Matthew 1: 1-17 New International Version   1 This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2  Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3  Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4  Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6  and Jesse the father of King David.   David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 7   Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah,Abijah the father of Asa, 8  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9  Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.   12  After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14  Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, 15  Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. 17  Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. Sometimes the Bible can leave your head spinning. It was overwhelming, and yet it didn't seem like there was very much to walk away with. There is some important information here. The point of this blog is to pull that information out for you. There is more coming in the next few days. I'm just testing how to enter posts on the page. DON'T MISS THE ADDITIONAL MATERIAL I ADDED TO THE ORIGINAL POST.

Image 1Image 1 Different bible descriptions like exp: "King James version" and "New International " versions exist because they represent different English translations of the Bible. There are many versions. We generally use the New International Version- NIV. If you don't have a bible you can go to     https://www.biblegateway.com/ Introduction: To kick off this blog, we're inviting you to dive into the Gospel of Matthew and let us know what you think right here on the blog. The first book of the New Testament is "The Gospel according to Matthew." There are 28 chapters in the book of Matthew. Each chapter of the Bible has verses for easy reference. The New Testament centers around the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Post #1- POSTING #1 THE CHIASM IN MATTHEW 2/20/2025 Thank you Trish, I think exploring and learning about the Book of Matthew is a great idea. I want to start with some background information...more to come. The Book of Matthew is a wonderful place to start this online Bible Study Blog. This Blog is not meant to replace the Tuesday Bible Study. That is a small group. I think we learn best in a group setting. This Blog is intended to help those who cannot make the Tuesday Bible Study, although everyone is encouraged to follow along with us. Trish came up with the idea and chose Matthew. We are disciples. How should we live? The Book of Matthew has more teachings of Jesus than any other Book of the Bible. If you have a “red letter” Bible, where the words of Jesus are printed in red, this feature just jumps out at you. Solid sections of red highlighting the teachings of Jesus. All of that red sums up what Jesus thought you should know about the Kingdom of God and your place in it. I think the Book of Matthew can be summed up as: “The Blessed are disciples of Jesus. How should the Blessed live in the Kingdom of God?”    The five major blocks of Jesus’ teaching in the Book of Matthew form a chiasm. A chiasm is a literary device that uses inverted parallelism. Each verse, or section of verses, has a corresponding “partner” that are opposite each other in a stair case pattern that works up to a main point and then reverses the order, such as A-B-B-A or A-B-C-B-A. A chiasm is a common literary device. They occur frequently in the Bible. One of my major focuses in this blog is to help you read the Bible. Understanding a chiasm is a part of that learning. The center of the chiasm is usually the theological message or point of the passage. All of the outside elements help explain or contribute in some way to our understanding of the middle. I want you to be able to grasp the message God intended you to know. What sets these five teachings apart as separate units? Each of the five major blocks of teaching begin with Jesus in a specific context where He is teaching some combination of the disciples and/or crowds. The second feature that links these 5 teachings together in the chiasm is that they all have a common ending: “When Jesus had finished…” (7:28, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, 26:1). These two features help to segment the five blocks of teachings. A1  Mt. 5-7: Who are the Blessed? (The righteousness of a disciple of Jesus is compared to the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes.)                 B1  Mt. 10: The work of the Blessed. (Evangelism) C  Mt. 13: The Blessed belong to the The Kingdom of God. (Disciples understand the parables about the Kingdom of God; the crowd does not.)                 B2  Mt. 18: The work of the Blessed. (Restoration of sinners.) A2  Mt. 23-25: Who are the Blessed? (The Blessed, disciples, are sheep. Those who are not blessed by God are goats. The Pharisees and those who reject Jesus are goats.) The two outside elements of the chiasm, chapters 5-7 and 23-25, both have a comparison of the Pharisees to the disciples in common. Chapters 5-7 compare their respective level of righteousness and 23-25 compare the final judgements of each. Chapters 23-25 are the opposing elements (A2) to Chapters 5-7. While the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount begins with nine “blessings”, Chapter 23 starts with either seven or eight “woes” pronounced on the Pharisees and Scribes (23: 13-30). The final block of teaching ends with an answer as to “who are the blessed.” The blessed are those who love Jesus by loving others (25:31-46). Therefore, three things that link the outside elements of this chiasm are: 1.      A comparison between a Pharisee and a disciple. 2.      Blessings compared to woes. 3.      We see how a disciple in the Kingdom of God is expected to live . The two inner portions of the chiasm both look at the work or the job that God has for a disciple. They are to spread the Good News that the Kingdom of God is here to those that do not know. Additionally, disciples of Jesus are instructed as to how to restore believers who have wandered off of the path of righteousness and back into sin. The work of God is forgiveness. The work of a disciple is to spread that news of forgiveness and to guide to restoration those who once heard it but have chosen to exchange it for a lie.  All four of these passages point to the center of the Kingdom of God and help us to fully understand what this new Kingdom is all about. Jesus presents a picture of what the Kingdom is like through a series of parables. The crowds do not understand. The disciples do not understand without Jesus in two of the parables, however, the final third of Chapter 13 contains a grouping of three parables that the disciples do understand on their own. We understand because we have the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-16). I will have another post or two on the context of the Book of Matthew before I begin exploring the actual verses. I think understanding who wrote the Book and to whom it was written, etc. helps us understand the Book better. Post #2 -    Who wrote the Gospel According to Matthew and to Whom? I am continuing exploring the context of Matthew. Understanding who wrote the book and to whom it was written will help us to grasp the meaning of what we are reading. Who wrote the Gospel of Matthew? DUH! It seems rather obvious that who wrote the Book of Matthew was Matthew, but many people disagree. The reality is we do not really know. Nowhere in the text does it say Matthew wrote it. It is believed that the Title “According to Matthew” was added in the 2nd century CE. Even the title varies depending upon the ancient manuscript, “The Gospel According to Matthew” is also used, adding further evidence that the title is not original. Whoever wrote Matthew was a Jew. This is the most Jewish of the Gospels. It has more Old Testament scripture quotations than any of the other Gospels. (Matthew 60; Mark 31; Luke 26; John 16). The first sentence tells us Jesus was the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Factors only a Jew would write about and only a Jew would  consider important. I think evidence points to Matthew as the author. So…who was Matthew. First and foremost he was a tax collector. He had two names: Matthew and Levi. Because he was a tax collector he would have been an educated man. He would have been fluent in Greek in order to have an official capacity. Important to note, Matthew identifies himself personally as a tax collector (Mt. 9:9 and 10:3). Luke and Mark use the name Levi instead of Matthew. (Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27-29). It was common for people to have two names, one Greek and one Hebrew. Several examples are: Paul (Greek name)/ Saul (Hebrew name) Thomas (Hebrew or Aramaic) / Didymus (Greek)  John Mark sometimes together John (Hebrew)/ Mark (Greek) Bartholomew (Greek) believed to be also Nathanael (Hebrew) Tabitha (Hebrew, Aramaic)/ Dorcas (Greek) Pastor Joe (American name)/ Nimrod (mighty hunter Hebrew name)      I believe Matthew was his Roman / Greek name and Levi was his Jewish name. While I personally do think Matthew wrote the Gospel, it is just an educated guess. Some of the other factors that lead me to Matthew’s authorship: 1.     It was a unanimous belief among the early church leaders and historians. From the very beginning it was attested as Matthews work. Papias, Ignatius Bishop of Antioch (more on him later), Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, Origen.  Matthew is listed first in our Bibles from the earliest times because it was believed to have been written first. (People argue about that too, but it is irrelevant to our purposes.) 2.     Matthew self identifies as a tax collector. I think that shows humility, repentance, honesty, and a firm realization he has been forgiven. 3.     A tax collector would have been educated and fluent in Greek. He could have written this Gospel. A fisherman would have had issues. 4.     If it was not Matthew, why would someone make it up??? Matthew would not be a logical choice. Matthew was a “minor” apostle, not mentioned very often. And, as stated above, he was a tax collector. Not my first choice if I was making it up. 5.     Matthew mentions specific coins, not mentioned in the other Gospel accounts. Why? Because he formerly was a tax collector. (17:2417:27; 18:24) 6.     The Book of Matthew, by my account, is the most anti-Pharisee of the four Gospels. (see Matthew chapters 22 and 23.) Matthew 5:20 New International Version 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Red letters indicate Jesus’ words.)   The Pharisees hated the tax collectors, and most likely the tax collectors felt the same in return. The Holy Spirit inspired the writers, but God used the writers for who they were. That comes across in the Bible if you look for it. (Paul was an expert in the Law. He was a Pharisee. He wrote and explained a lot of the theology in the New Testament using the OT scriptures. Similarly, Luke was a physician. There are more medical observations in his Gospel. John was a disciple of John the Baptist before he joined Jesus. John talks about John the Baptist more in his Gospel than other writers.)           In the end, it doesn’t matter who wrote the Gospel of Matthew. I think given the Jewishness of the Book it was a Jew. I think the evidence points to Matthew, but that is my guess. Who did Matthew write this for?   To Whom Whoever wrote Matthew wrote the Gospel for a group of Jewish Christians living in a Gentile community. The recipients of the Gospel are never identified. Again, another educated guess. Many people think Antioch, Syria was the target audience. Antioch was a major city, estimated population of 500,000.  It also had a sizable Jewish population and a synagogue. During periods of persecution of Christians in Jerusalem, they would flee. Some sought refuge in Antioch.  Antioch became a destination for persecuted Christian Jews. They began to preach to the Gentiles in Antioch and the Gentiles became believers. ( Acts 11:19-30) It was in Antioch the term Christian was first used. The Gospel spread to the Gentile world from Antioch. Paul’s three missionary journeys began from Antioch. Antioch eventually became a important center for Christianity. Previously I noted Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch. He wrote a series of letters. In those letters he quotes from the Book of Matthew. It is the earliest reference we have of the Gospel of Matthew. Ignatius was familiar with this Gospel. Was it written to or for Christians in Antioch.  Perhaps. Even if it was not written to Jewish Christians in Antioch, it is safe to say it was written to Jewish Christians. The evidence of the Jewishness of the book for who wrote it also confirms to whom. Jewish customs are not explained in Matthew, but it is assumed the reader understands them. The terms Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man, son of Abraham etc all would be appreciated by a Jewish audience. The importance of scripture being fulfilled, the law and the prophets, in Jesus equally would be important to a Jewish Christian.   One final point, the audience is not only limited to Jewish Christians. The Gospel of Matthew would have been useful for reaching Jews who already lived in the area. (Remember Antioch has a significant Jewish populations.) It also was written for Gentiles. The Christians fled Jerusalem and settled elsewhere. The Book of Matthew has a flow to it. There are indications from the very start of the Book that Gentiles would be included in the Kingdom of God. When Jesus sends out his disciples on their first efforts to proclaim the Kingdom, he advises them only to go to the Lost Sheep of Israel. (Mt. 10:5-6) Later when asked by a Canaanite woman for a miracle, Jesus says he was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel. (Mt. 15:24) After her continued pleading he heals the woman’s daughter because of her faith. (Mt 15: 21-28) Eventually, Jesus commands the disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. I think the people to whom this Gospel was written were Jewish Christians living in a Gentile Land among other Jews. Sounds a lot like Antioch.