Matthew 4:23-25
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan
Our study of the Chronological New Testament has been a little broken up this summer with illnesses and journeys out of town but, hopefully, we will keep going in a straight line for awhile here. We have looked at Mark’s gospel, and we have put two weeks so far into the main points of Matthew’s gospel. We still have some loose ends to tie up in Matthew today, which we’ll try to do today, and then we will move on next week to the seen-with-other-eyes gospel – John.
The primary thing to be found in reading Matthew, we discovered, is his almost exclusive focus on his own Jewish people. The point of all this story for Matthew is that Jesus was the one promised down through the centuries by all the prophets – the one for whom the Jewish people have waited all these long years – and when he arrived they refused him.
In reading the infancy narrative from Matthew, the baby and his mother are almost afterthoughts. The important issue for Matthew is proving Jesus’ legal Davidic lineage – the messiah, it was known, would come from the Davidic line. Here the works and teachings of the adult Jesus are all to prove that he is the “new Moses” – the fulfillment of all the Jewish messianic promises.
Today we are going to touch briefly on the Beatitudes, even though the Sermon on the Mount may be one of the most important of Jesus’ teachings.
The sermon on the Mount takes place very early in Jesus’ ministry, but even so, people are turning out in droves to follow wherever he goes and to listen and bring their sick to him for healing. This story is often pictured with Jesus seated on a slight rise and speaking to a vast crowd of people below him, teaching them all ... but when we read what Matthew actually says instead of the pictures in our minds, this is how it goes: When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak... The word disciples sometimes signifies only the twelve and sometimes is used to mean all followers of Jesus. Since, in Matthew’s story, Jesus has only just finished calling the twelve it is most likely that they are the one spoken of here.
But again, this is Matthew, and there are other signals we shouldn’t miss here. First, it’s placement as the very first of Jesus’ teachings show us that this is one of the most important teachings in the gospels. The physical setting plays a large part in here. First, Jesus goes up the mountain and then teaches his followers how things are. It is no coincidence that this is reminiscent of Moses going up Sinai and returning with The Law. Second, Jesus seats himself at the physical high point of the story and the disciples then approach him from below to be taught. It is a royal position. Here, Jesus is a king seated on his throne with the others approaching him to receive his favors and wisdom. This is not a power trip on Jesus’ part but another reminder from Matthew of that Davidic lineage.
The first words from his mouth are those we know as The Beatitudes from the opening words: Blessed are.... In Matthew there are eleven of them, all following the same pattern: Blessed are...for they shall... . The Beatitudes are also found in Luke’s gospel where there are four of them following the blessed are... pattern, followed by four known as the Woe’s – Woe to you who are rich for you have already received your consolation: and so on. So four Blessed’s and four Woe’s. We’ll go into that more when we get to Luke’s gospel.
Where Matthew emphasizes the importance of this teaching by placing it as the first that Jesus offers at the very beginning of his ministry, Luke places it later, just one teaching among many. Both Matthew and Luke give us the Our Father prayer – in slightly different versions. Again, we’ll go into this more in Luke.
Matthew’s gospel is a mixture of pieces taken directly from Mark, as well as parts that are shared with Luke, but not Mark - from the presumed Q Source, and the scattering of stories that are unique to Matthew, appearing in neither Mark nor Luke. From this latter list, we have already read the begats from the infancy story and the flight into Egypt and back.
In addition some of the familiar pieces of the gospel story that we take for granted as being in all the gospels, but aren’t, are the story of Jesus calling Peter out to walk on the water; Jesus admonishing his listeners not to cast their pearls before swine; forgiving an enemy seventy-times-seven times; the foolish bridesmaids who ran out of oil for their lamps; the laborers in the vineyard who all receive the same wage; and the servant who, refusing to be merciful himself, found he would receive no mercy in turn. And there are many others, ending with the Great Commission to go out into the world and make disciples of all peoples.
We’ve now covered two of the four gospels. We’re in the late eighties/early nineties of the first century, around 60 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. We possess a large chunk of the complete Gospel that we have available to us today, but there is still a lot that is not yet written down.
Next week we will begin John’s gospel. Matthew. Mark and Luke are known as the synoptics – those seen with one eye or written from related sources and holding pretty much the same point of view. John’s is the different one, the one with a different agenda. John’s gospel will make for interesting reading.
The primary thing to be found in reading Matthew, we discovered, is his almost exclusive focus on his own Jewish people. The point of all this story for Matthew is that Jesus was the one promised down through the centuries by all the prophets – the one for whom the Jewish people have waited all these long years – and when he arrived they refused him.
In reading the infancy narrative from Matthew, the baby and his mother are almost afterthoughts. The important issue for Matthew is proving Jesus’ legal Davidic lineage – the messiah, it was known, would come from the Davidic line. Here the works and teachings of the adult Jesus are all to prove that he is the “new Moses” – the fulfillment of all the Jewish messianic promises.
Today we are going to touch briefly on the Beatitudes, even though the Sermon on the Mount may be one of the most important of Jesus’ teachings.
The sermon on the Mount takes place very early in Jesus’ ministry, but even so, people are turning out in droves to follow wherever he goes and to listen and bring their sick to him for healing. This story is often pictured with Jesus seated on a slight rise and speaking to a vast crowd of people below him, teaching them all ... but when we read what Matthew actually says instead of the pictures in our minds, this is how it goes: When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak... The word disciples sometimes signifies only the twelve and sometimes is used to mean all followers of Jesus. Since, in Matthew’s story, Jesus has only just finished calling the twelve it is most likely that they are the one spoken of here.
But again, this is Matthew, and there are other signals we shouldn’t miss here. First, it’s placement as the very first of Jesus’ teachings show us that this is one of the most important teachings in the gospels. The physical setting plays a large part in here. First, Jesus goes up the mountain and then teaches his followers how things are. It is no coincidence that this is reminiscent of Moses going up Sinai and returning with The Law. Second, Jesus seats himself at the physical high point of the story and the disciples then approach him from below to be taught. It is a royal position. Here, Jesus is a king seated on his throne with the others approaching him to receive his favors and wisdom. This is not a power trip on Jesus’ part but another reminder from Matthew of that Davidic lineage.
The first words from his mouth are those we know as The Beatitudes from the opening words: Blessed are.... In Matthew there are eleven of them, all following the same pattern: Blessed are...for they shall... . The Beatitudes are also found in Luke’s gospel where there are four of them following the blessed are... pattern, followed by four known as the Woe’s – Woe to you who are rich for you have already received your consolation: and so on. So four Blessed’s and four Woe’s. We’ll go into that more when we get to Luke’s gospel.
Where Matthew emphasizes the importance of this teaching by placing it as the first that Jesus offers at the very beginning of his ministry, Luke places it later, just one teaching among many. Both Matthew and Luke give us the Our Father prayer – in slightly different versions. Again, we’ll go into this more in Luke.
Matthew’s gospel is a mixture of pieces taken directly from Mark, as well as parts that are shared with Luke, but not Mark - from the presumed Q Source, and the scattering of stories that are unique to Matthew, appearing in neither Mark nor Luke. From this latter list, we have already read the begats from the infancy story and the flight into Egypt and back.
In addition some of the familiar pieces of the gospel story that we take for granted as being in all the gospels, but aren’t, are the story of Jesus calling Peter out to walk on the water; Jesus admonishing his listeners not to cast their pearls before swine; forgiving an enemy seventy-times-seven times; the foolish bridesmaids who ran out of oil for their lamps; the laborers in the vineyard who all receive the same wage; and the servant who, refusing to be merciful himself, found he would receive no mercy in turn. And there are many others, ending with the Great Commission to go out into the world and make disciples of all peoples.
We’ve now covered two of the four gospels. We’re in the late eighties/early nineties of the first century, around 60 years after the crucifixion of Jesus. We possess a large chunk of the complete Gospel that we have available to us today, but there is still a lot that is not yet written down.
Next week we will begin John’s gospel. Matthew. Mark and Luke are known as the synoptics – those seen with one eye or written from related sources and holding pretty much the same point of view. John’s is the different one, the one with a different agenda. John’s gospel will make for interesting reading.
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