Get Ready
The Gospel of Matthew makes a very appropriate bridge between the Old and New Testaments because it links Jesus and the story of his life and ministry directly with the descendants of Abraham and the history of the Jewish nation, as well as the prophecies about God’s plan for his creation.
Author
Bible scholars are split on the question of who wrote this Gospel. Some believe that a Jew would not have written in Greek, but in Aramaic (the Hebrew dialect of Jesus’ time); but they do not suggest a specific author.
Tradition – and several early church leaders – say that Matthew, the Jewish tax collector who became one of Jesus’ Apostles [details are at 9:9], wrote this book. He would have known Greek because of his work in commerce and with the Roman authorities. Further, Matthew would have been familiar with the tension between the Jews and their Roman masters, as well as the conflicting feelings of Jewish outcasts toward the political and religious establishment.
Context
Matthew is known as the “Jewish” Gospel because it presents Jesus as the Messiah (“anointed one”) promised throughout the Old Testament – the one the Jews have been waiting for since David. Matthew uses the phrase, “all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet,” ten times.
In the beginning the church was Jewish. The only members were Jews; they met in Jewish homes or in the temple; they followed all the Jewish traditions, including the Mosaic law (and the Romans tolerated them as a sect of Judaism). Matthew is writing to this group in order to strengthen their faith by demonstrating that Jesus is the culmination of their Jewish history.
Structure
There are several possible ways to look at this Gospel. Some scholars focus on Jesus’ five “lessons” or teachings that Matthew uses to present and explain Jesus’ ministry and message about the kingdom of God:
- How people live in the kingdom – The Beatitudes [chapters 5-7].
- The responsibility of the disciples [chapter 10].
- Parables of the kingdom [chapter 13].
- Relationships among people in the kingdom [chapter 18].
- Preparation for the coming judgment [chapters 24-25].
Others focus on the two major sections that the author marks out with, “From that time on Jesus began to . . . ” [4:17, 16:21]. And a third group breaks the book into five sections based on the narrative and the subjects:
- Jesus’ introduction as the Messiah [1:1-4:16].
- Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee and northern Israel [4:17-16:20].
- Jesus’ work to prepare the disciples [16:21-18:35].
- Jesus’ public ministry in Jerusalem and Judea [19:1-25:46].
- Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection [26:1-28:20].
Major Themes
Matthew’s overarching theme is that Jesus is the completion of Jewish history and the fulfillment of Jewish hopes for the future. The author calls his work “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham,” [1:1]. This immediately links Jesus to two of the three primary figures in Jewish history (the third is Moses).
The Gospel includes references to ten specific prophecies as proof that Jesus is God’s son: his birth [1:22-23], the flight to Egypt [2:15], massacre of the infants [2:17-18], Nazareth [2:23], Caper-naum [4:14-15], headings [8:17], secrecy about the miracles [12:17-21], using parables 13:13-15], Palm Sunday [21:4-5], and Judas’ suicide [27:9-10].
This Gospel also includes some of the strongest condemnation of the Jewish leaders [for example: 8:11-12, 21:43, and 27:25]. This reflects the developing tension between those who followed the law and those who followed Christ.
Get into the Word
1. Who wrote this book? What is the evidence that the tax collector-turned-Apostle named Matthew did write it? What is the argument that he did not write this Gospel?
2. What is the significant focus of this book? How does the author link it to the Old Testament? Why was this important to the early church? What is Matthew’s understanding of Jesus’ role in Jewish history? In Jewish religious beliefs? In world history?
3. How does the author organize the story of Jesus’ life and ministry? Why do some call this book the “Teaching Gospel”? What topics do the lectures cover? Why do you think Matthew spends so much time on “the kingdom”? How do you suppose the Jews felt about Jesus’ teachings?
4. Where did most of Jesus’ ministry take place? How does the author identify the two sections of the story? What other structure does Matthew use in this Gospel? What are the major sections in this organizational plan?
5. What is the major theme of this Gospel? How does the author identify his purpose in writing the book? Who does Matthew link Jesus with? Why is this important to his readers?
6. How else does the author link Jesus’ ministry to the Old Testament? What prophecies does he chose to explain aspects of Jesus’ ministry? How does Matthew describe the Jewish leaders? Why do you suppose he felt as he did? How do you think his readers responded to this attitude?
7. When was this Gospel written? Why is it linked to the Gospels of Mark and Luke? What sources did these writers have to support their narratives? Why do scholars believe that Mark’s Gospel was probably written before the other two?
Notes: Synoptic Gospels . . .
In the years after Jesus’ resurrection many people were able to share their experiences with him, including his healings and other miracles and his teachings. As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire and the Apostles and others who knew Jesus personally became fewer and less accessible, some believers began compiling written collections of the
stories about Jesus.
Many scholars believe that Mark’s is the first written Gospel, although a significant group supports the tradition that Matthew wrote first. Scholars also believe that a collection of Jesus’ sayings, called “Q” (“source”) circulated at the same time and that both Matthew and
Luke used it along with Mark in preparing their Gospels.
The commonality between Mark and Matthew and Mark and Luke is the basis for the idea that Mark’s is the first written Gospel. More than ninety percent of the information in Mark appears in similar form, although not necessarily in the same order, in Matthew; and more than half the material in Mark is also in Luke. Another indicator of Mark as the source is that whenever Matthew and Luke disagree about the sequence of events in Jesus’ life one of them agrees with the narrative in Mark.
All three Gospels were written before the destruction of the temple in 70, probably between 50 and 65 CE.
53: The baptism & temptation of Jesus –Matthew 3:1-4:11
Get Ready
If you “go to the beach,” is it usually a lake, or a river, or the ocean? Do you go in the water? Do you actually go swimming? Or are you there primarily for the on-shore activities, such as sports, or reading, or talking with friends, or maybe just people-watching?
The Word
3In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, 2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’”
4 Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit worthy of repentance. 9 Do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. 10 Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
11 “I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14 John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”
15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.
17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
The temptation of Jesus
4Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 He fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was famished. 3 The tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
‘One does not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6 saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! for it is written,
‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him. NRSV
Get into the Word
1. How does Matthew begin this passage? Who is speaking? What is he talking about? Where is he? What prophecy is he filling? How is he dressed? What is he doing?
2. Who else is involved? How does John react when these people appear? What does he call them? What does he warn them about? What does he say about God?
3. How does John describe his work? How is he related to Jesus? How is his work related to Jesus’ ministry? What image does John use?
4. Who joins John? What does he want? How does John respond to this request? Why does he agree to do it? What happens after the baptism? What is Jesus called? How do you suppose the crowd reacted to this? How might you have responded if you had been there?
5. What happens to Jesus next? Who is responsible for this situation? What does Jesus do? Who shows up next? What does this individual say to Jesus? How does Jesus respond to this suggestion?
6. What does the tempter do next? How does Jesus answer this suggestion? What is the next temptation? How does Jesus deal with it? What does the devil do next?
Get Personal
How do you recognize temptation in your life? How do you respond to such situations? How has God helped you seek his strength to resist?
Notes . . .
3:1. Those days — Matthew gives no information about Jesus between his return from Egypt (which fulfilled Hosea 11:1) and his baptism.
Kingdom of heaven — the other Gospel writers used “Kingdom of God.”
John — actually a relative (probably a cousin) of Jesus [check Luke 1:5-38 for the details].
3:3. The voice of one . . . — all four Gospels include this reference to Isaiah 40:3: John is clearing the way for people to return to God by repenting [also check Malachi 3:1].
3:4. Clothing — Elijah was a “hairy man with a leather belt around his waist,” [2 Kings 1:8]. Jesus confirms this reference in Matt 11:14.
3:7. Pharisees and Sadducees — the two major groups of influential Jewish leaders: Pharisees began as teachers to help the Jews uphold the law, Sadducees came primarily from the line of Jewish priests and were more closely associated with the Roman rulers.
3:9. Abraham as our ancestor — being Jewish is not enough to avoid God’s judgment.
3:11. Baptize you with the Holy Spirit —
water provided a symbolic cleansing, but the Holy Spirit provides the change in attitude that leads to a relationship with God.
3:15. It is proper — Matthew underscores Jesus’ intent to fulfill the prophecies about himself.
3:16. Spirit of God . . . voice from heaven — Isaiah said, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,” [11:2], and David said “The decree of the Lord [is] ‘you are my son; today I have begotten you,” [Psalm 2:7] – God confirms Jesus is the Messiah.
4:1. Tempted — Jesus affirms his relationship to God the Father by obeying in the face of extreme temptation: he did not use his divine power to satisfy his human hunger [vv. 3-4]; he did not try to “prove” his status with a stunt [vv. 5-7]; and he refused to worship anyone or anything but God the Father [vv. 8-11].
4:4. It is written — Jesus not only knew the scriptures, he followed them (the devil also knew scripture but he perverted them).
Note: Jesus’ baptism is also in Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:29-34. The temptation is also in Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13.
Memory Verse
Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him, [Matt 4:10].
Next Lesson
Matthew 5: The Beatitudes
