase is Found 32 Times in the Gospel

I was Always Taught that “Kingdom” and “Church” Were Synonymous Terms in the NT

Though They Definitely Overlap, They are Not Referring to the Same Thing

The Church are the People/Citizens of the Kingdom

But Kingdom Refers to “Rule/Reign”

One of Matthew’s Primary Goals is to…

Shows Us How the King of Heaven is Bringing His Kingdom/Rule/Reign to Earth

He Focuses Heavily on How Jesus is the Fulfillment of the Old Covenant

Jesus Represents the Fulfillment of the Covenant Between God and Israel

He Represents Israel as the Perfectly Faithful Human…

Who Blesses All Nations by Bringing Them into a Covenant Relationship with God

And He Represents God By Forgiving, Protecting, and Offering an Eternal Homeland to His Faithful People

Matthew’s Account of Jesus’ Life/Ministry is Structured Around:

5 Major Teaching Discourses of Jesus

Each Discourse Directly Relates to What Jesus and His Disciples had Just Experienced

Matthew’s Made it Easy for Us to Know Where Each Discourse Takes Place…

Because He Always Ends Jesus’ Discourses with “When Jesus Had Finished…”

Jesus’ 5 Discourses: Chapters 5-7, 10, 13, 18-20, 24-25

These Discourses Cover a Range of Topics that Relate to the Kingdom of Heaven

5-7: How to Live a Kingdom Lifestyle

How Life in His Kingdom Consists of Upside Down Ethics

Obedience from the Heart

Willingness to Suffer for Righteousness

Going the Second Mile, Turning the Other Cheek, and Loving Your Enemies

10: Instructions On Evangelism

13: Parables that are Descriptive of the Kingdom of Heaven

18-20: Characteristics of the Kingdom Community (the Church)

The Greatest in the Community are the Servants

Church Discipline

Forgiving One Another

The Sanctity of Marriage

The Communities Relationship to Money

Among Other Topics

24-25: The Day of the Lord

Jesus Prophecies About the Coming Days of the Lord

Days of Judgement and Salvation that Lay Ahead of the Church

Days that Would Come to Pass in the Near and Distant Future

Matthew Presents Jesus as the Seed of Abraham

The Descendant Who Will Be a Blessing to the Whole World…

By Reconciling All People to God

Matthew Presents Jesus as the Greater Moses

Just as Moses Wrote the Pentateuch (5 Books of the Law)…

Which Informed the Israelites On How to Be in Covenant Relationship with God

Jesus Teaches 5 Discourses on How to be God’s New Covenant People

Just as Moses Received God’s Law on a Mountain

Jesus Delivers God’s Law on a Mountain (Sermon on the Mount)

Matthew Presents Jesus as the Unfailing Israel

Just as Israel Left Egypt and Crossed the Jordan River

Jesus Left Egypt and was Baptized in the Jordan River

Just as Israel Spent 40 Years in the Wilderness Hungry, Tempted, and Failing

Jesus Spent 40 Days in the Wilderness Hungry, Tempted, and Succeeding

Just as Israel Were Supposed to Love God and Keep His Covenant Faithfully, But Failed

Jesus Did Love God and Keep His Covenant Faithfully

Just as Israel was Supposed to Be a Light to the Nations, But Failed

Jesus was/is a Light to the Nations, and Succeeded

Matthew Presents Jesus as the Greater David

Just as David was Born in Bethlehem

His Descendant Jesus was Born in Bethlehem

Just as David was a Shepherd-King Over God’s People

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and King Over God’s People

Just as David was a Man After God’s Own Heart

Jesus is God Himself - Immanuel

David was Promised that One of His Descendants Would Build God a House and Sit on the Throne Forever

Jesus is the Fulfillment of that Promise

Application

If We Had to Pick a Passage that Best Summarizes and Compiles the Themes We See in Matthew…

It Would Probably Be Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 (NASB95)

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.”

After Jesus’ Resurrection, Royal Authority Over Heaven and Earth Were Given to Him

He was Officially King and He was About to Ascend to His Throne

His Disciples are Given the Mission He Lived While on Earth…

Make Disciples of All Nations

Grow the Kingdom By Spreading the Kingdom Message

Bring the Reign of Jesus to All the World By Teaching Submission to Him

The Very Beginning of the Book Told Us that Jesus was Prophesied to Be Named “Immanuel”

We’re Told this Means “God With Us”

And the Last Words of the Book is Jesus Telling Us He Will Be With Us to the End

This is the Gospel According to Matthew:

Jesus is the Christ/Messiah/Anointed King of Heaven and Earth

His Reign Over Heaven Has Made it’s Way to Earth…

But Not Completely

He Does Not Yet Rule Over Everyone

His Prayer for Us to Pray is that His Kingdom/Reign Continue to Come On Earth as it is in Heaven

We Contribute to the Spread of His Reign and Rule On Earth By Obeying His Great Commission to Us

To Make Disciples By Baptizing and Teaching

By Proclaiming and Demonstrating His Kingdom/Reign

When Jesus Returns, His Kingdom/Reign Will Be Fully Realized

All People Will Be Subject to His Rule

All Who Rejected His Rule in this Age Will Be Banished to the Valley of Hinnom - Gehenna - Hell