Participants: Glenn Russell & Ranko Stefanovic (Host)
Series Code: MTBOTB
Program Code: MTBOTB00001B
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00:01 Welcome back, we are exploring Matthew
00:03 and we have been realizing 00:04 that the more we know about how this book 00:06 was written originally, the more we can gain 00:10 God's blessing for us today. 00:12 So, Ranko, tell us again a little bit 00:14 more about this document that we have from God 00:18 through the writer Matthew authored by God. 00:21 Tell us a little more, help us understand? 00:24 You know Glen, when we started the Bible 00:27 as we mentioned before this. 00:29 We have to understand that for instance 00:31 New Testament gospel of Matthew in particular, 00:34 was written about 2,000 years ago. 00:36 We saw it was written to particular people at that time. 00:41 Today, we saw this book 00:45 and another books of the Bible 00:49 and that message of the Bible is still powerfully speaks to us. 00:55 But, before we discovered that message for ourselves 00:58 to find out what the text means to us, 01:01 for our personal salvation, 01:03 and for our relationships with Jesus Christ. 01:06 First we have to find out, what this text meant 01:11 to the people of the time 01:12 to whom this text was originally written. 01:15 So, first we discover what the text meant 01:18 and then we try to find 01:20 what the text means to our daily life. 01:22 So, the more we know about what it meant 01:23 the more it will mean for us. 01:25 The powerful message, becomes, becomes to us. 01:27 So, lets talk little bit how the gospel of Mathew 01:31 was organized and during this series 01:33 we will follow this structure. Okay. 01:36 There are some Bible students. 01:39 They noticed something very significant 01:41 with regard to this structure of this gospel is. 01:46 I'd like you Glen, if you can open 01:49 Matthew Chapter 4 verse 23. 01:52 All right, Mathew 4:23. Yes. 01:55 "And Jesus went about all Galilee, 01:57 teaching in their synagogues, 01:58 preaching the gospel of the kingdom 02:00 and healing all kinds of diseases 02:03 and all kinds of sickness among the people." 02:06 Actually, based on these texts, 02:08 if you goes to conclusion of Chapter 9, 02:11 the same text is repeated there. 02:13 It's telling us that Jesus ministry consisted 02:19 of two different aspects. Which aspects? 02:23 Jesus did preaching and teaching, 02:26 which is one aspect, and then Jesus did healing. 02:30 So, he spoke and he acted, okay. 02:32 This is exactly how the gospel of Mathew is organized. 02:38 The Bible students actually they noticed 02:41 that the gospel of Matthew has five blocks 02:46 of sayings of Jesus, something that is not found 02:49 in other gospel, synoptics or the gospel of John. 02:53 Now, for the Jewish folks, numbers were important. 02:56 So, let's be alert whenever you talk about a number here. 02:59 You are saying five blocks. Number fives. All right. 03:02 Let's leave this for the end. 03:04 First, we would like to see those five powers. 03:08 But there is something significant, 03:10 its not that we are something guessing. 03:12 Actually, Mathew indicated this in his book. 03:16 Lets what is the first instance part, 03:18 is the Sermon on the Mount. 03:20 Chapters 4 and 5, it's a long sermon 03:23 that Jesus preached from the unknown mount 03:27 there in Palestine. 03:29 People are trying to guess where that mountain was located. 03:32 And now would you read Chapter 7 verse 28, 03:36 how does this sermon 03:38 conclude in the gospel of Matthew? 03:40 All right, Mathew Chapter 7:28 03:42 and we're looking at verse 28. Yes. 03:46 And, so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, 03:50 that the people were astonished at His teaching. 03:52 Okay, let's conclude this. 03:54 Actually it says, when Jesus finished 03:57 these sayings, what now? 03:59 There is something else. 04:00 After the sermon, what do we have, 04:02 we have Chapters 8 and 9. 04:04 What are the Chapters 8 and 9? 04:06 About the healing activities of Jesus. 04:07 Do we see that, teaching and preaching 04:10 and now we have the healing activities of Jesus, 04:12 but the line is when Jesus finished these sayings. 04:16 Let's go to Chapter 11 verse 1. 04:18 All right, and as we go, Ranko, 04:21 you are suggesting that there is a direct connection 04:24 between the teaching and the healings. 04:26 They are not disjointed, they are tied together. 04:29 They are always. Jesus taught people, 04:32 but He also cared about their physical needs. 04:36 So Chapter 11 verse 1. 04:38 "Now came to past, when Jesus finished 04:40 commanding his 12 disciples, 04:42 that he departed from there 04:44 to teach and to preach in their cities." 04:46 When Jesus finished, what was that Jesus finished. 04:51 It's in Chapter 10, we have the speech 04:53 that Jesus made to His disciples 04:56 when He sent them to the mission field. 04:58 He instructed them, go preach the gospel 05:02 and heal every sickness in people. 05:04 Now after Chapter 10, what do we have in Chapter 12? 05:09 Now we have the healing activities of Jesus. 05:12 Now we come to Chapter 13. 05:14 We have another block? 05:16 What do we have there, the parables of Jesus. 05:19 Now let us read Chapter 13 verse 53. 05:23 Verse 53 of Chapter 13, all right. 05:26 "Now came to past, when Jesus is finished 05:28 these parables there he departed from there." 05:31 The same saying formula, 05:33 when Jesus finished the parables, 05:34 now what we have, Chapter 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 05:39 we have the healing activities of Jesus. 05:41 So, over and over again, 05:43 there is teaching and then there is healing. 05:46 We will not read it, they're now, 05:48 we have in Chapter 19, verse 1. All right. 05:50 When Jesus gives the instruction 05:52 about how to live in the church, 05:54 we will come about that. 05:55 Chapter 19 verse 1, when Jesus finished these sayings, 05:59 now we have the activities of Jesus. 06:01 And then Chapter 24 and Chapter 25, 06:04 it's about the second coming of Christ. 06:07 When Jesus finished in Chapter 26 verse 1 says, 06:10 when Jesus finished these sayings, 06:12 now we have Jesus goes to Jerusalem to die, 06:15 to die on the cross. 06:16 See the gospel of Matthew, it's organized fantastically. 06:20 Matthew must be wanting to say 06:22 that through what Jesus said what he taught, 06:25 what he preached and through what he did, 06:27 He is the Messiah. 06:29 And the complete restoration to human beings. 06:31 But some Bible students they noticed, see number five, 06:36 as you mentioned before. 06:38 When you write to the Jewish people number five, 06:40 there is something that comes to their minds 06:42 and is the Torah, five books of the Moses. 06:45 And many people think 06:47 that actually Matthew did these intentionally. 06:51 He organized his gospel as five books of Moses, 06:55 let me just go quickly the time is flying very fast. 06:58 We have the Sermon on the Mount is the first sermon, 07:02 is the beginning of Jesus ministry. 07:04 He called His disciples and brings 07:06 to mind the Book of Genesis, the beginning of this world. 07:10 Then, we go the second, its Exodus, 07:13 when God brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. 07:16 It really reminds the Exodus of the disciples, 07:19 when they were sent to the mission field. 07:22 Then, we have the parables, 07:25 they're really parallel to the Book of Leviticus. 07:28 What is the Book of Leviticus all about? 07:30 It's God's parables, teaching people 07:32 through the century sees them 07:34 about how He saved sinners is the parables of Jesus. 07:39 Then, we have Chapter 18, is how to live in the church, 07:42 parallel is the Book of Numbers. 07:45 The people of Israel is organized congregation 07:48 they're in wilderness about to enter the Promised Land. 07:51 And then we have Chapters 24 and 25, 07:53 is the second coming of Christ. 07:55 It's about the time to enter the Promised Land, 07:57 the Book of the Deuteronomy. 08:00 Those laws that Moses gave before the people of Israel 08:03 entered the Promised Land that they are. 08:05 So, you are describing a document, 08:07 it is a master piece of craftsmanship 08:10 and inspiration to communicate the message. 08:13 So, that gospel they spoke to the people of that time, 08:16 it still speaks to us in a mighty and powerful way. 08:21 Yes, yes. What else as we think about this, 08:26 you know, what's the Book of Matthew all about? 08:28 We've noticed that it was originally 08:30 written to Jewish audience. Yes. 08:32 What's the purpose, what does he want them to know? 08:35 Let me tell you, you know, people know 08:37 that I'm very much in the Book of Revelation, 08:39 this is what I go around and giving seminars. 08:43 But when usually people ask me 08:45 what are other New Testament books 08:47 as much important as the Book of Revelation, 08:50 I tell them the Book of Romans, 08:52 teaching us how we are saved before God. 08:55 But then the gospel of Matthew, why? 08:57 See the Book of Revelation is telling us 09:00 that as we are waiting for the second coming of Christ, 09:02 we have the message to proclaim to the world. 09:05 But the gospel of Matthew is telling us 09:07 how we should live in the church 09:10 as we are awaiting for the second coming of Christ. 09:13 I want to make sure, if I can just interrupt, 09:14 I want to make sure, we got that point Ranko, 09:16 say it one more time, the gospel of Matthew tells us 09:19 how we should live in the church. Yes. 09:22 As we are waiting for the second coming, 09:24 that describes us today. Yeah. 09:25 By the way, the key concept of the gospel of Matthew 09:28 is the kingdom of heaven, not the kingdom of God, 09:32 which is found in Mark, Luke, and other books, 09:35 is the kingdom of heaven, 09:37 which means that the kingdom of heaven 09:40 is present down to the earth in the church. 09:43 So when you and me when we live in the church, 09:47 we already have a foretaste, a foreshadow of that heaven, 09:54 heavenly life that one day will we live. 09:57 So in the church, we have the visible manifestation 10:00 of the kingdom of heaven. 10:02 And of course, if we talk about a kingdom, 10:04 there needs to be a king. Yes. 10:05 And that's what this book tells. 10:06 That's what the book. 10:07 So, lets conclude that these studies with something. 10:12 All right. We will see in our next presentation 10:15 that on the key text, I found in Chapter 1. 10:18 So the gospel of Matthew Chapter 1 contains 10:23 a very significant text which is verse 23, 10:25 Chapter 1 verse 23. Can you read? 10:27 All right, Matthew 1:23. Yes. 10:31 "Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, 10:37 and they should call his name Immanuel," 10:39 which is translated "God with us." 10:41 So, the book begins with that the coming of Jesus 10:44 down to the earth. 10:46 God came to be present with His people. 10:50 As God in the Old Testament time, 10:52 lived with His people through the sanctuary. 10:54 Now He lives through Jesus Christ, 10:57 God came into the person of Jesus Christ 10:59 to be present among the people. 11:02 God wants to dwell with His people. 11:04 Now Ranko, they may have felt at times 11:06 that they are abandoned and perhaps 11:07 if you were today feels, you know, where is God. 11:10 He has abandoned me, but as God came through Jesus, 11:13 so He comes to us today. 11:15 Yes, so I would like to tell something to the viewers. 11:18 The gospel of Matthew concludes with the last verse, 11:22 Chapter 28 verse 20, when Jesus said go around, 11:28 make people disciples, 11:30 baptize them in the name of the Father, 11:32 of the Son and the Holy Spirit. 11:34 He said them teach them everything what I told you, 11:37 for I am with you always until the very end of the age. 11:42 So the book begins with God who is with us 11:45 and the book concludes with the statement 11:49 that God will always be with us until the very end of the age. 11:53 By the way this is for the gospel of Matthew is all about. 11:57 And I just want to say to the viewers. 12:00 As we are going through this book, 12:02 I know we all who are reading the Bible, 12:05 we have our personal issues in life. 12:07 We have our different needs. 12:08 We live in different circumstances 12:10 and we ask does God care. 12:14 So the question is does God really care? 12:19 The purpose of the gospel of Matthew is to give us 12:24 that promise with regardless of our circumstances, 12:27 God will be with us always until the very end of the age. |
Revised 2014-12-17