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Reading Guide
Matthew 1-13 (September 15-21)
The author is the Apostle Matthew. (Matthew 9:9-13)
Theme: Jesus is the continuation and fulfillment of the whole Biblical account of God and Israel..
Jesus is the Messiah from the line of David.
Jesus is a new authoritative teacher like Moses.
Jesus is Emmanual - “God with us”.
Introduction - chapters 1-3 - Connects Jesus to the Old Testament
Genealogy - Jesus is a descendant of Abraham and David.
His birth fulfills old testament prophetic promises.
Born in Bethlehem
Born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit - Emmanuel - “God with us”
WIse men - the nations will come to worship him.
Chapters 4-25 - Jesus is the new Moses, the new teacher, bringing in the new covenant
Things to look for: Old Testament quotations at key points. What kinds of people accept Jesus?
Following the pattern of the Torah with five books, there are five sections.
Chapters 4-7 Announcing the arrival of God’s kingdom
God’s rescue operation for the world through Jesus.
Confront spiritual evil
Restore God’s rule and reign over the world
Creating a new family of people who will follow him, obey his teachings, and live under his rule
First block of teaching - Sermon on the Mount - how to live in God’s kingdom
Upside down kingdom: no privileged members - everybody invited
Jesus is here to fulfill the Torah
Jesus is here to transform the hearts of his people
How is this similar to the time of Moses?
Chapters 8-10 Jesus brings the kingdom into people’s day to day lives
Three groups of three events each in which Jesus intervenes to help people.
List the three events in each group.
What other event separates the first three events from the second three?
What other event separates the second three events from the third three?
What is Jesus’ message in these two intervening events?
Second block of teaching (ch 10): How to announce the kingdom and what to expect when they do.
Chapters 11-13 How are people responding to Jesus?
A group of stories describing how people are responding to Jesus.
Categorize these responses as positive, neutral, or negative.
What are the different responses?
Third block of teaching (ch 13): Parables about the kingdom.
These parables are a commentary on the responses of the people you just read about.
Reading Guide
Matthew 14-28 (September 22-28)
Chapters 14-20 The different expectations people have about the Messiah
Jesus keeps healing people.
Twice he miraculously provides food for large crowds in the desert
How is this similar to the time of Moses?
What different responses to Jesus do you see?
What do the disciples expect from the Messiah?
What do the Pharisees expect from a Messiah?
What did Jesus tell his disciples to expect from the Messiah?
Fourth block of teaching (ch 18-20): The upside down kingdom
You gain honor by serving others
Instead of getting revenge you forgive and do good to your enemies
Yougain true wealth by giving your wealth away to the poor
Chapters 21-25 Clash of kingdoms - Jesus’ kingdom vs Israel’s leaders
Jeses’ actions speak louder than words
The king arrives on a donkey to the praise of the people
Jesus immediately marches into the courtyard of the temple and he creates a huge disruption that brings the daily sacrifices to a halt.
As Israel’s king, Jesus was asserting his royal authority over the temple, the place where God and Israel met together
The Pharisees tried to verbally oppose him, but having failed that, began to plot to kill him.
Fifth block of teaching (ch 23-25)
Critique of the Pharisees: “You hypocrites”
He weeps over Jerusalem and its rejection of God and his kingdom
Then Jesus withdraws with his disciples and explains what is going to happen
He is going to be executed by Israel’s leaders
In doing do they will create their own demise
They will revolt against Rome and Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed
Jesus will be resurrected and one day he will return and complete his kingdom
The disciples need to stay alert and stay committed to announcing Jesus and his kingdom and spreading the good news.
Conclusion - chapters 26-28
Jesus transforms the passover > arrest, trial, execution > suffering servant > Old Testament prophecies fulfilled > resurrection
Final teaching: The resurrected Jesus gives his final teaching.
Jesus is now the true king of the world
He sends his disciples out to all nations with the good news
All people are welcomed to join his kingdom by being baptized and following his teachings
Jesus’ last words in the book: “I am with you always” (Emmanuel)