Survey of the Four Gospels! River Pointe Church! Bible College Certificate Program! Instructor: Dr. Bob Page!
Matthew 1-2! The birth narrative provides information Mark did not include! Begins with a genealogy of Jesus: DWD (David in Hebrew) = 14! Stunning inclusion of 4 women: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and wife of Uriah. Why include them instead of Sarah?! Opens his Gospel with a vivid picture of God s love and grace toward the sinful, fallen and abused! Shows how salvation is God s act of grace; not dependent on human merit! The whole world is included in the scope of God s work of grace (and not just religious Jews)!
Matthew 1-2! Matthew and Luke tell the birth narrative from separate sources! Stresses the divine origin of Jesus: conceived of the Holy Spirit! Genealogy: Traces Jesus humanity through human fathers/mothers! Birth Narrative: Traces Jesus divinity though the Holy Spirit! Doesn t attempt to explain how Jesus is both God and man! Jesus (Greek) for Joshua (Hebrew): YHWH is salvation! Save his people from THEIR SINS! Corrects idea of Jesus as deliverer from Rome! Sins = sinful deeds / Sin = our guilt, our nature!
Matthew 5:1-11! Sat down - official, important teaching! Opened his mouth - what he is saying is significant, weighty, intimate words from his heart! Two past tenses in Greek! Aorist: completed action. He shut the gate.! Imperfect: continuous, habitual action in past tense!
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.! Oh the blessedness! Oh the bliss! (Ps 1)! Present reality not future dream! Triumphant shouts of joy for those who follow Christ! 2 words for poor! Working man who has nothing extra! Absolute poverty with nothing at all! Poverty of spirit: one who realizes his utter helplessness and puts his whole trust in God! O the bliss of one who realizes his utter helplessness and puts his whole trust in God, that one will experience the rule of God in his life!!
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.! Strongest word in Greek for mourning! Caring deeply for the hurts and needs of others! Heartbroken over our own sin! O the bliss of the one whose heart is broken for the suffering of others and for his own sins, for he will find the joy of God!
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.! Today meek = weak! Meek (Gr) was a rich word! Between the extremes of uncontrollable anger and passivity! An animal trained to obey commands! O the bliss of the one whose is angry about the right things at the right times and whose instincts, passions and impulses are under God s control for such a one will inherit the earth.!
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.! Hungry and thirst here not mild discomfort! One who is starving for food, dying for water! Unusual grammar here: One who wants all of God s goodness! O the bliss of one who longs for total righteousness like a starving man longs for food and a man dying of thirst longs for water, for that one will be truly satisfied.!
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.! Hebrew: Cheshd - one chooses to fully enter into the suffering of another to show compassion. Loving kindness which does not arise from any qualification on the part of the one who is loved.! This is what God has done for us in Jesus. Hebrews 4:14-16! O the bliss of one who is able to enter into the feelings of others and chooses to respond with a compassion that is unprovoked for that one will receive mercy from others and from God in Christ Jesus!
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.! Most challenging of all.! Pure: clean, unmixed, 100%! Calls for profound self-examination! The greedy see only greed in others. The perverse see only perversity in others. The pure in heart see God at work around them.! O the bliss of one whose motives are pure, for that one will be able to see God.!
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.! Peace (Gr) EIRENE (Hebrew) SHALOM! Not the absence of trouble but the presence of everything good.! Sons of God - like God! Blessed are those who work to build right relationships between people for they are doing God s work.!
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, because the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.! Honesty of Christ: If you follow me it may mean loss of work, social standing, family, even your life.! In fact, early followers of Christ faced intense persecution when they refused to say Caesar is Lord! In our suffering: We identify with Christ. We may make it easier for those who come behind us.!
Matthew 24-25! Matthew emphasizes the return of Christ more than the other Gospel writers! Ch 24: brings together Jesus teaching about the parousia (the appearing, or second coming)! Ch 25: 3 parables related to the parousia! Ten Maidens: Don t wait until it is too late to prepare for the parousia. Some things cannot be left to the last minute. Some things cannot be borrowed.! The talents: All our gifts are opportunities from God. We are accountable to God for what we do with those gifts. One day we ll give an account.! Sheep and goats: All will be judged by the same standard. There will be a final examination and you already have the questions.!
Matthew 28:18-20! In Jesus final words to his disciples he gave them:! A bold proclamation: All authority in heaven and on earth have been given to me! A commission: As you go make disciples of ALL NATIONS! A promise: I am with you always (Emmanuel)!