Background to the book
Date
Scofield: A.D. 37
Author
Jesus'
disciple, Matthew, also known as Levi
He
was a tax-collector when Jesus called for him to follow.
Tax-collectors
were held in about as high of honor as the IRS is today. They were Jewish men who worked for the Roman
occupation state. They were authorized
to collect taxes for Rome, and anything they collected above the required
minimum, they were allowed to keep.
He
was a Jew.
His
gospel will have a little more Hebrew flavor as compare to Luke's gospel, Luke
was a Gentile.
Extra
credit homework: Look how Matthew recounts his first meeting
with Jesus:
Matthew 9:9-13 And as Jesus passed forth from
thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he
saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him. 10 And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in
the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and
his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees
saw [it], they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans
and sinners? 12 But when Jesus heard
[that], he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they
that are sick. 13 But go ye and learn
what [that] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to
call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Matthew 1
vs.1-16
The genealogy
a) Why a genealogy?
1) It identifies who you are.
No
last names (though some of our last names are patterned after the idea of
genealogies, ie Johnson, Williamson, Edmondson, etc.) or Social Security
Numbers.
Even
the genealogies in Chronicles (the longest and most boring) can have great
value.
Example: Learning the Samuel the prophet was a Levite,
his grandsons served the Lord.
2) It shows the fulfillment of Messianic
promises.
Promises
of a Messiah were given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & David.
3) This genealogy shows Jesus' legal right to
the throne of David
It
shows the lineage coming through Joseph, who was from the royal line of David.
In
contrast, Luke's genealogy shows Mary's line, also from David, but not from the
other kings. Mary's line shows Jesus'
actual descent from David.
b) About the names
Don't
worry about spelling problems. Peoples'
names are often spelled differently in different places.
That's
why genealogies are important anyway, to establish identity through lineage.
There
will often be a difference between a person's name in the OT and in the NT.
OT
translated from Hebrew. NT translated
from Greek.
c) Challenge to not skip over genealogies
Challenge
yourself to see how many of the people you recognize.
Use
it as a test to see how well you know your Bible!
:18-25
Jesus' Birth
:21 though shalt
call his name Jesus
The
Greek form of Joshua, same as OT person, son of Nun
Joshua
= Yahweh is salvation (Ya + shua)
:23 a virgin shall
be with child
The
virgin birth is important:
1) It fulfills prophecy
Genesis
3:15-AV And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed
and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Isaiah
7:14-AV Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin
shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
This
is the verse Matthew is quoting.
2) It is linked with the deity of Jesus
He is
God, He is man
The
Y-chromosome came from the Holy Spirit, not from a human.
If He
is God, He has an eternal life to give for the sins of the world.
If
He's just a man, He can only die for one person's sins.
3) It fulfills the typology of a spotless lamb
No
sin nature was transmitted to Jesus.
The
sin nature comes through the father's seed.
Matthew 2
:1-10
Wise men and Herod
:1 wise men
Or,
"Magi"
Similar
to our word "magician"
Possibly
coming even from Babylon
Most
likely astrologers
The
idea of being kings comes from
Isaiah
60:3-AV And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness
of thy rising.
The
idea that there were three comes from there being three gifts.
:3 he (Herod) was
troubled
Herod
was a greedy, power-hungry man.
He
must have been pretty insecure too, to be so threatened by the birth of a baby.
:6 And thou
Bethlehem...
Quoting
from Micah 5:2
Bethlehem
was King David's home town.
:7 what time the
star appeared
Herod
wanted to get an idea of the approximate age of the child.
:9 the star went
before them
This
seems to throw out the idea of trying to find some sort of astronomical event
that corresponded with Jesus' birth.
This
is simply some kind of supernatural event.
:10 when they saw
the star...
These
were Gentile men.
It is
thought that they were some kind of astrologers.
Psalms
19:1-AV <<To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.>> The heavens
declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Lesson:
God
met them where they were.
They
were seeking God, and God spoke to them in a medium they understood.
They
were led to Jesus.
It
wasn't some kind of, "All roads lead to heaven".
It
was, "If you want to get to heaven, go find Jesus".
:11-12
Wise men worship Him
:11 gold,
frankincense, myrrh
gold
- we know about this
frankincense
- comes from the gum of a particular tree
sometimes
used in sacrifices
it
was also placed on the showbread
it
was mixed into the incense burned in the tabernacle.
myrrh
- came from the gum of another plant, used in perfuming
it
was used in the anointing oil
it
was used in embalming
Strange
gifts to give a baby!
:13-15
Down to Egypt
:16-18
Herod's wrath
:17-18 Jeremy the
prophet
Jeremiah
31:15
:19-23
Living in Nazareth
:19 an angel of the
Lord appeareth...
Look
how wonderfully God protected this young family!
Lesson:
This
kind of protection is also for us too!
Psalms
34:7-AV The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and
delivereth them.
God
will take care of you!
Even
if the biggest, meanest, ugliest dude in the world is out after you!
Matthew 3
:1-4
John, the wild-man prophet
:5-12
John's ministry
:7 O generation of
vipers
John
wasn't too polite!
:8 bring forth
therefore fruits meet for repentance
Matthew
3:8-NIV Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Lesson:
A
good idea to remember, be a fruit inspector!
If
people come with you to church and go forward at an altar call, wait to see the
changes in their lives!
Husbands
often tell wives anything they want to hear, just to get their way.
:12 whose fan is in his
hand
Not
baseball fans!
A
winnowing fan
Separating
the wheat kernels from the chaff.
Jesus
is separating those who are really followers from those who are just words
only.
:13-17
Jesus is baptized
Matthew 4
:1-11
Jesus is tempted
:1 then was Jesus led
... to be tempted
Notice
the sequence of events - baptism, Holy Ghost, temptation.
Very
often, after a spiritual high, you will face a time of temptation.
Don't
be surprised by it, be ready for it like Jesus was!
:2 fasted forty days
and forty nights
He's
near starvation
When
you fast for a period of time like this, you get hungry at first, then go for a
time where you aren't hungry. When at
last hunger again finally sets in, your body is telling you that if you don't
eat, you will die.
Jesus
is in an extremely weakened condition.
How
will He do against the devil?
:4 He answered and
said, "It is written..."
Lesson:
Jesus
handled temptation by correctly applying Scripture!
Ephesians
6:17b-AV ... and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
It's
important to know the Scripture, to understand it correctly, and to put it to
work in your life.
If
you're struggling with certain temptations, find our what God's word says about
it - hide it in your heart!
:6 for it is
written...
Warning:
The
devil knows Scripture too!
We
need to learn discernment and correctly understanding the Word of God.
:11 angels came and
ministered unto Him
Wow,
what a neat picture!
Kind
of like the guys in the fighter's corner in between rounds in a prize fight.
Lesson:
This is
available to us as well. About angels we
read:
Hebrews
1:14-AV Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
who shall be heirs of salvation?
In
the midst of hard times, God may send His angels to minister to you.
:12-17
Ministry in Galilee
:13 dwelt in
Capernaum
Capernaum
seems to have actually been Jesus' base of operations when he lived and
ministered in the northern section of Galilee.
:14 that it might be
fulfilled...
Are
you beginning to see a pattern here in Matthew?
Is
Matthew concerned about showing how Jesus actually fulfilled prophecy? Yes!
:18-22
Calling some disciples
:20 they straightway
left their nets
Matthew
4:20-NIV At once they left their nets and followed him.
I
like how the disciples responded to Jesus, they didn't waste any time in
following Him.
Later
on Jesus deals with people's excuses of why they don't want to follow
immediately, but note the contrast in how the disciples followed immediately.
:23-25
Jesus' full ministry
:24 lunatick ...
palsy
epilepsy,
paralyzed
Matthew 5
:1-12
The Beatitudes
:1 up into a
mountain
This
is the famous "Sermon on the Mount"
:1-12 The Beatitudes
blessed
- "happy" (makarios)
Look
at the things that Jesus is recommending to us:
poor in spirit, mourn, meek, hunger and thirst after righteousness...
These
are things directly opposite from what the world tries to promote.
Yet
each of these things will be rewarded
:13-16
Salt & Light
Qualities of salt:
Preservative
- you are an influence to those around you for good, to keep out the evil.
Antiseptic
- it stings in a wound - our effect on those with sin's wounds
Makes
people thirsty - do people have a thirst for Jesus after they've been around
you?
Properties of Light
If
just shines
All
we need to be careful of is to not cover it up.
Let
Jesus work in you!
Philippians
2:13-AV For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good
pleasure.
:17-20
Fulfilling the Law
jot,
tittle - yodh & waw, small Hebrew letters
Jesus
finds the law important, so should we.
That
is why we study and teach the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.
:21-16
Not offending people
Offending
a person is as bad as killing them.
:23 if thou bring
thy gift to the altar
Talking
about bringing a sacrifice to God.
Lesson:
You'd
better take care of making your relationships right with people here on earth
before you can think that God is going to pay much attention to your sacrifice
or worship.
In
communion...
The
Corinthians abused their "agape" love feasts, with the wealthy coming
and eating all the food and getting drunk, without sharing or caring for the
poorer folk in the church.
1Corinthians
11:29-AV For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh
damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
John's
letter...
1John 4:20-AV If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he
hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1John
4:21-AV And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his
brother also.
1John
4:12-AV No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth
in us, and his love is perfected in us.
:27-30
Looking is adultery
Sin
is not just in the act, but in the heart.
:29 pluck it out
Do
whatever it takes to get rid of sin.
:31-32
Rules for divorce
There's
great debate in the church over this issue
This
is one of the Biblical reasons for divorce, the other is in 1Cor.7:15
fornication
-
4202
porneia
1)
illicit sexual intercourse 1a)
adultery, fornication, homosexuality, lesbianism, intercourse with animals
etc. 1b) sexual intercourse with close
relatives; Lev. 18 1c) sexual
intercourse with a divorced man or woman; Mk. 10:11,12 2) metaph. the worship
of idols 2a) of the defilement of
idolatry, as incurred by eating the sacrifices offered to idols
The
Danger:
If we
get too liberal in allowing for divorce, we are encouraging people to commit
adultery!
:33-37
Oaths
Once
someone tells a lie or breaks a promise, it's hard to know when to believe them.
That's
when mankind invented oaths.
"If
you can't believe my word, then believe me when I say that God can turn me into
a toad if I'm telling a lie"
The
point is not that it's wrong to swear an oath - as when called to testify in a
trial.
The
point is that God wants you to be a person who can be trusted and believed.
Lesson:
You
should have a reputation for honesty.
:38-42
no more eye for eye...
This
was the Old Testament rule for compensatory damages.
Jesus
sets a different standard for Christians.
It
seems that the church today has kind of gotten away from this!
We
are too quickly out for revenge rather than turning the other cheek.
We
think that it's being wimpy or uncourageous to turn the cheek.
Just
the opposite is true.
:43-48
Loving enemies
:44 pray for them...
Lesson:
I
find that this is a very practical way of learning how to love the unlovable.
It is
very, very difficult to not fall in agape love with someone when you
start praying for them correctly.
Not,
"God break their teeth and shatter their bones..."
But,
"God bless, heal and comfort this dear person..."
A
Test:
To
see if you're praying correctly for a person, ask yourself if you're falling
deeper and deeper in love with them.
:48 Be ye therefore
perfect
Jesus
sets the standard for heaven - perfection.
Can
anyone do this? No!
This
is why we need a Savior to pay for all our blunders.
And
when Jesus is our Savior, living inside of us, He begins to produce this kind
of life in our lives.