Understanding the Bible: Head and Heart: Part Two: Matthew Through Acts

By Bob Dowell

Think of the Bible as a divine drama with a prologue, three acts and an epilogue. Think of the Old Testament as the prologue and act one. Think of the prologue as the first eleven chapters of Genesis—containing the creation, God’s plan one (Adam and Eve and the Garden) and God’s plan two (Noah and the Flood). Think of a

• Language: English
• Publisher: TOPLINK PUBLISHING, LLC
• Release date: May 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948962957

Bob Dowell

Bob Dowell, English professor, retired from university teaching in 1999 in order to devote full time to a project conceived while teaching his favorite course: “The Bible as Literature.” He envisioned developing a forum in which readers could readily engage in a head and heart understanding of the Bible. For a decade, he worked on the project, all the while piloting his production through a church-sponsored Bible study: “Back to the Bible with Dr. Bob.” The success of that study spoke to the efficacy of publishing the materials for purposes of reaching a wider audience. Thus, Dr. Bob’s vision becomes a reality in the publication of Understanding the Bible: Head and Heart. Fittingly, his first publication as a professor is an article in College English (1965) entitled “The Moment of Grace in the Fiction of Flannery O’Connor.” Retired, Dr. Bob loves the fact that his literary career is now capped by a notable publication on the world’s greatest literary masterpiece: the Bible.

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Copyright © 2018 by Bob Dowell.

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Dedication

in loving memory of my parents Alton and Valda

in loving appreciation for wife Nancy

and our children: Stan, Dwight, and Brenda (Jimmy)

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Contents

[The small number in parenthesis at the end of each prose summary title, listed in Contents below, indicates the Bible chapters and verses covered in that summary. See the Reading Guide for fuller explanation of arrangement of the book’s contents.]

Introduction

Poetic Preface

Reading Guide

Matthew Prose Summary Part One: Authenticating Jesus as Messiah (1-4)

Matthew Poetic Summary Part One: Authenticating Jesus as Messiah

Matthew Prose Summary Part Two: The Sermon on the Mount (5-7)

Matthew Poetic Summary Part Two: The Sermon on the Mount

Matthew Prose Summary Part Three: Authority and the Kingdom (8-15)

Matthew Poetic Summary Part Three: Authority and the Kingdom

Matthew Prose Summary Part Four: The King Instructs Figuratively (16-20)

Matthew Poetic Summary Part Four: The King Instructs Figuratively

Matthew Prose Summary Part Five: The King Enters Jerusalem (21-25)

Matthew Poetic Summary Part Five: The King Enters Jerusalem

Matthew Prose Summary Part Six: The Passion and Power of the King (26-29)

Matthew Poetic Summary Part Six: The Passion and Power of the King

Mark Prose Summary Part One: Beginning with the Baptism (1-3)

Mark Poetic Summary Part One: Beginning with the Baptism

Mark Prose Summary Part Two: More Ministry in Galilee (4-6)

Mark Poetic Summary Part Two: More Ministry in Galilee

Mark Prose Summary Part Three: Traversing Tyre and Sidon and Caesarea Philippi (7-9:29)

Mark Poetic Summary Part Three: Traversing Tyre and Sidon and Caesarea Philippi

Mark Prose Summary Part Four: Journey to Jerusalem (9:30-11:19)

Mark Poetic Summary Part Four: Journey to Jerusalem

Mark Prose Summary Part Five: Jerusalem Responds (11:20-13)

Mark Poetic Summary Part Five: Jerusalem Responds

Mark Prose Summary Part Six: Crucifixion and Resurrection (14-16)

Mark Poetic Summary Part Six: Crucifixion and Resurrection

Luke Prose Summary Part One: Announcement and Fulfillment (1-2:38)

Luke Poetic Summary Part One: Announcement and Fulfillment

Luke Prose Summary Part Two: From Boyhood to Manhood and Ministry (2:39-6:11)

Luke Poetic Summary Part Two: From Boyhood to Manhood and Ministry

Luke Prose Summary Part Three: The Apostles, the Mount Sermon and More (6:12-7)

Luke Poetic Summary Part Three: The Apostles, the Mount Sermon and More

Luke Prose Summary Part Four: More Ministry and the Journey toward Jerusalem (8-9)

Luke Poetic Summary Part Four: More Ministry and the Journey toward Jerusalem

Luke Prose Summary Part Five: Urgency in the Journey to Jerusalem (10-12:12)

Luke Poetic Summary Part Five: Urgency in the Journey to Jerusalem

Luke Prose Summary Part Six: More Lessons on the Road to Jerusalem (12:13-15)

Luke Poetic Summary Part Six: More Lessons on the Road to Jerusalem

Luke Prose Summary Part Seven: Still More Lessons on the Road to Jerusalem (16-19:27)

Luke Poetic Summary Part Seven: Still More Lessons on the Road to Jerusalem

Luke Prose Summary Part Eight: Jerusalem Events (19:28-21)

Luke Poetic Summary Part Eight: Jerusalem Events

Luke Prose Summary Part Nine: From the Last Supper to the Crucifixion and Resurrection (22-24)

Luke Poetic Summary Part Nine: From the Last Supper to the Crucifixion and Resurrection

John Prose Summary Part One: In the Beginning (1-3:21)

John Poetic Summary Part One: In the Beginning

John Prose Summary Part Two: Confrontation and Discourse (3:22-6)

John Poetic Summary Part Two: Confrontation and Discourse

John Prose Summary Part Three: My Time Has Not Yet Come (7-11)

John Poetic Summary Part Three: My Time Has Not Yet Come

John Prose Summary Part Four: His Time Comes (12-14)

John Poetic Summary Part Four: His Time Comes

John Prose Summary Part Five: From the Passover Meal to Pilate’s Court (15-19:16)

John Poetic Summary Part Five: From the Passover Meal to Pilate’s Court

John Prose Summary Part Six: The Crucifixion and Resurrection (19:17-21)

John Poetic Summary Part Six: The Crucifixion and Resurrection

Acts Prose Summary Part One: Pentecost and the Holy Spirit (1-4:4)

Acts Poetic Summary Part One: Pentecost and the Holy Spirit

Acts Prose Summary Part Two: The Apostles and the Early Church (4:5-8:3)

Acts Poetic Summary Part Two: The Apostles and the Early Church

Acts Prose Summary Part Three: Christians Scattered (8:4-11)

Acts Poetic Summary Part Three: Christians Scattered

Acts Prose Summary Part Four: Antioch, First Missionary Journey, Jerusalem Council (12-15:35)

Acts Poetic Summary Part Four: Antioch, Barnabas and Paul, Jerusalem Council

Acts Prose Summary Part Five: Paul’s Second Missionary Journey (15:36-18:22)

Acts Poetic Summary Part Five: Paul’s Second Missionary Journey

Acts Prose Summary Part Six: Paul’s Third Missionary Journey (18:23-21:14)

Acts Poetic Summary Part Six: Paul’s Third Missionary Journey

Acts Prose Summary Part Seven: Paul Imprisoned in Jerusalem and in Caesarea (21:15-24)

Acts Poetic Summary Part Seven: Paul Imprisoned in Jerusalem and in Caesarea

Acts Prose Summary Part Eight: Further Confinement in Caesarea (25-26)

Acts Poetic Summary Part Eight: Further Confinement in Caesarea

Acts Prose Summary Part Nine: From Caesarea to Rome (27-28)

Acts Poetic Summary Part Nine: From Caesarea to Rome

Introduction

The Bible is a collection of materials usually referred to as books which were collected and assimilated over many centuries. Out of these collected books, believed to have been divinely inspired, emerges a story, but not one told in a straightforward manner. Sometimes events are arranged in chronological order and sometimes not; sometimes events move along rapidly and sometimes very slowly as digressions take precedent; sometimes chronological order is jumbled; and sometimes chronology goes on hold and theme directs events. But the story that emerges is the greatest of stories, for it is the story of the fall of man (humanity) and of the redemptive process that follows.

Understanding this greatest of stories requires considerable effort and determination. Generally, readers require help in doing so, for it is a complex work written by forty different persons from three continents and spanning a two millennia time frame. Its sixty plus divinely inspired narrative pieces, referred to as books, are held together bound by a progressive thematic thread: the working out of God’s covenant with humanity. This thematic thread needles its way forward, beginning in Genesis and ending in Revelation, connecting conviction of mind with consent of the heart. Head and heart must be in sync for righteousness to abound as we witness in Abraham’s relationship with God. Abraham’s heart generated faith consented to the inclination of his mind thereby generating belief, faith and obedience the pillars of righteousness. Abraham believed in the Lord, and the Lord credited him with righteousness (Gen 15:6). Who, then, can deny that understanding of God’s word requires the participation of both the head and the heart? To understand the Bible is to understand righteousness, a head and heart matter.

The above observations may bring to mind the following question: What would be an effective format for writing an interpretive work on the Bible? A format with a poetry component would be this author’s answer. And that answer is demonstrated in my tripartite work: Understanding the Bible: Head and Heart—Part One, The Old Testament; Understanding the Bible: Head and Heart—Part Two, Matthew through Acts; and Understanding the Bible: Head and Heart—Part Three, Romans through Revelation.

These three works provide readers multi-interpretive summaries of the Biblical narrative, book by book, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. Each interpretive prose summary is followed by an interpretive poetic summary. Because of poetry’s emotive nature—its appeal to the heart— the poetry component facilitates connecting conviction of mind with consent of heart in the service of belief, faith and obedience, the pillars of righteousness. Each piece of the Biblical narrative receives first an interpretive prose summary followed by an interpretive poetic summary in order to better formulate a head and heart understanding of the Bible.

Please see the Reading Guide for a detailed explanation of the format utilized in Understanding the Bible: Head and Heart.

Poetic Preface

We study the Bible to comprehend God’s will;

There we read what He has chosen to reveal.

The more we read and study, the more we instill;

Ingesting the Bible’s books transforms God into real.

Understanding its laws, its prophecies, its gospels, and its letters

Strengthens our spirit’s capacity for breaking the world’s fetters.

Where start? Where begin? Seekers sound the question again and again

In the beginning, somewhere in the middle, or somewhere near the end?

This Bible study begins at the beginning and follows the narrative thread

Summarizing first in prose, then in poetry, inviting both heart and head.

When appealing to the head the effective mode is always prose,

But to the heart the effective mode is poetry, as the theory goes.

The head learns cognitively, but the heart learns emotively

Depending on feeling and imagination, the pillars of poetry.

Our interpretive summaries accommodate the Bible’s multi-faceted material

Using prose to serve the informational, and poetry to serve the inspirational:

So, let us journey together through the Bible’s enduring narrative of events

And engage both head and heart in discerning its divinely inspired contents.

Reading Guide

[Since Understanding the Bible: Head and Heart utilizes a somewhat unique approach to Bible study, this reading guide has been included to expedite reader orientation.]

The interpretive summaries that comprise this study follow the order of the Biblical books.

Most of the books are divided into multiple parts for summary, and each summary part is given a title. The title and the page number on which the summary begins is listed in Contents.

The prose summary and the poetic summary for each part share the same name title since the two summaries address the same Bible chapters and verses, and the prose summary always precedes the poetic summary.

The small numbers in parenthesis at the end of each prose summary title listed in Contents indicates the Bible chapters and verses covered in that summary.

The number at the very end of the title listings, for both prose and poetic summaries, is the page number on which that particular summary begins.

It is recommended that the reader keep a Bible at hand and first read the Bible chapters and verses, then the prose summary followed by the poetic summary.

In most cases, the Biblical quotes in the summaries follow the New King James translation.

Matthew Prose Summary Part One: Authenticating Jesus as Messiah

Why Matthew First?

The gospel of Matthew does not take its place as the first book in the New Testament because of chronology. If that were the case, Mark would be placed first since it is considered to be the first gospel written. The gospel of Matthew is placed first because, of the four gospels, it best furnishes a bridge to the Old Testament.

Since Matthew is Jewish and since he is attempting to persuade a Jewish audience that the Jewish Jesus is the Messiah, he turns, time and again, to the Jewish scriptures, the Old Testament, to authenticate his conclusions. In doing so, he connects the old covenant to the new covenant, the Old Testament to the New Testament, building a bridge between the two.

The Genealogy as Authentication and Connection

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham begins the gospel of Matthew, thus connecting the old to the new, the prophecy to the promise. According to Old Testament prophecy, the Messiah would come through the lineage of David and Abraham. (See especially II Samuel 7:12-16 and Genesis 12:3.)

Not only does Matthew trace the lineage of Jesus to Abraham, but he notes that all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon to the Christ [the Messiah] fourteen generations (1:17). No doubt, Matthew sees the number fourteen as providential since it is twice seven, the number symbolizing completeness. Furthermore, the fourteen generations occur three times, each time marking a significant landmark in the history of God’s chosen people.

Connecting Dreams and Prophecy

Matthew tells us that when Joseph is about to secretly hide away Mary, his betrothed, because of her pregnant condition, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit (1:20). Connecting dream and prophecy, Matthew quotes Isaiah, ‘Behold the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated God with us (1:23).

Providential Sign: The Magi and the Star

Following the birth of Jesus, Magi, Wise Men from the East, arrive in Jerusalem searching for the newly born King of the Jews. Providentially, they follow a star to Bethlehem which stands still over a dwelling where the Magi find the young child with Mary His mother, and where they fall down and worship Him and present gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh (2:11).

More Substantiation

Matthew finds in Micah substantiation for Jesus having been born in Bethlehem: But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah / Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; / For out of you shall come a Ruler / Who will shepherd my people Israel (2:6). Bethlehem is also the birthplace of David.

The Lord appears to Joseph in a dream telling him to take the Child and Mary to Egypt for safety. Matthew sees this sojourn into Egypt a significant parallel to the Israelite sojourn there, and as fulfillment of Hosea’s prophecy, Out of Egypt I called My Son (2:15).

Feeling threatened and unable to identify the Child called King of the Jews by the Magi, Herod orders all the male infants of Bethlehem and its environs put to death. Matthew perceives the weeping and mourning resulting from this bloody act a fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy, A voice was heard in Ramah, / Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, / Rachel [wife of Jacob] weeping for her children, / Refusing to be comforted, because they were no more (2:18).

The Nazarene

After the death of Herod, Joseph returns to Israel with the young child and Mary, but a bloodthirsty son of Herod, Archelaus, ruled in Judea causing Joseph great fear. Through a dream, God directs Joseph to settle in the small village of Nazareth. Thus, Matthew believes this happens to fulfill that spoken by the prophets, He [the Messiah] will be called a Nazarene (2:23).

John the Baptist

When Jesus is ready to begin his ministry, he goes to John the Baptist who is prophesying and preaching in the wilderness of Judea. For some time, this prophet has been crying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! For clothing, John wore camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist; for food he ate locusts and wild honey. John fits the mold of the prophet, the first since Malachi, thus breaking a four-hundred year silence. And Matthew perceives him as fulfilling the words of Isaiah, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: / ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, / Make His paths straight’ (3:3).

The Baptism of Jesus as Confirmation

Recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, the One for whom he has been preparing the way, John sees no reason to baptize Him and refuses to do so until Jesus explains that it is fitting in order to fulfill all righteousness (3:15).

When Jesus comes up straightway out of the water, a voice from heaven is heard saying, This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased (3:17). At this point Matthew simply furnishes eye-witness account as confirmation of Jesus’ identity.

Jesus Tempted by Satan

Following his baptism, Jesus is lead by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan. After forty days of fasting, Jesus is approached by Satan. First, Satan asks Him to turn the stones into bread, presumably hoping to capitalize on Jesus’ hunger. But Jesus resists His tempter saying, It is written, ‘man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ (4:4).

In a second attempt, Satan takes Jesus to the pinnacle of the Temple and challenges Him to throw Himself down. Presumably, Satan hopes that Jesus will succumb to vanity, for he quotes scripture saying, It is written, ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you . . . lest you dash your foot against a stone’ (4:6). Jesus resists the temptation saying, It is also written, ‘you shall not tempt the Lord your God’ (4:7).

In the third attempt, Satan takes Jesus to an exceedingly high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. Then he offers the kingdoms and their glory to Jesus if Jesus will fall down and worship him. For a third time Jesus resists Satan’s temptations saying, It is written, ‘you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve’ (4:10).

Thus, Jesus resists three tantalizing temptations: power, fame, and fortune.

Jesus Begins His Ministry

Matthew next shows us Jesus based in Capernaum and ministering near the Sea of Galilee in the region of Zebulum and Naphtali thereby fulfilling a prophecy spoken by Isaiah: The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, / The way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, / Galilee of the Gentiles: / The people who sat in darkness saw a great light, / And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death / Light has dawned (4:14-16).

First, Matthew uses this messianic quote from prophetic scripture to authenticate that Jesus is the Messiah. As we know, he does this again and again thereby amassing a preponderance of evidence supporting his claim.

Second, Matthew uses the quote to substantiate the universality of the Messiah, who is the Savior for both Jew and Gentile. This region in which Jesus is carrying out His ministry, the so-called Galilee of the Gentiles, is a crossroads of the ancient world and a region once possessed by Assyria. No doubt, Matthew wishes to stress that the Messiah is for both the Jew and the Gentile as established in the covenant with Abraham which ends with the promise that through Abraham all the families of the earth will be blessed. Matthew has already shown through the genealogy at the beginning of his gospel that Jesus is the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.

Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

The words repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand introduces the ministry of both John and Jesus. John, who had prepared the way and had baptized Jesus, is presently in prison, but Jesus the One who John said would baptize with the Spirit is now busily doing so. His preaching and teaching and healing bring multitudes of people to Him from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan (4:25).

Choosing His Apostles

Matthew describes for his reader Jesus choosing four of his apostles, presumably the first four. Walking by the Sea of Galilee and seeing the two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother casting their nets into the waters, Jesus calls out to them, Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men (4:19). Peter and Andrew follow.

Further on, Jesus sees the sons of Zebedee, James and John, in their father’s boat mending their nets and calls out to them. James and John also follow.

With apostles and multitudes of people following Him, Jesus chooses a spot on a mountainside and addresses them in the most revealing of sermons, the Sermon on the Mount. We will focus on this sermon next.

Matthew Poetic Summary Part One: Authenticating Jesus as Messiah

The Apocrypha aside, no voice is heard between Malachi and the first gospel’s address;

Then four-hundred years of prophetic silence is broken by John’s cry in the wilderness.

Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight, cries this New Testament prophet

Echoing the much revered and oft quoted Old Testament prophet Isaiah who forecasted it.

Matthew wishes to verify in script that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is the Messiah of Jewish faith.

Thus, he scrupulously documents the messianic prophecy fulfilled in Jesus’ life to authenticate.

Mark may have been ahead of Matthew chronologically, but a thematic bridge was needed

To better connect the old covenant to the new, thus Matthew’s gospel is the one first seeded.

As we readily recognize, Matthew’s gospel begins with a venerable genealogy to authenticate

That Mary’s child, though of immaculate birth, belongs to the lineage of chosen designate.

He is the son of David, the son of Abraham; he is the Messiah prophesied, the Savior to come;

He is God’s anointed One for transforming the Jewish world, and summarily that of everyone.

Matthew sees the genealogy symbolically divine since there are three perfect divisions of fourteen:

From Abraham to David, David to captivity, captivity to Christ are the three perfect divisions seen.

Mary’s child poses for Joseph a problem most profound, his being unaware of the child’s divinity.

Being a just man and considerate toward his betrothed, Joseph thought of hiding her away secretly.

Then through a dream an angel tells him that Mary’s child was by the Holy Spirit conceived.

Thus, Joseph found great cause to rejoice; the miracle had been revealed and his mind relieved.

Mary too responds wisely and wonderfully to this miracle and her humble role therein,

But that message, the so-called Magnificat, will be for Luke to discover and to send.

Presently, Joseph learns from the angel that the child is to be called Jesus, meaning Savior,

For he will grow to save his people from their sins, fulfilling prophecy foretold long before.

Then referencing the Old Testament, Matthew quotes the prophet Isaiah foretelling it thus:

A virgin shall bear a Son and they shall call Him Immanuel, meaning God is with us.

From a far away land came the Magi, Wise Men from the east, to witness this holy event.

In Jerusalem they ask the whereabouts of the new born king, thus putting Herod in a snit.

Seek him out forthwith so that I too may worship him the dissembling Herod tells them,

And so the Magi follow their guiding star till it stands still over a dwelling in Bethlehem.

Seeing the child with his mother Mary, the Magi fall face forward the miracle to behold.

In adoration, they open their treasures and give Him gifts: myrrh, frankincense, and gold.

Providentially warned, the Magi ignore Herod’s request to report the revered child’s residence

And return by different route, yet blood flows in Bethlehem as soldiers slay its infants innocent.

Unable to locate this new born king, perceived a threat, Herod orders all infants be put to death

In Bethlehem and its environs, presuming wholesale slaughter will deprive this child of breath.

This awful atrocity Matthew sees as prophecy fulfilled and turns to Jeremiah to authenticate:

He foretells Rachel, weeping and mourning for her slain children, overwrought and inconsolate.

Before Herod’s slaughter of the innocents, an angel gave warning to Joseph through a dream

Telling him to flee with the child and the mother to Egypt, thus thwarting Herod’s scheme.

Joseph, acting on the angel’s warning, gathers his family together anon and departs by night.

In Egypt the family stayed until Herod passed away, so that their returning would be all right.

Their stay in Egypt, Matthew knew, was significant, for it paralleled a previous Jewish one

And, furthermore, it fulfilled Hosea’s messianic prophecy, Out of Egypt I called My Son.

Back in Israel things seem uncertain, for in Judea now reigned Herod’s son posing a threat,

But through a dream God guides Joseph to the region of Galilee and the town of Nazareth.

Joseph may have wondered why God would send the Child to a place so lacking in esteem,

But Matthew knew: to fulfill that spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene.’

In Nazareth, Matthew leaves the Child and turns to John the Baptist, prophet contemporary.

This holy man roaming the wilderness crying repentance gave the Jews both joy and worry.

Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, cries John, clothed in camel’s hair and leather,

Addressing the Jews from Jerusalem, Judea, and the region of the Jordan, all of them together.

Many people come to John confessing their sins and are baptized by him in the river Jordan,

But viewing the Pharisees and Sadducees coming forward, he knows hypocrisy is at hand.

John will have no part of empty ritual; he will have no part of ritual for ritual’s sake.

He prepares for the One who will baptize with Holy Spirit and fire, make no mistake.

Pharisees and Sadducees are sorely shocked to hear: Brood of vipers! Are any of you a recruit?

But John wants it unequivocally clear: repentance is repentance only when there is worthy fruit.

No longer rely on the old distortion, Being a descendant of Abraham, I am surely safe as I am.

Condemningly, John cries out, God is able to raise up from stones descendants of Abraham.

Furthermore, repentance is not something to put off, warns John, again speaking metaphorically:

Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees; each fruitless tree to be cut for fire eternally.

Continuing figuratively, John communicates vividly the thorough cleansing that is to come.

The One who follows him comes with winnowing fork in hand surveying what must be done,

"And He will thoroughly purge His threshing floor, and gather into the barn His wheat,

But all the chaff He will burn up with unquenchable fire," says John, as if to repeat.

It is no mystery that of the four gospel writers, Matthew is the most clear about Judgment Day:

God’s Son’s sacrifice can wash our sins away, but the price for non-repentance is hell to pay.

The imperative of repentance frankly addressed, John turns to the initial ministry of Jesus

Who comes to him seeking baptism and causing this prophet to put up something of a fuss.

You should be baptizing me, not the reverse, says John, I am not worthy your sandals to hold

Only after Jesus explains that His baptism will fulfill righteousness does John become less bold.

When Jesus comes straightway out of the water, John’s spirit no longer longs to be appeased,

For a voice from heaven is heard saying, This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.

After His baptism the Spirit leads Jesus to the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Thus, the son of man and Son of God must confront old Satan thereby exposing evil.

After fasting for forty days and forty nights and experiencing hunger severe,

Jesus hears the devil approaching to whisper most tempting words into his ear.

If you are the Son of God command these stones to turn to bread, says the devil snide.

It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by God’s word, Jesus wisely replied.

A second time old Satan approaches Jesus hoping to tempt Him into violating His perfection,

Thereby disqualifying the Son as the perfect sacrifice, and for the sin of Adam the correction.

Taking Jesus to the holy city and upon the pinnacle of the Temple, Satan challenges mockingly,

If you are God’s Son, throw Yourself down, for Scripture says angels always shield Thee.

Scripture also says you shall not tempt the Lord your God, answers Jesus authoritatively.

On the third try, Satan takes Jesus to the highest peak showing him all the kingdoms known.

They are Yours, he says, if only You worship me. Unfazed, Jesus replies in even tone,

Away with you Satan, for it is written you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone.

All efforts thwarted, Satan leaves and angels come to minister to Jesus the perfect One.

Who is now ready to begin His ministry having received baptism and Satan overcome.

Matthew next shows us Jesus in the region of Galilee in the city of Capernaum by the sea,

A most significant place for it further substantiates Jesus through Old Testament prophecy:

It is the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan;

It is the Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness; it is prophet Isaiah again,

The prophet most focused on a Messiah who intends also to bring Gentiles light and reality.

Thus, Matthew quotes him to authenticate not only Jesus’ divinity but also His universality.

Matthew intends to authenticate unequivocally to Jews Jesus is the Messiah who has come,

And to Gentiles a Light revealed as Isaiah says and as confirmed in the Great Commission.

But for now at Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus begins to preach and begins as did John

Saying, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is a hand," thus confirming John’s prophetic forecast.

Later we learn that the people of Nazareth, Jesus’ home town, had hostilely rejected Him en masse.

In one respect so ironic, yet knowing human nature, not so: Jesus challenges the status quo, alas!

He said Himself, a prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and his own home.

So He goes to cities by the Sea of Galilee to select apostles and to preach where less well known.

This region, a geographic crossroads of the ancient world, would hardly think of Jesus as its own.

Repentance is the essence of His message, for neither Jew nor Gentile are without old Adam’s sin.

And in a post Adam world filled with sin, repentance is the only remedy in preparing for its end.

So Jesus steadfastly prescribes it for all: Jew or Gentile, poor or rich, old or young, woman or man.

Walking by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus sees two brothers, one Simon called Peter, one called Andrew,

Who busily cast their nets into the water as they practice their trade as fisherman, these brothers two.

Viewing them most favorably, Jesus calls out, come follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.

Unhesitatingly, the brothers leave their nets and follow this One who speaks with figurative bend.

Soon Jesus has followers four, for He calls out again, this time to Zebedee’s two sons, James and John

Who together help their father mend his fishing nets, yet they sense that He who calls is number one.

Not only is Jesus choosing His apostles, he is also visiting the synagogues of Galilee

Preaching the kingdom and healing the sick, both activities defining His divine ministry.

His healing fame spreads rapidly, and people come from Syria and Judea and further away.

There are the epileptics, paralytics, demon-possessed, and the diversely diseased of the day.

Consequently, wherever Jesus goes—from Galilee to Jerusalem—crushing multitudes abound.

The Sermon on the Mount is case in point; Jesus must address the multitude from high ground.

Symbolically for Matthew, it is Sinai revisited, the Son now interpreting and handing down.

Thus, this gospel writer continues to authenticate Jesus divine: now through sermon profound.

But before we explore the sermon portion of Matthew, let us punch the button hold

Giving ourselves some time to digest what has been said thus far before more is told.

Matthew Prose Summary Part Two: The Sermon on the Mount

Sinai in the Sermon on the Mount

Of the four gospel writers, only Matthew and Luke include the sermon and they present differing versions. Matthew’s version is not only longer than Luke’s version, but is more attuned to Sinai as will be noted later. According to Matthew, great crowds of people are following Jesus, whose miraculous healings have drawn multitudes from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan (4:25). Seeing the multitudes, Jesus goes up on a mountain where his disciples come to him and where he teaches them, his teachings in this case being the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew does not give a lot of specifics about the occasion, place, and audience, but does say that Jesus went up on a mountain and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him (5:1). Jesus may have wanted to get away from the pressing crowds in order to address His disciples specifically. On the other hand, Jesus may have wanted to place himself on high ground so that he could more effectively address larger numbers of people, his disciples foremost but others as well. For Matthew reports, the people [crowds ?] were astonished at His teaching (7:28).

Whatever the configuration, it is important to Matthew that the sermon, a distillation of Jesus’ teachings, functions as a parallel to the giving of the Law at Sinai, thus symbolically connecting the Old Testament with the New. Again on a mountain, the Lord clarifies the ways of God to humanity. Jesus states emphatically that He has come not to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (5:17). His sermon demonstrates how the spirit of the Law given at Sinai has been stifled as the actions and teachings of the scribes and the Pharisees demonstrate.

The Sermon on the Mount does not reject the Law; it provides a blueprint for fulfilling its spirit.

Blessedness in the Sermon on the Mount

Jesus begins the sermon with examples of blessed attitudes, each example reflecting an attitude in sync with the spirit of the Law given at Sinai prescribing the relationship between God and humanity (between the Creator and the created), between person and person. Why are the poor in spirit blessed? Because they are submissive to God’s will. Why are the pure in heart blessed? Because they love God with all their heart, soul and mind. Why are the peacemakers blessed? Because they love others as they love themselves. Why are the persecuted blessed? Because they love God more than they love the world. Thus, blessedness is grounded in love, for the spirit of the Law is grounded in love. One can carry out the letter of the Law without love, but not the spirit of the Law.

The Covenant and the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew tells us that Jesus addresses the sermon to His disciples. Would not His disciples be the ones who have answered His call and who are in a covenant relationship with Him? And in this sermon is He not revealing the requisites of this covenant relationship? Is He not revealing that the covenant requisites are grounded in the spirit of the Law? Does He not insist that the spirit of the Law is grounded in love, a love that guides the heart’s attitudes? The love of God comes first, for it is the love of God that guides the appropriate attitudes of the heart. Witness His first example of blessedness: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (5:3). Their love of God supersedes their love of themselves, and it is this spirit of love that guides the attitude of their hearts. The poor in spirit have placed God’s will above their own, an essential step to blessedness. It is the appropriate attitude that leads to blessedness; it is the spirit of love that transforms the heart and leads to the appropriate attitude. The covenant is broken when the spirit of the Law is broken. The letter of the Law is not enough. There can be a huge discrepancy between the letter of the Law and the spirit of the Law.

Jesus poignantly illustrates the discrepancy between the letter of the Law and the spirit of the Law in His references to the Commandments. Let’s look at His reference to the seventh Commandment: You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ / But I say to you whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (5:27-28). As this example illustrates, man can stay within the letter of the Law and still break the spirit of the Law and thereby break the covenant. Keeping the letter of the Law is not keeping the covenant; keeping the spirit of the Law is keeping the covenant.

Being in a covenant relationship with God, Old Testament or New Testament (Old Covenant or New Covenant), presumes requisites. God is the Creator; we are the created. God created the heavens and the earth and its inhabitants and designed the laws that govern His creation; consequently, it is the Creator who must reveal how the design works, and it is we, the created, who must heed this revelation if we wish to be in sync with God’s design.

God attempting to guide mankind to this awareness through a covenant relationship is the story of both the Old and the New Testaments. The Old Testament addresses God’s covenant with the Israelites and the New Testament addresses God’s covenant with the Church. Jesus supersedes Abraham and the Church supersedes the Israelites, but like the Israelites the persons who comprise the Church are the chosen ones, the covenanted ones, and like the Israelites they have an awesome responsibility as Jesus affirms in the Sermon on the Mount and reaffirms in the Great Commission.

As the Sermon on the Mount makes abundantly clear, the state of blessedness, which is to say righteousness, entails more than living by the letter of the Law; righteousness entails love for God and His designed ways. It is through such love that the spirit of the Law is discerned, and it is through such discernment that appropriate attitudes of blessedness evolve.

The Role of the Blessed

You [the blessed] are the salt of the earth . . . . You are the light of the world (5:13-14). The blessed are the salt of the earth and the light of the world because they are the exemplary ones; they are exemplary because they live by the Creator’s design and carry out the covenant in so doing. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed, states the covenant with Abraham [Gen. 12:3]. At Sinai the Lord furnishes clarification of how this covenant requisite is to be carried out by giving the Law to the Israelites through Moses. Centuries later in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord furnishes further clarification through Jesus, a descendant of Abraham [see Matthew’s genealogy 1:1-17].

Love and faith sustain the Law by sustaining the spirit that guides the heart in recognizing appropriate attitudes, attitudes in conformity with the spirit of the Law, which is to say in conformity with the Creator’s design of things. It is these attitudes that lead to the state of blessedness. The state of blessedness takes various forms such as the poor in spirit, the meek, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers.

Utilizing metaphor, Jesus compares the blessed to salt and light. Their example furnishes savor and light to a savorless and dark world making it imperative that they themselves not lose their savoriness nor hide their light, for the Lord depends on these covenant keepers to spread the blessings of savor and light to all the families of the earth.

In this sermon, Jesus frequently uses figurative language to impress upon His disciples that discipleship entails awesome responsibility. As he leaves them to ascend to heaven, He addresses this awesome responsibility again, but this time speaking explicitly: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations . . . . (28:19).

The Letter of the Law versus the Spirit of the Law

Ironically, the guardians of the Law, for whatever reasons, proved blind to its spirit. Both John and Jesus harshly condemn these guardians. John condemns the Pharisees and the Sadducees who come to him for baptism saying, Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come?(3:7). Addressing His disciples, Jesus says, . . . unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven (5:20). Clearly, the scribes and the Pharisees were blind to the spirit of the Law.

With pertinent examples presented through powerful rhetoric, particularly antithesis, Jesus dramatizes this reality. He frames the antithesis in a repetitive framework: You have heard that it was said of old, but I say to you . . . . Utilizing this antithetical framework Jesus will choose a particular law, be it one of the Commandments or one of the Mosaic laws, thereby contrasting the law’s perceived limited meaning (what might be called the letter of the law) to the law’s intrinsic meaning (which might be called the spirit of the law). Let’s look at a few examples.

Choosing the sixth Commandment, Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,’ and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. / But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment (5:22-23). Here, He explodes the letter of the law view revealing that transgression begins with attitude and that attitude is determined by the heart, giving greater meaning to blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Still utilizing this antithetical framework, He says, You have heard that it was said,‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ / But I tell you not to resist an evil person . . . whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also (5:38-39). Here, He dramatizes the limitations of following only the letter of the law which in this case limits the level of revenge but ignores compassion. In the same rhetorical mode, Jesus says, You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighborand hate your enemy.’ / But I say to you love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you . . . for if you love [only] those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (5:43-46). Here, He again dramatizes the importance of going beyond the letter of the law. In a later setting, Jesus provides further clarification to the spirit of this law in the parable of the Good Samaritan, His response to the lawyer’s intended self-justifying question, Who is my neighbor ?" (Luke 10:29).

Appropriately, Jesus sums up this portion of the sermon by saying, Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (5:48), cutting through tons of legalism to keep eye and heart focused on the essential, the spirit of the Law.

Purity of Motivation

Jesus continues to stress the heart factor. If a charitable deed is done for self-exaltation, it becomes an act of self-righteousness and, thus, offensive to God. When prayer is uttered to be praised by those around, it becomes offensive to God. Using hyperbole for effect, Jesus says in reference to charitable deeds, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (6:4). And in reference to prayer, He says, . . . when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father . . . who sees in secret and will reward you openly (6:6).

Jesus instructs His disciples how to pray by giving them a model prayer, the prayer that we call The Lord’s Prayer (6:10-13), and which emphasizes attitude of perfection: carrying out God’s