Matthew: the Prism

. The questions and answers may be found in the audio recording and below, in the text of this post. Questions: Who devoted considerable time, expense, and energy to finding the Christ… Read More

. Following are 7 of my favorite passages in Matthew on the relationship of Christ to the Old Testament. 5:17—Jesus fulfills the Law. 22:40—Love as fulfillment the of Law. 23:23—The… Read More

Matthew is mentioned in Matthew 9:9 and 10:3, and comes from Capernaum. His other name is Levi, son of Alpheus (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27). Matthew collected taxes for Herod Antipas, tetrarch… Read More

. In this unit of our series, we make a rapid review of (most of) what we’ve learned so far in the Prism series.  

. Resurrection (Matt 28:1-10) Terrified men & courageous women First witnesses of resurrection are women. Worship (v.9) Commission (Matt 28:11-20) Mountain—connection with Matt 5 and 17, and with Moses Worship—and Jesus… Read More

. Rich man (Matt 27:57-61) Isa 53:9 Wisdom 2:12—”Let us lie in wait for the righteous one, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for… Read More

. Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani? (Matt 27:45-50) Darkness (not an eclipse) Eli ~ Eliyahu Psalm 22 The Tear (Matt 27:51-54) Torn curtain = access to God. The raising of the… Read More

. Before Pilate (Matt 27:15-19) Release: Barabbas, or Jesus? In a way, Jesus substitutes for Barabbas—for you and me! Dream—reminds us of the disturbed sleep of Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Darius, or… Read More

. Betrayal Theme in Psalter David Joseph Christ Last Supper & Arrest Covenant – prophesied in the O.T. (Jer 31:31-34; Isa 42:6; 49:8; 54:10; 55:3; 59:21; etc). Kingdom – exaltation… Read More

. Parable of the Foolish Virgins (Matt 25:11-13) “Lord, Lord”—see Matt 7:21. Authority to grant entry into the kingdom Parable of the Sheep & Goats (25:31-45) “Son of man” (Divine)… Read More

. Judgment (Matt 23:33-39) Presumes sending of prophets after his return to heaven. Notice his divine authority. (Who else would “send prophets”?) V.39 (like 21:10) connects to Psalm 118:26. The… Read More

. The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matt 22:1-7) Wedding motif Messianic banquet (Isa 25; Ezek 39) Son Burning of Jerusalem (70 AD) Son of David Matt 22:41-45 Ps 1101… Read More

. Let’s now finish our study of Matthew 21. We have devoted significant time to several key Messianic prophets. Today this brings us to the Psalms—especially Ps 118—and Isaiah 28…. Read More

. The Triumphal Entry (Matt 21:2-5) Zech 9:9—prophecy of Messiah mounted on a donkey. The donkey as a royal animal, though also making for a humble entrance. In the Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a)… Read More

. We have reached the midpoint of the Prism series (15 units behind us, 15 units in front of us, after this reflection. Ransom (Matt 20:25-28) Ransom is one of… Read More

  The Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matt 18:12-14) YHWH as Father, but also Shepherd Messiah as Shepherd Ideal Davidic king as shepherd Binding & Loosing (Matt 18:18-20) Jesus’ unique… Read More

. ID (Matt 16:13-19) Why these persons? Jesus (through his ministry, lifestyle, words…) reminds people of Jeremiah, Elijah, et al. Keys – Isaiah 22 (Eliakim, Shebna) but also YHWH –… Read More

. Jesus feeds 5000 (Matt 14:20-21) Elisha fed 100 (2 Kings 4:42-44) 20:100 ÷ 5:5000 (1:5 vs. 1:1000) ~ 0.2%! Jesus is a prophet, but much greater than a prophet… Read More

. Jesus’ ministry (Matt 12:15-21) Jesus did not want too much publicity: too much notoriety, too soon, and his arrest and execution would have come before he had completed other… Read More

. Jesus & John (Matt 11:1-6) Sensitivity to John “In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see. Once… Read More

  Big ideas so far: God’s kingdom includes Jews and Gentiles, men and women, the good, the bad & the ugly. Jesus fulfills the Scriptures by fulfilling Israel’s purpose, by… Read More

  Calming the Sea (Matt 8:23-27) The is the action of Yahweh in the OT Psalm 65:7 Implication of divinity Forgiving sins (Matt 9:1-4) Only God can forgive sins. Implication… Read More

. Jesus heals the leper (Matt 8:1-4) This connects with the bird baptism passage of Lev 14! Several connections with Christ: the water, the wood, the blood (yarn), cleansing (hyssop),… Read More

  The Sermon on the Mount: Matt 5:1/8:1 These chapters are the epitome of Jesus’ teaching. A scenario like Exodus 20 (Sinai)—Jesus and Moses Up and down a mountain 10… Read More

The assault: Satan attacks by trying to get Jesus to doubt his identity as Son of God. Jesus’ three temptations correspond to three temptations to which Israel gave in: to… Read More

Review—Some big ideas in Matthew 1-2: The man Jesus is the Christ, son of David and son of Abraham. Yet his lineage (as Matthew relates it) honors a number of… Read More

Hosea 11:1—When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 The more they were called, the more they went away; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and burning offerings to… Read More

Pagan stargazers! Persia? Babylon? In Ezra 7:8-9, Ezra came from Babylon (modern Iraq) to Jerusalem, taking four months to arrive! The irony of this passage is that outsiders—foreigners (the Magi)—recognize… Read More

Joseph was a great husband, protecting and trusting his wife, who technically could have been executed for promiscuity while still living in her father’s household (Deut 22:21). No evidence that… Read More

OT genealogies take their name from the progenitor, the first name in the list. But here the genealogy is designated according to the last member in the list! Note also… Read More

The 2023 devotional series explores how Matthew’s gospel sheds light on Christ in the Old Testament. These daily messages are intended to bring inspiration and insight as we appreciate the… Read More