Structure and Themes in the Gospel of Matthew

Transcript

all right well thanks uh brother Jim and x thank you uh everybody it's good to be x here with you um what I'd like to do is x look at the gospel of Matthew in terms x of its structure and some of the themes x that's a study that I've been working on x for a couple of years and happy to be x able to share some of it with you this x evening for us the gospel of x Matthew has 28 chapters and just under x 1100 verses but it's good to remember x that it wasn't all always this x way the first English Bible to be x divided into chapters and verses was the x Geneva Bible of x 1560 chapters were not introduced into x the Bible until the 1200s almost exactly x 800 years x ago and verses were added into the x chapters quite a little while after x that the New Testament for example was x not divided into verses until x 1550s so that makes the Geneva Bible x fairly quick to get on board with this x new innovation of putting verses into x the x chapters uh what you see on the screen x largely there is a fimile page of the x beginning of Matthew's gospel I've x circled chapters one chapter two x headings in in red and just pointed out x with some blue arrows the division of x the first chapter into some verses this x is an innovation at least as far as the x verses go in the Geneva x Bible it wasn't that way when Matthew x wrote his x gospel he worked in an age he lived in x an age wrote in an age when there were x no chapter and verse x divisions and Matthew used words and x phrases to give structure and continuity x to his gospel and I just touch a bit on x this this evening but I hope you'll be x able to see as as I've appreciated that x he was a x Master at the Strategic use and x placement of what we might call verbal x cues so just to begin with then the x structure of the Gospel as it would x appear Matthew wrote x it and there on the left of your screen x is exactly what it was and instead of x being 28 Parts there are just seven x Parts x there Matthew's gospel begins with an x introduction which covers a bit more x more than the first three x chapters and it ends with a climax which x is almost exactly the last three x chapters in between Matthew's gospel is x divided into five x divisions and um the x introduction sets the stage for the x ministry of x Jesus the five x divisions exactly cover the Lord's x public Ministry exactly from the moment x that he goes into Galilee to begin till x the moment that he leaves the temple at x the end exactly covering his public x Ministry and the climax defines the x outcome of his x ministry now the way we're able to x finally uh uh become aware of this x brothers and sisters is the fact that x Matthew uses six bridging statements to x divide up the seven portions of his x gospel the six bridging statements are x key to the structure x of his gospel each bridging statement x identifies a juncture point in the x ministry of x Jesus and each statement begins with x something that has just ended and ends x with something that will now begin we x just take a look at x these the first bridging statement is in x Matthew x 4:12 now when Jesus heard that John had x been put in prison he departed to x Galilee x John's Ministry has come to an end Jesus x is about to do x something the second bridging statement x is at the end of chapter 7 and so it was x when Jesus had ended these sayings so x something is ended he came down from the x mountain and great multitudes followed x him the next bridging statement is at x Matthew 11:1 and you'll begin to see the x similarity in the phrasings now it came x to pass when Jesus finished commanding x his 12 disciples x that he departed from there to teach and x to preach in their x cities the next one now it came to pass x when Jesus had finished these Parables x that he departed from there and when x he'd come into his own country dot dot x dot the fifth bridging statement is this x now it came to pass when Jesus had x finished these sayings that he departed x from Galilee and came to the region of x Judea Beyond Jordan so right away we see x the first bridging statement where he x departed to Galilee now that the fifth x bridging statement he departed from x Galilee and it's safe to assume and I x think right to assume that those first x four divisions cover his Galilean x Ministry the last bridging statement is x Matthew 26 verse1 now it came to pass x when Jesus had finished all these x sayings that he said to his disciples x the son of man will be delivered up to x be x crucified so he's been departing from x one place to another departing from one x place to another and now he will be x making a departure of a totally x different nature so those are the six x bridging statements and they divide up x the gospel into its seven x Parts each of the divisions brothers and x sisters each of the five divisions is x further divided into two main x sections each is divided into a Ministry x and a discourse portion and it's always x in that order always Ministry then x discourse x and the discourse will bear some x relationship to the ministry that x precedes x it so for example if we look at the end x of bridging statement one he departed to x Galilee what is going to follow now in a x very short period of of Matthew's gospel x in chapter the first Ministry phase in x Galilee the next bridging statement x Begins by saying when he ended these x sayings so something in terms of a x teaching has receded that and of course x it has it's his first discourse The x Sermon on the x Mount the second bridging statement ends x with he came down from the mountain x great multitudes followed him and were x now poised for a continuation of his x Galilean x Ministry the next bridging statement x begins uh now it came to pass when Jesus x had finished commanding his twelves 12 x disciples so it has just been preceded x by another discourse this time a x commission to his 12 Apostles to go out x to the cities of Israel x and that's discourse two commissioning x Apostles to Israel that bridging x statement ends with he departed from x there to teach and preach in their x cities and so a third Galilean portion x begins and each of these Galilean x portions will have specific emphases and x we'll try to look at some of that as we x go along the next bridging statement x begins when Jesus to finish these x Parables so he has just finished the x discourse of division 3 which is x teaching in parable x that briding statement ends he departed x from there came to his own country and x his own country of course is Nazareth x and so we have a final Galilean phase of x the work in Ministry x 4 very extensive uh from chapters 13 x through to uh chapter 17 then the next x bridging statement says when Jesus had x finished these says so again he has just x finished a discourse again to his x disciples and this time he's announcing x to them things concerning uh his wider x church that bridging statement ends with x he departed from Galilee and came to the x region of Judea Beyond Jordan so as x Galilean Ministry is over and he is x about to begin the last uh Ministry x division that Matthew records for us and x that is taking him to Jerusalem and with x very strong Focus uh in chapters 2122 x and 23 of his ministry in the temple x that ends with the last bridging x statement now it came to pass when just x had finished all these saying so again x it has just been preceded by the x bridging statement has just been x preceded by a discourse and that we know x of as the Mount Olivet x prophecy so there we have the way x Matthew has structured his gospel the x seven Parts in each division having a x Ministry and discourse portion uh always x in that order and and bearing some x relationship to each other x the first mission statement bridging x statement is says that when Jesus heard x that John had been put into prison so x John's Ministry has ended and the x introduction to the gospel has ended x Jesus is now in the x spotl and the last bridging statement x says the son of man will be delivered up x to be crucified and that is Matthew x segue into the climax of his gospel with x the trials the crucifixion death and x Resurrection x right so there there in Broad outline is x the structure built around Matthew's x bridging x statements just a word or two about the x ministry and discourses the ministry x portions are event x centered and built into those often x times some related teaching some ad hoc x teaching some spontaneous x teaching the discourse on the other hand x is structured teaching with no related x events taking place or very few if they x do they're minimal and they would x involve x disciples the ministry portions include x public interaction a lot of public x interaction and miracles his mighty x works the discourse portions are x entirely for disciples learning with no x Miracles involved in those particular x aspects of or parts of Matthew's x gospel there's another thing that's kind x of interesting in in terms of how x Matthew structures things which I think x tends to to confirm the fact that we are x are seeing a a real pattern um and that x is the way he organizes the five x discourses they have symmetry to the way x they're organized in the gosp in in x Matthew's x gospel the first of course is The Sermon x on the x Mount and so he went up on a mountain x and when he was dis was seated his x disciples came to him now look at the x last discourse which is the Mount alet x prophecy he sat on the Mount of Olives x the disciples came to him x privately the second when he commissions x the apostles to go to the to the lost x sheep of the tribes of Israel which he x will then follow up on there's no x specific place where that commission is x given we presume him to be in Galilee x and that's all it's more open-ended the x fourth is the same way as he anticipates x the the Inception of his church the x place where he gives this discourse to x his disciples as x unspecified and the middle one forms the x kind of symmetrical Pivot Point that's x the teaching in Parables when he went x out of the house and sat by the Sea and x then went into the house having x dismissed the multitudes so on a x mountain unspecified in fact sitting on x a mountain unspecified sitting by the x Sea unspecified sitting on the mountain x and that's that's fairly characteristic x of Matthew not only is he a Master of x the use of of words and phrases but also x in terms of structure and symmetry uh x quite a lot of that as we go in through x his gospel all right so so much for the x structure let's think a little bit about x the themes of Matthew's gospel and one x in particular to get started x with you know if I ask you brothers and x sisters which gospel teaches that we x must be born from above to enter the x kingdom of God which gospel would come x your mind you know Matthew Mark Luke or x John of course if you're thinking John's x gospel you're thinking the same as I am x we have this record in John chapter 3 x where Nicodemus comes to Jesus by x night there was a man of the Pharisees x named Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews this x man came to Jesus by night and said to x him Rabbi we know that you're a teacher x come from God for no one can do these x signs that you do unless God is with him x Jesus answered and said to him most x assuredly I say to you unless one is x born again x which implies born from x above he cannot see the kingdom of God x so John makes it quite clear we must be x born again to see the kingdom of God or x Jesus makes it clear in John's x record what is easy to miss uh brothers x and sisters less obvious to us is that x Matthew has three passages that teach x the same thing here we x are unless your righteousness exceeds x the righteousness of the scribes and x Pharisees you will by no means enter the x kingdom of x God not everyone shall enter the Kingdom x of Heaven uh but he who does the will of x my Father in x heaven and the third one unless you're x converted and become as Little Children x You Will by no means enter the kingdom x of x heaven right each one of those is saying x essentially what Jesus said to x Nicodemus and if we set them out side by x side it becomes more x obvious if we read each column x vertically we've got what the passage x says John 3 I say to you unless one is x born again you cannot see the kingom of x thr and so forth if we read them x horizontally we see the obvious x comparisons I say to you I say to you x not everyone who says to me I say to you x unless unless but unless skip down to x the last one for the moment he cannot x see the kingdom of God you will by no x means enter the Kingdom of Heaven shall x enter the kingdom of God you will by no x means enter the kingdom of x heaven and then look at this one that we x skipped in John's gospel Jesus says to x Nicodemus you must be born x again in Matthew's gospel he's telling x us what being born again looks like x your righteousness exceeds the x righteousness of the scribes and x Pharisees he who does the will of my x Father in Heaven you are converted and x become as little children humble Matthew x 18 will tell us so while John tells us x we must be born again Matthew is going x to tell us through his gospel brothers x and sisters what being born again looks x like all right let's just set that on x the side for the moment so we're not x going to stray very far from that but I x want to ask you another x question what key word is used more than x any other in the gospel of Matthew and x sets it apart from all the other x gospels well we might think King and x Kingdom because it's rather common x knowledge amongst us that Matthew is the x gospel of the king and here are the x numbers on that x as far as the word King is concerned x this is the number of time that each of x the gospel writers uses that I happen to x be referring in this case uh making the x accounts based on the new King James x translation and the Strong's numbers up x there next to the x word so Matthew does exceed the others x in both of those x terms but if you look across the line x John has a lot also to say about ma x about Jesus as the king x and when we come to the term Kingdom we x must never suppose that Matthew's got a x corner on the market here because Luke x also has a lot to say about the x kingdom it turns out as far as what word x is distinctively Matthews or not x distinctively but dominantly Matthews x has a different answer and here it is x the use of the words heaven and Heavenly x they're of course related to each other x and the numbers are outstanding x um I said about this study as I said a x couple of years ago and the first thing x that I did uh in a kind of simplistic x way was to um try to x determine what words are used how many x times in all the gospels and there's a x fairly easy way to do that uh Bible apps x will let you do that sort of thing and x After figuring out how many times each x word was used in each of the gospels and x you start going down the line and you x get rid of the the the th and the ANS x and the you know the was and the worse x you know you have words that stand out x and as I went down the list Heaven x jumped off the page x yet because Matthew uses the term Heaven x 77 times and Heavenly x five in fact he uses both of those more x than the other gospels put x together and so it immediately begs a x question for us you know what does x Matthew say about x heaven and um x the first thing I think that might come x to our mind as we realize from just x passages we read a moment ago that x Matthew uses the expression Kingdom of x Heaven in fact he's the only gospel x writer who x does and he uses it 33 times in the in x the new King x James no other book of the Bible in fact x uses the expression Kingdom of Heaven x the closest it comes to that I would say x is probably Daniel 2:44 and we know the x passage well it it kind of next the x ideas the in the days of these Kings the x god of Heaven shall set up a kingdom x that shall never be destroyed so the god x of heaven will set up a kingdom and x that's certainly the Kingdom of Heaven x because it comes from God but Matthew x uses it exclusively as of this x expression Kingdom of Heaven but then x you look at the numbers again Kingdom of x Heaven 33 times Heaven 77 times that x still leaves 44 times that Matthew is x using the term term x Heaven other than kingdom of heaven and x the 44 times is still almost 50% more x than any of the other gospel writers so x we're back to our question what does x Matthew say about heaven and here's the x next what do you know what it is what's x the next most important thing that x Matthew says about x heaven here it x is you have a father in x Heaven you have a father who is in x heaven we have a heavenly father and x here are the numbers x Matthew again dominates the field here x in fact all of Matthew's uses of the x word Heavenly are heavenly x father x right and we begin to ask ourselves you x know what's going on x here and there is a connection brothers x and x sisters these ideas go x together and don't look now but we've x come back to our born from above theme x we come back to it we have a father in x Heaven and the inheritance that we will x receive is the kingdom of heaven so to x to paraphrase the Born Again passage you x know if you have a father in x Heaven you will enter the Kingdom of x Heaven you you will inherit the kingdom x of x heaven and so it begins to emerge for us x brothers and sisters that Matthew has a x dominant bornn again x theme and we have a father in x Heaven which means we have to be born x from above to have a father we've got to x be born we've got to be born from x above and what we inherit is the Kingdom x of Heaven that comes from above and I x think that's probably the answer to why x Matthew uses the expression Kingdom of x Heaven exclusively because he wants us x to understand if our father is God in x heaven x then we shall inherit the Kingdom that x comes from him the kingdom of x heaven and so Matthew is going to show x us is showing us what it looks like to x be the father's x children and we already saw a couple of x passages of that we'll see more he also x shows us what the inheritance is that x comes from him that comes from God when x we are his x children but of course it's not just x Matthew's doing this is it it's Jesus x who done this and Matthew is recording x what Jesus has taught and it's Jesus who x shows us what it looks like to be the x father's child he's the son of God so we x look at Jesus and we see the embodiment x of the born from above x life and Jesus by bringing the Kingdom x of Heaven to Israel is showing us what x the inheritance is that comes from the x father when we are his children x now coming back to the discourses and x coming back to the idea of symmetry in x Matthew's x gospel there's a beautiful pair of x passages brothers and sisters that help x us to put these ideas together to know x that the way of life the born from above x way of x life with a father in x Heaven makes us HS to the kingdom of x heaven that he will give us x and these two passages well there are x many passages but but these two Matthew x again as the master of of of simetry x puts at the beginning of the first x discourse and the end of the last x discourse and I don't think that's x accidental he may not have had x numbers chapters and verses but he had x verbal x structure so the beginning of the first x discourse well it's the beginning of The x Sermon on the Mount we know how that x begins begins with the x Beatitudes and it's life from x above poor in x spirit those who mourn not just the x common mourning of mankind but mourn the x separation the gulf between God and man x because of x sin those who are x Meek x teachable those who hunger and thirst x for x righteousness x merciful pure in heart x peacemakers persecuted for righteousness x sake and I think if we just think about x it brothers and x sisters none of these are qualities that x are natural to us none of x them and unless they are inculcated in x us you know engendered in Us by x God we don't develop these things to x anything like the degree that they can x be developed x he is he works in our lives through the x teaching of the Lord Jesus he works in x our x lives to engender these kinds of x qualities they are life from above x qualities and what's the x inheritance the Kingdom of Heaven those x who mourn are comforted the meek inherit x the earth those who hunger and thirst x for righteousness will be filled the x merciful will obtain Mercy the pure in x heart see God the peacemakers called the x children of God there we are again sons x of x God persecuted for righteousness sake x theirs is the kingdom of heaven and x again a little bit of Matthew's symmetry x the first and last are are our our book x endered with the kingdom of x heaven and of course one other thing we x mustn't Overlook blessed blessed blessed x blessed blessed I think brothers and x sisters first of all because these x qualities are not natural to us and if x we begin to develop these it's by the x grace of God it's the influence of the x teaching of his son by the power of His x spirit that can begin to teach us how to x be born Spirit how to mourn for the x right x things how to be meek how to hunger for x thirst for righteousness and be merciful x and so x forth that's a huge blessing that's an x enormous blessing in our sad world x and we're blessed too because the x inheritance is ofs the kingdom of x heaven so these all go together and they x they they illustrate how Matthew is x showing us what the born-again life x looks like and what the inheritance is x that will come from God from the Father x in heaven when we are born from x God now we go all the way to the end of x discourse five that's the end of the x alet prophecy uh uh yes the alet x prophecy Matthew 25 when the son of man x comes in his glory and all the Holy x Angels with him then he will sit on the x throne of his glory so we're on the cusp x of the x kingdom and what is the inheritance that x Jesus says to those on his right hand x well it's there's the passages Matthew x 25 31 to 40 it actually goes on to 46 x but the verses we're looking at are x those x the inheritance from above notice the x Echoes of the Beatitudes come you x blessed of my x father inherit the Kingdom prepared for x you from the foundation of the world x that's the inheritance that comes from x above and what does the Born Again life x look x like you gave me x food you gave me x drink you took me in in you clothed me x you visited me you came to me you did it x to one of the least of these my brethren x you did it to x me and again I would suggest uh brothers x and sisters that we don't begin to do x these things to the degree that we x can until we become self forgetting x people like our lord Jesus and inculcate x they have have engendered in US those x beatitude qualities and then these x things come much more natural to us you x did these things this is the life from x above come you blessed of my father x inherit the x kingdom it goes x together so Matthew is the gospel born x again x life we're born from x above we have a father now who is in x heaven yes he's the Father the creator x of all mankind in a general sense but x now we have a father in the spiritual x sense in the moral x sense we receive new life from him by x the working of his holy spirit in the x Lord Jesus x Christ and our inheritance comes from x him it is from above it is the kingdom x of heaven and so if we are born again we x will enter in John's words the kingdom x of God or the Kingdom of x Heaven all right let's move from there x back to the the five divisions and see x how Matthew develops certain themes in x these divisions and they're not x certainly unrelated to what we've been x saying there again is the basic x structure and let's just look at the x divisions now exactly covering the x Lord's public x Ministry and as we do there's a x progression of themes that develop in x Matthew's x gospel and the first two divisions x divisions 1 and two when Jesus has just x come into Galilee and now for the first x few chapters of that in Matthew's gospel x Jesus is bringing the Kingdom of Heaven x to x Israel he is showing Israel and us x through the the gospel what the kingdom x of heaven looks x like in division x three we come face to face with Israel's x tragic resp response to what has been x done in their presence the kingdom is x brought to them and their their response x is x tragic there are disciples who have x gathered to Jesus to be sure and are x gradually learning and growing in their x in their new x life but there's a large proportion of x Israel that remains unresponsive or even x in opposition to what Jesus is doing and x interestingly just before we go any x further than this x look at the structure right five x divisions division three is the center x division in the ministry portion of x division three there are two parts with x a x center the center of the middle division x brothers and sisters is the conceptual x Center of Matthew's gospel we know it x well we've probably read it many times x it almost seems to be a a disconnect but x it isn't a disconnect at all in the x middle of this tragic x exection of Israel's response to to the x kingdom brought by x Jesus we have the prayer of Jesus I x thank thee father Lord of Heaven and x Earth that thou has hidden these things x from the wise and prudent and reveal x them to x babes those in Israel who esteemed x themselves wise and x prudent from the common people right on x up to the religious leaders who esteemed x themselves as wise and prudent that it's x all been hidden from x them and those babes to whom it has been x revealed are the disciples who give up x the Comforts in many cases of of this x kind of life and follow Jesus and learn x from him that's the center of Matthew's x gospel in the fourth x division out of um basically the last x part of chapter 13 14 15 16 into x 17 the ministry portion there has two x important themes if Israel is not x responding to Jesus who on Earth do they x think he x is I mean of all people on the face of x the Earth Israel has the methanic x mindset going all the way back as we x know to to King David and the promises x to David they were looking for a x massan and now Jesus comes and in those x first two divisions we get some very x very effective statements one is he x taught them as one with authority and x not as the scribes so his teaching is is x Monumental and they also as he performs x his mighty works his healings and and x and so forth they say it's never been so x seen in x Israel and yet with all of these things x being presented to them by the Lord x Jesus their response to him is you know x is is x tragic yeah they're like children x sitting in the marketplace you we piped x you and you haven't danced we mourned x you you haven't lamented you just sit x there and so they've got to come to x grips with who this man is and he leaves x that to them he leaves it to us as well x you know that we need to come to the x conclusion as to who this Jesus is x because the whole heart and soul of our x faith revolves around x that and while that question is being x played out is playing out in division x four of Matthew's gospel we begin to get x clear signs on what Jesus does and what x he says that the Kingdom of Heaven which x has been brought so graciously to Israel x is going to go beyond x Israel in fact just a little incidental x Point here because I don't know that x we'll get to it brothers and sisters x we're we're already halfway through in x more but the word church x Ecclesia is used just three times in the x gospels when you get to the book of Acts x of course it emerges because from the x day of Pentecost onward the church x emerges and it's developing but the term x only occurs three times in the gospels x all three in the Book of Matthew Gospel x of Matthew x and all three in division x four the Kingdom of Heaven is going to x go beyond Israel and Jesus is now x introducing us to the concept of the x church finally with the first four x divisions passed and the Galilean x Ministry over the last division brings x all the issues to converge on Jerusalem x everything the Kingdom of Heaven is x brought to them his identity question is x brought to them their tragic response x emerges again you know the idea that the x Kingdom of Heaven is going to be given x to someone else if they if they refuse x to accept it all of that comes together x especially in his Temple Ministry in in x Ministry 5 of um of of division five so x they're the themes now in whatever time x we've got x left uh 20 25 minutes I'd like to look x at these in just a bit more detail and x show you how the evidence for these x themes uh can be gathered together so in x divisions 1 and two Jesus brings the x Kingdom of Heaven to x Israel if we want to know what the x kingdom is going to be x like if we want to know what the Kingdom x of Heaven is all x about then we need to Simply look at x what Jesus did in his ministry and x particular in what Matthew records in x these first two divisions from chap 4:12 x to the end of chapter x 10 we're going through this portion of x Matthew from the 1 to the third bridging x statements his ministry in Galilee x begins this way from that time Jesus x began to preach and to say x repent and that is part of the Born x Again life it's it's fundamental for the x bornn again life is x repentance repent for the Kingdom of x Heaven is at x hand he will develop that in Ministry x 1 he will continue to expand on it in x Ministry x two and you may remember you know at the x end of Matthew 9 which is toward the end x of ministry x 2 that Jesus has compassion on the x people of Israel because they're as x sheep having no Shepherd and he says to x his disciples pray the Lord of the x Harvest that he will send laborers out x into his Harvest and at the end of x ministry 2 Jesus now with almost a sense x of urgency it x would through his 12 x disciples and sends them out to the lost x sheep of the House of Israel to the x places where he himself would follow up x it's as if him doing this work himself x is just not adequate he's got to x multiply the kingdom message to Israel x as far and as fast as he can and so x there is this discourse this commission x to the apostles in chapter 10 and he x says to them as you go preach saying the x Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and x immediately he goes on to say heal the x sick cleanse the lepers raise the Dead x cast out demons freely you have received x freely give so that is a a big element x of the Kingdom of x Heaven something else about these first x two x divisions that they go together again x Matthew uses verbal cues to show us that x Ministry 1 ends just before the uh The x Sermon on the Mount seeing the x multitudes he went up on a mountain x when that ends and Ministry to begins x when he had come down from the mountain x great multitudes followed him you see x the the verbal connects that are going x on there these two divisions go x together something else shows us that x the summmer that Matthew gives of the x first galileon portion Matthew x 4:23 and the second galileon portion x Matthew x 9:25 are virtually x identical and Jesus what about all x Galilee teaching in their x synagogues preaching the gospel of the x kingdom and healing all kinds of x sickness and all kinds of disease among x the people so the preaching that he x preached and the healing that he healed x those x things brought the Kingdom of Heaven to x Israel Matthew 9:35 then Jesus went x about all the cities and Villages x teaching in their synagogues preaching x the gospel of the kingdom and healing x every sickness and every disease of x among the people virtually identical x statements summarizing these parts and x telling us Matthew's telling us in in x with these verbal connects that these x two Ministry portions go together and x what we are seeing is what the Kingdom x of Heaven is all x about discourse one The Sermon on the x Mount is the longest discourse in x Matthew's x gospel and you just look at we've x already looked at the Beatitudes it is x the king of Life x morally poor in spirit mourning Meek x hungering and thirsting for x righteousness merciful pure in heart x peacemakers righteous to the point of of x being persecuted those are the qualities x the moral qualities of the Kingdom x Life and in Ministry 2 Matthew 8 1- x 9:35 we have the most comprehensive set x of Jesus miracles x anywhere in the x gospels and we see the Kingdom of Heaven x what it is like x physically the leper is cleansed dead x are raised gyrus is little girl although x he's not named by name in Matthew his x little 12-year-old girl raised from the x dead the blind sea the palsied man but x down from the roof is Forgiven and x healed the those with the the great x afflictions of demons are are clothed in x their right minds they're they're x they're x healed so the Kingdom of Heaven is very x tangible it's very moral and it's very x tangible and it's very physical and x that's the kingdom that Matthew I think x is telling us Jesus has brought nigh the x Kingdom of Heaven is at x hand so there it is divisions 1 and x two we come to division three x and Israel's response to these x wonders just leaves x us in in in sadness brothers and sisters x and we've got to say to ourselves would x we do any x better and now we're between the third x and the fourth bridging x statements and the third bridging x statement sets us up to expect more of x the same kind of x ministry now it came to pass when Jesus x finished commanding his 12 disciples x that he departed from there to teach and x preach in their cities so he has sent x them out to take the kingdom message x farther and faster and wider Israel and x now he is going to in an exhaustive x follow-up work go and preach teach and x preach in their cities so we're poised x at the beginning of this third division x for more Kingdom x Ministry and undoubtedly there was more x Kingdom Ministry that's not what x Matthew's going to tell us any x he changes the emphasis in his x gospel and what we now find again verbal x cues the kinds of words and phrases that x tip us off we now find in division three x that Matthew is packed With These x Warnings they're warnings from x Jesus woe to x you in the Judgment in the day of x judgment and there are the numbers on x the screen there for how many times x Matthew uses each of those Luke uses the x woe to you uh uh expression uh more than x Matthew does right now let's just look x at how Matthew uses it he has it 10 x times and he has it in just two x contexts the first is here in the x response of Jesus to Israel in the x warnings of Jesus to Israel for their x lack of response x the other eight x temps are in the fifth Ministry portion x in the temple and you know them well woe x to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites x you do this that and the other thing and x don't do what you should be doing Mercy x judgment faith that sort of x thing in the judgment is used two times x in Matthew and both of them here in x Ministry x 3 in the day of judgment four times in x Matthew's gospel three times here in x Ministry three and once in the preceding x discourse when he sent his disciples out x to preach it's warning them what to x expect so now Matthew's focus is on x Israel's tragic response and the x warnings that Jesus gives to Israel for x their x failure to be more than children sitting x in the marketplace doing x nothing W you C W you Betha x for if the mighty Works which were done x in you had been done in Tyron siden they x would have repented long ago in sack off x the x Nations but I say to you it will be more x tolerable for tyrant sign in the day of x judgment than x for and you capernium you know we're x we're there around the Sea of Galilee x we're in the Galilean Ministry and you x capernium who are exalted to Heaven well x of course they're exalted to Heaven x absolutely exalted to Heaven brothers x and sisters because the kingdom of x heaven has been brought to x them they have seen the moral quality of x life that the Kingdom of Heaven Embraces x is is characterized by they've seen the x mighty healing work that is what the x kingdom of heaven will be like when it x comes you who are exalted to heaven have x taken place in their midst will be x brought down to x hell for the mighty Works which were x done in you had been done in Sodom it x would have remained until this day x but I say to you that it shall be more x tolerable for the land of s in the day x of judgment than for you and in these in x chapter 11 excuse me in chapter 11 Jesus x is taking to task the public in general x the people and the cities where he's x done his x work when we come to chapter 12 it's the x Pharisees the religious leaders that he x takes to test x so there there's a certain amount of x Developmental uh symmetry here a certain x amount of Developmental uh uh themes x here uh you have the public in chapter x 11 you have the religious leaders in x chapter 12 and in between of course is x going to be that that that center point x of Matthew's gospel so to the Pharisees x Brut of vipers and just stop there x that's almost Matthew's expression he x uses it three times Luke uses it once no x times in in in Mark or John bru vipers x so where are they born from they're not x born from x above they're serpent seed brood of x vipers how can you being evil speak good x things and of course they had been x disparaging they' had been disparaging x the power of God at work in Jesus to x heal the sick to cleanse the lepers to x raise the they've been disparaging this x for for whatever ulterior re reasons x they have out of the abundance of the x heart the mouth x speaks for I say to you that for Every x Idle Word men may speak they will give x account in the day of judgment so now x he's giving the Pharisees the same x warnings many respects they're more x culpable and then he goes on to say them x to again to the Pharisees the men of x Nineveh will rise up in the Judgment for x this generation and it because they x repented the preaching of Jonah and x indeed of greater than Jonah's here and x you know the Lord's very tangential in x the way he does this he doesn't say and x now I'm here they've got to come to the x conclusion that this one in their midst x is greater than x Jonah and begin to submit to him unless x they repent and x submit they're dead the queen of the x South will rise up in the Judgment with x his generation and condemn it for she x came from the ends of the Earth to hear x the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a x greater than Solomon is here who is this x greater than x Solomon and in the middle of that x brothers and sisters where he is now x taking Israel to task both the people x who are unresponsive and the religious x leaders who ought to have been Leading x the People and have left them as sheep x without Shepherds their x unres in the middle of this is where he x has this lovely prayer I can't tell you x how many years I read this I thought x what on Earth does this have to do with x the tiate against the people and the x tiate against the Pharisees then I x realized this is exactly the heart of x Matthew's ideas this is the heart of his x gospel at that time Jesus answered and x said I thank you Father Lord of Heaven x and Earth you have hidden these things x from the wise and prudent whether it's x the people sitting in the marketplace x whether it's the the the religious x leaders who esteemed themselves wise and x prudent these things are hidden from x them and you have revealed them to babes x well if God has revealed them to babes x then God has been actively involved in x the birthing x process in the Born Again x processed and I think that's something x for us to realize we don't come to the x truth on our x own we don't come to the truth of the x gospel and of x Salvation just because somebody x happen to be in the right place in the x right time and tell us about x it we don't come to the truth just x because we're born into a x Christadelphian x family we don't come to the truth x because we're so all fire smart that we x can sit down and read the Bible and come x to All the Right conclusions for x ourselves we come to the TRU the truth x because God reveals these things x to unless x we are converted and become as little x children we shall not enter the kingom x of heav but God is at work in these x things even so father for so it seemed x good in your sight spiritual babes are x born from x above and I just intimated that x discourses follow MYRY portions and x they're related the the Min the x discourse portion that follows this is x the parable portion in Matthew uh x 13 and Jesus begins speaking in Parables x but very quickly this becomes a disciple x situation he leaves the multitude he x goes into the house but even then before x that the disciples came and said to him x why do you speak to them in x Parables he answered and said to them x because they esteemed themselves wise x and prudent and these things are hidden x from them you're babes it's been given x to you you you see how that that x language is equate here because it has x been given to you to know the mysteries x of the kingdom of heaven but to them x it's not been given it's been hidden x from x them the disciples themselves are the x spiritual babes and if we would be a x disciple God help us and bless us that x we might be spiritual babes x as so division three is Israel's tragic x response we'll get maybe into a bit of x division four and then I'll just simply x have to tell you division five brings x all of these themes together in a most x remarkable way especially in the temple x Ministry of Jesus in Matthews 2122 x 23 so Israel's tragic response in x division three we come to division four x all right Israel who is this man in your x midst who is x Jesus and while that is being emphasized x by Matthew he's also beginning to show x us the evidence that the Kingdom of x Heaven is going to be brought to people x people Beyond x Israel to x Gentiles if we don't get to it that's x where we're going to meet the syop x phenician woman that's where we're going x to meet the people east of the of x Galilee who glorify the god of x Israel that's where we're going to this x is where we're going to meet the x church and we're beginning to get these x clear x indicators at this point in the in the x gospels that the Kingdom of Heaven is x going to be brought to people beyond the x Jewish people and Gentiles which by the x grace of God were like x ourselves we're now between the fourth x and fifth bridging x statements and I just I just skim x through this fairly quickly for lack of x time but he comes to his own country to x Nazareth how do they esteem him what how x do they view this Jesus is this not The x Carpenter's x son and the next x chapter Herod the tetrach he's a report x of Jesus so we go from the from the x Common People the peasants in the x village to the to the rulers on the x throne here the tetar this is John the x Baptist he's risen from the x dead the disciples themselves have gone x through a learning process brother x they're going through a growing process x and it it's x almost musing in a way this sequence of x statements in Matthew 14 after the x feeding of x 5,000 when they go off across the sea x they're rowing against the waves and x Jesus comes to them having been up in x the mountain praying he comes to them in x the Fourth Watch of the night walking on x the sea and and the the the the words x the phrasing that Matthew uses almost it x encapsulates what they've been going x through and and how they are trying to x come to grips with this fundamental x question itself the first thing they do x when they see him on the SE it's a ghost x you know ludicrous x be of good cheer he saysit is x I Peter said to x himl if it is x you and all of this is going to x culminate in the wonderful moment where x the disciples will have matured to the x point that they begin to know who this x wonderful man is that is in their midst x they've followed him they've put their x hope in him they've called him Lord and x they're beginning to realize the full x implications of what all of that x means Peter venturing to go walk to x Jesus on the sea afraid he begins to x sink he cried out words that need to be x Cried Out Lord save x me and immediately Jesus stretched out x his hand and caught him and said oh you x a FAL Faith why did you doubt so that x they've been struggling they've been x struggling with the the issues of his x identity and and and what's transpiring x in their midst x and when they got into the boat the wind x ceased then those who were in The Boat x came and worshiped saying truly you are x the Son of God so you see how their how x their thinking progresses very rapidly x in this in this episode from it is a x ghost to truly he the Son of God they x are coming to terms x gradually by just being with x Jesus being close to x Jesus here hearing him seeing him x observing him they are coming to the x right conclusion as to who this x wonderful man is that has been sent into x their x midst just skip 15 we may not have time x to come back to it x anyway but this is Ministry x 4 they come now to the region of Caesar x a philippon up in the x north and Jesus brings this question of x his identity to a x head he asked his disciples saying who x do men say that I the son of man x am well some are saying John the Baptist x we saw that with Herod Elijah Jeremiah x one of the prophets so they obviously x are recognizing Jesus as as as x significant and he said to them but who x do you say that I x am Simon Peter answered and said you are x the Christ the son of the Living God and x in words that Echo the prayer of Jesus x back at the center point of Matthew's x gospel Jesus answered and said to him x blessed are you Simon bar x Jonah for flesh and blood is not x revealed this to you but my father who x is in x heaven we see how through this fourth x Ministry portion the identity of Jesus x is being being wrestled with and worked x out in x Israel and all of this brothers and x sisters of course has the final stamp of x authority and stamp of approval given to x it in the Transfiguration which is x Ministry 4 chapter x 17 after six days Jesus Took Peter J uh x James and John his brother LED them up x on a high M high mountain by themselves x and he was transfigured before them his x face Shone like the sun now let me just x stop there for a second x Matthew uses words to connect things not x chapters and verses he uses words that x idea of the face shining like the sun x Echo something we saw at the end or x would have seen had we looked at it the x end of The Parables you know the x righteous Matthew says the end of x chapter 13 shall Shine Like the Sun in x the Kingdom of their father x and so you know Matthew is the only the x only gospel writer to describe the x Transfiguration this way and he uses x this this language this description x twice once for the disciples who are his x people is x righteous and then of course in the x Transfiguration he shows what it's all x like his face Shone like the sun his x clothes became as white as the light and x we've told just before this of course x that this is a kingdom vision x while he was still speaking Behold a x bright Cloud overshadowed them and x suddenly a voice came out of the cloud x saying and we have the final stamp of x approval on the identity of Jesus this x is my beloved x Son in whom I am well x pleased hear x him and why hear him because he has the x words of x life he has the words that can transform x us us if we'll x listen and take them to ourselves hear x him well I'm looking at the time x brothers and sisters and my box says x 8:30 um I've already alluded to the fact x that in this same Ministry portion we x have not only the question of Jesus x identity in Israel being worked x out but we have the first clear x indications that the Kingdom of Heaven x is going to go x not just or come not just to the Jewish x people those who are responsive but will x go beyond them to the x Gentiles and as I say when we come to x the last x division when the Galilean Ministry is x over when all of these themes that x Matthew develops have been presented to x us he now comes to Jerusalem and all of x these themes will be brought to bear in x especially in the x temple the last week x before they in their obstinance put them x to x death um I wish we had time to go into x that The Parables that Jesus The x Parables that Jesus speaks in the temple x at the last week Matthew records three x and they are not randomly x recorded they are deliberately linked I x believe with what we've been seeing in x these previous four x divisions you have the parable of the x two sons x you have the parable of the wicked x husbandman and you have the parable of x the wedding feast and had we time we x could have looked at each of those x Parables we know them well it's not hard x to to understand what those parables are x saying but what we might easily Miss is x if all of those Parables that Matthew x has drawn together there have Echo after x Echo after echo of the themes that he's x been developing the kingdom having come x to Israel the ident of Jesus the x response of Israel the tragedy of their x response the fact that the kingdom will x go to others there'll be other there'll x be other Vine dressers who will get the x vineyard there will be tax collectors x and harlots that go into the kingdom of x God before them there will be there will x be others invited to the wedding x Feast Beyond Israel so we've got to x leave it there we've got to leave it x there