We will start with Matthew then move on to Luke later. This is where we will start to explore the book of Mathew.
My archaeological study Bible has all sorts of fun facts at the beginning of each book. These are the categories as well as some of the content concerning the book of Matthew.
AUTHOR, PLACE AND DATE OF WRITING
Tradition associates this Gospel with the apostle Matthew, although intense debate has swirled around a statement from the early church father Papias that survives only in Eusebius(Ecclesiastical history, 3.39.16). It is usually translated(in part), "Matthew collected the oracles (logia) in the hebrew language." For generations most scholars interpreted Papias as claiming that Matthew had composed in hebrew a Gospel that was for the most part a record of Jesus' sayings or "oracles."
Logia probably means a Gospel.
AUDIENCE
Matthew's original readers were predominately Jews who already believed in Jesus and confessed him the son of God.
CULTURAL FACTS AND HIGHLIGHTS
Matthew's purpose was to prove to a Jewish audience that Jesus is the Messiah.
TIMELINE
Beginning of Jesus' ministry: 26 A.D.
Matthew 1:18-25
The Birth of Jesus Christ
18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins."22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[b]—which means, "God with us."
24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.
Matthew 1:23. 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"
This verse refers to Isa 7:14; 8:8, 10. I would like to delve into Isa 7:14 for a brief moment.
Isaiah 7:14 (New International Version)
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you [a] a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and [b] will call him Immanuel. [c]As we get deeper into the journey of our savior you will find that Jesus lets it be known that this has been a plan for a long time. The Messiah (Jesus) must go through these events. This reference in Matthew simply gives further proof that he is the Messiah and his work was directly from our Lord. What a terrific thing to sit back and let seep into your mind.
Could you imagine being there?? In 23A.D.
Oh heavens, I could only start to imagine being in the same venue with our savior Jesus Christ. He is always in our hearts but I am talking about before his Crucifixion. . Such a tremendous amount of joy and love mixed with loyalty must have been flowing in the veins of the believers surrounding him.. It makes my tummy warm with butterflies to try and imagine this moment of utter significance it would have on a persons life.
This concludes the first part of Jesus' journey. I pray that you all take a moment to really talk to Jesus and let him know that you are thankful to him for dying for our sins. Not only dying but being tortured, humiliated as well murdered for our sins. He did all this with love, mercy and grace in his heart. He did this with the help of our Lord, so that the word of the Lord could be spread through the nations. I thank the Lord. Praise you Jesus! Praise you Lord!! For your mercy as well as your love. Please Lord help us all to help ourselves to better understand what we should really be focusing on in our lives. Not the cars, televisions, houses, money in our accounts ect.. I am not speaking of the things that we have come accustomed to believing we need.. I am speaking of the things that have true meaning to our dedication. The Lord, helping your fellow man/woman, selflessly giving your time to a good cause with the right motivation behind it.
Please continue to explore Jesus' journey with me. I know this is a very important part of the Bible and I am grateful to be able to share it with those who are willing to embark on the expedition with an open mind and heart.
Stephie
P.S. If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not people or things.
-Albert Einstein
Jesus is amazing, even before he was born he was already ready to come and die for our sins, I would have loved to have been in the presence of jesus, although we're all in his presence all the time, sitting with him or just being around him back then would have been incredible! I love how all you have to do is open your heart and believe and jesus is always there, always.
ReplyDeleteYou are very correct Bob! Another reason for his journey was to spread the Lords word through out the nations.
ReplyDeleteStephie
Well he certainly has done that! Its great to think about all the people everywhere who share a common love for the lord, no matter where you go in the world somebody around loves him!
ReplyDelete