Matthew - an overview

The four gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - are all life stories of Jesus. Each is written from a different perspective and knowing a little about those perspectives helps us understand them a bit more.
Matthew is the first gospel in the Greek Scriptures (New Testament), but probably wasn't written first. Most scholars believe that Mark was written first, and that Matthew and Luke used some of Mark's stories as reference material. Matthew, Mark and Luke are known as the synoptic gospels because they have so much in common and seem to follow a similar pattern. John is the odd gospel out and happens to be my favorite. We'll write more about each of them when we read them.
Matthew is written from a Jewish perspective, which is one reason there are many references to the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and to the Messianic prophecies. Matthew wants the reader to know that Jesus fulfills these Messianic prophecies. As Jared mentioned in his awesome teaching on Sunday, December 28, Matthew's opening genealogy (chapter 1) is also an important tie back to the line of King David, and ultimately, Abraham. In terms of the overall structure, we'll find that Matthew is basically divided into five main chunks of teachings (the first of which is known as the Sermon on the Mount) tied together by a great narrative. Noticing these main chunks will help us to understand a bit more about why Matthew wrote these stories and teachings.
5 Main Chunks of Teaching:
Matthew 5.1-7.29
Matthew 10.11-42
Matthew 13.1-52
Matthew 18.1-35
Matthew 24.1-25.46
Jump in and follow the story. This is the greatest story ever told, the story that has changed everything. And I believe that it continues to change and shape us.

Matt Anderson
Lead Pastor