Week 34: 1 Chronicles 25-36; Matthew 1-6; Matthew: Structure and Repetition

Note: These articles are going to vary slightly from the weekly readings. They will address all the content but the chapters discussed will be grouped in a different manner.

This week we begin to study through the New Testament beginning with the Gospels. While some of the same events and teachings are found in several of the Gospels, each one also contains unique elements. Each of the Gospels has a specific audience in mind and a purpose for how the information is organized and presented.

The Bible Project’s video overview of the Gospel of Matthew will transform your understanding of this Gospel. Often the Gospels seem to be just a collections of events in the life of Jesus without a discernable pattern. The craftsmanship of the Holy Spirit is on display as you see how Matthew’s Gospel is organized to present Jesus as the promised Messiah.

Matthew uses repetition of several teachings to emphasize their importance. First we are told that Jesus came teaching, proclaiming and healing (4:23 and 9:35). Jesus teaches in new ways the truth of God’s word which permits Him to proclaim that the Kingdom of God has come. His message is then verified through the miracles that He performs. The religious leaders want to reverse this order. First they ask for Jesus to give them a sign, then to explain by whose authority He is performing the miracles and getting the message that He is proclaiming. They show little interest in His teaching about God’s Law as they are comfortable in their self-righteousness and oral traditions.

Jesus twice tells them that the sign of Jonah is the only sign this “wicked and perverse generation” will be given. Jesus teaches that just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the great fish, He would be three days and three nights in the grave prior to His resurrection. The limited understanding of the scribes and Pharisees causes Jesus to label them as blind guides (15:14 and 23:13-36) and to pronounce eight woes on them (23:13-36).

Jesus teaches that our devotion to God must be even greater than the love we have for our parents and even our children (10:37-39 and 19:39). If we put God first in our lives, we will love our family more completely as we are obedient to God’s statues and commandments. He also says that our love of God has to be even greater than our love of ourselves — by being willing to sacrifice our bodies (5:27-30 and 18:8-9) including taking up our cross and following Him. “Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 16:24-25).’”

He also teaches that faith in Him will empower us to meet the challenges of living our lives and following Him (17:20-21 and 21:21) even to the point of moving mountains! But leadership in His Kingdom is based on service to others (20:26 and 23:11) and not position and pride. His Kingdom is like none before it in history.

For Daily Readings go to: thebibleproject.com. Listen Sunday Mornings: KJLP 88.9 FM at 8:00 am or KATB 89.3 FM at 9:30 am