Matthew's Gospel is one of the great and enduring pieces of world literature. At the same time, it is a humble record of the life of The One who changed the world, recorded by one of the men that He changed. It is a record of history and it is a maker of history. It is all of these things, but it is so much more than that. It is a message. A call - to anyone with ears to hear - that the King and Savior of the universe has invited you to know him!
CHAPTERS
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In this intro to the Book of Matthew, we discuss the deeper point of reading the book in the first place. It's not just to hone in our doctrine, or to simply remember the life of a great historical figure. We are facing the most important call we can encounter. The call to know the God who created us. He came here for just that reason.
In Matthew 01b, We look at the little-discussed father of Jesus, Joseph. He is described as "Just" even though he had every legal and emotional right to retaliate against his inexplicably pregnant wife. By the time Matthew was written, however, something about the nature of Mercy and Justice had shifted.
In Matthew 2a, we look at the strange contrast between two memorable reactions to the arrival of the Newborn King. We see the shocking reaction of Herod as he welcomes Jesus into the world with the murder of many children. But we also see a humble and generous reaction. The shocker is... this is the reaction of a group of Occult Magicians from the land of Israel's enemies. Why?
In Matthew 2b, we see Jesus King of the Jews, moving to Nazareth and fulfilling Prophecy. But the prophecy he fulfills has little to do with His hometown. Rather, it references something deeper, a grand theme regarding what he must do in the world, which will ultimately show Him to be the King of the greater family of Man.
In Matthew 03b, Jesus is baptized by John, a man who knew that he was Christ's inferior. Nevertheless, Jesus insists on being baptized by John, saying to Him that it must be done, "to fulfill all righteousness." Today, we take a close look at this enigmatic comment, and explore its unexpected ramifications to the ministry of Jesus.
As Jesus inaugurates His ministry, he is baptized by John the Baptist at the Jordan. But there is a mystery here. John tells us that the baptism of Jesus took place "at Bethany, beyond the Jordan." The problem is, researchers could not find a "Bethany beyond the Jordan," until an explorer found it near a place called the Gates of Hell near a valley, known as the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Today, we explore the amazing symbolic importance of Jesus being baptized in this place.
With His baptism, Jesus declared His victory over a fallen realm, but with His Temptation, He will demonstrate His victory. Here in Matthew 4a, We see Jesus, led by the Spirit, to face one of the great tests of His life. The Temptation in the Wilderness, a wilderness infamous for its association with the fallen and demonic realm. As Jesus faces the darkness head on, He prepares himself by... "starving" himself for 40 days... Why?
In Matthew 4b, we see Jesus declaring His kingdom. It is no coincidence that He does so after demonstrating His victory over the current ruler of the earth, Satan. The question for us is, are we ready to choose His kingdom over the kingdom of the Enemy? Or the kingdom of self? King Jesus has the right to call for faithful obedience. Are you ready to profess that He is Master, to the Glory of God the Father?
In Matthew 5a, Jesus begins to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. But what is that Kingdom? And why is it called a "Gospel?" As we look at this profound message, we will see that it is indeed a "gospel" (good news) to the poor. This point becomes more and more clear as we place Jesus' audience within their actual context of oppression under Rome (the last of Babylon's brutish "Beast Kingdoms"). Ultimately, we discover the Good King Jesus, bent on helping the Drained, the Grieving and the Powerless. Yes He is a powerful and glorious king, but the kingdom He is building is the Kingdom of Compassion.
In Matthew 5b, we simply look at the word "Blessed". We break down the varying modern explanations of the term, but our final answer comes from the original languages. The answer is unexpected and perhaps even controversial to a Christianity that has become increasingly (and often wisely) uncomfortable with emotion.
In Matthew 5c, we explore the Beatitudes, observing the way this amazing sermon is constructed. It employs a somewhat-forgotten structure that centers us on Jesus' main point, and prevents the sense that these are merely a collection of pleasant sayings. On the contrary, they identify the type of person that God desires to bless.
In Matthew 5d, guest speaker, Tom offers a profound and practical perspective in what it means to be light in this world. Jesus' unique call is not a call for the faint of heart! It requires the courage to stand before men and declare your beliefs in the public arena. Tom's message is entitled "Being an Ambassador, not a Secret Agent." That should get the ol' wheels turning...
In Matthew 5e, we spend some time in the riddle of being salt in this world. It may seem simple enough, but when we cross-reference to parallel passages where Jesus spoke about being salt, we find a whole other layer of meaning. The process may sound complex, but the message is the simplest and most fundamental moral message in Scripture.
In Matthew 5f, We look Jesus' approach to law-fulfillment. We see that Jesus emphasizes the "heart condition." But what he says about the state of the human heart indicates a level of moral expectation that is not difficult... it's impossible. But ironically, that's what we need to see before it becomes doable.
In Matthew 6b, we see the center of the center of the Sermon on the Mount. The Lord's prayer. But we also discover that there is a pattern to the Lord's Prayer, that gives the prayer its own center. So, what is at the center of the center of the center? Nothing less than the Key to the Kingdom... A key hidden only by our own inability to understand the grace of God.
In Matthew 6c, Jesus expresses an idiom that causes far less controversy than it should. Many people read a certain level of modern spiritualism into the "Good Eye / Bad Eye" and come out with ideas of enlightenment or moral perception. But if the follower of Jesus looks closely into Jewish culture and into the Scriptures, this idiom turns out to be a known idea, with a definite (and surprising) meaning. More importantly, it provides the context for the following statements on Worship, Provision, and Judgment.
In Matthew 7b, Jesus tackles the difficult issue of judgment. The question becomes even more difficult when we see that the word used for judgment here, is a word better translated as "discernment". How can a person practice godly wisdom without discerning human character? The answer is in the context. As usual.
In Matthew 7b, Jesus gives us what looks like an unapologetic offer of... anything we want, just for the asking. But how do we make sense of this in the context of our actual experience of prayer? Why do we ask, seek, and knock without effect? The answer will again, come from the context. There, we will find the answer to a very important question... what has Jesus asked us to ask and seek and knock for?
In Matthew 7c, Jesus delivers one of His most famous statements ever! "The Golden Rule." Upon closer inspection, however, it looks a lot like Confucius' statement "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." In fact, this famous "rule of thumb" has shown up in nearly every culture with a central moral code. Is Jesus just plagiarizing the pagans? Is this merely a "rule of thumb?" Or is this a Jesus original... to be seen as a command from the King of the World?
In Matthew 7d, Jesus gives us a warning about wolves wearing wool. It may seem difficult to understand why Jesus is so hard on those who "hold a different opinion"... until you see what's at stake: Wolves have a dietary preference for sheep... And sheep are people... And people are Jesus' favorite.
In Matthew 7e, Jesus leaves his audience with a sobering message. He warns that every life not build upon His teachings will be swept away by the storm. Upon a closer look, we discover that this warning would come true when Rome swept in like a storm and destroyed Israel's temple and what was left of their kingdom. But the warning is not just for Israel! Jesus extended his warning to "everyone" who hears, but does not do his word. What does that mean for us, nearly 2000 years later?
In Matthew 8a, Jesus heals a leper. This is already a spectacular display of power, but there is something that makes Leprosy stand out among other diseases. In almost every instance of Leprosy in the Old Testament, a person contracted Leprosy, not by way of the typical pathogenic methods. Not by air or by water or by contact. It was received by way of a curse from God. So what does it say about Jesus that He is able to lift it?
In Matthew 8c, We find two men who come to Jesus with an interest to follow Him. One asks of He can follow him now, the other asks if he can follow Jesus later. Jesus responds to each with answers that seem contradictory. Both answers call into focus the real intentions of the prospective disciples. Do they have an agenda beyond the purity of service to the Master?
In Matthew 8d, Jesus meets a man possessed by a legion of demons. It's easy to miss that the term "legion" is a military term, which means that demons think of themselves as members of the enemy's forces. Yet they answer to Jesus. What does this say about Jesus? In other words... exactly how much authority does The Son Of Man have, in Heaven and Earth?
In Matthew 9a, while Jesus is healing a group of poeple in a living room, a paralytic is lowered into the room for a miracle. Jesus takes the oportunity, however, to equate himself with an enigmatic person from one of Daniel's visions, and then claims to have the authority to forgive the man's sins. The healing itself is treated only as proof of the more enigmatic claims. What is Jesus doing here, and what might this strange demonstration have to do with your eternal destiny?
In Matthew 9b, Jesus calls Matthew the Apostle. Matthew, however, does not come with an apostolic résumé. Rather, he has earned for himself a disdain, in terms of his vocation, that places him on a cultural level with prostitutes. Rather that avoiding him like a plague, as most prospective leaders would do, Jesus passes by the crowds of better options, sets fire to His own ministry, and calls the last man that he should. What is Jesus doing?
Matthew 9c, Jesus is confronted for not fasting enough, surprisingly, but the disciples of His forerunner, John the Baptist. Fasting in that day was seen as a deeply holy activity. So If Jesus is not fasting, can He be thought of as truly holy? Jesus turns the whole critique on its head, however, when he clarifies His own true identity. If Jesus is who He says He is, why aren't they feasting?
In Matthew 9d, Jesus heals a woman with an issue of blood, and resurrects a man's daughter. The two miracles are connected to each other, and taken together, they speak of Jesus as a healer, with the ability to heal the world's most irreversible symptom... Death. What will our response be?
In Matthew 10a, Jesus chooses his 12 apostles. At those earlier stages they don't seem like much. But ultimately, their names mark the very foundations of the New Jerusalem. Furthermore, the early church "devoted themselves" to the Apostles' doctrines. The question is, how do these little factoids bear upon modern discussions about current apostolic movements?
Jesus sends His disciples to go out and spread the good news of the Kingdom. But of the few directions He gives them, oddly, He tells them to prepare for their ministry... by NOT preparing for their ministry. No extra food. No change of clothes. No extra shoes. Not even sermon prep. Why does He tell them to do this. And what does His advice tell us about the nature of our fundamental relationship with God?
As Jesus sends His disciples out into their ministries, he informs them that they will be "hated" for the sake of His name. In other words, one of the marks of a powerful long-term ministry is not success, but persecution... which kinda throws a monkey wrench in our God-must-only-ever-be-nice-and-bless-everyone theology. There are whole subgroups of Christianity that simply don't have a framework for this. But what do we do when the our frameworks come on conflict with the teachings of The Master?
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Strange words from The Prince of Peace. How do we reconcile these words with the Lord's mission to establish peace between Man and God, as well as Man and Brother. It begins with understanding that while God's Word does not contradict itself, it does hold in tension difficult truths.
In chapter 11, we find a truly difficult scene. First, we find Jesus' forerunner, John the Baptist in prison. Why is a Disciple of the Conqueror in prison? Furthermore (and for most people, this one is more difficult), we find the Baptist grappling with doubt. If John can't keep it together in terms of Faith, what will become of the rest of us? But Jesus' response is simply beautiful. No confrontation. No guilt tripping. He simply restores Johns faith, and then, like Noah's sons, He covers His friend's shame.
After performing a run of shocking miracles, Jesus confronts the very cities in which these mighty works had been done. They hadn't turned toward him despite seeing Him do things unheard of anywhere else in the world. During this confrontation, he compares them to three other cities, cities famously associates with rebellion and animosity against God. Why compare three Israelite cities with these three infamous cities? More importantly, what sort of response is Jesus looking for?
A group of religious leaders begin to confront Jesus for breaking the Sabbath Laws. If correct, their issue with Jesus would pose a major problem for those who believe in Jesus. Is He not the One who came to fulfill the Law. Is it not said of Him that He was "without sin?"
But Jesus isn't having it. The problem is not in his actions, but in their attempt to extrapolate the actual laws of God into the details of every day life. They got it wrong. But a then, new question arises: How does one extrapolate God's law into everyday life?
Jesus has answers for that too.
In this amazing story, Jesus meets a man with a withered hand, and asks him to stretch it forth. This may seem like an insignificant thing to ask, considering the amazing things Jesus has done. But think of the position into which this request places this helpless man. Imagine how many times this man had attempted to stretched forth His hand to catch a falling plate, or a dropped tool... or himself.
"That's just the point, Lord. I can't."
But that's not the man's response. He simply trusts, and does the Impossible. The truth is... This is the point. Jesus is not in the habit of calling us into easy things, or even difficult things. He calls us into impossible things. What will our response be?
Jesus encounters a man mute because of a demonic possession. Jesus simply commands the demon to leave the man, which is incredible on its own. But the part that modern audiences miss is that this particular miracle - the exorcism of a mute demoniac - was understood to be a miracle only the Messiah could perform. But this is no surprise to those who believe in the deity of Jesus! What is surprising is the response of those who witnessed the miracle. They reject Jesus as their Messiah, and accuse Him of operating by the power of Beelzebub. Scholars have noticed that this moment is the literary center of the Gospel of Matthew... Why?
"A tree is known by its fruit." Sounds obvious. But it isn't. What Jesus is expressing, when he makes this comment, is a truth missed in every brow-beating legalistic church as well as every bleeding-heart liberal church. Both make the same mistake, assuming that there might be any tool whatsoever in the arsenal of man's efforts and power that can make sinner bear fruits different than the fruits that his own nature allows. They cannot be forced. They cannot be coaxed. The tree itself has to change, and only one thing can do that.
Few parables are more famous than the Parable of the Sewer. Nevertheless, there is a lot of controversy about its meaning. Is it about the many ways one can lose their salvation? Is it about those who believe that they have salvation, and don't? The translation is important, because Jesus implies that if we don't get this one right, how can we understand the rest.
Jesus shares a series of parables, each one related in some way to the life of the church. Each could be unpacked individually, but the real power of these stories comes from observing the overarching patterns, and variations present in the series. What emerges is a message to the church about what to expect in the culture of a church, and (more importantly) how to handle it.
Here, Jesus shares three parables, all emphasizing a person who "sells all" to receive something of great personal value. Many powerful messages have been delivered on the topic of our moral responsibility to "sell all" for the gospel. But a question must be asked: "Who is the protagonist of these parables?" Are these stories about us? or are they about a different Central Character. Who is it that actually "Sold all that He had?" How does this shift in perspective change the meaning of the Parable? How will our lives change, when we cease to be the central figure of our stories.
John is beheaded. John, the greatest prophet born of Women. The Baptist. The mantle-bearer of Elijah. The Forerunner of the Messiah. But this is not just a loss of a great man in the eyes of the world. This is the loss of a friend in the heart of the man, Jesus Christ. There, in the midst of this tragedy, just as Jesus is looking for a moment alone, a mob of several thousand people show up, each with an impossible need.
A moment of tragedy, becomes a moment of compassion, which becomes a moment so powerful that it has not been forgotten for 2,000 years.
Jesus feeds the 5,000... and their families. Estimates place this crowd at 15,000 to 20.000. And when He feeds them, he doesn't serve them roach-coach sushi. It's cooked, kosher, and ready to go. But the real value of this moment has little to do with a multitude munching Mahi-mahi and Matzah. Jesus presents Himself as the true and better Moses... and the true and better Manna. But what do we do with the fact that He is both Giver and Gift?
As the night closes, and 5,000+ customers go home happy, Jesus sends His disciples off across the sea of Galilee. Somewhere in the middle, he strolls over to them, treading right across the surface of a stormy sea. Comparing this to old testament verses, it becomes clear that Jesus is demonstrating His true identity. The disciples all marvel from the inside of the boat. All except Peter, who assumes that Jesus will give Him the power to do the same. The crazy thing is... He wasnt wrong.
After arriving on the shores of Galilee, Jesus comes into an area where a woman reaches out for healing, touching the "Tassels" of his garment. A brief dive into the Hebrew terms used here, reveals that the Woman was probably responding to a prophecy in Malachi, when she reached out for healing. A slightly deeper dive, however, will reveal what these tassels were used for. And therein lies the true message of the story.
Jesus does it again. He presents three little pictures. A mouth speaking. Uprooted plants. Blind people trying to guide other blind people. These pictures may seem random, but they are knit together on one central idea: The danger of following fraudulent leaders. For these Legalistic leaders, there was one central misunderstanding that lead them to think that the careful application of guilt could change the sinner. It's the same misunderstanding that leads modern churches to think that the careful application of psychology or enticement can change the sinner. Jesus deals with this complex problem by presenting three simple pictures. Pay attention!
"Whatever you bond on earth will be bound in Heaven." These words have inspired no small amount of controversy. Is Jesus giving Peter - and the Church associated with him - the authority to banish people out of the church? Is he indicating that Heaven will authorize these acts? What does this mean for those who are banished by Christ's earthly church, and by Christ's Heavenly Father? Are they banished from Heaven as well?
Perhaps we have this whole thing wrong. So wrong, in fact, that we have traded in a far greater power in favor of the imagined "right" to banish from God those who need Him most.
Jesus tells His disciples that if they desired to follow Him, they would need to take up their crosses and follow him. Little could they imagine that this could be the path to the Kingdom they imagined for themselves. But before we go on criticizing the lack of scope in their vision or understanding, consider that we too, may have some blind-spots. Ultimately, the call to the cross is the call to something beautiful, something far beyond preconceptions about what is possible. Many life-long Christians never catch on to this, despite Jesus' having demonstrated it for Himself.
The Transfiguration, one of the most beautiful and glorious scenes in the gospel story! But what if there is more this scene than meets the eye? The clues to this hidden truth are found in the most unlikely place: the map section of your bible! Once unraveled, the message becomes a message of power and authority, a message of victory and hope. But as the comic books say... with great power comes great responsibility.