Matthew and the Church

To protect the truth of Jesus and to add believers to the Body of Christ, is the core of discipleship. 

Any who preach other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His birth, His death and His resurrection preach falsely. He has overcome the world.

Only in the unity of Holy Spirit does the Body of Christ have power over the principalities of darkness. They would like to infiltrate the Church and try to replace  the only salvation offered by God in Jesus. It is nothing to do with our goodness. It has everything to do with His.

Romans 9:19 asks the question, "For who can resist [God's] will?" The answer is no one. God's will will be done. 

Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lᴏʀᴅ establishes his steps." It will be the Lord who chooses which way we go ultimately. Yes, we have willpower and are responsible for our choices, but the plans of God cannot be thwarted. The question is how will we choose to be a part of those plans? 

Do we resist God's will, making things hard on ourselves? Or do we echo the words of Jesus, who died and rose again in obedience to God, saying, "Father … your will be done" (Matthew 6:9-10)?

Both at His birth and at His death, Jesus was referred to as the "king of the Jews" (Matthew 2:1-2;  John 19:19). First Timothy 6:15 refers to Jesus as "King of kings." In Revelation 22:16, Jesus calls Himself the " the descendant of David, the bright morning star." First5 

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Thank you Leo F.Buscaglia. 

Matthew and the Church

A final purpose of Matthew is to instruct the church. An obvious clue to this is in the Great Commission: “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (28:20). 

The discipling process involves instruction in the words of Christ, and the Gospel of Matthew revolves around five of Jesus’ discourses (5:1–7:28; 10:5–11:1; 13:3–53; 18:2–19:1; 24:4–26:1). Instead of emphasizing a narrative of Jesus’ life as Mark does, Matthew uses the narrative elements in his Gospel as a setting for Jesus’ sermons. The NKJV Study Bible

5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This Sermon on the Mount recorded by Matthew is slightly different from the sermon preached to the multitude in Luke 6. The essence of this sermon was probably preached many times during Jesus’ early ministry. The Sermon on the Mount was not given as the way of salvation for the lost, but as the way of life for true children of the kingdom. It was instruction for those who had responded to Jesus’ invitation to “repent”. 

These disciples were probably confused as to the true nature of righteousness and God’s kingdom. In this address, Jesus clarified both the heart of the law and the nature of true religion in God’s kingdom (Micah 6:8). In a sense, Jesus turned the law, which was mainly negative, inside out to show its positive core. Faithlife Study Bible

10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, 10 nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. 11 “Now whatever city or town you enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and stay there till you go out.

While He was on earth, Jesus focused His ministry on the Jews. After His resurrection, He commanded His disciples to take the Good News to all the world. Paul used the same strategy. In every city he visited, he preached first to Jews and then to the Gentiles. 

Because the testimony of the apostles was at stake, they were to seek out homes with good reputations. Furthermore, they were not to be constantly trying to find a more desirable residence. 

To greet a household was to pronounce a blessing on it, “Peace to you.” These messengers were to assume the best of their hosts when they arrived; however, if the home proved to be unworthy (the occupants rejected the message of the apostles), the apostles were to remove the pronouncement of blessing. The NKJV Study Bible

13:24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Many of Jesus’ parables describe the kingdom of heaven. He uses experiences common to the people of His day to help them understand the coming and growth of the kingdom. Faithlife Study Bible

This phrase introduces new truth regarding God’s coming kingdom. The introductory formula does not mean that the kingdom is to be exactly identified with a man, or a mustard seed, or leaven. It simply means that some truth regarding the kingdom is found in the story. A parable was primarily intended to teach one point, not to be picked apart to find meaning in all of its details. 

Tares closely resemble wheat, but are poisonous to human beings. They are indistinguishable from wheat until the final fruit appears. Farmers would weed out tares just before the wheat harvest. Until Christ returns, both genuine believers and counterfeits will be allowed to remain together. The NKJV Study Bible

18:2 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. 6 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes! 8 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire. 10 “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. 

19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

The theme of this discourse is humility. Jesus outlines five reasons that humility is essential: (1) for entrance into the kingdom; (2) for greatness in the kingdom; (3) to prevent offenses; (4) to carry on proper discipline in the church; and (5) for forgiving one another.

Jesus teaches His disciples about the process of restoring an erring believer. This passage specifically refers to church discipline. It is a promise for guidance for the two or three who confront, and a promise for the church to claim wisdom and restoration for the erring brother. The NKJV Study Bible

24:4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

The disciples ask Jesus about His prediction in verse 2. They want to know when the temple will be destroyed and how they can discern the timing of His return. He responds by discussing the troubling events that will signal His return and the end of the age. Faithlife Study Bible

False messiahs and wars and rumors of wars are characteristic of the fallen world in which we live. When the Lord said all these things must come to pass, He used a word for must that indicates a divine or logical necessity. Such activities are necessary because of the people’s sin. 

False messiahs had existed before, and false preachers would come in the future This passage describes characteristics of the end times. Nation … against nation, and kingdom against kingdom seems to indicate wars on a broad or worldwide scale. The famines, pestilences, and earthquakes are more fully described in Revelations. Sorrows literally means “birth pangs.” The earth continually has birth pangs today, during the tribulation, these “sorrows” will increase in intensity and frequency until Jesus returns in glory. The NKJV Study Bible