_Introduction to the Book of Matthew, for the Friend Investiture Achievement
_As part of the Friend Investiture Achievement, we will be reading the book of Matthew. Matthew
is also the source of the scripture on our SAIL Pathfinder logo: You are the light of the world. A
city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but
on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV)
The book of Matthew is the first of the four Gospels in the New Testament. It tells the story of Jesusʼ life, death and resurrection as well as his teachings. What do we mean by the word “Gospel?” The literal translation is “Good News.” The Gospel is the Good News of salvation, the birth, death and resurrection of Christ to take away our sins. This he has freely given to all people for all time - if they are willing to accept the gift. Christ himself taught the Gospel, or Good News, about salvation when he was on earth. Matthew 4:23 (NKJV) tells us, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”
When we call the first four books of the New Testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - the Gospels, we are saying that these four books tell the Good News of the life and teachings of Christ. Three of these books - Matthew, Mark and Luke - are very similar in content and style. The fourth - John - approaches the story of the life of Christ in a different manner. The similar three are sometimes referred to as the “Synoptic Gospels.” Synoptic is a fancy way of saying that they see together, or take a common view of something. (Syn means together, or the same, like the word synonym, and optic means to see, and is the same root as in optometrist, or eye doctor.)
Have you ever read stories about Jesus in the Bible in different Gospel books? Sometimes they read almost exactly the same, as in the story of the paralytic man and his four friends, found in Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:3-12 and Luke 5:18-26. You can really see here how all three of the Gospel writers could “see together” the story. This similarity of retelling the story can help strengthen our belief in the story.
Sometimes, however, the Gospel writers seem to have a different perspective on a story. look at the different ways Matthew, Mark and Luke retell the story of Peter when the rooster crows and he realizes he has denied Jesus (Matthew 26:75, Mark 14:72, Luke 22:61). There are different details retold in these. Do these differences make the Gospels less true? No, they do not. They rather show different perspectives and intended audiences.
Have you and your friends ever told about something you did, and each of you has a little different point of view, or focuses on a different aspect of the story? Have you ever told a story differently for your parents and for your friends, because each would understand it a little differently? A similar thing happens in the Gospels - each writer comes from a different perspective, has a different audience, and thus will tell the same story slightly different. But we believe the scripture is the inspired word, that God moved the authors to write, and so we can trust what they have written.
As we explore the book of Matthew together, we will learn more about who Matthew was, who he was writing for and when, and this will help us better understand how he chooses to retell the Good News, and what it means for us today.
The book of Matthew is the first of the four Gospels in the New Testament. It tells the story of Jesusʼ life, death and resurrection as well as his teachings. What do we mean by the word “Gospel?” The literal translation is “Good News.” The Gospel is the Good News of salvation, the birth, death and resurrection of Christ to take away our sins. This he has freely given to all people for all time - if they are willing to accept the gift. Christ himself taught the Gospel, or Good News, about salvation when he was on earth. Matthew 4:23 (NKJV) tells us, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”
When we call the first four books of the New Testament - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - the Gospels, we are saying that these four books tell the Good News of the life and teachings of Christ. Three of these books - Matthew, Mark and Luke - are very similar in content and style. The fourth - John - approaches the story of the life of Christ in a different manner. The similar three are sometimes referred to as the “Synoptic Gospels.” Synoptic is a fancy way of saying that they see together, or take a common view of something. (Syn means together, or the same, like the word synonym, and optic means to see, and is the same root as in optometrist, or eye doctor.)
Have you ever read stories about Jesus in the Bible in different Gospel books? Sometimes they read almost exactly the same, as in the story of the paralytic man and his four friends, found in Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:3-12 and Luke 5:18-26. You can really see here how all three of the Gospel writers could “see together” the story. This similarity of retelling the story can help strengthen our belief in the story.
Sometimes, however, the Gospel writers seem to have a different perspective on a story. look at the different ways Matthew, Mark and Luke retell the story of Peter when the rooster crows and he realizes he has denied Jesus (Matthew 26:75, Mark 14:72, Luke 22:61). There are different details retold in these. Do these differences make the Gospels less true? No, they do not. They rather show different perspectives and intended audiences.
Have you and your friends ever told about something you did, and each of you has a little different point of view, or focuses on a different aspect of the story? Have you ever told a story differently for your parents and for your friends, because each would understand it a little differently? A similar thing happens in the Gospels - each writer comes from a different perspective, has a different audience, and thus will tell the same story slightly different. But we believe the scripture is the inspired word, that God moved the authors to write, and so we can trust what they have written.
As we explore the book of Matthew together, we will learn more about who Matthew was, who he was writing for and when, and this will help us better understand how he chooses to retell the Good News, and what it means for us today.