READ The BIBLE Together

MATTHEW 1-17

30th July – 25th November 2017

SHALOM CHURCH, SINGAPORE

(Upholding the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith)

The reading of Scriptures is an important discipline for our Christian Life, and it is our aim to inculcate this godly culture in Shalom Church through our READ-The-Bible-Together program.
Since this is READ-The-Bible-Together and not STUDY-The-Bible-Together, the questions and notes in the following pages are kept relatively simple, serving as our reading aid.
If you desire to study MATTHEW in greater depth, you may wish to consult any of the following:
Ø  Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew by William Hendriksen
Ø  Expository Thoughts on Matthew by J. C. Ryle
Ø  Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Matthew
May the Holy Spirit make our reading of Scripture an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners in our midst, as well as building believers up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation!
For this week [30th July – 5th August 2017] you will be reading GOD’S WORD in
MATTHEW 1.
You may use Questions 1-7 as an aid in reading and understanding MATTHEW 1,
or you can go straight to Question 8 after reading the text.

A Brief Introduction

The book of MATTHEW is a gospel. “Gospel” literally means “good news”, and hence Matthew’s purpose is to write an account of the good news of Jesus Christ – how Jesus came, what Jesus did, what Jesus said, and what Jesus accomplished in His death and resurrection. These truths are means to change our lives and that of the world!

Note that MATTHEW is not a comprehensive biography of Jesus. Matthew did not try to include every minute detail of Jesus’ life. Instead, under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit, Matthew chose and included various events from the life of Jesus as well as some of His teachings in order to accomplish his purpose in writing this gospel.

A quick survey of MATTHEW will show that Matthew actually organized his gospel around five distinct teaching sections, and at the end of each teaching section, we encounter these words:

7:28 ~ And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings . . .

11:1 ~ Now it came to pass, when Jesus finished commanding His twelve disciples . . .

13:53 ~ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables . . .

19:1 ~ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings . . .

26:1 ~ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings . . .

It is generally accepted that Matthew was writing to the Jews, and his aim was to show them that Jesus was indeed the promised Sovereign King!

1:1-17

1. Matthew begins his gospel with a genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

(a) The name “Jesus” is the Greek form of the name “Joshua” or “Yeshua” that means “YAHWEH saved” or “The Lord is salvation”. Just as Joshua was the God-appointed leader to take His people into the promised land, so now Jesus shall be the God-appointed Person to take sinners into the kingdom of God!

(b) “Christ” is the Greek form for “Messiah” (Hebrew), and “Messiah” means “Anointed One”. Throughout the Old Testament, there were promises of the coming Anointed One who will powerfully deliver God’s people. By calling Jesus “Christ”, Matthew is declaring to his readers that Jesus is the One they have waited for all these years!

(c) Jesus the Christ is also called “the son of David”. What is the significance of this?

(d) Besides “the son of David”, Jesus is also called “the son of Abraham”. What is the significance of this?

2. In verse 17, Matthew informed us that he deliberately arranged the genealogy into 3 groups of 14 generations:

The first group -- from Abraham to David (verses 2-6)

The second group -- from David to the exile (verses 7-11)

The third group -- from the exile to Jesus (verses 12-16)

In simple words, not every descendant in the family tree is included in this list!

(a) Ahaz (verse 9) was listed in the genealogy. What is the significance of this?

(b) Four women: Tamar (verse 3), Rahab (verse 5), Ruth (verse 5) and the wife of Uriah (verse 6) were listed in the genealogy.

What is the significance of including these four persons here?

3. Why do you think Matthew began his gospel with a genealogy?

1:18-25

4. Is Jesus the son of Joseph?

5. How did Jesus fulfill ISAIAH 7:14?

6. How can you use these 8 verses to explain to an unbeliever that Jesus is both God and man?

7. How should MATTHEW 1:21 shape the way you read the rest of this gospel?

8.  Share one lesson you have learnt from MATTHEW 1 during your 10 minutes RTBT Group Discussion. What will you be sharing?

For this week [6th – 12th August 2017] you will be reading GOD’S WORD in
MATTHEW 2.
You may use Questions 1-5 as an aid in reading and understanding MATTHEW 2,
or you can go straight to Question 6 after reading the text.

1. We are told in verse 1 that wise men came to Jerusalem to look for Jesus.

(a) How many wise men were there?

(b) Where did they come from?

(c) Why did they come?

(d) What gifts did they bring? Do you think there is any significance in the gifts they brought? Elaborate.

(e) How did they finally manage to locate Jesus, and where did they find Him?

(f) What were their reactions upon finding Jesus?

(g) Why did they depart for their own country by another way?

(h) What is Matthew’s purpose in including this wise-men episode in his gospel?

2. We read in verse 3 that Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled. The word “troubled” actually means “deeply disturbed and terrified”. What is/are the reason(s) for them to be so troubled?

3. The chief priests and the scribes were able to refer to MICAH 5:2 and told Herod and the wise men that the King of the Jews will be born in Bethlehem.

(a) What is the significance that Jesus will be born in Bethlehem?

(b) Although the chief priests and scribes could refer to MICAH 5:2 and provide the answer regarding the birthplace of Jesus, yet they did not go with the wise men to look for the King of the Jews. What does their inaction tell us about them?

4. From verses 13-23, Matthew tells us that three specific events in the life of Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies.

(a) The flight into Egypt (verses 13-15) fulfilled the prophecy of HOSEA 11:1. How?

(b) The massacre of the male toddlers in Bethlehem fulfilled the prophecy of JEREMIAH 31:15. How?

(c) Jesus living in Nazareth was said to fulfill the prophecy that “He shall be called a Nazarene”.

Where is this prophecy found in the Old Testament?

In ISAIAH 11:1, the prophet Isaiah said, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” This is a prophecy concerning the coming Messiah Jesus, and in this verse, He is called a Branch (netser). The message is to convey the very humble and nearly extinguished origins from which He comes.

In ISAIAH 53:3, the prophet Isaiah said concerning the coming Messiah Jesus, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were,ourfaces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” One of the reasons for Him being despised was the fact that He came from Nazareth --- a very small and insignificant village, so insignificant that we have on record the sneer of Nathanael, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

So the fact that Jesus is called a Nazarene conveys the fact that people in general despised Him, and it could also be a play on the word “netser” and Nazareth.

(d) What was Matthew’s purpose in pointing out how the life of Jesus fulfills Old Testament prophecies?

5. Various characters mentioned in MATTHEW 2 (wise men, Herod, chief priests and scribes) had different responses to Jesus.

Whose response mirrors yours? Why?

6. Share one lesson you have learnt from MATTHEW 2 during your 10-minutes RTBT Group Discussion. What will you be sharing?

For this week [13th – 19th August 2017], you will be reading GOD’S WORD in
MATTHEW 3.
You may use Questions 1-4 as an aid in reading and understanding MATTHEW 3, or you can go straight to Questions 5 & 6 after reading the text.

When we turn the page from MATTHEW 2 to MATTHEW 3, note that almost 30 years have passed --- in MATTHEW 2 Jesus was a child, and now in MATTHEW 3 He is an adult!

MATTHEW 3 can easily be seen to have two parts. In verses 1-12, the focus is on John the Baptist while the spotlight shifts to Jesus in verses 13-17.

3:1-12

1. The following 3 things can be said about John the Baptist:

(a) He is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (verse 3)

(b) Verse 4:

(c) Verse 11b:

2. The ministry of John the Baptist consists of preaching and baptizing.

Preaching

His message can be summed up with these words – “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Verse 2)

(a) According to verse 6b, what does it mean to repent?

(b) According to verses 8-11, how do we know if the repentance is genuine?

(c) What is the relation between “repent” and “the kingdom of heaven is at hand”? (Verses 7, 12)

(d) According to verse 6, the Jews who repented were baptized. What is baptism and what is its relation to repentance?

(e) What does it mean that Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (verse 11)?

3:13-17

3. According to verse 11, John’s baptism was a baptism of water unto repentance. Here in verse 13, we read of Jesus coming to be baptized.

If Jesus is sinless, then why must He undergo this baptism? Jesus’ own explanation can be found in verse 15.

What do these words mean?

4. At the baptism of Jesus, we see the Trinity. How?

Note: Verse 17 underlined the fact that Jesus is God’s beloved Son. This is a clear allusion to PSALM 2:7 and ISAIAH 42:1.

Personal Application

5. (a) MATTHEW 3 talks about repentance. Have I repented, and how can I know if

my repentance is genuine?

(b) MATTHEW 3 talks about baptism. Have I been baptized? What does it mean if I have not?

(c) MATTHEW 3 presents the doctrine of the Trinity. The doctrine of the Trinity can be stated as follows:

There is one God.

This one God exists as Three Persons: Father, Son and Spirit.

The Father is God.

The Son is God.

The Spirit is God.

The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, the Spirit is not the Father. Not three Gods, but One.

Do I believe in the doctrine of the Trinity? Elaborate.

6. Share one lesson you have learnt from MATTHEW 3 during your 10-minutes RTBT Group Discussion. What will you be sharing?

For this week [20th – 26th August 2017], you will be reading GOD’S WORD in
MATTHEW 4.
You may use Questions 1-4 and 6-9 as an aid in reading and understanding MATTHEW 4, or you can go straight to Questions 5 & 10 after reading the text.

4:1-11

These 11 verses narrate the temptations of Jesus our Lord. Before we move into a more detailed consideration of this passage, let us first note the place it occupies in redemptive history:

§  There was Adam in the Garden of Eden, tempted by the devil to eat the forbidden fruit. He gave in to the temptation and fell into sin. Here is Jesus the Last Adam (I CORINTHIANS 15:45) in the wilderness, and his first temptation concerned food as well. He resisted the devil and triumphed!

§  There was Israel (called the son of God in EXODUS 4:22) after leaving Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, and in the wilderness. They doubted God’s goodness and provision when they faced what they believed was a food crisis. As a result, they murmured and rebelled against their God. Here is Jesus the True Israel and the obedient Son of God. After His baptism, He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Hungry after 40 days of fasting, the devil asked Him to turn the stones into bread and fill His stomach. Quoting the Word of God, He resisted the devil and triumphed!

These 11 verses thus show us how Jesus our Lord began to undo the curse of sin by triumphing over the devil in His temptations. He completed His triumph over the devil by finally giving Himself at the cross and redeeming sinners from their bondage. The victory of Jesus here in MATTHEW 4:1-11 is both the basis and example for our victory in temptation.

1st Temptation (Verses 1-4)

Where? In the wilderness

When? After He had fasted forty days and night

Who? The devil came to tempt Jesus

What? “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Jesus was hungry. This shows that He is human. Being hungry and desiring food is not sin. So when the devil asked Jesus to produce bread to satisfy His needs, it is not sin. So where is the problem?

Look more closely at the words of temptation uttered by the devil. The first part (“If You are the Son of God”) seeks to sow doubt in the mind of Jesus and create an estrangement between the Father and the Son: If You are indeed His Son, then why are You here suffering hunger in this wilderness? Why is He not providing for You? Does He care?