1. What is the book of Matthew?
The book of Matthew concerns the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. It is one of the four books in the New
Testament called Gospels. Gospel just means “good news”.
The first 3 gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke are called synoptic gospels.
A careful comparison of the four Gospels reveals that Matthew, Mark and Luke are noticeably similar, while John is quite different. The first three Gospels agree extensively in language, in the material they include, and in the order in which events and sayings from the life of Christ are narrated. Because of this agreement, these three books are called the Synoptic Gospels
Synoptic is from (syn, “together with”; optic, “seeing”; thus “seeing together”).
2. Who wrote the book of Matthew?
The canonicity and Matthean authorship of this gospel were unchallenged in the early church. Eusebius (ca. a.d. 265–339) quotes Origen (ca. a.d. 185–254):
Papias – Matthew composed the sayings of the Lord in the Hebrew language, and everyone translated them as best as they could (Eusebius’ Church History 3.38.16).
Irenaeus – Matthew wrote a gospel in the Hebrew language, while Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel and founding the church in Rome (Against Heresies 3.1.1).
Clement – Matthew was written before Mark and John and at the same time as Luke (Eusebius’ Church History 6.14.5-7).
Tertullian – Matthew wrote a gospel (Against Marcion 4.5)
Origen – The first Gospel was that according to Matthew, who was once a toll-collector but later an apostle of Jesus Christ. He published it for those who became believers from Judaism, since it was composed in the Hebrew language (Eusebius’ Church History 6.25.4).
Jerome - Matthew — who was also (called) Levi — was an apostle and former tax-collector. He first composed the gospel of Christ in Hebrew letters and wrote for the Jews of Judea. It is not known who translated the gospel into Greek. The Hebrew gospel still exists, and Jerome claimed to have read it. (It is unclear whether this is an original or whether it is a translation from the Greek.) Matthew used the Hebrew Old Testament for quotes rather than the Greek one (the Septuagint) (This is not true. Modern scholarship indicates that Greek Matthew used the Greek Old Testament.) (Illustrious Men 3)
Matthew, whose name means “gift of the LORD,” was a tax collector who left his work to follow Jesus (9:9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.). In Mark and Luke he is called by his other name, Levi.
Matthew is the Greek name and Levi was the Hebrew name. As a tax-collector, Matthew worked for Greek-speaking Romans. He gathered taxes from Hebrew-speaking Jews. Rome’s method of collecting taxes was to employ as tax collectors locals who knew who had money and where they kept it. A province was divided into tax districts. Locals would bid for the contract of collecting taxes in a district. The bid was the money they were contracted to pay the government; whatever they collected over that amount was theirs to keep. The chief tax collector (such as Zacchaeus in Luke 19:2) owned the contract for his region. Then he would employ others to collect taxes in the various villages. Tax collectors were widely regarded as thieves and robbers. They were regarded by the Jews as traitors and generally despised. According to Rabbinism there was no hope for a man like Levi. He was excluded from all religious fellowship including the Temple and Synagogue. His money was considered tainted and defiled anyone who accepted it. He could not serve as a witness. The Rabbis had no word of help for tax collectors; they were looked down upon by both Jews and Romans.
3. When was it written?
In 1994, a segment of the Greek text of Matthew’s Gospel
appears to now have been dated before AD 66. Known as the Magdalen Papyrus, P64, it contains segments of Matthew 26:23, 31 on both sides of three fragments. Despite arguments to the contrary, there is rich evidence that Matthew’s Gospel was written prior to the destruction of the Temple in AD 70, and that Matthew actually took down Jesus’ words verbatim. Dating the Book of Matthew By Dr. Chuck Missler
The most likely time frame for this book is A.D. 58-68. It had to be written before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., but the text itself mentions “until this day” (28:15) which indicates a substantial period of time since the events of the book had taken place.
4. Why was it written?
The book was written to a primarily Jewish audience. Its focus is Jesus Christ as the promised “messiah”, coming to establish the “kingdom of God”. It shows Jesus as the “fulfillment” of the Old Testament prophesies, the “anointed one” and the “son of David” and “the seed of Abraham.”
5. What was happening at the time the book of Matthew was written?
6. What are some highlights of the book?
1. The Sermon on the Mount. That is the law of the kingdom.
2. The Mystery Parables. These parables in Matthew 13 are about the kingdom. Our Lord tells us that the kingdom of heaven is like a sower, like a mustard seed, and so on.
3. The Olivet Discourse. This looks forward to the establishment of the kingdom here upon this earth.
Chapter 1
A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:
7. Why is this genealogy important?
The types of people mentioned in this genealogy reveal the broad scope of those who make up the people of God as well as the genealogy of Jesus.
Jesus is the fulfillment of two Old Testament covenants. The Abrahamic Covenant and the Davidic covenant.
The Abrahamic Covenant. Genesis 12:3 “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed”. The messiah would be a Jew, a “son of Abraham”.
The Davidic Covenant. 1 Samuel 7:12-13 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.” The messiah would be a descendent of David.
These two covenants or “agreements” are promises made by God concerning the descendents of Abraham and David. Promises made hundreds of years before they were eventually fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.
8. What does this name Jesus Christ mean?
The Hebrew Jeshua , translated to Greek is Jesus, means “the Lord is Salvation.” Christ is the Greek word for messiah or the anointed one.
Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. 17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ.
9. Why would this genealogy include an adulterer and murderer (David), a prostitute (Rahab), a gentile (Ruth), and an idolater, (Solomon)?
Jesus’ ancestors were regular people, with all the faults that we all have. They were all sinners. It is critical that Jesus, the messiah, be 100% human, yet without sin, as well as 100% God.
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” –which means, “God with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
10. In Jesus time what did it mean to be betrothed?
Jewish betrothal was as binding as modern marriage. A
divorce was necessary to terminate the betrothal and the betrothed couple were regarded legally as husband and wife —although physical union had not yet taken place. It was customary that after the betrothal ceremony the groom would go to begin building a house for his future bride. This was why when Jesus told his disciples in John 14:1-4 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”, they understood exactly what he was talking about. Generally the betrothal would last about one year and then the groom would come and bring the bride to his new house.
11. “for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” What does this mean?
It means that Joseph is not the biological father, God is the father, and as a result the baby does not inherit the sin nature which would have normally come down the bloodline from Adam, the first sinner. Notice the scripture says, “. And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.” Joseph is referred to as the husband of Mary, not the father of Jesus. The baby growing inside of Mary is totally created and implanted by the Holy Spirit. All people born since Adam have a defect know as a sin nature. You don’t have to teach little children to be rebellious and do bad things. It comes natural. Adam was created in the image of God. Gen. 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him, yet after Adam sinned his son Seth was born no longer in the image of God, but in the image of Adam. Gen. 5:3 And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.
Jesus is the unique begotten Son of God. John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For thousands of years, every child has been born with an inherited sin nature and sinful flesh (Romans 8:3). This is a result of our sinful first parents, Adam and Eve to whom we are all genetically related. Each generation (without exception) has sinned (Rom. 3:23) and passed on its sinful nature and the curse of death, to each succeeding generation (the biblical doctrine of imputation of sin -Romans 5:12-19). There is only one exception in history. Although Jesus grew in the womb of Mary, in the same manner as any baby, he was different from all other babies. It appears that he was not genetically related to either Mary or Joseph, for both had an inherited sin nature. Jesus was sinless, and one may reasonably assume without genetic flaw, since he was to serve as the spotless and sacrificial Lamb of God.
Ever since the Creation, each subsequent life has been created at the moment of conception. Scientifically, the new entity begins at the moment the DNA of man and woman combine. This was not the case with Jesus. As a spirit and part of the Trinity, Jesus existed before the Creation of the world. In fact, John reveals that he is the Creator (John 1).Furthermore, the physical body of Jesus as born in Bethlehem was clearly a special creation of God, placed in Mary’s womb. This is the biblical doctrine of the Virgin Birth.
Thus, neither Christ’s spirit nor his body must have resulted from the DNA of Mary’s egg or from any man’s sperm. Both would have contained inherited genetic defects and the sin nature. As Scripture tells us, Jesus was truly the Second Adam. The first Adam was a special creation of God (not related to any human being), and so was the second Adam (Romans 5:12-19). Jesus was just as fully human as the first Adam. And just like the first Adam, he had no sin nature, no inherited sin, no sinful flesh, which has always been passed from one generation to the next since Adam and Eve’s sin. He was absolutely pure and without sin—from the day he was born, till the day he died. He had to be—he was the Lamb of God, without blemish or spot, sacrificed for sins (John1:29),human.
12. The angel tells Joseph that the birth of Jesus is a fulfillment of something a prophet had previously
prophesied. Where was this prophesy from?
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
13. What is significant about the phrase, “God with us”?
In the past God was distant, only interacting with his people once a year when he came into the Holy of Holies inside the temple to appear to the high priest on the Day of Atonement. Now God would be living with, speaking to, and touching his people in the person of Jesus Christ
1 John 1:1-4 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life —2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us —3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
- ESV………….ESV Study Bible Notes
- MSN…….MacArthur NASB Study Notes
- NIVSN…..NIV Study Notes.
- JVM ….J Vernon McGee,
- ACC …. Adam Clarke’s Commentary
- BN …..Barnes Notes
- WBC…… Wycliffe Bible Commentary
- CN …… Constables Notes
- IC……….Ironside Commentary
- NET………Net Bible Study Notes.
- JFB…………..Jamieson Fausset Brown Commentary
- VWS……………..Vincent Word Studies
- CMM………….Commentary on Matthew and Mark
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- http://augustine1blog.wordpress.com/
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