THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
INTRODUCTION
There is no reason to doubt that this Gospel was written by Matthew. It presents the narrative of our Lord’s life from the standpoint of the pious Jew; and the evident design of the writer is to show how completely and continually our Lord fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures. No other Gospel contains so many quotations from the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. In it the predominant aspect of our Lord’s character and work is the Messianic. He was great David’s Greater Son. The keyword of the book is “Behold your King.” As King, His line is traced through the kingly race. As King, He proclaims the kingdom of heaven. As King, He promulgates the laws, describes the subjects, and announces the rewards of the Kingdom. When describing His own action at the last, when He sits on His throne and all nations are gathered before Him, He speaks of Himself as King, Mat_25:40. It was on His avowal of kingship that He was condemned to die. From every viewpoint this Gospel is one of the most precious documents in the world.
By F.B.Meyer
{e-Sword Note: The following material was presented at the end of Matthew in the printed edition}
NB !Note:The Judean ministry of Jesus, which lasted almost one year, is not discussed by Matthew. This one year period is covered in John 1;1 to the end of John 4: and fits between Mat_4:11 and Mat_4:12. Matthew takes us from the temptation directly to the Galilean ministry.
Find the outline of our Bible study on The Gospel of Matthew at the link below.
OUTLINE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
The King of the House of David
II. PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM
Today we will look at the following questions in the outline.
10. Who were the first disciples?
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
The answer to question 10
And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
And he saith unto them,
Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.
And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.
And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.
Jesus Ministers to Great Crowds
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Comments by F.B.Meyer
on
OPENING WORKS OF MERCY AND POWER
The answer to question 10 presented by F.B.Meyer.
We must read the first chapter of John into the opening paragraph. Already the Lord had met with these first disciples in the Jordan valley; but they had returned to their homes and nets. Their prompt surrender was the result of the power over their hearts which the Master had already won. Their old craft was to be theirs still-only in a nobler form. The patience, courage, tact which had been elicited by their calling, were now to be enlisted in the service of souls.
The evangelist then groups together the broad features of the early Galilean ministry. It was a triumphal progress. Notice the reiteration of all, Mat_4:23. The words struggle to convey the wide comprehensiveness of Christ’s influence, even across the border. When the love of God came to our world in the person of Jesus, it immediately began to repair the havoc and damage which sin had caused. There was no hesitation or questioning where it was God’s will to heal. Let us always take that for granted for ourselves and others.
Believer’s Bible commentary
Book by William MacDonald
E. Jesus Calls Four Fishermen (4:18-22)
4:18, 19 This is actually the second time Jesus called Peter and Andrew. In Joh_1:35-42 they were called to salvation; here they are called to service. The first took place in Judea; this one in Galilee. Peter and Andrew were fishermen, but Jesus called them to be fishers of men. Their responsibility was to follow Christ. His responsibility was to make them successful fishermen. Their following of Christ involved more than physical nearness. It included their imitation of the character of Christ. Theirs was to be a ministry of character. What they were was more important than what they said or did. Just as with Peter and Andrew, we are to avoid the temptation to substitute eloquence, personality, or clever arguments for true spirituality. In following Christ, the disciple learns to go where the fish are swimming, to use the proper lure, to endure discomfort and inconvenience, to be patient, and to keep out of sight.
4:20 Peter and Andrew heard the call and responded immediately. In true faith, they left their nets. In true commitment and devotion they followed Jesus.
4:21, 22 The call came next to James and John. They, too, became instant disciples. Leaving not only their means of livelihood but their father as well, they acknowledged the priority of Jesus over all earthly ties.
By responding to the call of Christ, these fishermen became key figures in the evangelization of the world. Had they remained at their nets, we would never have heard of them. Recognition of the lordship of Christ makes all the difference in the world.
F. Jesus Heals a Great Multitude (4:23-25)
The ministry of the Lord Jesus was threefold: He taught God’s Word in the synagogues; He preached the gospel of the kingdom; and He healed the sick. One purpose of the miracles of healing was to authenticate His person and ministry (Heb_2:3-4). Chapters 5-7 are an example of His teaching ministry and chapters 8-9 describe His miracles.
4:23 Verse 23 is the first use of gospel in the NT. The term means “good news of salvation.” In every age of the world’s history there has been only one gospel, only one way of salvation.
EXCURSUS ON THE GOSPEL
The gospel originates in the grace of God (Eph_2:8). That means that God gives eternal life freely to sinful people who don’t deserve it.
The basis of the gospel is the work of Christ on the cross (1Co_15:1-4). Our Savior fulfilled all the claims of divine justice, enabling God to justify believing sinners. Old Testament believers were saved through the work of Christ, even though it was still future. They probably did not know much about the Messiah, but God did—and He imputed the value of Christ’s work to their account. In a sense they were saved “on credit.” We, too, are saved through the work of Christ, but in our case, the work has already been finished.
The gospel is received by faith alone (Eph_2:8). In the OT, people were saved by believing whatever God had told them. In this age, people are saved by believing God’s testimony concerning His Son as the only way of salvation (1Jn_5:11-12). The ultimate goal of the gospel is heaven. We have the hope of eternity in heaven (2Co_5:6-10), just as OT saints did (Heb_11:10, Heb_11:14-16).
While there is only one gospel, there are different features of the gospel in different times. For instance, there is a different emphasis between the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of the grace of God. The gospel of the kingdom says, “Repent and receive the Messiah; then you will enter His kingdom when it is set up on earth.” The gospel of grace says, “Repent and receive Christ; then you will be taken up to meet Him and to be with Him forever.” Fundamentally, they are the same gospel—salvation by grace through faith—but they show that there are different administrations of the gospel according to God’s dispensational purposes.
When Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom, He was announcing His coming as King of the Jews and explaining the terms of admission into His kingdom. His miracles showed the wholesome nature of the kingdom.
4:24, 25 His fame spread throughout all Syria (the territory north and northeast of Israel). All the sick people, demon-possessed, and disabled felt His healing touch. People thronged to Him from Galilee, the Decapolis (a confederation of ten Gentile cities in northeastern Palestine), Jerusalem, Judea and the region east of the Jordan River. As. B. B. Warfield wrote: “Disease and death must have been almost eliminated for a brief season from … the region.” No wonder the public was greatly astonished at the reports they were hearing from Galilee!
WE ARE STUDYING THE FOUR GOSPELS MATTHEW, MARK, LUKE AND JOHN TO KNOW THE LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST.
TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM.
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