WEEK 9: Matthew 1-10
DISCIPLESHIP | Axioms 1, 5, and 9
The first part of Matthew contains the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7), the most famous teaching of Jesus in the NT. It shows how following Jesus changes every part of our lives: our actions, our relationships, our attitudes and our thoughts. Nothing is left unchanged when we follow Jesus. As you read these chapters, consider how your life has changed since you met Christ.
WEEK 10: Matthew 11-20
THE IDENTITY OF JESUS | Axiom 3
Who is Jesus? A good teacher, a prophet, something else? Matthew confronts us with a startling picture of Jesus. Jesus teaches with an authority that no human could possess. He has power over demons, creation, and disease. Through the careful telling of Jesus’ story, the author gives us Jesus’ true identity. He is God.
Weeks 9-10 | Questions for Discussion
1. What aspect of the Sermon on the Mount is most challenging to you? Why? How can you work to apply its truth to your life?
2. Why do you think Jesus wants us to come to him like a child (Matt. 18:2-4)?
3. Read Matthew 18:10-14. What is the point of this parable? What does it teach us about God?
COMMENTARY
Matthew 1:23
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”–which means, “God with us.”One of the major themes throughout the Bible is that God is with his people. He was with Israel even during their times of slavery, desert wandering, and exile. And the most stunning example of how God is with us is in Jesus Christ. In Jesus God himself took on human form to dwell with us and save us from our sins.
Matthew 2:23
So was fulfilled…You will notice throughout the Gospel of Matthew that one of his greatest concerns is to show that Jesus’ life and ministry fulfills what was prophesied about him in the Old Testament. This fulfillment of prophecy was meant to demonstrate to Israel that Jesus was the Messiah even though they rejected him.
Matthew 3:15
Why did Jesus need to be baptized? If He had no sin of his own, what was the purpose of His baptism? The baptism that John performed was different that the baptism believers take part in today. It was an Old Testament baptism which symbolized repentance. Now, while it is clear in the Bible that Jesus had not sin to be repentant of Himself, He was baptized in order to fully identify with the human race. He will ultimately bear the sins of humanity and His perfect righteousness will be bestowed upon those who trust in Him. Therefore, this act of baptism was a necessary part of the righteousness He secured for sinners. His was a perfect righteousness in that He fulfilled all the requirements of the Law which we, for whose sin He would exchange His righteousness, are not capable of fulfilling. He is our perfect substitute.
Matthew 4:4
It is significant to note that when Jesus faced this intense temptation from the Devil himself, His response was simple – to quote the Bible. Three times Jesus uses the phrase “it is written.” This shows us that one of our most powerful tools we have available to us as we face temptation is the Word of God. Psalm 119:11 says “I have hidden your word in my heart so that I might not sin against you.” When we know the truth of God’s Word, it is much easier to identify the lies of the Devil as he tries to seduce us into sin.
Matthew 5
This is a pretty hard-hitting chapter. As you read it, consider how ground-breaking it must have been to a first-century Jew. Jesus was taking the teachings of an age-old religion and bringing it to its intended level. He was unveiling the heart of a belief system that had largely become rules.
Matthew 7:1
Do not judge, or you too will be judged.Jesus is commanding us not to have judmgental and condeming attitudes with one another. If we have this attitude toward someone, others, including God, may have this attitude toward us. However this doesn’t mean that Christians aren’t supposed to lovingly confront others in sin and evaluate whether someone’s teaching is reliable or not. We are told to do that all over the Bible (Matt. 7:6, 15; 1 Cor. 5:5; Gal. 1:8; 1 John 4:1).
Matthew 9:14-17
In ancient Israel, goat skins were used to hold wine. As fresh grape juice was poured into new skins, the skin would stretch as the juice fermented into wine. But if you poured fresh grape juice into old skins that were already stretched out, they would just burst. Jesus was showing that the new covenant He was bringing was something brand new, and it couldn’t be contained in the old customs of the Jewish Law. This teaches us that he wasn’t just making some new tweaks to the old system, but He was bringing something completely new and different.
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.This passage sums up what Jesus message was all about. He came to bring forgiveness to those who were broken, despised, and rejected. Rather than bringing rules and regulations, Jesus brought a relationship where we can learn from him. As opposed to religious people who bring a heavy burden, Jesus’ burden is light.
Matthew 13:34
Matthew 13 contains a number of what are called parables. The word parable literally means “to cast along side.” These were illustrative stories that were designed to help the hearer understand the message Jesus was bringing. They are sort of like sermon illustrations, designed to bring truth to life in memorable ways. Jesus also taught that parables were only effective and understandable for those who “have ears to hear.” This means that they are intended for people who are spiritually hungry and desire to pursue God. If a person’s heart is cold toward God, they will likely find them unhelpful.
Matthew 14:30-31
This part of the story provides an excellent lesson for us on the importance of keeping our eyes focused in Jesus. It’s very easy to get distracted from God, or to get so caught up in our circumstances or fears that we neglect God. But the reality is that God is the only one who can successfully carry us through our problems, so the more we keep focused on Him and His help, the more success we will have.
Matthew 15:10-11
Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11What goes into a man’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean,’ but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him ‘unclean.’ The Pharisees and teachers of the Law were so focused on the letter of the law that they couldn’t see the intent behind it. Jesus was teaching a revolutionary concept here: that we are unclean because of the condition of our hearts, not because of a ritual we fail to keep. Elsewhere (Matthew 12:35) Jesus adds the other side of the coin: true righteousness comes from the inside out, not the other way around.
Matthew 16:21
From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. From our perspective, this is no surprise. But remember, from the Jewish perspective, the Messiah was supposed to be a powerful war hero, conquering the Romans and setting the Jewish nation free. They had no idea what God’s real plan was – as is evidenced by Peter’s response in v22.
Matthew 17:2
There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.Peter, James, and John got witness the transfiguration of Jesus. In this moment, Jesus revealed himself to the three as he is-God. They saw something of what Jesus must be like in all his glory in heaven.
Matthew 19:8-9
In this passage, Jesus deals with the painful and difficult situation of divorce. He begins by emphasizing the significance and importance of marriage, that God designed for marriage to be the union of two into “one flesh.” Because this is God’s design for marriage, Jesus states that man should not separate this union. Jesus goes onto clarify that God does allow divorce in cases of marital infidelity, but prefaces this with the emphasis again, that this is allowed because of the hardness of one’s heart, indicating God’s desire that divorce be avoided if at all possible. God’s heart is for wholeness and reconciliation in broken marriages, and He has the power to heal even the most wounded relationships when we seek His help and follow His wisdom on marriage.
