Matthew An Introduction to the book of We could spend at least 2 weeks if not more introducing the book of Matthew, but I don’t want to take too long, so we will do all of the introduction in one week, and next week we will actually get into the text.   So, what that means is we won't talk about everything you could talk about in introducing the book, and we will have to move VERY fast So, buckle up! Here goes… >>>>>>>>>> Click to start intro...

Abraham Our story begins with Abraham

Egypt Haran Shechem Ur If you want you can turn to Genesis 11:31...   Genesis 11:31 Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went out together from }}}}}}}}}} Click for Ur Ur of the Chaldeans in order to enter the land of Canaan; and they went as far as }}}}}}}}}}}} Click for Haran Haran, and settled there. }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue Egypt

Haran Shechem Ur Genesis 12:1-6 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; (2) And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; (3) And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (4) So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. (5) Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions which they had accumulated, and the persons which they had acquired in Haran,   }}}}}}}}}Click for trip to Caanan... and they set out for the land of Canaan; thus they came to the land of Canaan. (6) Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. Now the Canaanite was then in the land. >>>>>>> Click for next... Egypt

Genesis 15:13-18 NASU God said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years. (14) "But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions. (15) "As for you, you shall go to your ****** God’s promise to Abram: READ VERSES }}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue…

fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age. (16) "Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete." (17) It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. (18) On that day the }}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue…

LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates:   }}}}}}}}}} Click to show map of promised land…

Ishmael – Father of Arabs Isaac – Father of Jews Esau Jacob – 12 sons CANAAN Ishmael – Father of Arabs Isaac – Father of Jews Esau Jacob – 12 sons }}}}}}}}}}} Click for Canaan   Now, the area is debatable, but it gives you an idea… }}}}}}}}}} Click for Ishmael Abraham had a son and his name was Ishmael (He was not the PROMISED son) }}}}}}}}}} Click for Isaac Abraham had another son, and this was the son of the promise by Sarah his wife - His name: Isaac }}}}}}}}}} Click for Esau and Jacob Isaac had twin sons - Esau and Jacob Jacob had 12 sons - The 12 tribes of Israel >>>>>>>>>>>> Click for “What’s in a name”…

What is in a name? Hebrew: Means “From across”- name given to Abraham and his descendants Israelites: Abraham’s grandson Jacob was renamed Israel which means “he who has wrestled with God”. His descendants were called “Israelites” Jews: Named after Jacob’s son Judah, ancient father of tribe of King David’s dynasty }}}}}}}}} Click for “Hebrew”   }}}}}}}}} Click for “Israelites” }}}}}}}}} Click for “Jews” >>>>>>>>>> Click for land conquered and divided in Joshua’s time…

Holy Land Old Testament Twelve Tribes Here’s what the promised Land looked like after the conquest led by Joshua and this map shows how the land was divided up between the 12 tribes – (Joshua 3-24)   >>>>>>>>>>> Click for United Kingdom

Holy Land Old Testament *1050 BC United Kingdom Israel is one United Kingdom under Kings; Saul, David & Solomon until approximately 930 BC…   >>>>>>>>> Click for Divided Kingdom

Holy Land Old Testament *930 BC Divided Kingdom Approximately 930 BC, the kingdom of Israel is divided between Judah and Benjamin (Judah) in the south and the rest of the tribes in the north making up the (Northern Kingdom)   Both Judah and the Northern Kingdom, turn away from serving God and turn to serving the gods of the nations around them, or maybe even the gods of the peoples that they failed to remove from the land. Judah seems to have had some revivals during the reigns of some of their kings, and it took longer for Judah to completely turn away from God The 10 tribe to the north, turned away from God much sooner than the 2 tribes to the south The LORD warned them over and over if they didn’t return to Him, He would remove them from the Land… }}}}}}}}}}} Click for the Assyrians…

Approximately 722 BC the Northern Kingdom is conquered by Assyria and those who survived, were scattered over the whole Assyrian Empire   Note: Nations did this to the survivors to separate them so they wouldn’t rise up and revolt They also would separate them so they would not practice just their own religious customs, they would try to get them to adopt the religious customs of the people where they placed them The Northern Kingdom was essentially Gone for good >>>>>>>>>Click for the Babylonians...

Approximately 586 BC Judah was conquered by the Babylonians, and most of those who survived were taken captive to Babylon   The Land “rested” just as The LORD had said through His prophets, because among the other sins they had committed, they had not observed His Sabbath years so He made the land have its Sabbaths During the years of captivity a remnant of the people still served the LORD in Babylon (Daniel, and others) Babylon was conquered by the Medo-Persians during their captivity… >>>>>>>>> Click for Medo-Persian empire

Daniel survived the Babylonian rulers and served Kings Darius (Lions Den) and maybe Cyrus of the Medo-Persians   Approximately 538 BC… Ezra 1:1-4 Records for this for us: >>>>>>>>>> Click for Ezra...

Ezra 1:1-4 NASU Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: READ VERSES }}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue…

2 "Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3'Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to }}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue…

Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4'Every survivor, at whatever place he may live, let the men of that place support him with silver and gold, with goods and cattle, together with a freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.'" Ezra & Nehemiah record 3 different groups returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, and then the wall around Jerusalem.   But not all of the Jews who were scattered abroad returned. Really it was a very small number in comparison to all the Jews scattered throughout the Persian empire There is an interesting report about Jerusalem and the people rebuilding the temple given by a neighbor of Jerusalem who hated the Jews: }}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click for Ezra...

Ezra 4:11-15 NASU this is the copy of the letter which they sent to him: "To King Artaxerxes: Your servants, the men in the region beyond the River, and now (12) let it be known to the king that the Jews who came up from you have come to us at Jerusalem; they are rebuilding the rebellious and evil city and are finishing the walls and repairing the ****** King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) succeeded Cyrus, and then Artaxerxes, succeeded Ahasuerus   (This is during the reign of Artaxerxes…) READ VERSES }}}}}}}}}} Click to continue….

foundations. (13) "Now let it be known to the king, that if that city is rebuilt and the walls are finished, they will not pay tribute, custom or toll, and it will damage the revenue of the kings. (14) "Now because we are in the service of the palace, and it is not fitting for us to see the king's dishonor, therefore we have sent and informed the king,   }}}}}}}}}} Click to continue….

(15) so that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers (15) so that a search may be made in the record books of your fathers. And you will discover in the record books and learn that that city is a rebellious city and damaging to kings and provinces, and that they have incited revolt within it in past days; therefore that city was laid waste. Interesting, the city had a reputation of rebelling against those who tried to rule over them!   Why? We now come to the “Intertestamental” period… >>>>>>>> Click for “Intertestamental” period...

Alexander the Great’s Greek Rule Approximately 333 BC Alexander the Great swept the world and conquered Judea This started the Hellenistic period   Toward the end of the Hellenistic period, the Jews were greatly oppressed. The Seleucid rulers tried to force Hellenism on the Jews and ordered scriptures destroyed, and cruelly enforced their laws on the Jews. In 167 BC the Jews revolted under the leadership of Judas the Maccabee. Then in 142 BC Simon the high priest began the Hasmonean period – until 63 BC >>>>>>>>>> Click for Romans…

Roman Empire In 63 BC Pompey the Roman general captured Jerusalem and the provinces of the Holy land became subject to Rome. So began the Roman period   The Jews were very much concerned about regaining control of their homeland; unfortunately, it seems that it was mostly for patriotism, not to be an influence for God During the Roman period, Herod the Great rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. This was a massive and impressive structure that was there in the time of Christ >>>>>>>> Click to continue with more introduction to Matthew...

God entered the scene at this time…   It was into this political climate that Jesus was born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit >>>>>>>> Click to continue intro to Matthew...

4 Biographies of Jesus: There are 4 biographies of the life of Jesus and they are different at times and have different details at times, so we will look at the other Gospels if they tell the same story so we can get a better idea of what is going on   We call these biographies of Jesus - Gospels (Good News) The 4 authors wanted to share the Good News about Jesus with others and we are fortunate that they wrote down the story, so we can hear it today, almost 2,000 years later! Each of the 4 authors apparently had a specific audience in mind when they wrote their biography, so they each have a different emphasis based on their intended audience }}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue…

4 Biographies of Jesus: 1st of all: The early church fathers (at least through the 2nd century) unanimously held that Matthew (one of the 12) was the author of the Gospel of Matthew   Matthew seems to be writing to Jews, Mark to the Romans, Luke to the Gentiles, and John to everyone (We’ll look at some reasons we think that a little later) This gives us 4 similar, yet different accounts and so we have more details than we would have if there was only one I think the Holy Spirit prompted these 4 men to each write down their account for that very purpose, so we would have a more complete account of the life of Jesus Christ AND… Just because Matthew’s intended audience was primarily Jews doesn’t mean that we can’t learn a lot from it! }}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

4 Calling birds Remember at Christmas time we looked at the meanings of each of the days of the 12 days of Christmas?   The four calling birds stood for the authors of the Gospels that trumpeted the story of Jesus and told about his life and ministry from birth to death.  So the four Gospels are really 4 writers calling out to anyone who will listen and are proclaiming the Good News of Jesus! Each of the writers has a little different emphasis as they tell the story. And each seems to emphasize a different aspect of Jesus that was prophesied in the Old Testament... }}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue….

Zechariah 9:9 NASU Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Matthew presents Jesus as King (We will look at that in more detail later) >>>>>>>>>>> Click for next…

Isaiah 42:1 NASU "Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. Mark presents Jesus as servant >>>>>>>>>>> Click for next…

Zechariah 6:12 & 13 NASU "Then say to him, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, a man whose name is Branch, for He will branch out from where He is; and He will build the temple of the LORD. (13) "Yes, it is He who will build the temple of the LORD, and He who will bear the honor and sit and rule on His READ VERSES }}}}}}}}}} Click to continue…

throne. Thus, He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the two offices."' Luke presents Jesus as the PERFECT man >>>>>>>>>>> Click for next…

Isaiah 40:9-11 NASU Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" (10) Behold, the Lord GOD will come with might, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His

recompense before Him. (11) Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.   John presents Jesus as God Even though each of the 4 Gospels have their own emphasis, they still point out other aspects. For example; Matthew shows Jesus as King, Mark shows Jesus as servant, Luke shows Jesus as man, John shows Jesus as God, but Matthew shows Him as servant, man, and God too, and they all do the same thing, they just emphasize one thing more. >>>>>>>>>>> Click for next…

- “Syn-optic” Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels   Synoptic is derived from the Greek words (syn "together with" or “same”) + (opsis "view") Same-view or seeing together “the Synoptic Gospels,” in contrast with the Gospel of John, present the same general view of the life and teaching of Jesus during His earthly ministry, and of His death and resurrection. >>>>>>>>>>> Click for next...

? Let me give you some examples of why scholars think the things they think about the different Gospel writers and their intended audiences and different emphasis’   >>>>>>>>>> Click for next...

Mark 7:1-3 NASU The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, (2) and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. (3) (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; READ VERSES   We can see in the Gospel of Mark how he describes what a Jewish tradition was or a holiday or whatever - that shows that he was writing to a non-Jewish audience, and Matthew doesn’t explain things like that, showing he assumed his audience would know what he was talking about >>>>>>>>>>> Click for next...

…the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. Luke 3:38 NASU …the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God. ******* Luke’s genealogy of Jesus concludes with this verse…   READ VERSE So we can see that Luke is showing that Jesus was the son of Adam, the first man >>>>>>>>>> Click for next...

Matthew 1:1 & 2 NASU The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham: (2) Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. READ VERSES   Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus starts with the son of David, a descendant of Abraham, and the king who was promised to always have a descendent on the throne: 2 Samuel 7:16 NASU "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'" Matthew shows the line from Abraham to David to Jesus One of the ways we can see that Matthew is emphasizing that Jesus is king, is just from his genealogy. There are many other ways we will see as we go through the book >>>>>>>> Click for next...

Matthew 1:22 NASU Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: READ VERSE   Matthew uses this phrase: “to fulfill…” many times in his Gospel… Matthew is careful to point out how Jesus fulfilled OT prophecies He quotes more OT prophecies than any of the other Gospel writers The fact that Matthew says, “this was to fulfill…” is one way that we can see he was writing to Jews, Gentiles wouldn’t know OT prophecy That was part of Matthew’s plan to show the Jews that Jesus was the promised Messiah-King >>>>>>>>>>>> Click for next...

Again, we are just going to take a tour of the book of Matthew…   I am just a tour-guide I may point out things that most people point out, and I may point out things most people don’t point out. I may NOT point out things that most people point out I will just point out the things I find interesting and want to make a note of I just hope that you will get excited about the book of Matthew and what we can learn from it, and ultimately that you will get excited about the whole Bible and what we can learn from it. }}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

And I hope you will see that you don’t need anyone to guide you through it, if you just spend time in the Word, you will see how much you can understand and learn!   You don’t need to have a Seminary degree or a Bible College degree to understand God’s Word! It is written to YOU! And just like Pastor Don has been saying in his sermons lately, The Bible is given to us so we can get to know God and His will So as we study ANY book of the Bible, our goal should be to get to know God more }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

And we can only get a small picture of God from just one book of the Bible - it takes the WHOLE Bible to get a greater picture of Who God is and What He is like   So we must be in His Word regularly and consistently to learn as much as we can about Him and to help us understand other parts of scripture So, next week we will begin with Chapter 1 and we will see how far we get (Next week is Resurrection Sunday, and we will also spend part of our time talking about the resurrection) }}}}}}}}}}}} Click to continue...

As part of Chapter one, we will look at just a small part of the video of the Gospel of Matthew in the Visual Bible Series   They just read the text word for word and act out what’s being read (1984 NIV version) (I like the way they do the Matthew’s genealogy) >>>>>>>>>>>>> Click for next week…

Next week: Matthew Chapter 1