New Testament Core Seminar

Class 4Matthew

“The Promised King”New Testament Overview

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Introduction

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• Name some of the founders of the ‘great’ religions of the world.• … Mohammad , the Buddha, Confucius, Abraham, Moses• And of course Jesus.• Does He fit into the category of religious inventors?• Jesus did do things no one else every did. Or ever will do.• But to the NT writers, Jesus was not the author of a new religion.• This is key to understanding Mathew’s gospel.• Israel had been waiting for 400 years. They were under Roman

occupation and oppression. • Many false Christ's had come and gone who promised political

freedom. But all failed!• So who would be King? How would they know him?• Matthew presents Christ through the lens of the OT showing his

lineage from Abraham and how He fulfilled the requirements.

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Background.• Matthew (Levi in Mark and Luke) is minimally disputed as author.• He was a Jewish tax collector, and one of the chosen 12.• His experience and eye witness makes him a major source of

information.• 42% of the book contains information unique to the Gospels.• 60% is comprised of quotations of Jesus (and as a tax

collector/scribe, this was something he could/would do!).• “So overall, the culture behind the book of Matthew seems to indicate an

audience of Jewish Christians, who still have a connection to the Jewish faith and ought to continue paying the temple tax, but who are beginning to separate themselves from non-Christian Jews in other ways, such as the practice of animal sacrifice. The Jewish Christians abandoned Jerusalem some time after 62 A.D., but either before the Roman Jewish war or shorty after its start in 66 A.D. This would have been a major step in the breach between Christians and Jews. The gospel of Matthew was likely completed before such a permanent breach was in sight. A date around 60 A.D. would seem reasonable.”<http://www.datingthenewtestament.com/Matthew.htm>

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• He makes extensive use of Old Testament material, particularly prophetic passages.

• Compared to Mark, Matthew places greater emphasis on teaching and expands some narrative sections significantly.

• Jesus is the promised king: not just in that he fulfills specific promises in the Old Testament (though he does do that). He is the promised king in that he fulfills the whole Old Testament.

• Jesus makes this point himself. Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

• For Jesus to abolish anything of the OT would be to deny who He is!

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Outline.• Matthew can be divided into seven sections. 1. The first four chapters cover introductory matters: the

genealogy of Christ, His birth, baptism, and prep for ministry. 2. Chapters 5-9 include the Sermon on the Mount. 3. Chapters 10-12 present the first encounters of opposition faced

by Jesus. 4. In chapters 13-16 we begin to see the great divide between

those who recognize Jesus for who He is and those who oppose Him.

5. Chapters 16-18 are the turning point in Matthew. Read 16:21.– Jesus teaches the disciples how to live together. – He counters any misguided expectations they had about what the

Kingdom would entail.

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6. In chapter 19 to 25 the focus of Christ’s teaching shifts to judgment. – Israel will be judged for rejecting her Messiah. – The religious leaders of the day will be judged for opposing Jesus. – Just like Jesus was rejected, those who reject Him will be judged.

7. The final 3 chapters of the book recount his final hours, the crucifixion, and the resurrection.

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Sections 1 and 2: Birth and Early TeachingJesus Is Both a Jew and Something New.• Matthew uses the genealogy thru the Sermon on the Mount to

show that Jesus is the one who brings the OT prophecies and typologies together.

• To answer the who Jesus is … the fulfillment of all the OT.• The beginning focuses on Jesus’ Jewishness and position in the

royal line of David.• After the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, only two streams of

Judaism would survive: Rabbinic Judaism and Jewish Christianity.• What to do with the Jewish heritage was an important question

for those Jews who became Christians.• Along with the genealogy are narratives that point to the

fulfillment of prophesy pertaining to the Messiah.– Chapter 1 – Isaiah – virgin conception.– Chapter 2 – Micah – Christ child from Bethlehem.– 2:15 – Hosea – “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

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• The “son” of this prophecy is the nation of Israel. They had been saved out of the land of Egypt.

• This new Israel is being saved again, but this time the land of idolatry and oppression is in fact the land of Israel.

• And so out of that spiritual Egypt God is calling his new son.• As with Ancient Israel, the spent 40 years preparing … Jesus

spends 40 days … but instead of grumbling about bread He lives by every word of God.

• Starting Matthew 5 we have the Sermon on the mount.• Jesus informs the people that He has come not to abolish the

Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them.• Jesus is not only fulfilling prophesy but the very law of God.• He taught that the law, prophets, temple, sacrificial systems, and

customs existed as pointers to Him.

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• Question: Why did God wait thousands of years for Christ to be born? Why didn’t Eve just give birth to Christ.

• To reveal Himself to His people. To teach His people about themselves, their need for Him, and for a Savior.

• He used the entire Old Testament to prepare His people for the coming Messiah, establishing their need for a Savior.

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Section 3: Miracles and Persecution• Chapters 8-10 move into His miracles which confirms the claims

made in the first seven chapters.• … healing a leper, raising the dead, making a lame man walk,

healing the blind, even calming a storm.• When John the Baptist asks who he is, he’s says, "Go and tell John

the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them.” (11:4b-5)

• His ministry confirmed His fulfillment of the OT.

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Section 4: Rising Opposition• He begins pronouncing woe on the cities where he has been

working, and gets into trouble when he corrects the flawed oppressive teaching understanding of the Sabbath.

• Matthew 12:38-41 gives us the comparison of Jesus to Jonah.• Ending with v41, “The men of Nineveh will rise up in the

judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”

• Do any of us put people or things above Jesus?• Jesus uses a series of parables in chapter 13 showing the true

nature of the kingdom. • Not all will respond, as the parable of the soils teach us.• He will not judge His enemies yet but will allow them to grow

side-by-side with His church.• He also gets in trouble for claiming divine authority while having

a ministry of suffering and opposition.

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Section 5: Jesus is the Son of David• Chapters 14-18 are the central turning point.• As Jesus’ ministry continues so does the opposition.• He shows the kingdom will extend beyond the Jews when He

commends a Canaanite woman for her faith.• Up to now, Matthew has shown that Jesus is the Messiah – Read

2 Samuel 7:11.• That claim has been made but few have recognized it. • In chapter 16 where Jesus asks “Who do men say that I, the Son

of Man, am?”• Who should we listen to when deciding for ourselves who Jesus

is? Religious leaders? Traditions? Islamic prophet? Mormon’s god who is like us? Many churches teaching social Gospel?

• Best to consult those who knew Him firsthand, who encountered Him personally, men like Matthew.

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• After Peter’s confession, he begins to show His disciples what will soon happen.

• Shortly after this is the transfiguration that confirms what Peter said.

• From here the teaching begins to show Jesus as the suffering servant.

• Chapter 18 focuses on Church life. – Church discipline, – about forgiving each other,– about divorce, and – living together in love.

• These church teachings would have seem out of place to them … but in time they would be critical.

• At this point, Jesus makes it clear He is not ready to begin His reign though His kingdom has begun.

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Section 6: The Last Days• The last section, the Passion, centers on teaching of the second

coming.• Matthew’s treatment of the Triumphal Entry answers the

question of Jesus’s kingship. • He is in fact David’s son (genealogy) and He is king and will come

again as king to judge.• At least 4, Matthew records “Son of David” statements

– The blind men in chapter 9. – After healing the a blind and mute man in chapter 12.– The Canaanite mother of a demon-possessed daughter in 15. – At the triumphal entry to Jerusalem in chapter 21.

• Tension mounts between Jesus and the religious leaders. Read 22:41-46.

• This silences the Pharisees – they knew the Christ would be called the Son of David which is what the people were calling Him.

• Chapters 24 and 25 focus on His 2nd coming as judge.

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Section 7: The Passion Narrative• Jesus’ teaching ministry is over.• Chapter 26 introduces the plot to kill Jesus.• By chapter 27 He is dead and buried.• Chapter 28 records His resurrection and ties His kingship with a

clear call of the Gospel to the nations.• “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

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How did People Respond to Jesus• Not everyone has followed Jesus to the very end of the book. • From the point of Peter’s confession, the responses of the people

has become clearer: – Some accept the message and the King in faith. – Others accepted the message and the King, but with some confusion.

• Same with the disciples– Peter contradicts Christ immediately after calling him the Christ. – On his way to the cross the disciples actually argue about which of them

was the most important.

• This should encourage us … Christian growth doesn’t necessarily happen immediately and certainly not completely in this life.

• Other flat out rejected the message and the King – they did not see it as the Gospel, the “good news”.

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How Will you Respond to Jesus• People throughout the ages have either accepted or rejected

Jesus Christ; there has never been a middle option. • Matthew shows with precision that Jesus is in fact the Christ, the

fulfillment of all the Old Testament—and our rightful king. • Pray that His kingship becomes increasingly evident in your own

life.