The first book of the New Testament, Matthew, is the door between the old and new. Full of the teachings of Christ and Old Testament scripture, this Jewish-natured book guides us through all that Jesus fulfilled as the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. Read as Matthew, the tax collector and one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, shows how the man he walked with was, in fact, the Messiah the world has been waiting for.
Welcome to the Book of Matthew. This incredible book is the longest of the four gospels; the ‘gospels’ being the first four books of the New Testament that present the life of Jesus. Here at TYB, our prayer for you is that as you read this book you will encounter Jesus, the Man of the Word Himself. You will find out new aspects of His nature and, in turn, the nature of God that will set a solid foundation for your Christianity.
When reading any text, whether it is a traffic stop sign or an Ancient Sanscrit text from the 2nd Century B.C. one must practice hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the art and science of the interpretation of texts.
The thing I love about the book of Matthew is not just what Jesus is saying, but how he says it. Have you noticed the instructional language in Matthew: Watch out, Do not, when you, I tell you, warnings and corrections. He is not entertaining his crowd, he is not just a motivational speaker, Jesus is giving us tools to change our life, to direct us, guide us and to instruct us in change.
At times the New Testament and Old Testament are considered to be separate, and unrelated entities. When this occurs we can fall into the trap of not using the word of God to its full potential. Yes, we acknowledge that the NT (New Testament) and OT (Old Testament) are different writings, but we also need to come to terms with what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:16; “all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
In Matthew we start with a declaration that sums up the whole purpose of the book: “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” To the intended Jewish audience this was a statement that changed their world.
Over the summer I was reading two things concurrently. In my devotional time I was reading the book of Matthew, and for my academic nourishment, I was reading Desiring the Kingdom by James K A Smith, a Christian Philosopher. I found there was a wonderful and unexpected synergy between the two. Let me explain.