Ark of the Covenant - Bible History Online
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Matthew 22

1 - Jesus answered and spoke again in parables to them, saying,
2 - "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son,
3 - and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast, but they would not come.
4 - Again he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner. My cattle and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the marriage feast!"'
5 - But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise,
6 - and the rest grabbed his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them.
7 - When the king heard that, he was angry, and sent his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
8 - "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited weren't worthy.
9 - Go therefore to the intersections of the highways, and as many as you may find, invite to the marriage feast.'
10 - Those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together as many as they found, both bad and good. The wedding was filled with guests.
11 - But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man who didn't have on wedding clothing,
12 - and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here not wearing wedding clothing?' He was speechless.
13 - Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and throw him into the outer darkness; there is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.'
14 - For many are called, but few chosen."
15 - Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how they might entrap him in his talk.
16 - They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are honest, and teach the way of God in truth, no matter whom you teach, for you aren't partial to anyone.
17 - Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
18 - But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said,"Why do you test me, you hypocrites?
19 - Show me the tax money."They brought to him a denarius.
20 - He asked them,"Whose is this image and inscription?"
21 - They said to him, "Caesar's."Then he said to them,"Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
22 - When they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went away.
23 - On that day Sadducees (those who say that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him,
24 - saying, "Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.'
25 - Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother.
26 - In the same way, the second also, and the third, to the seventh.
27 - After them all, the woman died.
28 - In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her."
29 - But Jesus answered them,"You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 - For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God's angels in heaven.
31 - But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven't you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,
32 - 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?'Exodus 3:6God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
33 - When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
34 - But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together.
35 - One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him.
36 - "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?"
37 - Jesus said to him,"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'Deuteronomy 6:5
38 - This is the first and great commandment.
39 - A second likewise is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'Leviticus 19:18
40 - The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
41 - Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
42 - saying,"What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?"They said to him, "Of David."
43 - He said to them,"How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
44 - 'The Lord said to my Lord,sit on my right hand,until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?'Psalm 110:1
45 - "If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?"
46 - No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.
Matthew Images and Notes

The Book of Matthew

Matthew 2:2 - Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Matthew 18:3 - And Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Matthew by Rembrandt
Painting of St. Matthew with Angel by Rembrandt

Introduction to The Gospel of Matthew

The Word Gospel. The first book of the English Bible that most of us read from is the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew is the first of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of the Book of Matthew

Brief Summary. Jesus of Nazareth is indeed the long awaited Messiah King of he Jews as foretold by the ancient Jewish prophets. He came to reveal how to enter the "Kingdom of Heaven."

Purpose. It is very obvious that the Gospel of Matthew was written for the purpose of revealing that the man Jesus of Nazareth was actually the King of the Jews, the long awaited Messiah, the sovereign Lord Jehovah who came from heaven to this world revealing to mankind the "kingdom of heaven". The King of the Jews, the Messiah Jesus fulfilled every prophecy that was spoken about Him in the ancient Jewish Scriptures, in the Old Testament. The prophecies that spoke of the "Kingdom" that the Messiah would bring would be a spiritual Kingdom that would never be destroyed.

Map of Israel in the Time of Matthew

Audience. When reading the book of Matthew it becomes clear that the writer was speaking to a Jewish audience. One of the obvious reasons is that the "Kingdom of Heaven" is mentioned over 30 times and never the Kingdom of God. This is because the Jews do not speak the name of God and this could be the very reason that Matthew used this phrase. There are many times while reading the book that an event happens and a prophecy is cited. The event is mentioned as the direct fulfillment of a promise made to the Jews by one of their Jewish prophets, and the fulfillment of the prophecy was happening before their very eyes. It is clear that the audience of people are the Jews, they were awaiting their King, and Matthew records that the King had come and they rejected their King.

Authorship. Early Christian writings and traditions have attributed the authorship of the Gospel of Matthew to the apostle Matthew. Many scholars question whether or not Matthew was the true author of the first Gospel, but there is no way at this current time to be absolutely positive based on historical evidence. Most agree that Matthew was the author. The Bible reveals that Matthew, or Levi, as he was sometimes called, collected taxes for the Romans. One day Jesus passed by and called Matthew to come and follow him, and Matthew did so. The Bible also records that Matthew held a banquet at his house with several of his tax collector friends and Jesus being invited to the banquet was the guest of honor (Mark 2:14-15). The Bible also provides a list of the 12 apostles and Matthew was named among them.

Date. There is no way to determine with absolute certainty the date that the book of Matthew was written. Most scholars agree that the book of Matthew was written before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., this is because Jesus spoke of many events as though they had not happened yet. A large number of scholars do not believe in the miracle of prophecy and therefore insist that the Gospel of Matthew was written after the fall of Jerusalem because of the accuracy of the predicted events.

Language. There are many references among the books in the history of the early church that state that the Gospel of Matthew was originally written by Matthew in the biblical Hebrew language, and he was writing to an audience of  Jews throughout the world who had become followers of Jesus. Unfortunately there is no evidence whatsoever of a Hebrew or Aramaic manuscript, so many scholars have agreed that the Gospel of Matthew is not actually a translation from Hebrew into Greek, but was actually written in Greek. The whole subject of the Gospel of Matthew being written in Hebrew must remain speculation rather than fact.

Outline of the Book of Matthew

The King Comes and His Kingdom is Rejected - Matthew 1-12
The Rejection of the King's Teaching and Ministry - Matthew 13-25
The King's Trial and Crucifixion - Matthew 26-27
The King's Victory and Resurrection - Matthew 28
The King's Commissioning of His Apostles - Matthew 28

Matthew - Interesting Notes

Study Bible Icon Matthew mentions four women in his genealogy which is not typical for Jewish genealogical records: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheeba who were all associated with some sort of immorality. Tamar (incest), Rahab (harlotry), Ruth (a descendant of Moab who committed incest) and Bathsheba (adultery). Christ's greatness was in Himself not his genealogy.

Study Bible Icon There are many intimations for the word "King" in Matthew if one takes the time to look. For example in chapter one there is a royal genealogy mentioning king David at the start. Chapter two reveals the kingly gifts of the Magi. Chapter three calls John the Baptist a "herald" which is a cultural term that represents a herald for a king. Etc. 

Study Bible Icon There are similarities with the number four. The four colors in the veil of the Temple were purple, scarlet, white, and blue. The four faces of the cherubim are the lion, ox, man, eagle. The four Gospel accounts are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. 

Quick Reference Maps - Matthew

Israel in New Testament Times

The Kingdom of Herod the Great

The Divisions of Herod's Kingdom

The Flight into Egypt

The Baptism of Jesus

The Beginning of Christ's Ministry

Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee

Jesus Ministers in Galilee

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem

Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus

Jesus Journeys from Nazareth to Jerusalem

The Final Journey of Jesus to Jerusalem

 

Jesus written in Hebrew
The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

Matthew Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire