After a break, I think it’s time to start the Bible reading guide for the New Testament. As I said before, I wrote this for one of our sons. Here’s Matthew:
There are four books about Jesus, but they are not unnecessary. Each one presents not only different events in Jesus’s life, but also a different picture of who Jesus is (and they are all true). Matthew shows how Jesus was the long awaited king of Israel. He was the descendant of David (ch. 1), who was born of a virgin (just like Isaiah predicted), who was heralded by the forerunner (predicted in Malachi and Isaiah), who resisted all sin, who came from Galilee (just like Isaiah said), and who said that the kingdom was coming.
Now this kingdom coming part can be tricky. Some people read backwards and say that because Jesus went up into heaven (at the end of the book), that Jesus only came to bring a kingdom in which Jesus “rules” in the hearts of people. That is utter nonsense. Jesus does rule in the hearts of his believers, but that is not the kingdom that he said was coming. So the big question is: if Jesus said the kingdom was near, and he was talking about the glorious kingdom of righteousness and prosperity that all of the OT prophets predicted, what happened? Hold that thought.
In chapters 5-7, Jesus not only proved that he was the Messiah by virtue of his amazing and authoritative words, but he also made another point very clear: you don’t just get into the kingdom by walking in the door. In fact, the requirements are (very) high. The Sermon on the Mount is about what God requires of those who will be in his kingdom.
In chapters 8-9, Jesus proves that he is the Messiah by doing all the works (miracles) that the Messiah was predicted to do. So by the time you get to chapter 12, everyone should be pretty well convinced that Jesus really is the Messiah. And if he is the Messiah, you had better listen to him and do what he says. But that’s not what happens. The Pharisees, leaders of the people, say that, yes, Jesus can do amazing things, but he really comes from Satan. This is mind-blowing, and when Jesus hears it, he knows that the nation will not accept him as their king (Messiah). They don’t want a righteous king; they want someone who will give them freedom to sin even more (that is, if they are free from the Romans, they can sin without restraint).
At this point, Jesus starts explaining to his disciples that the kingdom is not going to come right away. This is what the parables of chapter 13 are about. This is because many people don’t accept him (parable of the sower). What that means is that there’s going to be a period of time during which good people and bad people live together (this is not the kingdom), at the end of which, the judgment happens and the kingdom comes. Does that mean that the disciples should give up? No way—the kingdom is worth selling everything you have. Those who don’t treasure the kingdom will be thrown into hell. The last parable (13:52) makes a crucial point: you have to understand Jesus’s new teachings about the kingdom together with the old teachings (in the Old Testament). Unfortunately, many Christians today don’t do this: they say that Jesus just scrapped everything about the kingdom from the OT and decided to have a spiritual kingdom instead.
Now this is long, I know. Maybe you can keep it and it will be helpful as you study the book in the future. But a few more quick things. Since Jesus knows that he is going to be rejected, he prepares the disciples for his crucifixion (chs. 16-20). Then he comes into Jerusalem and he acts like he is the king! There are no secrets at all this time—he wants everyone to know! He really makes the Jewish leaders mad, and this pushes them to do exactly what Jesus wanted—to crucify him on Passover. Throughout the story of the crucifixion, Matthew makes it clear that Jesus is in control—he knows when he is going to die and how he is going to die. He is the Suffering Servant who lays down his life for his sheep, just like Isaiah had predicted. And just like Jesus predicted, he rose from the grave after three days. Jesus’s power is evident everywhere. He really is the king! Right now, he wants all of his disciples to go throughout the whole world and tell the good news about him so that they can be in his kingdom when he comes back. I wonder how God will use you to do this throughout your life.