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In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Prov 3:6 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Sunday, September 28, 2025
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Overview of the New Testament: Gospels BibleVerse:Matthew 5:38-42, 15:7-11 (ESV) "You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” * * * “You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”" Message:
Matthew is not the oldest of the four gospels — Mark is — so why is it the first book of the New Testament? It’s hard to say, but personally, if I could only have one book of the Bible, it would have to be Matthew; so perhaps the church fathers who compiled the canonical Bible felt the same way. In fact, Matthew might actually be one of the last books of the New Testament to be written; nobody is quite sure. Only the writings of John are certainly later.
Angel illuminated Bible
It is good enough, for most purposes, to say simply that Matthew wrote his Gospel, and we will adopt this as a convention; however, various signs in it indicate that it was written (at least in its final form) by some extraordinary individual later on, perhaps after Matthew had already died. We know that the Apostle Matthew, who was educated, took extensive written notes of Christ’s teachings in Hebrew and/or Aramaic. Most likely, the author of Matthew combined these notes, translated into Greek, with teachings from Mark and other sources, into the most comprehensive of the four gospels, and then called it the Gospel according to Matthew because of the unique source material. Possibly, the author had spoken with Matthew in person.
The Gospel of Matthew is different from the Gospels of Mark and Luke (the other “Synoptic” Gospels) in several ways. First, Matthew is not as chronological or historical as Mark and Luke. While they seek to give a biography of Jesus’ adult life, Matthew is not as painstaking about who did what, and when; it is more concerned to tell a story with cohesive themes. At points where Matthew differs in details with Luke or (especially) Mark, it is wise to think of the other Gospel as a more accurate historical record.
The thematic treatment reflects the purpose of the Gospel: to bring the good news to the Jews, convincing them that Jesus was the Messiah. Matthew has been called the “Gospel to the Jews,” and the term is apt. Beginning with chapter 1 verse 1 and continuing throughout, Matthew constantly links the life of Jesus to Old Testament prophecy. There are more Old Testament quotes in Matthew than the other three Gospels combined.
Matthew begins with a long genealogy showing that Jesus’ lineage extended directly to David. While the modern reader usually just skips over this long recitation of names, it was a critical proof to the Jews of the first century, for it showed them that Jesus had the right, by lineage, to be the anointed King of Israel. The many Old Testament prophecies are tied to events in Jesus’ life to show, also, that He was the messiah foretold by the great prophets of Judaism for over a thousand years.
The final outstanding characteristic of Matthew is its organization, which is unique. It is divided into sections of biographical/historical narrative, interspersed with five blocks of teaching on a single general subject. The most famous of these, the Sermon on the Mount, takes up three full chapters (5-7).
Meditation : “A refusal to correct is a refusal to love.” Prov. 13:24, The Message Prayer : Lord, in utter humility I thank you and glorify you, that you might hear the prayer of one so small as myself, amidst the billions of souls among billions of stars in one of billions of galaxies in your universe. Let me go forth in your peace, keeping your Spirit always in my mind; and bless me, I pray, that I might always follow your will and live in the radiance of your blessing,,,Amen. |
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