9th week

The book of Matthew

1. First Impression

1.1 Full of quotes from the Old Testament (2:6, 15, 18, 23; 4:15-16; 8:17 to name a few), this book was written to Jewish readers to offer solid evidence for the long-awaited Messiah, Jesus. The Jewish people of Matthew’s time were loved mathematical symbology and genealogies, which are richly applied to this book (1:1-17).

1.2 Although the book does not identify an author, the second century A.D. church tradition recognized Matthew, who is also named Levi, was its writer (Nelson’s pg. 300).  He, as a trained tax collector, was good at numbers and familiar with mathematical symbology which was employed to arrange the genealogy of Jesus and overall structure of the book.

1.3 The repeated theme of the book is definitely the kingdom of heaven over which Jesus reigns. In the book, Jesus proclaimed the kingdom of heaven had come with him and explained in different settings what this kingdom is about, mostly in parables.

1.4 Matthew would have been written it in the middle of the first century, probably only a few decades after the events of Jesus’ life and ministry, but before the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 (Sourceview pg. 1235). He wrote this gospel with a focus on Jewish readership who were familiar with Torah and the prophets and longing for the promised Messiah to convince them that their long-awaited Messiah had come.

2. Theme Tracing

Reading through Matthew, I was fascinated to follow each step Jesus took in his life matching the events that the Israelites had gone through in the Old Testament. Jacob’s family members moving to Egypt for famine runs in parallel with Jesus’ sojourn to Egypt ; the Exodus, Jesus’ come-back; the Israelites’ being baptized unto Moses in the cloud and the sea (1Cor10:2), Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan river; Israelites’ roaming around in the wilderness for 40 years, Jesus’ being in the wilderness for 40 days and so on. What did I see in this? I see God’s sovereign power running through the history of man. From the beginning up until now, he has been pursuing his redemptive plan for his people without fail. In this, I am once again convinced that my salvation is unshakable because this almighty God cannot fail what he started. As church, we have been already redeemed and are yet to be redeemed till the day of the Lord.

3. Application

Going through this book, especially the parables spoken by Jesus, I had to admit that I don’t understand the meaning of many of the stories. I am familiar with them because I have heard about them at the church, but really what does it mean? Jesus clearly said these parables are about the kingdom of God but many of the teachings or sermons I have heard interpreted the story on a very superficial level, thus leaving me with no specific idea about the kingdom. My application for this book starts with this realization of how I am ignorant and blinded about such an important matter like the kingdom of God. I will be a diligent student of God’s Word and then I will be able to share it with others.

The Book of Mark

1. First Impression

1.1 This book was written to non-Jewish readership, specifically believers in Rome. There are several pieces of evidence supporting this including the author’s interpretation of Aramaic words (3:17; 5:41; 7:34; 15:22) and his explanation on Jewish tradition (7:3-4). The author omitted a number of elements that are found in other gospels such as the genealogy of Jesus Christ, references for fulfilled prophecies and references to the Law which would have not been in interest of the gentile readers.

1.2 Mark’s gospel is technically anonymous like the other gospels. However, the clear testimony of the early church fathers is that this book was written by John Mark, the son of a Jerusalem widow whose home was a meeting place for early believers (Sourceview  pg. 1283).

1.3 The main ideas repeated in the book are the power and authority of Jesus as the son of God, healing the sick, casting out demons, and preaching the kingdom of God. But at the same time, Jesus strictly warned people who experienced or witnessed the miracles not to tell other people, which are commonly referred to as “messianic secret.” The gospel of Mark gives us a vivid and face-paced account of Jesus, which culminates in the passion (14:1-15:47) and the resurrection of Jesus (ch. 16) (Nelson’s pg. 317).

1.4 This account was probably written during terrible persecution of Emperor Nero, close to the time of Peter’s execution, around the burning of Rome in July, AD 64 (Sourceview pg 1283). And the author wanted to encourage the believers in Rome who were facing the severe persecution with this gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. Theme Tracing

2.1 I get thrilled whenever I encounter the evidential verses in the New Testament to show God in the Old Testament was Jesus Christ, the messiah. One of them is found in 6:50 where Jesus said to the disciples “Take courage! ‘I AM’ is here.” The name ‘I AM’ is found in Exodus 3:14 where God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” So awesome! Jesus has been with us all along from the creation of the world to this very day! What does that mean? He never changes. He is eternal. Thus he is trustworthy. He is God.

2.2 One of the most fascinating things about the gospel that it is hidden. It is clearly said by Jesus, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parable for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled (4:11).” However the sheep of Jesus can hear the voice of their shepherd. From the time of the Old Testament to the New Testament and today, it has been always the remnant who were chosen as His people before the creation of the world that hear the gospel of Jesus and turn to God. God, without a single mistake, has been saving and will save His people.

3. Application

3.1 When Sadducees came to Jesus and asked a question in an attempt to trick him, Jesus answered them, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God (12:24).” This problem of not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God is not just their problem, but mine as well. How many times I misread the Bible thus God because I am ignorant! It feels like the more I read or study the Bible, the more I realize my ignorance. How often I misunderstood the Word so I misrepresented God and the gospel to others? This thought just humbles me before God and people and makes me more rely on the Holy Spirit, the true teacher of God’s Word.

3.2 I have this desire to know the Scriptures in the way God intends it to be interpreted, and present them as the closest I can do. I am convinced that this desire was put in my heart by God thus he will make it happen in his way and in his time.

The book of Luke

1. First Impression

1.1 The book addressed Theophilus which means “lover of God.” It could be specifically a person who was a Gentile living in Rome or it could refer to the church there in general. Luke, the author of this book, wanted to give him or them an authentic account of the gospel as a strong foundation of faith in Jesus.

1.2 Scholars generally agree that Luke wrote both this gospel and the book of Acts that are in one book in the original version. Luke was a Gentile doctor and accompanied Paul in his first mission trip. It is not easy to find evidential verses supporting its authorship in the book. The author has been identified by the so called “we passages” in Acts, which suggest the author was personally present and a traveling companion of Paul.

1.3 The main theme of this book is Jesus, the savior of all people (“the universality of the Christian message (Nelson’s pg. 323)”) with special attention given to the minorities-the poor, the outcast, the women, and so on.

1.4 There could be many different accounts about who Jesus was, what he did, and what happened after the crucifixion and so on (1:1). Luke tried to collect the eyewitness reports circulating at the time and thoroughly investigated them to come up with an accurate and most comprehensive account of the gospel. And he did that for the sake of Gentile believers in Rome.

2. Theme Tracing

2.1 What fascinated me in the book of Luke were these two statements about God-one was given by Gabriel and the other, Jesus. When Mary was in disbelief of what she just heard from the angel, he said “For nothing is impossible with God (1:37).” Jesus said the same when the disciples exclaimed that it seemed impossible for a person to be saved! He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” 2.2 I think this is the heart of God’s nature-almighty and all powerful. But at the same time it is the heart of what our salvation is about. Salvation is truly a God’s work, his work alone. There is no room for us to fill in or add to because it is impossible for man. God gave men the old covenant-the laws and regulations- to make us realize that reality. It is impossible for us to achieve the righteousness to qualify for heaven, hence a need for an intercessor, a ransom, a perfect priest, Jesus Christ.

3. Application

3.1It is really hard for me to grasp or fathom what the heaven is like, how things are run there and stuff. Based on some references in the Scriptures, I knew it would be quite different from the world we live in and it would be awesome somehow. About a year ago, I was on my way home from one of the church services, pondering over the subject of the sermon I had just listened to. It was about “serving” or “servant-hood.” And I realized “serving others” described in the bible runs exactly the opposite to my natural desire and being. I want to be served rather than serve others. I want to sit on the high place rather than step down to the lowly place. The reason I serve or humble myself is because I want to be lifted up and sit on the high place eventually. In other words, there is an ulterior motive in my serving. While l was struggling with these thought, I felt the Holy Spirit saying “serving is the ends in itself in the kingdom of God.” That means there are no rewards for serving others because serving in itself is the ultimate ends. That is how things are in His kingdom. I was shocked at the stark contrast between things on earth and things in heaven, so different that I could not say I fully grasped what that means. And I found this verse in Luke 12:37 “The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat!” Jesus is saying that he is going to put on an apron and serve us, his servants! I would say I still cannot understand it but I love it!