This past week we read Matthew 1-10. There are four major sections in this reading; the birth of Christ (chapter 1-2), the beginning of His ministry of teaching and healing (chapters 3-4, 8-9), the sermon on the mount (5-7), and the instructions to His missionary disciples (10).
One of the things we notice in the birth story of Jesus are the Magi. These Gentile astronomers from the East traveling to Jerusalem in search of the newborn "King of the Jews," seem out of place in Matthew's gospel. Matthew reveals Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah of Old Testament prophesies. Over and over he states, "...this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet..." Twenty times in this week's reading we have Old Testament quotes. But Matthew has another emphasis; Jesus is also the Savior of the Gentiles. Notice in chapter 1:1-17, the genealogy of Jesus, there are three Gentile women listed; Tamar, the Canaanite wife of Judah, Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute who married Salmon (Boaz' father), and Ruth, the Moabite wife of Boaz. Matthew shows us Jesus ministry to Gentiles. In 4:25 the crowds that were being healed are described by being from Galilee and the Decapolis (ten Greek cities), and from Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordon (Gentile territory). Jesus is the King of the Jews, but from the very beginning, God had included Gentiles in His Kingdom. The Gentiles seemed more eager to enter than the religious Jews.
The Sermon on the Mount (5-7) is the first of five blocks of teachings that Matthew presents to his readers. These teachings sections (5-7, 10, 13, 18, 24-25) were used in the early church as a catechism for new believers. The first of these, called the Sermon on the Mount describes the life of Jesus. It is as if the first lesson for those who had begun following Christ was this question, "Are you sure you want this kind of life?" We find twelve characteristics of the life of Jesus in these chapters. These characteristics exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. The righteous life of Christ is the only life that glorifies the Father. This kind of life is a light that shines from being face to face with the Father; it is the righteousness of God in Christ. The characteristics of reconciliation, pure passions, faithfulness, truthfulness, godly responses, prayerfulness, a disciplined life, being eternally-minded, trusting the Father fully, and a Spirit-guided life of service for others are all explained by Jesus. This is His life. This is what we will become more and more like as we follow Christ. His life is what you receive when you follow and trust Christ as your Lord and Savior.
In chapter nine opposition is introduced (9:11) by Pharisees who criticize Jesus for keeping company with tax collectors and sinner, and eating with them. Jesus responds to His critics with teaching. He is not distracted from His ministry but rather uses the distractions to clarify His ministry. This is a lesson for us. We will see much more opposition in next week's reading (chapters 11-21).
The teachings from chapter ten give instructions to the missionaries of the Kingdom. Jesus instructs His missionaries on the fact that He is their authority and power for the task. Jesus gives them a clear "people group" to minister to. He instructs them to preach and teach the Kingdom and to demonstrate the power of the King in the lives of the oppressed. He tells them to stay with those who are receptive and to include others in the task by receiving from them support for the mission. He warns them of the opposition and of the choice that friends and family must make when other relationships threaten the advance of the Kingdom. The Lord assures His missionaries that they will be successful and that they will be persecuted and suffer. He encourages them not to fear man, but to fear God. Most of all, Jesus lets His missionaries know that He is with them. When someone receives them, Jesus said they "...receive Me."
Some questions from this section:
- How can the emotion of anger be channeled away from the destruction that leads to murder into something that glorifies God? See Mark 3:5 for a time when it says that Jesus was angry.
- How can the eyes become pure and never worry about being torn out for sinning?
- What kind of fruit should we look for in teachers? It must be more than their words and actions according to Jesus (7:21-23).
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