The Sermon on the Mount begins in Matthew 5 and extends to chapter 7. Many consider it to be the greatest sermon ever preached. In fact, this sermon has been the most often and extensively quoted section in Scripture by Christian writers from the first until the fourth centuries (Quarles, 2011, p. 2). New Testament scholar and historian, Luke T. Johnson, pointed out that “the Sermon on the Mount has been considered an epitome of the teaching...
Matthew 4: Understanding the Enemy
Understanding our spiritual enemy is a critical endeavor when it comes to temptation. Eve ignored the devil’s devices, and became enticed with “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16; cf. Genesis 3:1-6). On the other hand, Jesus knew His enemy, and defeated him with the power of the Word (vss. 4,7,10).
There are some things the temptation of our Lord reveals about the devil...
Matthew 3: Our Savior’s Baptism
Jesus traveled from Galilee (the northern part of Palestine) to the Jordan (its most important river) to be baptized by John. No doubt, being baptized was an essential part of the beginning of His ministry. Why was Jesus baptized?
Since Jesus never committed sin (Hebrews 4:15), He was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness” (vs. 15)—Jesus was to fulfill Heaven’s requirements by submitting to baptism; John...
Matthew 2: Wisdom from the East
“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem” (vs. 1). The Greek term magŏs may refer to a wise man, scholar, scientist, astronomer, interpreter, or seer (cf. Daniel 4:8-9,18). Coffman has pointed out that “[t]he translation ‘wise men’ is a fortunate rendition of the Greek term ‘magi,’ since the truly wise of all ages are indeed those who...
Matthew 1: The Women in Jesus’ Family Tree
Matthew wrote his gospel to persuade the Jewish community to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the awaited Messiah. With this aim, he started his writing by recording the genealogy of Jesus that proved that He was a legal heir of David’s throne through His perceived father, Joseph. Although Jewish custom on writing genealogies rarely included female names, Matthew went out of his way to include five women in his...