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    Six Themes in Matthew Everyone Should Know
    Six Themes in Matthew Everyone Should Know
    Six Themes in Matthew Everyone Should Know
    Ebook106 pages3 hours

    Six Themes in Matthew Everyone Should Know

    By James E. Davison and Eva Stimson

    ()

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    About this ebook

    This study focuses on Jesus as Messiah as a beginning point for considering Matthew's perspective of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus' important teachings are explored and we find how they shape our Christian lives today. They give the churchâ€"as the community of faithâ€"directions for its mission and ministries in the world.

    The Six Themes Everyone Should Know series introductes biblical books and their main themes. Each volume consists of six chapters that present major biblical themes; each chapter contains an introduction and three major sections:

    • What does the biblical theme mean?
    • What is the meaning of this biblical theme for the life of faith?
    • What does the biblical theme mean for the church at this point in history for action?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherGeneva Press
    Release dateJan 29, 2019
    ISBN9781611649222
    Six Themes in Matthew Everyone Should Know
    Author

    James E. Davison

    James E. Davison is the retired Director of Continuing Education and adjunct professor of New Testament Greek at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He served previously as a pastor and has written a number of books for pastors and laypersons, including the national congregational program, The Year of the Bible.

    Read more from James E. Davison

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      Book preview

      Six Themes in Matthew Everyone Should Know - James E. Davison

      Six Themes

      Everyone Should Know

      Matthew

      James E. Davison

      Geneva

      Press

      © 2018 Geneva Press

      First edition

      Published by Geneva Press

      Louisville, Kentucky

      19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      All rights reserved. Except where permission to photocopy is expressly granted on the material, no part of these materials may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Geneva Press, 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-1396.

      Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and used by permission. In some instances, adaptations have been made to a Scripture or a confession to make the language inclusive.

      Excerpts from the Book of Order and Book of Confessions have been used throughout this resource. Both are reprinted with permission of the Office of the General Assembly.

      Cover designer: Rebecca Kueber

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Davison, James E., 1944- author.

      Title: Six themes in Matthew everyone should know / James E. Davison.

      Description: First [edition]. | Louisville, KY : Geneva Press, 2019. |

      Series: Six themes everyone should know series

      Identifiers: LCCN 2018036030 (print) | LCCN 2018052649 (ebook) | ISBN

      9781611649222 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571532350 (pbk.)

      Subjects: LCSH: Bible. Matthew—Theology—Textbooks.

      Classification: LCC BS2575.52 (ebook) | LCC BS2575.52 .D38 2019 (print) |

      DDC 226.2/06—dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018036030

      Most Geneva Press books are available at special quantity discounts when purchased in bulk by corporations, organizations, and special-interest groups. For more information, please e-mail SpecialSales@GenevaPress.com.

      Contents

      Listing of Six Themes Everyone Should Know series

      Introduction to the Six Themes Everyone Should Know series

      Introduction to Matthew

      Biblical Backgrounds to Matthew

      1. Embracing Jesus as Messiah

      2. Seeking the Kingdom of Heaven

      3. Fleeing Evil

      4. Following Jesus

      5. Living Close to the Scriptures

      6. Welcoming All

      Group Gatherings, by Eva Stimson

      Group Gathering 1

      Group Gathering 2

      Group Gathering 3

      Group Gathering 4

      Group Gathering 5

      Group Gathering 6

      Glossary

      Want to Know More?

      Six Themes Everyone Should Know series

      The Bible, by Barry Ensign-George

      Genesis, by W. Eugene March

      Matthew, by James E. Davison

      Luke, by John T. Carroll

      1 and 2 Timothy, by Thomas G. Long

      Introduction to the

      Six Themes Everyone Should Know series

      The Six Themes Everyone Should Know series focuses on the study of Scripture. Bible study is vital to the lives of churches. Churches need ways of studying Scripture that can fit a variety of contexts and group needs. Six Themes Everyone Should Know studies offer a central feature of church adult educational programs. Their flexibility and accessibility make it possible to have short-term studies that introduce biblical books and their main themes.

      Six Themes Everyone Should Know consists of six chapters that introduce major biblical themes. At the core of each chapter is an introduction and three major sections. These sections relate to key dimensions of Bible study. These sections ask:

      • What does this biblical theme mean?

      • What is the meaning of this biblical theme for the life of faith?

      • What does this biblical theme mean for the church at this point in history for action?

      This format presents a compact and accessible way for people in various educational settings to gain knowledge about major themes in the biblical books; to experience the impact of what Scripture means for Christian devotion to God; and to consider ways Scripture can lead to new directions for the church in action.

      Introduction to Matthew

      The Gospel according to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament and the first of the four Gospels. Along with the evangelists Mark, Luke, and John, Matthew provides an account of the life and ministries of Jesus. Matthew begins with the genealogy (1:1–17) and birth of Jesus (1:18–25) and ends with Jesus’ commissioning his disciples, after his resurrection, to make disciples of all nations and his promise: I am with you always, to the end of the age (28:16–20).

      The church has always found Matthew’s Gospel to be a rich source for understanding who Jesus of Nazareth was and what he said and did. This study looks at the main themes in Matthew’s Gospel. It focuses on Jesus as Messiah as a beginning point for considering Matthew’s perspective of who his Gospel is about as it portrays the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ important teachings are explored, and we find how they shape our Christian lives today. They give the church—as the community of faith—directions for its mission and ministries in the world. These focuses strengthen our faith. They nourish our lives even as we are challenged to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ and to embody his teachings in our daily living. Matthew’s Gospel can be a vital source of renewal for the church’s life and our own Christian experience as we seek to follow Jesus in word and deed.

      John Calvin wrote that Matthew, as one of the four evangelists, sets before our eyes Christ, sent by the Father, that our faith may recognize in Him the Author of the life of blessedness.¹

      May our lives be blessed by this study of the Gospel according to Matthew.

      1. John Calvin, A Harmony of the Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke, ed. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance, trans. A. W. Morrison, Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, 12 vols. (1972; repr., Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), xii.

      Biblical Backgrounds to Matthew

      Author and Date

      The Gospel according to Matthew was most likely written about A.D. 90 by an unknown Christian who was most probably at home in a church located in or near Antioch of Syria. The date of A.D. 90 commends itself because the destruction of Jerusalem appears to be an event that was rapidly receding into the past [22:7].

      —Jack Dean Kingsbury, Matthew, the Gospel according to,

      in Harper’s Bible Dictionary, ed. Paul J. Achtemeier

      (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1985), 613.

      Composition

      "For most scholars, the Two-Source Hypothesis still explains best the composition of Matthew. Apparently, the author drew on two written sources: Mark and a collection of sayings of Jesus called Q. In addition, he used traditions available only to him (M). From these,

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